> Starting this new life
>  by Rainbow skies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: What the-?!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cold night air rushed past me as I sprinted across a dense forest, the dirt pounding against my boots, the sweat pouring down my body and the stinging pain of three cuts pulsing across my chest. I had been running for god knows how long, I was running from some weird lion thing that I came across while searching for my friends.

"Fuck... Where the hell am I, this is not the place I grew nor is it the right planet!" I shouted breathlessly but continued to sprinting. "Gotta find Jay and Jackson but I don't even know where to start, they could be anywhere.... ooooh how did such a great day turn so shitty!?"

(Hours earlier)

It was a bright sunny morning, the birds were singing and the sun was shining. The day seemed almost perfect... Almost.

"Thomas! The hell happened to you?'' My friend asked, he was a Hispanic man with short black hair and brown colored eyes. He was 6', wearing a white and red long sleeve shirt, black pants and new running shoes.

"Ah you know, the same shit as usual" I said, I was a tan Irish man with messy dark brown hair, toothpick kinda body, dark green eyes and a small scar on my chin. I was wearing a light tan shirt, faded blue jeans and worn down running shoes my brother had given me. "I'm fine Jay, ugh, really" I said holding in the immense pain of the beating I took earlier from two assholes.

"Was it those dick heads beating you up again?" Jay asked with concern.

"What? Pffft, naaaah.... yeah… I swear I almost got away, it's just the damn jump up to the rail" I said and lifted my shirt up slowly, showing him more bruises. "Listin, Jay, I understand you wanna fight these guys but seriously, if I wanted to deal with them I would've by now"

"Oh no, today was the last straw, Ima call up Jackson so he can help us deal with these bastards" Jay said, getting his phone out of his pocket, I sighed and just let him call Jackson. I knew he would help since he was basically like another brother to me, same with Jay if I'm being honest. "Hey Jackie, Thomas needs some help with a certain situation and I was hoping you could help... alright, we'll meet you by the football field"

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"He's down to help, just gotta meet him at the field" Jay said and we began walking out of the school to meet Jackson, it was a long and very painful walk to the football field, but when we actually got there, I immediately sat down on the bleachers.

"Dude... fuck pain" I said, panting and sweating from that long walk.

"Hey I see Jackie, he's heading over" Jay said, I looked around and saw the man walking towards us. He was a pale caucasian man with brown buzzed hair, wearing black glass, a white shirt with mario, black pants and shoes. He was the same height as me but not as skinny, he had some muscle on those bones.

"Hey Thomas, heard you got beat up by the twins again" Jackson said and sat down next to me. "Missed the jump?"

"By. A. Mile" I stated and laid down on the bleachers. "So what did you guys talk about, all Jay told me was y'all were gonna beat them up as well" I said.

"Well, not exactly, but in a sense, that's the jist" Jay said.

"What I have in mind is that we challenge them to a one on one, me and Jay vs the twins, if we win, they stop bullying you" Jackson said.

"And if they win?" I asked and they looked at eachother and gave me a shrug, I groaned at the response and then sighed. "Alright, fuck it, got nothin else to lose" I said.

(Two hours later, the football field)

Jackson had met up with the twins and challenged them to a fight in two hours at the football field because I didn't want to move. They accepted and almost jumped Jackson on the spot, luckily he was able to slip away just in time.

Now we were waiting for the twins to show up, I had gone to the nurse and she patched my wounds up so now I had bandages over my arms, legs, chest and small ones on my fingers. "So... it's been two hours, think they chickened out?"

"Better not, they're gonna get what's coming to them" Jay said and continued waiting.

"They will, but don't expect a fair fight just be ready to jump in if the other one tries anything" Jackson said as he tightened his gloves he got from his dad. They were black padded combat gloves.

"Still cool how your dad let you have those, why did you need them again?" I asked as he finished.

"Oh, well I wanted to feel the punching bag a bit to see how hard I would punch, with the boxing glove it doesn't really tell me" Jackson said and then snapped his head as he heard laughing.

"The dash twins" Jay spat as the two walked up with a small bunch of people, probably at least twelve. "As ugly as I remember you dicks"

They both had light tan skin, short black hair, yellow eyes, both 5'11, and they both played football, so they didn't really give the impression of being pushovers. "So the pussy needed some help from his friends?" Daniel said, Daniel wore a black shirt, grey pants, blue teeny shoes and a green jacket

"Man that's pathetic, couldn't even handle the beating we gave him earlier so he got jackoff number 1, and thing number 2" Francis said. He wore a red shirt, black pants, grey hightops, and a blue jacket.

"Fuckin idiot, should've just said thing 1 and thing 2 dumbass!" Jay called to them and they glared at him. "Oooh, I think I pushed a button"

"Alright, let's calm down... why'd you bring a crowd guys?" Jackson asked them and grew a bit uneasy.

"What, it's just a little audience so they can watch and spread how we kicked your ass" Francis said, making Jackson snort. "What, you think you can take us?"

"Yup, cause you aint shit" Jackson said making them even more angry. "Alright, rules are simple, first one to forfeit or get knocked out loses, got it?" He announced.


"Whatever, let's get this started you accident" Daniel said and I shot to my feet hearing those words.

"Oh... you are so fucked" Jay said we saw jackson take off his glasses and put them in his pocket.

"Alright, first match... Me vs Francis" Jackson said, his tone cold and full of hate. Francis just smirked and took off his jacket, he walked up to Jackson leaving a few feet and put up his fists. Jackson followed and got ready.

"And... fight!"

Francis took off towards Jackson and went for a wide swing to his face but Jackson easily dodged it and smacked Francis across the face. He staggered from the hit but shook it off and aimed for his face again this time with a more of a jab like punch, but again Jackson dodged them like they were nothing.

"Hold still damn it!" Francis snapped at Jackson and tried throwing his fists faster. Miss after miss, Francis grew more and more agitated and aggressive with Jackson, but Jackson kept his cool and continued dodging.

After a few minutes Francis looked outta breath and his face was red, his movements slowed down dramatically but still threw punches. Jackson saw his opportunity and switched from defense to offense, the second Francis threw a punch, Jackson smacked it away and delivered a hard right to his side.

Feeling the heavy punch connect, Francis fell to the ground with a hard thud and held his side for a few minutes. He slowly got back to his feet and was met with two heavy jabs aimed at his face and a wide left hook to his side again. Francis stumbled slightly on his feet and already looked banged up.

"C'mon Francis you can still fight, show that bastard what's up!" Daniel shouted, Frnacis gave a small nod and stumbled his way back towards Jackson. He fell on the man for a second, dazed and beaten, he pushed back and went for another punch but it was caught by Jackson.

"Next time..." Jackson started and shoved his fist in Francis' stomach then slammed his right fist against his face, knocking him out. "Think twice before messing with Thomas"

The crowd stood in awe as Jackson walked away from the unconscious boy and sat back down next to me. I had never seen Jackson that angry, or hit that fast before, must've hit a big button.

"Damn Jacky you knocked that asshole out, but guess it's my turn" Jay said and began walking out towards the fighting area. They had dragged the boy's body back to the group and to their relief he was still breathing.

"I'm gonna break that damn face then I'm gonna break that damn bastard's arm as pay back" Daniel said cracking his knuckles. Jay cracked his knuckles and got in his stance, he basically grew up in those bad neighborhoods near the center of town so he knew two things.

Study his opponent and take advantage of it... also he knows mixed martial arts, or as he calls it, the bruce lee methods

"Well c'mon you pansy, gonna make a move or not?" Jay taunted Daniel, the boy became riled up and charged towards the man. Jay quickly studied his movements and dodged the moves every so often, but took a few jabs to the chest. Daniel was an idiot but he was fast, which was dangerous because if jay falters in any way Daniel will take advantage and beat him to a bloody pulp.

As Jay continued dodging, he began parrying the punches somewhat knocking Daniel off balance. At this point me and Jackson knew that Jay was just playing with Daniel, he could've easily landed one punch to his jaw and knocked the idiot twin out.

"Jay, c'mon stop playing around already!" Jackson called to the man but it fell on deaf ears. Jay cracked a smile as he grabbed the boy's hand, keeping him in place then jabbing Daniel in the gut a couple of times. Daniel staggered back holding his gut, jay bounced lightly and chuckled to himself a bit.

"That's all you got, thought you'd put up a challenge" Jay mocked Daniel and laughed. While he was laughing Daniel knew he was going to lose but I saw him look to the group behind him and nod his head. The group look at eachother and began moving to the side, Jay and Jackson looked on and waited to see what happens.

"You know what... that's not all I got, you really think I'd give you a fair fight?" Daniel said and out of nowhere, somehow one of the kids got behind Jay and jumped on him. Me and Jackson sprang to our feet, Jackson sprinted towards jay and tore the kid off his back and tossed him to the ground.

"I knew something like this would've happened, we gotta get out of here" Jackson said and looked around to see the group and Daniel was trying to surround them.

"We need an opening... wait where's Thomas?" Jay asked.

"Well boys, this is the last time you try anything like this... any last words?" Daniel said and felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I got some" I said, I forced the kid to spin around and I slammed my fist in his face breaking his nose and probably my hand. "Go fuck yourself" I said and I continued to repeatedly punch his face until I was grabbed by the boy who looked beyond angry.

"When did you get the balls?" Daniel asked, well, growled.

"Right about now, you son of a bitch!" I said and punched him dead in the eye. He screamed bloody murder and let me go, I quickly pushed him to the ground and ran towards Jackson and Jay grabbing them on the way and telling them to run.

"Get those cock suckers, and fuckin kill them!" Daniel shouted and the group began running after us. We quickly ran out of the football field, sprinting through the halls of the school then busting out through the back door.

"Jesus Thomas you fucked him up, when did you get the balls?!" Jay asked as he climbed over the wall, he kneeled down and helped me and Jackson up.

"I told you, if I wanted to deal with them I would've done it. Now let's get the hell outta here, we can get to my place faster if we cut through the woods" I said and we began trudging through the trees.

(Hours later)

We all stopped running and took a break after running for an hour or two through the woods. We lost the group of people awhile ago but that doesn't mean we couldn't be too sure.

"Everyone ok?" I asked as I leaned against a tree, out of breath and out of energy.

"Yeah... thanks for the save Tommy, if you hadn't slugged Daniel, well we'd probably be in the hospital" Jay said sitting down.

"We need to get home guys, it's starting to get dark" Jackson said and we all agreed. A few minutes later, after catching our breath, we began our journey out of the woods.

As we walked the sun had gone down and we brought out our phones to use the flashlights. The night air blew past us and the forest seemed to be getting... darker.

'Why are you three here?' I yelped suddenly as I heard the chilling voice whisper in my ear.

"G-Guy's... did you hear that?" I asked and they stopped to look at me confused.

"Hear what?" They asked.

I stood there for a minute and listened carefully to the silence. Waiting. But no voice and no chill down my spine. "Sorry... must've been my imagination, lets keep going" I said and they shrugged it off before continuing our trek.

The walk seemed strange, and longer than what I remember. We should've been out by now, but it only seems to be getting longer and darker. Jay and Jackson also picked up on this, but we continued.

'You three really are strange, coming into these woods at night, trying to get home... but I know what you three really desire... let me... help you with that' The voice said again, this time it sounded like it was right behind me. I spun around only to see the darkness, nothing more.

"What the..." I muttered, I continued to look for a moment before turning back around only to run into someone and fall on my rear. "Ah! What the hell?" I groaned and regained my senses, that's when I noticed the paws of a lion and when I looked up I saw the lion but it had bat wings and a scorpion tail. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

The Lion thing roared at me and I quickly stood up to run away, but as I was about to turn and run. He slashed my chest, shredding my shirt and sending me flying against a tree.

The fight or flight reflex instantly came to my instinct and the adrenaline rushed through giving me the power to choose flight. I booked it down the other direction of the dark trail.

(Present time)

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" I repeatedly shouted and continued running, during my sprint my boot got caught on a root from a tree. I fell hard against the floor and rolled a bit and found myself falling down a small hill, gettings cut from the broken branches and thorny bushes.

When I reached the bottom, I was covered in cuts, dirt, and barely had any on my clothes left. I groaned softly as I felt the pain skyrocket through me, I tried to get up only to yelp at a sudden pain in my arm and drop back down.

I looked at my arm and noticed it wasn't facing the right way, my stomach began to churn and I almost threw up at the sight. Swallowing down my lunch, I laid their in the pile of dirt and leaves.

I was cold, and the sweat and blood wasn't helping me either. Feeling my heart beat start slowing down, I felt panicked, my eyelids grew heavy and my vision blurred. I shakily raised my other hand and balled it up then limply struck my broken arm.

I screamed bloody murder when it landed on my arm, tears welled in my eye but that didn't matter. I was fully awake now, the Adrenaline pumped through me with just enough to keep myself awake.

"J-Jay... Jack...son" I croaked out. "Help... me"

"No one is going to help you, they don't even know you're gone... well no, that was a lie, they're dealing with their own problems right now, but not as bad as what I threw at you" A voice said.

"P... please... w-who... ever you are... help me" I choked out to the person that was talking. But all I heard was a laugh. I suddenly felt warm, the cold was gone but the pain was still their only... bare able.

"I like you, your like a puppy asking for food... alright, I'll help you" The voice said and I was lifted off the ground, I hissed at sudden movement but it felt better than the ground. "Come, I shall take you to my castle... or what is left of it, I will heal you and save your life, but you WILL owe me something"

"D-Deal" I hoarsely answered and with that I had passed out, not before seeing the person holding me. It was a tall, light skinned woman with a dark blue horn and wings. She wore a navy blue hood, silver armor and wore a light blue helmet with a crescent moon on it. But the most notable things about her was her long, night sky hair flowing in the wind and her pale blue cat like eyes.

" I'm going to have so much fun with you" She said with a smile, she spread her wings with me in her arms and took off.
> Chapter 2: Where's here?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sounds of droplets rang in my ear and sent goosebumps across my body as a few landed on my face my bare chest. I don't know how long I've been asleep, I don't even know how long I've been awake to be honest, and I don't even know where here is either. All I know is that I can barely move and my throat is too dry to make nothing more than small hollow groans.

  I heard the pouring rain outside of where I was sheltered in. Though from the looks of it, it looked like some sort of bedroom in an old castle. I wasn't on any bed though, I was on the cold floor next to the window.

  'Where am I, and how am I still alive after that thing almost killed me' I thought to myself and groaned slightly from my arm twitching sending waves of pain. 'God... why do I have to suffer?' I thought and gave a hoarse sigh before hearing footsteps coming near me.

  "My oh my, you're awake" The person said, sounded like a woman but the disoriented voice was making it hard to tell. "I'm glad you're ok, was beginning to worry" She said and the footsteps stopped next to me.

  "Well... Im surprised Im still alive, but I have to thank you for saving me miss, uh?" I said almost in a whisper but she was able to hear me.

  "Well you can thank me by not saying miss, my name is Moon" She said and kneeled down to me. "It's a strange thing that you came here though, I wanted you to come specifically but your friends were dragged along as well" Moon added and I looked at her for the first time.

  Her skin was dark navy blue and her body was slim but taught with muscle, her hair was something I've never seen. It was like a galaxy itself was flowing on her head, she had a long horn matching her skin and black feathered wings. But what got my attention, were her hypnotic pale blue eyes I couldn't stop looking at her... I don't think I even wanted to stop.

  "Wow" I said in amazement, she giggled at my awed expression and raised back up to her feet. Only then did I realize what she had said. "Wait a minute, you brought me and my friends here?!" I questioned my voice straining.

  "Well me not per-say, it's the woods that you walked through" Moon answered. "My mother actually did something to those woods many years ago, what she did I know not, but it doesn't seem to work all the time... only a couple hundred year's an object would appear their or sometimes nothing at all" Moon finished and I tried to process this but I was still confused.

  "So... it's magic, basically?" I asked unsure, but to my surprise my caretaker nodded. "Well, I guess I can get behind that" I said. Noticing my voice no longer hoarse and the pain going away slowly, I began sitting myself up against the wall and look right at Moon.

  "Good, cause I'm not going to explain it again" Moon stated her voice turning normal and sat down on an old, comfortable bed. 

  "Heh, you get a bed while I get the floor huh?" I said painfully chuckling.

  "Only fair since I am a queen, while you are just... well I don't know what you are frankly, but I know what you WILL be" Moon said with a devious smile, I started thinking of the worst things imaginable like a punching bag or a human shield... then I started thinking about other things.

  'Oh my christ is she gonna make me a concubine?!' I screamed in my head, when I did though, Moons cheeks had turned roasy red and she looked embarrassed. 'Wait a minute... did she just-' I thought again only to be cut off by her nodding, it was my turn to blush, all the way to the tips of my ears. "Oh" was all I could say

  "I-I will not make you into a concubine young Thomas, t-the thought never crossed my mind" Moon frantically stuttered out before getting herself composed again. "No, I'll just make you my slave" Moon said and her horn glowed a dark blue.

  "Wait a minute, I'm no slave" I said but as the words came out of my mouth, the horn shot something at me hitting my chest. My blood ran cold, I feared the worst at the moment, but when I looked down to see the damage... there was none. "Ha... hahahah!" I laughed patting my chest.

  "What in the name of the moon!?" Moon shouted in confusion and anger. "What is the meaning of this!" She demanded.

  "I have no idea, but I do know that it didn't work!" I answered still laughing, this made Moon grow even angrier and she grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me up. 

  "Silence, you damned peasant do you know who you stand before?! I AM NIGHTMARE MOON!!" Nightmare roared at me and threw to the other side of the room crashing against an old bookcase. "YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME, INSULT MY POWER EVEN?!" Nightmare roared and I was once again grabbed but by something cold.

  "Jesus lady you can't take criticism can you?" I asked and was brought to her hand which was now firmly around my throat.

  "DIE" She growled and threw me through the window. As I screamed my head off for a few minutes following my decent, I stopped and saw a rusty flagpole just a few feet from me.

  I quickly reach out just as I was about to pass it and grabbed it. I cheered for a split second before I was swung across to another, and another, and another. "Oh lord, the father and the holy spirit I know I don't ask for much but for the sake of the virgin mary, DON'T LET ME DIE!" I pleaded as I launched off the last pole and found myself flying towards a broken part of watch I believed was a castle. I braced myself just in time before I crashed onto the floor with a hard thud and some blood coming out of my mouth.


 I wheezed heavily, feeling the wind get knocked out my body. A few minutes of trying to breathe I finally caught it and I weakly got to my feet then quickly began limping my way towards an opening I saw to which lead down towards a dimly lit hallway. I tasted the iron of my blood, I felt it flow past my tounge and go between teeth and drip down my chin making a trail of sorts. I quickly tried to sweep it away with my shoe only to have it smear on the floor. As I walked down the hall, I began to feel even weaker than before and I realised my Adrenaline was completely shot at this point.

  "*Heavy cough* Damn it... gotta find a way to get the hell outta here" I muttered under my breath before stopping and resting for a moment. I slumped against the wall and continued to trudge my way through the dark hall, only, that's what I had hoped.

  I felt a sudden rush of cold air brush against my face, I felt the wall a bit to which I found that it was hollow. I took a step back from the wall and noticed how odd it looked, from the way the torches were placed, they were all in the middle and only had one. This one had two, and they were at opposite ends of the walls almost hugging the pillars next to it.

  "Odd... I wonder?" I questioned before grabbing the far right one and pulled it. A metal clank rang in the halls and the sounds of gears clicking took its place then a few seconds later the center of the wall began to slowly open. I watched as the wall reached the bottom, I was quickly washed over by the icey cold air, making me shiver heavily. "Well... it's better than getting killed by Moon" I said and walked in the room.

  Half way down the hall, I could see a bright blue light shining at the end of the hall. I quickened my pace slightly and soon found myself in an open area with a small narrow bridge with a large platform above what looked like a bottomless pit.

  "What the fuck?" I said before seeing what was in the center of the platform, it was an old rusty blade stabbed into the ground, bounded by six old rusty chained. The chains clinged every so often making the deafening silence, more bearable. "Whoooooa, if only Jackson and Jay could see this" I said in awe.

  With a shaky foot, I began making my way towards the old sword. Though with each step that I took, I felt like the ground itself would break if I didn't tread lightly, so that's what I did until I reach the open platform. The blue light shined down on myself and the sword, almost like it was in some sort of anime or video game back home were the hero finds the mysterious sword in a stone or chained up... or both. I stared at the sword intently not knowing what I should do. I couldn't take it out cause it was chained, but the chains looked so weak.

  "I mean... it's worth a try, besides what the worse that can-" I said before being cut off by the sounds of stomping feet.

  "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU DAMN COWARD FACE ME LIKE A MAN!!!" I heard moon roar through the halls, I knew she was close cause the footsteps started getting faster.

  "Ah fuck it, caution to the wind then!" I said before gripping this sword and started pulling it out. As I was pulling away at the sword the footsteps grew louder and louder making me pull even harder. "C'mon you stupid sword, I need something to defend myself!" I grunted out and I felt the blade started getting loose, I began cheering until I heard a gasp from a terrifyingly familiar voice. 

  "You dare lay your hands on my Mother's Sword!" Nightmare said and I began to panic.

  "Uh... uh.... Moo?" I nervously said making her eye twitch before charging up her magic to blast me again. I doubled my efforts to get the blade free but the damn chains were stronger than they were made to look, with all my strength I felt something started snapping so I continued my efforts.

  "Fool, only those close to godhood can pull that blade from its prison, trust me. I've tried everyday for the past millennia and haven't even gotten the blade lose" Nightmare said but I didn't listen and I could feel even more snapping and then small cracks could be heard. "I grow impatient with you, you will bow to me peasant and you will serve me till you have broken every bone and dropped every ounce of blood in your body for me!" She said and sent a giant blast right towards me. 

  Time seemed to have slowed down, the ball of magic hurled its way towards me rippling through the air. Nightmare had a huge smile on her face sporting her sharp carnivorous teeth, and myself still pulling the blade. But the time resumed when we both heard multiple snaps from something metal, I flew back raising the sword in the air and when I did. I struck the ball of magic causing it to deflect and fly up, blowing a hole in the ceiling.

I skidded across the platform and tumbled off the edge but I reached out with my free hand and grabbed the ledge. I panted heavily as I stared down into the black abyss under me, and the rusty sword in my hand still with some of the rusty chains on the hilt.
 




Third Person Pov



  
  "How did you pull that sword out?" Nightmare demand as she stomped on my hand. Thomas cried at the pain a bit, but continued to hold on. "I've been trying to pull that sword out since I was a little girl, I've waited 1000 YEARS TO PULL IT OUT AND THEN YOU, SOME WEAK PISS ASS PEASANT, COMES ALONG AND TAKE WHAT IS MINE!!!" Nightmare roared, it was so loud that Thomas could hear trees falling and felt the castle shake. "How did you pull it out, tell me Now" She demanded, grabbing his arm and lifting him up.

  "I-I don't know, I was panicking- you were trying to kill me- I just needed something to defend myself with, I didn't know it was that important to you- here you can have it!" Thomas stuttered quickly handing her the blade.

  Nightmare yanked the sword out of his hand and admired it. Thomas didn't really get how special it was, it was just an old rusty sword. "So beautiful, for years nay a millennia, I have tried to pull you free and now... you are mine" Nightmare said growing a big smile like a kid getting a toy.

  "Can-Can I please leave now?" Thomas asked and instantly felt his heart skip a beat when her cold glare aimed at him. She pulled Thomas closer and he shut his eyes preparing himself for the worst. Only, to his surprise he suddenly felt something soft on his cheek, it was warm and comforting, Thomas opened my eyes and saw Nightmare kissing his cheek. When she finished, she held him over the edge again, but Thomas was to much in a daze to even notice.

  "You may leave this world young Thomas, you have my permission" Nightmare said and let Thomas go. He fell straight down into the darkness still looking at Nightmare, she watched him fall until she couldn't see the boy anymore and snorted a bit. "Such as waste, it was only my anger talking when I called him a weak peasant... maybe I should've made him my concubine" Nightmare said and giggled at the thought. "Oh well, on the other hand, I finally have the swo-" She stopped. The sword was gone.

  The sword itself had disappeared from her hand, she searched around herself for a few seconds but couldn't find it. Nightmare became frantic and wanted to know what was going on.

  "It was in my hands, where could it have gone?!" Nightmare asked, she was answered by a scroll appearing behind her. She turned around and picked it up, then began reading it. "For those unworthy of my blade, it will not stay in your hands for long, only those who have free the blade can willfully make it their own, for no matter where it will end up, lost or stolen, the blade of the dark knight will always-" Nightmare stopped as her blood ran cold. "Find its way home"



???‐ P.O.V Thomas
  Darkness was beginning to become a well known acquaintance of mine. I felt cold again, but not weak, my voice was gone, but my throat did not hurt. I tried to lift my hand up to my face, but just as I thought, I was met with darkness.

  'Well, I shouldn't be too surprised. Hell this should be a common thing now really, but I can't help feeling... weak' I thought and laid in darkness for a bit. After awhile I assumed I had died, and that I was waiting for god or satan to come get me. As the thoughts ran past me I began hearing something muffled in my ears and the cold feeling became more noticeable. 'Yeesh, who knew limbo would be this cold... and wet, I thought limbo was supposed to be like gray and dry- wait a minute wet?! I'm Alive!' I thought.

  I began trying to open my eyes but it was becoming quite a challenge for me. I soon got my heavy eyelids to open a bit and I was met with the cloudy sky still pouring rain on me. I looked around a bit and very slowly started to sit up from a puddle that formed around me, my head was spinning and I felt like my stomach was in eight different knots, which couldn't have been good.

  "Where... am I?" I asked myself and winced as I felt a pain in my back and my right arm. "I can't really feel my right arm, I think its broken" I said and went to get up only to fall back down, giving out a small cry. "Fu...Fuck... I gotta get up... or I'll die from hypothermia" I groaned out as I firmly plant my left arm and used all my strength to get back up.

  After struggling and failing a few times, I got up and wobbled on my feet. My body felt like it weighed a ton, and my legs were not doing any better. I grunted as I strained a foot forward almost falling over, luckily catching myself, I made a steady pace walking through the wooded area around me. The rain didn't stop for a minute, it continued pouring as I walked and by now I was completely soaked and freezing cold.

  "Not good... Im getting dizzy... Im gettin....... getting-" I stopped as I felt my legs buckle and my eyes grew heavier.

  'Wake up!' A voice called out and I caught myself on a tree. I snapped my head around frantically trying to find the one who called out to me.

  "Whos their?!" I asked still looking. A tall, slim figure appeared in front of me, its whole body was baby blue and its eyes were a dark navy blue. Its figured looked like that of a woman and its hair was short but flowing upwards by non-existent wind. "Holy shit... are you an angel? Am I dead?" I asked but all the entity did was float towards me and place its hand on my cheek.

  'You will be soon, please hurry, it's not far from here' the entity said, her voice was soothing and her touch was warm. She grabbed my hand and helped my start walking again, then in a blink of an eye. She was gone.

  I didn't stop walking in the direction she told me to go in and I soon came to an empty field filled with rocks. The rain was worse here, it felt like hail hitting against my body and keeping myself up was a challenge thanks to the rocks around me.

  "Gotta... keep... moving" I repeated to myself, over and over again. As I walked, I soon heard a muffled noise coming from my right, I stopped and looked only to see five blurs rushing towards me. "P... people" I muttered and felt a rush of energy, I turned towards them and began running, though as I ran my body finally gave out and after five steps I tumbled to the ground and slide a bit.

  It looked like I was on the edge of a cliff because I saw my arm dangling off the ledge. The footsteps got louder and louder until they came to a stop, with no time wasted the people pulled me off the muddy floor. It was hard keeping my eyes open the whole time, as flashes of events took place.

  I passed out and woke up being dragged into a house then woke up on a table with all my clothes ripped off and a lady with gray skin, grayish emerald hair tied up in a bun wearing a black nightgown was frantically trying to wash off all the blood and dirt on me. Then I woke up to a man with grayish khaki skin, he had white chops on the side of his face, wearing a hat and soaked pajama pants.

  "I need thou to endure just a bit more" He said and I weakly nodded before screaming in agony as I felt something burning hot on my chest. I looked down and saw that the wounds that healed earlier reappeared, it was probably because nightmare took off whatever spell was on me. The cuts were bigger and the man doused my wounds in alcohol and was cauterizing my wounds closed with a big bowie knife. "Just a bit more!" He said pressing it against my other wounds.

  The room was filled with my screams and I couldn't stop, it was so painful, I was thrashing around for a moment before three other people held me down, but it looked like they were having a hard time. Sweat beaded down my face and I felt tears welling in my eyes, one more wound had to be closed and this one hurt even more because my body knew it was coming.

  "IT HURTS! ITS HURTS SO MUCH!" I cried out ripping my throat apart as I did. The woman who cleaned me had to hold my legs down from all my thrashing. "WHY ME?! WHY ME?!"

  "It is almost over, just a little more!" The man shouted as he put pressure down on the last part of the wound. After a few minutes of agony, I was left panting heavily drenched in sweat, rain water, and alcohol. I took a deep, shakey breathes as the woman and the others let me go and took a seat in chairs exhausted beyond belief. "Ok... everything seems to be ok now, thou- *ahem* you, gave us quite a scare their, but do not worry. You are going to be ok now" The man said sitting next to me without his hat.

  I breathed heavily and looked towards him. "Th-th-thank y-y-you" my voice shook as I thanked him. 

  "No need to, I saw you in trouble so I got the family to come help me"

  "I-I owe you-"

  "You don't owe me nothing, do you think you can walk?" He asked standing up. I looked down and slowly and painfully began lifting myself up into a sitting position. I moved my legs off the table and took the leap, as soon as my feet touched the floor my knees had buckled causing me to fall.

  Thankfully I caught the table and lifted myself back up. Seeing this, the man slowly began leading me to an empty room with a bed, and a bathroom to wash myself. "it's not much but as of right now, I can safely assume you don't give a damn"

  "You... are damn... ah-right" I strained as I crashed onto the bed. "How could I ever repay you?" I asked.

  "Well we could use a helping hand, and you are one tough bastard not passing out through all that from now to before. Do you think when you're healed, you can help around the farm?" He asked and I nodded. "Ok, get some rest then, need you at 100% to get you working, by the way, my name is Igneous Rock, and yours is?"

  "Thomas... Thomas Knight"
> Chapter 3: a debt for a debt, and a misunderstanding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke to the sounds of grunting and short bursts of shouting, my whole body felt sore and weak. I didn't even remember what happened or where I was. I slowly rose up from the bed I was on and hissed as I felt a burning sting on my chest, I looked down to see my chest wrapped up in bandages along my arms and legs.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  "We saved you" I heard, and I snapped my head to see a gray skinned lady with short ashy hair going over her left side, wearing a dark brown leather jacket, black jeans, black boots and a gray shirt. And she didn't look too happy to see me.

  "You did, well... thank you" I said and strained myself out of the bed, as I did, I felt a little breeze down south. The woman's eyes looked down and her face went from gray to red in a matter of seconds. 

  "What is wrong with you, put on some pants!" She screamed throwing a pair at me. I caught them and quickly put them on. They weren't anything fancy really, just old brown pants with a hole on the right knee, it felt awkward not wearing any underwear with it on but I shouldn't really complain.

  "Very sorry about that... uhm, if you don't mind me asking, who are you and where am I also what happened to me that lead to... well, this?" I asked her as she finished rubbing the blush from her face.

  "My name is Limestone, I pretty much run this farm that you trespassed on, and we found you stumbling through it two days ago before everyone went to bed. Giant slash marks, broken arm, fractured leg and don't get me started when we cauterizing and stitched your open wounds" Limestone said, I looked down at my chest and felt the sting hit me again. "How you survived is beyond me, you were pretty much at death's door slamming on it with everything you had" she said before walking towards the door.

  "Wait... so you're telling me that I hurt so badly that I was asleep for two days?!" I asked freaking out a bit.

  "Yup, but I wouldn't get to comfortable Thomas, because you're gonna be helping me with the farm today and if you slip up, Im gonna kill you" Limestone mentioned. "So c'mon, foods downstairs waiting, along with a couple of clothes as well"

  We both made our way downstairs and I smelt something pretty good coming from down stairs. We walked a few more feet before I saw an older version of lime except she was wearing a long dress and an apron, and her hair was tied up in a bun.

  "Ah, Lime I see you woke up Thomas, gave us quite a scare really" The woman said as she set two bowles on the table. "Might want to eat quickly, your father is already out their and could use some help"

  "Uh, thank you for the meal mrs..."

  "Cloudy quartz, but please call me Cloudy" Cloudy said before disappearing into the next room. Me and Lime sat down, Lime was already eating while I was looking at it... it was regular soup, but it had a red rock in it.

  "C'mon, eat up, don't wanna start with an empty stomach" Lime said popping the rock in her mouth and chewed it like it was nothing. I blinked a couple times before looking at the rock, seeing my uneasy face Lime groaned and took the rock out of my soup. "It's just a layer of rock candy, look" She said and split it in half showing me bread inside.

  "Oh, that's pretty cool actually" I said taking the bread and began eating. The bread gave a sweet but salty texture while the soup tasted spicy but also filling at the same time, unlike most soups. "That was amazing, gotta thank Cloudy for this meal"

  "Well c'mon, you're gonna be helping me today, lets go" Lime said, getting up and let me outside. The sun was unbearably hot, and I still didn't have any real clothes on except for these ragged pants. "Ok, looks like this will be an easy day, dad already got half of them crushed and placed into the cart so we gotta do the other half" Lime said walking over to a couple of pickaxes and tossed one to me.

  "Ah, damn it!" I yelped, when I caught it, my arm flared up and the pain coursed through it instantly. I almost fainted from the pain, but I kept myself awake and tried to pick it up again. "Aaaaaah.... son of a-" I strained as I finally grasped it, fighting through the pain. 

  "Congratulations, you picked up an iron pick-axe" Lime said with a hint of sarcasm. "Now c'mon muscle man we got a job to do so no slacking, injured or not, you have a debt to pay"

  "Yes... ma'am" I panted out and followed her. She led me over to a bolder and with one swing she split it in half, what was more impressive was the amount of crystals in the bolder. "Whoa, how are yall not rich?" I asked admiring the crystals.

  "The hell you on about, crystals get us 40 thousand bits with each full cart we bring to the town, we paid off the house, so we keep the bits in saving for either food or clothing" Lime said and I'm guessing bits were their currency here. Even so, it made my jaw drop to the floor.

  "Holy shit, that's a lot of money," I said.

  "Alright enough talk, you see all those boulders and rocks?" Like asked pointing to the hundreds of rocks to our right. 

  "Uh, yeah so what?" I asked and she gave me a glare that told me to shut it.

  "I want you to break every single of those by days end, if you don't, no dinner and you will keep working till it's done. Got it?!" Lime ordered and it kinda gave me a bit of a scare. "Good now get to breaking"

  "This kinda feels like Im your slave" I said and Lime laughed.

  "You are" Lime said plainly before walking off. "Have fun Tommy, don't go dying out here!" She shouted and went to her side to do her work. I looked towards the giant rocks and felt the sun beating down on my bare body.

  I looked at all the rocks and sighed. "I should've just died"



Midnight




  Hours had passed, and I collapsed onto the floor after throwing the last bag of crystals into Igneous cart. My body was hurting tremendously, my wounds might've healed somewhat, but they were still healing nonetheless, and now I believe I ruined my body.

  "Curse... my skinny........ body" I heaved out, the sun had gone down and Lime was already done for today. Staying true to her word, I haven't had dinner yet and hasn't let me in the house when I wasn't finished. "Jesus christ... I can barely move, give me strength" I prayed and almost instantly I saw a girl who had the same colored skin as lime but her hair was a darker shade of gray, and it was combed to the left. She was wearing a pink nightgown and she looked like she just got outta bed.

  "Hmmm?" She hummed and I raised an eyebrow.

  "Hi... I don't think we have met before, my names Thomas knight" I said and she nodded. "Already knew that huh, ok, what's your name?" I asked.

  "Her name is Marble, shy little thing but she seems comfortable around you" Cloudy said coming outside. She was also wearing a nightgown, "Guess Lime pushed you to much dear Thomas, but don't worry it'll get better, I promise" Cloudy assured me and I smiled before I felt marble poke my face.

 "What's up?" I asked and she pointed to my bandages. I looked at them and noticed they were all dirty and some of them had blood on it, probably reopened a few wounds breaking those rocks. "Oh, I guess I need to change them"

  "Let us help you inside" Cloudy said as she and marble picked me up wrapping my arms around their shoulders before helping me inside. Once inside I was met with a glare of limestone. "Lime be a dear and get the bandages please, seems you pushed dear Thomas here to the point of exhaustion and even reopened some wounds" Cloudy said with a disapproving look.

  "He has to clear his debt mom, it's only for a week so when the summer sun celebration hits you're free to go" Lime said and walked off, but quickly came back with bandages. I sat down on the surprisingly soft couch and was stripped of my bandages.

  "Whats the summer sun celebration" I asked as marble began patching me up.

  "It's a yearly event in equestria, mainly to commemorate Princess Celestia" A plain voice said. I looked to see another gray girl with long ashy purple hair, taller than the rest and a blank expression on her face. She was wearing a white shirt and blue short shorts. "Our sister pinkie pie is one of the people in charge of the food for the celebration" 

  "Oh, well sounds like fun actually... by the way-" 

  "My name is Maud pie" Maud said and walked over to me, she kneeled down and looked over my wounds and even found a couple of bruises. "Lime you know he is still injured, I'm surprised he is still moving at this point or even conscious at all"

  "Im fine... really, just need to rest for a bit," I said. "I've been in much worse than this, so believe me when I say my pain tolerance is extraordinary" I assured and I think she understood me. "I think I just need to sleep a little" 

  "Well, you're not going to sleep here, Lime help this poor boy to his room" Cloudy said and Lime was going to object but saw Cloudys glare and just groaned. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, she hoisted me up to my feet and began helping me to my room. "Poor thing, was on the brink of death and now has to work the second he's walking and talking"

  "Well he did ask how he could repay us, even though I told him it wasn't necessary" Igneous said coming inside and plopping on a recliner. "Though I would've given him a week or two to atleast get his strength back, seems he's tougher than I thought, considering he's a little on the skinny side"

  Marble got up and yawned loudly, she waved to her parents and went upstairs to go back to bed. Next it was maud leaving them to themselves, Igneous was still thinking about how I was able to even get up while Cloudy was getting worried.

  "I'm going to go check on him" Cloudy said and got up, and Igneous joined her. As they were walking towards the door they could hear me and Lime talking, she stopped in front of the door and listened in.

  "Lime... are you sure about this, you don't have to," I said.

  "Yeah well, I would feel differently about it so just lay there and don't do anything got it?" Lime ordered and the parents heard me sigh.

  "Fine, but take it easy ok this is your first time doing this after all" I said and they heard shuffling. 

  "Wait, Igneous, you dont think they're-" Cloudy stopped when I gave out a loud groan. Cloudy was beat red at this point and Igneous was just shocked. "T-That could just be a coincidence, there is no way our daughter would be doing such things with Thomas after one day"

  "Yes, you're right Cloudy, it's probably just a massage or-"

  "Damn that feels amazing lime"

  "Of course, its coming from me... though I will admit it's a little tiring but fun" Lime said and the bed creaked a little and I gasped slightly. "Sorry, to much?"

  "N-No... it felt good, keep going" I said and now Cloudy was a darker shade of red including Igneous. "It feels really tight"

  "It is my first time so-" Before Lime could finish, Igneous heard enough and busted the door open

  "What the hells going on... in... here" Igneous slowly stopped his little anger fit as he saw Lime stradling me and massaging my back. Lime was embarrassed her father caught her straddling me and quickly got off blushing a bit. "What is going on here?"

  "Lime was giving me a massage to say sorry for pushing me to hard today" I answered slowly flipping over. "She kinda had to get on me to get a better position and it was her first doing it on someone other than her sisters and it was my first time getting a massage" I added making the older man become embarrassed. "What did you think we were doing?"

  "Uh-well-you see... nothing, uh please continue and I'll see you in the morning" Igneous said and both he and cloudy quickly slammed the door and raced off. 

  "That was weird" I said and looked at Lime who was blushing a bit. "What's up?"

  "Uh... nothing, wanna continue?" Lime asked me and I nodded. This time she told me to sit up and she crawled behind me starting again. "You know this is a one time thing, right?"

  "Yeah... and I'm enjoying it"



Canterlot Castle, P.o.v- Jackson



  
  The first thing that hit me was the cold rain and the second was the wind. I was staring up a black cloudy sky, with thunder booming and lighting flashing in the clouds. I didn't know what was going on, nor did I get to ask when suddenly I saw a bolt of lighting zip right past me. I shot up into a sitting position and took notice of where I was and how much danger I was in, I was sitting atop a very VERY large castle looking over a city that was embedded into a mountain.

  "Its okay Jackson, just breathe slow-" I was cut off by another bolt zooming past me, scaring the ever living shit out of me. "JUST BREATHE!" I screamed and scooted back until I hit the pole in the center of the surface I was stuck on. "Jay! Thomas! Where are you guys?!" I called out to them but was met with Thunder.

  "I have to find a way off this castle, I'll die if I stay this close to a lightning storm especially with a damn metal pole right next to me!" I told myself and I began searching for ways to get off the castle. I searched and searched for places to jump to ledges or windows, but not a single one was found. I was utterly stuck on top of this damn castle. "This is how Im gonna die... getting struck by lighting and frying to a crisp... that damn fortune teller was right!" I damned the man before I saw another bolt fly past me again, this time much closer.

  I began panicking at this point seeing no way of getting down to safety, I saw bits and pieces of my life flash before my eyes. "Fuck it, if you want me dead, then just kill me already!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, making sure that whatever god was their heard me. And they did.

  Not even a second had passed and in the middle of my screaming I was hit in the chest with 1 billion volts of electricity. My blood ran cold, my heart felt like it could explode and my mind was a blank... I felt like I was dying. I was thrown off from the top of the castle once I was hit and I was now falling to my inevitable death, not that it wasn't going to happen sooner or later. I was struck by lightning for god sakes!

  As I fell from the sky I looked up to the black clouds and noticed something... odd. I don't know if it was my impending death but... the world was getting a lot slower, like, really slow. I could see the water droplets, very slowly fall out of the clouds, I saw the lightning searching its way out of the cloud and pierce through it.

 It was magical if I'm being honest with myself, a perfect view before I see nothing but darkness. I sighed a bit still in my slow falling state, I started reflecting on my life actions even thought about old memories from the back of my mind. 

  "I never did get to give mom that present, or apologize to dad for being the way I am... should've been better at listing" I told myself and chuckled a bit. "Guess this is the end of the line, never even got to say goodbye" I said. "I'm still scared of dying even though I accepted it... wonder if god would give me a second chance" I muttered and reached out my hand to the pitch black sky.

  "Please... help me" I begged and timed had resumed, I still had my hand reached out towards the sky knowing nothing would happen. But just as I was going to give up a bolt of lighting shot out of the sky and formed a small circled shape surface which caught me, I sat up on the lighting surface and gasped heavily. "How am I...?" I stopped as I noticed the lighting wasn't hurting me.

  I checked the area of where it struck me and all I saw was a bruise, almost like I got tackled instead of getting struck. The only thing damaged was my shirt, if I could call it that any more. Their was barely anything left of it, just strands of burnt cloth on my shoulders and neck.

  "What... what is going on?" I muttered to myself as the lighting floor dissipated. I looked at my hands and got a very stupid, and dangerous idea. I began psyching myself up a bit then took a deep breath before raising my hand to the sky again, and my idea worked. A bolt of lightning shot out of the cloud, straight towards me, as it got closer I reached out a bit more and caught the bolt in my hand.

 It buzzed in my hands gently, and the heat was almost nonexistent. It felt like I was holding a warm metal spear in my hands, I laughed a bit seeing my new found ability and decided to give it a whirl. I looked around and found a decent sized rock next to the castle, I cocked my arm back and threw the lightning bolt as hard as I could.

  The amount of speed once the bolt flew out of my hands was unbelievable. If anyone else were to watch it fly, they would only see the end result. Which was quite literally fuckin awesome.

  It melted the bolder before even touching it and went halfway into the mounting before blowing up. I was laughing from the sheer amount of amazement I was feeling.

  "Dude, am I Zeus or something!?" I asked looking at my hands, then noticed my physical attributes. I wasn't a big person but I also didn't have abs, now I looked like I had the body of Superman with the power to control lightning. " I dont know what happened to me nor do I care, this is fuckin awesome!"

  "I think I heard it come from over here!" I heard a woman say behind me, I looked and saw a slender woman with pink skin and blue hair wearing gold and silver armor. She looked back to me and gasped before drawing her sword. "Halt! Don't move or the consequences will be much worse intruder!" The woman said as more people in armor came.

  "Wait you don't understand, I'm not an intruder, I... I literally just woke up here" I said not sounding very convincing.

 "Get on your knees and hold out your wrists intruder and you will not be harmed" The lady said as a couple of more guards came out from behind the wall. I did as instructed and waited for them to come near me. "We will take you to the princess so she may decide on what your punishment will be"

  "Punishment?" I asked and was being dragged to my feet and marched inside the castle. When I entered it was pearly white and had marble pillars with gold etched into it making vine like designs on it. "Why am I getting punished?"

  "Because you have trespassed on the royal family's property, that itself should be punishable by 10 years in the dungeon" The guardsmare said and I started panicking. I didn't have ten years to waste away in a cell.

  "Whoa, I told you before, I didn't mean to land here, I literally just woke up" I said and I felt something hit me in the back of the head, then a snap. I stopped and looked behind me to see the broken head peice of the spear then at the scared faces of the other guards and guards mare. "Did you just hit me... in the back of the head... with a spear?" I asked slowly and felt myself get a little angry. "Not cool man, you are lucky Im a nice guy" I said with a hint of anger so he can hear the warning.

  We continued walking until we reached what looked like a throne room. Two thrones sat at the far end along with two guards and a sole Woman, who I might add, looked more beautiful than any other woman I have ever seen. Her alabaster white skin, the flowing rainbow hair, and her eyes looked like the sky as dusk approached. And her assets were nothing to write off either.

  "Your majesty, we have brought an intruder we found outside the castle wall" The guard stated as we stopped in front of the woman. The people kneeled but I stay standing, "He claims he did not invade this private residence, but has woken up here-"

  "On the roof I might add" I cut in and was hit with another spear, which broke. "Getting really tired of that guys" I growled slightly.

  "Please do not intimidate my guards Stranger" The Queen or Princess said now inches from my face. "Strange one indeed, I believe I've never seen anyone quite like you"

  "You do know you're a human... right?" I asked looking at them, but instantly noticed that some had horns or wings or none. Then as I looked at the royal woman, she had both. 

  "What's a human?" She asked me poking my face and flicking my arms. "Oooh, they're like rock" she said and continued flicking other areas getting the same results. 

  "What... what are you people?" I asked them, a bit freaked out.

  "We are Equestrians, a species with those who use magic, flight or pure strength and speed" She explained. "I'm all the above, my kind is a special case actually, since there has been only three princesses in over hundreds of years"

  "I see... so you can tell me where I am exactly" I said and had something crossed my mind. "AND YOU CAN HELP ME FIND MY FRIENDS!" I yelled excitedly breaking the cuffs without realising. "Oh, sorry about that, guess I don't know my own strength heh"

  "No... no you do not, but you are very interesting young man" The princess said looking me over. "Do you speak the truth of what you say, that you magically woke up on my roof?" She asked.

  "Yes, I was running with friends through some heavily dense woods after fighting off so assholes who bullied a dear friend of mine. I was hit over the head and woke up on the roof of the castle and struck by lightning" I said making everyone but the princess look at me like I was full of shit. 

  "Did this lightning give you this body?" She asked poking a bit more. 

  "Yeah... and I can do this now" I said holding out my hand and in came a lightning bolt, crashing through the window. "See"

  "Yes, well I can tell you what is going on but I believe you might wanna see someone else" The princess said and waved her hand. In a bright flash and a loud pop I saw Jay on the floor wearing only his pants and a long scar going across his chest then I noticed his hands were scaly and gray along with his with his feet His hair had turned red and some horns grew out of him.

  "Jay!" I ran over and held him up a bit. "Jay, hey it's me Jackson c'mon man speak to me!" I yelled and slapped him a couple of times. 

  "So you're Jackson, he kept mentioning that name for a long time" She said.

  "How.... How long have we been here?" I asked.

  "Well from what I've been told, you and your other friends have been here for 4 days" She said and I let out a shocked gasp. "If you would like, I'd be more than happy to find your other friend... what was his name- ah yes, Thomas"
> Chapter 4: The Summer Sun Celebration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Pie Family Rock Farm, 12:00 a.m., The day before the Summer Sun Celebration- P.O.V Thomas




  "Haaa!" I yelled throwing the Pick-axe down and cracked open the final rock of the day. I have been outside for hours and my body was somewhat healed but the scars were very noticeable and tender, the soreness itself was something that still hindered my body a bit. "Fu... Fuckin hell" I muttered then fell to the ground.

  "You're still out here Thomas, I thought you'd be used to this by now" I heard Lime say as she came into my line of sight wearing her usual black sports bra and blue shorts. "Can you at least stand up?" She asked me to which I nodded.

  "Gimme a minute, my body hasn't healed properly since I started" I said grunting and panting as I got up to my feet. "Did Ms. Cloudy save me some dinner?" I asked feeling my stomach growl, Lime rolled her eyes and took my hand to help me inside and into the kitchen.

  "It's in the oven, sit down and I'll get it for you" Lime said and I did as I was told. I sat down with a heavy thud and relaxed into the wooden chair, I sighed as my muscles were finally able to let the burn cool off. "Alright here you go, careful though it's still a little hot, mom made it not even a few minutes ago" Lime said placing what was now my favorite meal, Cloudy's rock soup.

  "She stayed up to make me food?" I asked and Lime hummed. "You guys have been so nice and caring to me, I feel like I should do more to repay-" I was cut off by a spoon going into my mouth.

  "You don't have to Thomas" Lime interrupted, she sat down on the other side and rested her head on her right palm. "I will admit, I was starting to wonder why you would even help us these past few days when you know you should be healing... do you feel no pain or something?" Lime asked.

  "Oh no I definitely feel the pain" I said taking out the spoon and began eating my dinner. "I had a debt to pay and I wasn't gonna just lay around when I know I have to pay it" I continued.

  "Why didn't you say anything when you were still feeling the pain" Lime asked boredly staring at me eating. 

  "It's what my dad always told me, 'If your heart's still beating, blood is still pumping, and your senses still with you, then you can keep going no matter what'" I said and smiled a bit.

  "Sounds like a great guy, Im sure my dad would love to meet him one day" Lime said and notice a frown paint my face. "Why the frown Thomas?"

  "Well... ah, you wouldn't believe me if I told you" I said then continued eating, Lime gave me a look then slid the bowl away from me and towards her. "Ah c'mon Lime"

  "Tell me or you won't get your dinner, why the sad face?" She asked once more, I sighed and put down my spoon. I didn't really know how to put it into words, how do you even tell someone that you came from another world without them thinking your going crazy. "Well?"

  "Alright... you promise to keep an open mind?" I asked the woman who groaned slightly at the question, but nodded anyways. "I'm not from this world Lime, I'm from a completely separate place where there is no such thing as magic, hell there's no such thing as equestria in my world" I said making the woman cock her head a little. 

  "That world sounds boring" Lime said and I was surprised at the comment. "So in this world you come from, that's where you dad is?" She asked and I nodded. "Well shit, guess meeting your folks and telling them you're ok is outta the question... wait, that brings up the question of how you got here"

  "You're not at all fazed by the whole different world thing?" I asked her and she shrugged. 

  "Honestly... was expecting something weird cause we earth users use magic in our bodies to do hard back breaking labor, which is why I'm able to finish quicker than you and not have as much stamina lossed" Lime explained. "Also, lots of equestrians have unique names portraying to themselves while you... you have a strange name Thomas"

  "Where I'm from, you guys have strange names" I said and was presented the bowl of soup again. I quickly resumed eating the minute it entered my field of vision. "Also I came here through some messed up spell in the forest that only activates after 1,000 years or so" I explained.

  "Ha! Okay now that has to be a joke" Lime laughed a little then her laughter died down as she saw me with a serious look. "Wait you're serious! Dude thats like, the worst luck you could ever have if you wind-up going to a different world just going through a forest... also seems weird that someone would put that spell on a forest" Lime said, I shrugged and popped the rock-candy bread into my mouth and got up holding the empty bowl.

  "Yeah... but hey, maybe it wasn't so much as bad luck... maybe I was brought here for a reason" I said placing the bowl into the sink and stretched my tired body. "Gotta thank Ms. Cloudy for the meal tomorrow, anyways I appreciate you helping me out of the field Lime... guess today is the last day I work for you huh"

  "Yeah... where will you go?" Lime asked and I shrugged.

  "Maybe wander a bit, find a town or somethin to live in, I will visit y'all if I do find a home" I said and began walking to my room. "I appreciate everything y'all have done for me, I owe you a lot more than what I've done here I'll tell you that... night Lime" I said before going into my room.

  I stripped of my clothes save for the underwear, which marble made for me the sweet little thing, and I plopped myself onto my bed. I laid their staring at the ceiling, just thinking of the thing's Im gonna do when I'm gone, if I'm being honest with myself I kinda grew attached to this family, even if it was for a few days, it kinda reminded me of my family, hard working, reliable and very kind to any person who needed some help.

  "Hey, you still awake?" I heard Maud ask as she opened my door. I sat up in my bed and looked at the woman who had disheveled hair and wearing a long white shirt covering her up to her thighs. 

  "Yeah, whats up Maud?" I asked and she came in holding a small box. 

  "I wanted to make you something to show that we appreciate all that you've done" Maud said walking towards me and handed me the little box. "It took me hours to find the material, but I hope you like it" she said and I think I saw a smile on her face, the first one I've ever seen her give.

  I looked at the box and opened it, it was a pure silver ring engraved with writing I'm sure maud only knows. I saw a strand of string inside the box letting me know if I wanted to wear it around my neck rather than wear it on my finger. It was beautiful and the most sincere gift I've ever been given, I used the string to quickly craft the necklace and I put it on.

  "Thank you Maud... I don't know what else to say" I said and Maud gave a small chuckle before hugging me a bit.

  "It was no problem Thomas, oh yeah, before I forget, when you plan on leaving I suggest heading towards ponyville. It's a very friendly town and it's really close by, just a few hours of walking and you should be there before the sun is even in the middle of the sky" Maud said. "And my sister is their, I'm sure you'll like her... anyways I'm gonna head back to bed, it was fun having you here Thomas, see you around" she said and she left the room.

   I looked down to the ring and smiled happily, I gave a relaxed sigh before laying back on my bed and let the dream world consume me. Unbeknownst to me, it was gonna be a doozy.



Dream Realm




  I heard shouting and the sound of grinding metal rang against my ears, I opened my eyes only to see a fist punch me directly across my face and send me flying towards an old brick wall. With a shaky arm I rose back to my feet, I reach my hand out for something and I caught the sword Nightmare had taken from me except this time it was a bit more of my size.

  "Thomas, you okay man?" I heard a familiar voice, I turned to the voice and saw Jackson holding a shield and... a lightning bolt? 

  "Yeah I'm fine, go check on Jay I'll buy you some time!" I exclaimed and rushed forward towards a dark shadowy figure. As I rushed forward I could see something inside the middle of the figure, something small and scared. Before I could question anymore, I felt my body move on instinct dodging a shadow tentacle and sliced two coming right at me. "Damn, I don't know how long Im gonna last" I mumbled to myself as I sliced up a few more tentacles.

  "FOOL, DO YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE POWER TO DEFEAT ME!?" The shadow figure shouted with a booming voice. 

  "I gotta at least don't I?" I said now standing face to face with the figure. "Who are you?" I asked only to be answered with slash of the figures dark blade, I quickly blocked it and we both entered a power struggle. The figure was significantly stronger than myself, it forced me down to my knees with its sheer weight. "D-Damn it!"

  "This is a fight you could never win young Thomas, you were destined to lose, just like you were destined to die all those years ago" The figure said and I grew confused but the struggle for power continued to rage on. "You are far from anything you could possibly imagine, including your dear friends"

  "Thomas!" Jackson called out, he was instantly smacked across the room. 

  "C'mon... if you're just gonna kill me than do it already!" I roared at the figure. I felt a chill go up my spine as I heard the thing laugh silently, it pushed me back a couple of feet and slowly walked towards me.

  I was only able to get on my knees before I felt a slash run down my chest. I screamed at the pain and dropped my sword, I fell back to the ground and looked up at the being. It's sickening smile going across its face and eyes beaming straight down towards me.

  It reached down and grabbed me by my throat, then hoisted me up and off my feet. I glared at the being knowing it'll be the last thing I see.

  "I'll see you in hell you fuck" I grunted out then I felt something go straight through my body. I couldn't scream or cry out in pain, only gasp and choke on my now faltering breath.

  "Those that were destined to die, will always die... one way or another" It spoke once more before giving out a heart wrenching cackle and threw me away. "See you soon, Thomas"



 6:00 a.m., Thomas's room




  I woke up with a start and almost fell off my bed doing so. I can feel my trembling body shaking the bed slightly, I got up from said bed and warily made my way towards the bathroom. Once there I looked at myself in the middle and checked my body for anything that wasn't already damaged.

  Luckily nothing was out of the ordinary. I sighed knowing it was just some stupid nightmare, though it felt so vivid... was really a dream? 

  I continued questioning the dream silently before I remembered what that shadow being said. "See you soon... what did it mean by that, *long groan* okay Thomas it was just a stupid dream... nothing more" I told myself and turned on the sink to splash my face a bit.

  Once I felt the cold water hit my face I started to relax and even chuckled a little. I reached for a towel and noticed it was oddly softer than usual, I gently took hold of it and noticed it was kinda round and filled my hand up a lot. I used my other hand to wipe my eyes of the water and turn to see what I was grabbing.

  "Are you done?" Maud asked in her same bored tone. "I would like you to stop touching my chest now" she said I looked down towards her chest and noticed my hand on her right breast.

  "Oh my god I am so sorry" I quickly apologized and removed my hand. "What-what are you doing up so early... and why are you in my room?" I asked the woman.

  "I heard you from my room, you sounded scared so I came to check on you" Maud said and handed me the towel. I thanked her and avoided the wet hand print on her chest as much as possible. "Are you ok Thomas?" She asked. 

  "Yeah, Im okay Maud" I said trying to not talk about it. She obviously saw through that, she made that know getting closer to me and staring me down. ".... Okay, you win, I'll tell you how Im feeling, just back up a bit please... I can feel them" I said and Maud backed up. We walked out of the bathroom and she sat down on my bed and I joined her.

  "So what's wrong Thomas?" She asked me again.

  "I had a weird dream... terrifying really, it felt so real for some reason" I started. "It was me and my two friends Jay and Jackson, we were in some sort of castle I believe and we were fighting a shadow like being. I had rushed forward holding a sword in my right hand and started fighting the creature to buy time for my friend Jackson to help my friend Jay, it barely even moved when we fought, just a simple hand motion and it was too quick to see ... I didn't stand a chance" I said feeling myself shake a little. "It said something to me just before it killed me, 'I'll see you soon, Thomas'... then I woke up"

  "I see, did anything else happen?" Maude questioned, I tried thinking back to the dream and couldn't think of anything. 

  "Not really, no" I answered and she hummed. She and I sat there for a while until Maud grabbed my head and placed it in the crook of her neck. "Maud... what are you doing?" I asked.

  "Comforting you" Maud said and patted my head. "There there, everything will be fine" she said and I heard a small snort come from her, she giggled quietly as she petted me like a puppy. "Good doggy"

  "That doesn't help" I said and I was suddenly fully embraced by the girl. "O...kay.... this kinda helps" I said rethinking a bit and hugged her back.

  "Im sure what you saw was terrifying, but the worst part is over now, it was only a dream" Maud said and I sighed a little in relief, for some reason just hearing that makes me feel so much better. "Now, get some rest Thomas, I'm taking you to the town my sister is at so you don't get lost halfway there" Maud said and let go of me.

  "Thanks Maud, ya know if you ever have kids... I think you'd make a great mother" I said and I saw a faint blush on her, but still held her bored look.

  "Thanks, well I will see you in the morning then" She said getting up and leaving the room. Once the door closed I laid back into my bed and I felt like I hadn't slept in ages... it felt nice closing my eye's. Letting my old friend cover my vision, only this time it was going to be brief.




  I awoke silently as I felt the sun creep against my face and rest there, the sun's rays felt like a gentle hand caressing my cheek. I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, but I was broken outta my trance with three quick knocks on the door.

  "If you want to eat before we leave you better get up" I heard Maud say on the other side of the door then her footsteps. I groaned slightly as I sat up in my bed, taking in this place for the last time and finally stood up. I walked to the little closet in my room and quickly got dressed in a light sand brown shirt, light blue jeans and some old boots Igneous let me have.

  I quickly washed up and did my other daily hygiene routine and walked out of my room. I smelt some different from what Cloudy makes, once I walked in I saw Cloudy placing the last plate on the table.

  "Whoa... It feels like I haven't seen pancakes in forever" I said excitedly and sat down. It was a whole breakfast buffet, their was eggs, bacon, hash browns, some muffins and orange juice. 

  "Please, help yourself Thomas I made it just for you, you know" Cloudy said and I felt a little embarrassed for some reason.

  "Thank you ms. Cloudy, but you didn't have to make all this you know" I said and she waved at the thought.

  "Please Thomas, you deserve something other than my soup, I wish I could do more since you literally worked yourself to the bone" Cloudy said and called the others to come eat. "I still don't understand how you were able to work while healing from those terrible injuries, but we're glad you came out okay, you are quite something Thomas"

  "Thank you Ms. Cloudy" I said and began eating, the others soon joined we all sat down and ate. It was nice, we were conversing with one another, Igneous asking where I would be going and if I wanted to stay and help out some more. "I don't wanna take up space in your house Igneous, also Maud is taking me to the town where your other Daughter lives"

  "Oh, you mean Pinkamena Diane Pie?" He asked and I just nodded. "Well, alright but fair warning... she's a little excitable seeing new folk"

  "Well I'm sure I'll be fine" I said and drank some OJ. "Soooo... four daughter's huh" I said smirking a bit and the man became confused for a split second before becoming a little red.

  "W-Well y-ya see I was young and... you know, a man wanted a family what can I say" Igneous said coughing in his fist.

  "He was a devil in more ways than one, asking for more children was like asking to marry him all over again" Cloudy jumped in and giggled seeing her husband turn more red. I laughed and patted his back.

  "Just couldn't keep the pants up huh?" I asked and now Cloudy was laughing with me.

  "You'll see Thomas, when you're in love, you'll do some crazy things, that's a guarantee" Igneous said as we settled down and finished our breakfast. "I'm sure you'll find someone, just don't have four kids ya hear"

  "Will do sir, it was a pleasure working for you" I said and shook his hand.

  "Likewise, and if you ever need a place to stay, don't hesitate to come on back" He stated and I nodded. "Oh, one more thing" he said and walked into the other room then came back with a black leather hat with two pieces of rope wrapped around it.

  

  Take this Thomas, I'm sure it would look better on you than me" Igneous said handing me the hat. I put it on and it somehow felt… right. I thanked him again and said my goodbyes to the family, it felt strange really, like I was leaving my real family. Me and Maud walked outside and hopped on one of the carts and began making our way to her sisters town.

  We rode through the dirt road for hours, the heat was still at a nice temperature and the sky was as clear as water. Maud and I haven't spoke for a while, it was too quiet so I decided to talk with the girl.

  "How much farther is the town?" I asked.

  "A few more miles, we're most likely going to make it their by mid-day" Maud answered and I hummed. "Hey Thomas"

  "Yeah?"

  "How are your wounds feeling?" Maud asked me and I noticed that the soreness had gone away and the pain magically vanished. 

  "They feel... fine, which is strange since yesterday I felt a lot of pain after working" I said and Maud gave a low hum to this.

  "Then it works" Maud said.

  "What does?" I asked confused, she patted my chest and I felt the ring she gave me touch my skin. "The ring?"

  "Yes, I looked up in a book after your few days here and found a magical metal that heals small injuries instantly or quickens the rate in which you heal" Maud explained and I played with the ring through my shirt. "I saw the pain you were hiding so I decided to help get rid of it, I hope you didn't mind"

  "Of course I don't mind, this is amazing Maud, Thank you!" I said, she smiled a little and we talked a little more. Mainly about what I'll do once I get to the town, it was nice having someone to have long talks with. It reminded me of how Jay, Jackson and I talked. Except it wasn't about video games, girls, or telling me to get some meat on my bones to impress said ladies. Didn't believe any of that, thankfully.

  "Is something wrong Thomas?" Maud asked.

  "Nah, I'm just thinking about my friends is all, I know they're out their but I don't know where" I said. "It's nice to have long talks with someone every once in a while, though this time it more serious than what my friends and I always talk about" I said chuckling.

  "What did you three talk about?" Maud asked, I blushed a little and stuttered with my words trying to answer her question. "It wasn't anything perverse, right?"

  "Well... I would be lying, but we usually talk about women and how to land a girlfriend" I said making Maud raise an eyebrow.

  "Ill be your girlfriend" She said and I turned as red as a rose.

  "B-But we don't even know each other that well Maud, are you sure you want to be my girlfriend?" I asked and Maud looked at me with confusion.

  "Why not, I'm a girl that wants to be your friend what did you think I meant?" She asked and I was overcome with a wave of disappointment for some reason.

  "Yeah, you can be my friend my Maud" I said and leaned back in the seat. I watched as the scenery passed by, the horse's hooves clopped on the ground and for the first time in forever, I felt relaxed. "It's really beautiful out here, no constant sounds of horns being honked or people yelling at one another... it's amazing how this world is just... peaceful" I said now staring at the sky.

  "I can understand how you feel Thomas, but when there is peace there is always something to disturb the peace" Maud said.

  "I know Maud, that's why people band together to destroy those disturbing the peace to get some damn peace" I said and laughed slightly. "I'm gonna miss comedy specials" I muttered.

  "Okay, we're almost there 30 more minutes" Maud said and I nodded. We sat in silence again for those 30 minutes until we reach a place called, ponyville. "Welcome to ponyville, a quiet little town where my sister Pinkie lives"

  "Why is it called ponyville?" I asked and she shrugged. "I can't wait to meet your sister Maud, I hope she's nice"

  "Nice is an understatement, try more of a saint" Maud said and I was colored impressed, not many siblings say that about their brother's an sisters. As we rode into the town, I saw more people dawning extra limbs, just like the pie family said.

  Some had horns and some had wings as long as their arms. It was strange seeing these Equestrian people, they were basically like me... save for the horn and wings of course. We soon stopped in front of a place that looked straight out of a cartoon or a storybook.

  A full scale gingerbread house, I can safely guess it was a bakery because I smelt the baked goods from out here. I heard Maud snort softly and I soon felt the drool going down my chin.

  "Honestly I don't like most sweets, but anything in that bakery is the best from what I'm told" Maud said hitching the horse's and we both went inside. I wasn't surprised that a lot of people were in here, most of them were sitting in some booths while others stood at the tables rittling the bakery.

  "So where's your sister?" I asked and for a split second I saw something flying at me, then I was outside on the ground looking at the sky. "Excuse me?" I asked still trying to process what had happened.

  "Hi! Hello! I've never seen you here before, and I know everybody here so that means your new! My names Pinkie Pie what's your name!?" I heard and was face to face with a very pretty woman with light pink skin, hot pink hair tied up in a ponytail but leaving one strand to hang in front of her and she had amazing baby blue eyes.

  "Uh... Im Thomas Knight it's-" I was cut off from my introduction as I was pulled up by the energetic pink girl. "Nice to meet you" I finished.

  "Its super duper nice to meet you Thomas, I can't wait to get to know you more cause I want us to be the best of friends!" Pinkie said excitedly and bounced up an down, somehow not bending her knees.

  I actually got a look at her, she came up to neck in height and she had a perfectly fit body that beat mine by a mile. She wore a yellow and pink striped shirt that hugged her body and showed her double b-cup chest, light blue jeans that also hugged her body showing off her amazing thighs and quite an impressive rear and blue sneakers.

  "I'd like that Pinkie, actually I came here with your sister Maud... speaking of" I said and watch the gray woman walk out the building drinking a chocolate shake. "Not gonna ask if Im okay?" I asked her and she shrugged.

  "You look okay" Maud said taking her lips away from the straw. "Hey Pinkie" she said turning her attention to her sister who picked her up in a hug.

  "Maud its sooooooooooooo good to see you, how is everyone at home doing?" Pinkie asked putting Maud down.

  "Everyone is okay, other than finding Thomas at death's door when we first met and had him put to work right after he woke up still mid healing... other than that everyone is okay" Maud said sipping her shake while pinkie, gave out a loud gasp and I suddenly found my shirt pulled up, revealing my torso, and knocked off my hat.

  "Oh my gosh are you okay, any bruises, cuts, burns, broken bones, broken ribs!?" Pinkie said frantically as she inspected my body, taping and rubbing my upper body to see if anything was hurting.

  "Uhm... Pinkie?" I called to the woman who was now two inches from my face. "Im okay lass, just a few scrapes and bruises, nothin yer family couldn't handle so would ya mind putting me shirt down?" I asked in my natural accent.

  "What was that?" Maud asked me yanking her sister off me and handing me my hat back.

  "S-sorry, every time I get nervous I tend to naturally go to my native accent" I explained going back to my other accent. "I'll tell you what I mean later, for now I want to thank you and your family for everything they've done for me... I know I cant keep workin with y'all, but if you ever need anything, just name it... I promise I will do everything in my power to fulfill your desire" I said and Maud nodded.

  "Thank you Thomas it was fun meeting you, though not in an ideal way, it's been nice seeing a new face" Maud said holding out her hand. "I guess we will meet again one day" she finished.

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a full on hug. It seemed to take her by surprise when I did and the moment I pulled away I could see the little blush on her cheeks. It was honestly cute.

  "Till we meet again Maud" I said and let her go. She took a second to get herself back into her bored mood again and waved goodbye before unhitching the horse and taking off back to the farm. 

  "That was super cute, are you and Maud dating?" Pinkie asked again two inches from my face.

  "N-No we're just friends Pinkie, nothing more" I said and girl pouted. "Well uh, you think you can show me around this place, this might be my new home after all" I said and not even two seconds Pinkie grabbed my hand and we started the tour.



Canterlot Castle, Jackson's room
P.O.V- Jackson




  I sat on the bed the princess has allowed me to have, after hearing my story and knowing I wasn't from this world. Celestia, as she was called, decided to help me in tracking down my final friend. Thomas. Jay was in a medical wing just a few halls down, they say his transformation led him into a comatose state, but they say he's fine so I'll trust them. 

  I looked out the window of the room and noticed how beautiful it was. Unlike at home, you'd have to go to certain places to see nice vegetation, but here, you don't even have to leave your house or room to see the beautiful forests and clean rivers. This world was truly magical.

  "I see you've been busy" I heard Celestia say, I turned and saw the woman wearing her usual pearly white dress donning her crown and her golden wristbands. She had stepped on a few books once she had teleported in my room, why the books? 

  I've been studying this place and learning everything I have to. Though cleaning up was a little off the list at the moment. I just chuckled and began picking up the books.

  "Sorry Princess, was up reading last night and learning your lands history" I explained. "I caught a glimpse of the trees outside and just got lost in its beauty really" I said and she giggled.

 "Well I'm glad you find it so, but I do believe you deserve a break and as do I" Celestia said picking up all the books with her magic and moved them back onto the shelf on the far right wall. "Come, you look hungry"

  "I feel fine honestly-" I was interrupted by a loud growling coming from my stomach. "Okay maybe a quick bite" I said, Celestia held back a laugh and snapped her fingers summoning some clothes for me. "I have to thank your maids for making these clothes" I said taking hold of the clothing.

  "I'll tell them you send your regards, now hurry and get dressed... excuse me will you, I have to change the weather to 75 degrees it's really burning up out their" Celestia said and walked to the balcony to do her thing.

  I laid out the clothing I was given and started with the black socks, then the nice dress pants that fit just right and finally I put on a white button up that hugged my new body quite nicely. I decided to skip on the coat and just rolled up my sleeves instead. I slipped on my shoes just as Celestia came back inside.

  "You look rather nice I might say" Celestia complemented and I thanked her. Hading already done my daily morning routine, Celestia and I left my room and made our way to the dining room. It was quite a ways, so I decided to spring a conversation with the princess.

  "How was court today princess?" I asked getting a long groan. "That bad?" I asked again and she nodded.

  "I got one person that actually needed my help, these other dukes and nobles are such a pain to deal with  honestly it's much harder than you believe it to be Jackson" Celestia vented and I hummed. "It's sooooo boring just listing to pompous nobles all day every day, I need a break from all of this" she finished and I hummed.

  "Well, nothing is stopping you" I said.

  "You don't understand Jackson, it's like you're telling me not to raise the sun in the morning or lower it at night" Celestia said sighing. "If I dont keep court open then all the people would become scared and try banging on the door just to tell me whatever stupid thing they need 'fixing', it brings them sanctuary being in my presence"

  "Are you that nice Celestia, or is their another reason you do court" I asked and she fiddled with her finger a bit. "If you don't want to say I won't pry, but please, if you're not feeling up for court tomorrow or hell even a few days other people will understand, your only human after all, you have limits yourself" I said making her consider it even just a little bit.

  "Yes that is true, maybe after the Summer Sun Celebration I'll take a week off court to have some time to myself" Celestia said and I smiled knowing I had successful convinced her. We reached the dining hall and I held the door open for her getting a thank you and I headed in myself.

  The chefs apparently knew we were coming and prepared us with a small breakfast holding two plat with waffles, sausage, bacon, eggs and a bowl of fruit. We walked over and seated Celestia first before going into mine.

  "How's that student of yours, what was her name... Twilight Sparkle if I remember correctly" I asked and Celestia groaned slightly, this time in a frustrated caring way. "Anti-social or hates people?" I asked digging in.

  "Both, I just dont get why that woman doesnt like people.... she says that anyone not in a book was to boring and predictable, or to idiotic and annoying" Celestia said angrily eating her eggs. "I tell you Jackson, it's like raising a 14 year old.... don't ask, just take it from an old babysitter who dealt with a 14 year old and a 12 year old girl... dark time's" She finished and continued eating.

  "Want me to have a talk with her?" I asked and Celestia gave a low giggle. "Think she'll hate me?" I asked again and she nodded not even looking up.

  "Trust me, besides family and myself, Twilight doesn't like anyone" Celestia said and thought for a moment. 

  "You know, I was wondering where the location for the Summer Sun Celebration is gonna be" I said hoping for an answer.

  "Oh, it's going to be held in a place called ponyville, used to be a farming town now its moved away from it, save for the Apple family" Celestia said and looked at me with an eyebrow cocked. "Why?"

  "Well... from what I've read on Ponyville, it's supposed to be the kindest place in equis" I explained hoping Celestia would catch on. "And what if something goes wrong? Like no music or food or decorations, you can't have a festival without any of those key items's" I finished and Celestia grew a smile seeing my idea. "But, it's just a thought"

  "Yes.... quite a thought indeed" Celestia said. We finished our breakfast and now we head towards her study, I offered to be her secretary as a means to not freeload off her. She agreed and here we are, doing some reports and filing them in their respective spot. I also handled her appointments. "Jackson dear, can you give this to a certain girl for me... it's something I thought about earlier" Celestia said and handed me a scroll.

  I knew what it was, so I gladly took it and made my way towards Twilights tower. For some reason I had completely forgot how big this place was because it took me about 20 minutes to get close to Twilights tower. Walked outside and strolled along the cement path, ferling the sun against my face and hearing the little stream flow right next to me.

  "No matter how many times I come out here, I seem to get lost in it" I muttered and looked up at the sky and saw two female guards flying casually in the sky. "*sigh* Back on earth I would've jumped to the moon if I saw a person flying in the sky, but now that I've seen it many times a day, it's become normal to me" I said.

  "Whoa! Watch out their man" I heard and felt myself get yanked back from collar. I looked back down and took notice of the stream in front of me. "Almost took a dip their if I didn't save you huh Jackson" I looked back to my savior and it was the female guard from when I first got here. We became friends after that whole ordeal.

  "Pathway, geez always saving my ass" I said and pathway helped me up. "What're doing here Path?" I asked.

  "I'm on duty Jackie, this area is mine to survey and make sure nobody falls into the stream" Path said and chuckled. "Where you heading to?"

  "Ah, just going to see Celestia's student and hand her this scroll" I said and Path saw said scroll in my hand. 

  "Oh, okay... you want a lift?" She asked spreading her wings.

  "Think you could hold my weight?" I asked with a grin. "Remember the last time you offered, almost crashed into the castle"

  "I know, just trying to be nice is all, well I got to keep watch of the grounds so I'll leave you be mister messenger" Path said walking off, I couldn't help but stare a little more than necessary. "Pick up your jaw Jackie!" She called back and I broke out of my trance, she giggled at this and walked off.

  I rubbed my cheeks trying to get rid of the burning blush across my face. I continued my walk to Twilights and finally reached it, I knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long for the door to swing open.

And there stood a purple skinned woman about 5'9 with a violet horn, dark purple hair with a pink strip, and light purple eyes. She wore a white button shirt with a purple buttoned vest over it, a black skirt, and white thigh high socks sporting her black sneakers. Overall she looked cute.

  "Ms. Sparkle I presume, from Celestia" I simply stated holding out the scroll. Twilight looked me up and down then in a swift motion, she dragged me inside her tower and quite literally threw me up the stairs. I blinked a few times wanting to know what happened, and how it happened. "Uh... ms. Sparkle-"

  "Twilight is fine, you're exactly the type of person I need" Twilight said and rushed off. I just looked around befuddled, holding onto the scroll till she came back. "I need you to grab these books from the library, and give this letter to the princess immediately, its at the utmost importance that she knows that Nightmare Moon is coming back tonight!" She said and I felt even more confused.

  "Listin bro, I've tried to talk her out of it, its best you do it" I heard a boy say. I looked down slightly to see a boy no more than 9 or 10, about 5'5 with light green skin with slight scaling on his cheeks and hands, neon green hair that had small spikes coming out that were a darker green and emerald colored eyes. He wore a white shirt with a purple hoodie, black pants and purple sneakers. "The names Spike, what's yours?" Spike asked holding his hand out.

  "My names Jackson, Jackson Castle Jr." I said and grabbed his hand, shaking it.

  "If you can't tell I'm part of the Dragon species" Spike said and I saw a purple and green scaled tail swish behind him.

  "Awesome, I'm a human but Im two different races" I said making him cock his head. "Well, you know how Celestia is all three kinds of equestrian races right?" I asked and he nodded. "I'm a child of an African American woman and a Caucasian male, both are different races"

  "So, you're kinda like Celestia in a way" Spike said and I shrugged but nodded. "That's kinda cool, but anyways, I think you should do what Twilight said"

  "Oh, right," I said and began leaving but I heard spike let out a loud burp and then I heard paper hit the floor. "You good?" I asked turning around.

  "Yeah, this happens when the princess sends a letter, we sent one earlier but I guess she just got it" Spike explained picking up the scroll and opening it.

  'Excuse me?'

  "*ahem* My dearest Twilight, while I understand your concern for the well being of equis and I trust your intuition, but I must say you have to stop reading those fairytales" Spike read and Twilight stopped running around and looked at Spike with shock. "I am sending you, spike and my friend Jackson to a place called ponyville-"

  "WHAT!" I screamed and opened the letter I had with it saying two words. 



Have Fun~



  "That little..." I was both pissed off and amused.

  "I need you to look over everything that is planned for the event, but most importantly I'm sending you their to complete a special task" Spike continued. "While you're at ponyville I want you to make some from friends, it's good for a girl your age to have a few of them" he finished and both me and Twilight walked over to the couch and slumped on it.

  "Well... guess I'll start packing" I said getting up.

  "Wait, how are you okay with this?" Twilight asked wondering why I haven't thrown a chair out the window.

  "Cause I trust my friends decision, maybe she has a reason for making us to go there" I said and began making my way towards the exit. "I'll see you at the chariots Twilight" I said and head off back to my room to pack.



(A few hours later)

  "I'm going to prove that I was right about Nightmare Moon, cause this is a test by Celestia, I know it is" Twilight said as we rode in the chariot heading to Ponyville.

  I rolled my eyes and looked around letting the air rush passed me, felt good actually. 

  "How you doing back their Jackie?" I heard Path ask from the front. Instead of horses to pull the chariot, pegasi guards would be assigned at least a few times a week to pull and fly the chariots to the destination. Path volunteered to help us out since we were down one. "You look calm for once"

  "Ah, yeah I'm calm because I don't have a book in my face and stayed up all night" I said and made her laugh a little. "Though not like the night you and those other guards arrested me"

  "We said we're sorry Jackie, what more do you want?" Path asked and I just rolled my eyes. "You know the girls wanted to keep you in those cuffs a little longer" she said randomly.

  "Why?" I asked and she looked back with a smirk. I thought for a second and blushed heavily.

  "Can you blame them? You get pent when you don't see an actual man for a few years, instead you get chumps getting arrested or falsely arrested" Path said. "But putting that aside, were just about their so get your things ready" she announced and just after she did the clouds blew apart and all of us saw a small little town just below us.

  Path and the other Air user brought us slowly down in front of the train station. We got off and took in the new environment, many different people roamed around the place. It was a perfect mix of all three equestrian races, even had some other races too like the griffin race.

  "Well, hope you have fun Jackie me and Quick Feather have ta get back to the castle" Path said and I nodded. We got our stuff off and thanked them just as they left.

  "Okay, so where to first?" I asked Twilight. Spike pulled out a long list and looked it over.

  "First, we gotta go see a Earth user named Applejack" Spike answered. "It says she is living at Sweet Apple Acres, located on the other side of town"

  "Okay, let's get this over with, find the place we're staying at and plan on how to deal with Nightmare Moon" Twilight instructed both me and spike rolled our eyes, but we followed her nonetheless.

  "And here is the mayor's office" I heard and turned to see two earth users looking at a tall building in the middle of town. The one on the left had a black Stetson on and wore a brown shirt with light blue jeans and black boots, the other looked more feminine wearing a yellow and pink striped shirt, light blue jeans that hugged her figure a little and blue sneakers.

  "Jackson, c'mon man your getting left behind" Spike called back and I turned back to them just as the two walked off. I caught up and we made our way to sweet apple acres.

  As we reached the farm it wasn't even a few seconds before we heard a loud "yee-haw" ring out, and an orange skinned earth user girl wearing a white shirt with light green on the shoulders and the neck area, denim shorts that hugged her thighs, a brown stetson and boots.

  "She looks nice" I said and just as I did she kicked the hell out of a tree and the apples fell off going into the buckets under it. "And, super strong" I added and we walked up to her.

  "Hello their, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm here with my colleagues to check- whoa!" Twilight said and the woman grabbed her hand and began shaking it.

  "Well howdy there Twilight, mah names Applejack or Aj for short. Its such a pleasure ta meet you" Applejack said letting go mid-shake causing Twilight to get stuck in the motion till spike stopped her. "So what can ah do ya for?" She asked.

  "*ahem* We are here to make sure that food arrangements have been prepared for the festival tonight" Twilight said.

  "Oh ah can assure you Twilight that we got that handled, would ya like to sample some?" Applejack offered and Twilight agreed seeing no harm in it. Until Applejack rang a bell like crazy and hundreds of people came rushing over, she dragged Twilight over to a table and Aj started naming off the entire apple family while they put apple based treats on the table.

  "Holy mother of... that's a lot of apples" I said in awe looking at both the family and the treats. I felt a tug from my shirt and I looked down to see a little girl probably spikes age with orange eyes, crimson hair tied up in a pink bow wearing a green shirt, rolled up jeans with a belt fastened around it and orange shoes. "Uh, Hi how's it going?" I asked the girl.

  "Ah'm doin good, ah wanted ta give ya this!" She said handing me an apple.

  "Thank you... uh-"

  "That there is Apple Bloom, she's mah little sister, and this here is my other sister" Applejack said pointing to a woman that was a head taller than Applejack and had blood red skin, long orange hair, was wearing a blue shirt, brown pants and boots. Nothing to fancy really. "This is granny smith" she finished pointing to an older woman with green skin, having her white hair in a bun and sleeping in a rocking chair wearing an old timey dress with an apron.

 "Well it was all very nice to meet you, and the food seems to be in order, so me and my colleagues will be on our way" Twilight said just applebloom got their.

  "Aren't ya gunna stay fer brunch?" She asked giving her sad puppy eyes. 

  "Oh, sorry but I really have to-" Twilight was interrupted by a sad 'awe' from everyone. She looked to me for help but I was eating some pie. "*sigh* Fine" 



Twenty Minutes Later




  "Oooooooh I ate too much pie" Twilight groaned as we walked down the roads of Pony. 

  "I told you to slow down, anyways where to next Spike?" I asked and he looked.

  "There should be an Air User named Rainbow Dash clearing the sky" He said and Twilight looked up at the cloud riddled sky.

  "Well she's not doing a very good job" Twilight complained then was instantly tackled into a puddle of mud. We went over to help and we saw a girl with blue skin, long rainbow hair, magenta blue eyes, wearing a plain white long sleeve shirt, black leggings, and bright blue running shoes. She honestly looked kinda cute.

  "Oh, uh, excuse me," Rainbow said barely containing her giggles, she floated up and shook off the mud on her then noticed Twilight was still dirty. "Oh, hang on," she said zooming off then came back with a rain cloud.

  She stomped on it a couple times letting it pour heavily on Twilight leaving her clean, but soaked.  "Oh, sorry... oh I know, I call this my Rain-blow dry" she said cresting a tiny rainbow tornado and stopped.

  We looked at Twilight with the urge to laugh. Her hair had become poofy and unkempt, it took me everything I had to choke down a laugh, but Spike and Rainbow didn't.

  "I assume you're Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked and the girl stopped laughing and cleared her throat.

  "The one and only, why? Have you heard of me?" Rainbow asked.

  "No, My name is Twilight sparkle we're here to make sure the sky is clear for the festival tonight" Twilight stated just as Rainbow laid down on a cloud.

  "Uh-huh, I'll get that done no problem I just wanted to get some practice in so I can join the Wonderbolts one day!" Rainbow exclaimed, I looked to spike.

  "A group of air users trained for air sports and such, highly respected and very tough to get into" Spike explained and I awed at this.

  "The wonderbolts? There's no way a lazy air user like you could ever get in if you can't even keep the sky clear for one day"

  "Hey, I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat" Rainbow boldly said and Twilight rolled her eyes. Ten seconds later I had to close her mouth cause Rainbow cleared the sky in ten seconds. "Told ya!"

  I chuckled looking at the girl and wondered if Rainbow broke her brain. "Well, that was impressive Rainbow Dash" I complimented.

  "Thank you, by the way, what's your name?" She asked.

  "Jackson, you can call me Jackie if you like" I introduced myself.

  "Cool, anyways since Im done with the sky I think I'll go see my friend pinkie" Rainbow said kicking the cloud she was on making it disappear. "It was a riot meeting you both, I feel like we're going to be pretty chill friends " Rainbow said and left.

  "Equis to Twilight, wake up" I said snapping my fingers next to her. She eventually came out of her trance and we headed to our next location meeting another magic user by the name of Rarity in the great hall.

  We walked for a few minutes until we reached the great hall and once we were inside, we were met with beautiful decorations. We walked in further and noticed a woman with snow white skin, diamond blue eyes and indigo curled hair. She wore a purple silk shirt with black dress pants and black slip on shoes. She was almost as beautiful as Celestia.

  "She's beautiful" Spike awed.

  "I know, the decorations look amazing" Twilight said miss hearing the drake.

  "No, her" He said pointing to who I believe is Rarity.

  "Can't blame you their Spike" I said and walked up to the woman. "Excuse, are you miss Rarity?" I asked.

  "Why yes, I am she darling" Rarity said turning around holding a bow in her magic. "And who might you be?"

  "My names Jackson, friends call me Jackie" I said holding out my hand, she shook it. "Speaking of friends, we are here on behalf of Princess Celestia to make sure the decorations are in order" I stated.

  "Oh, that must mean you're from canterlot tell me how is it over their? Is it devine, spectacular, full of nobles and people of golden hearts?" Rarity asked and I choked down a laugh.

  "Uh, its a very spectacularly city with a beautiful history... the people on the other hand..." I stopped then began rubbing my right hand. "Some people over there aren't as gold hearted as you might think"

  "Darn, well at least it's beautiful over their" Rarity said and finally noticed Twilight and gave a horrified gasp and ran over. "Darling what happens to your cheveux?"

  "My hair? Oh it's a long story, anyways it seems everything is in order so we'll just-"

  "Oh no, you're coming with me and I am fixing your hair this instant" Rarity said grabbing Twilights hand and dragged her away, we followed to see what was going to happen.



The Hill outside of Ponyville, 5:45 p.m.
P.O.V- Thomas




  "Pinkie I told you I'm fine" I said removing the pink womans hands from my shirt. She still wasn't convinced I wasn't okay, said her Pinkie sense's are going awry.

  "I don't know Thomas, Pinkies senses never lie" Pinkies friend Rainbow said, she showed up out of nowhere and tried stealing my hat. "But from what you told me, you got beaten up pretty badly"

  "Yes, don't remind me... I still feel the sting from when Pinkies dad cauterized my wounds" I said just as Pinkie poked me in the spot making me yelp. "Damn it pinkie, it's still healing!"

  "Sorry, but look at this Dashie" Pinkie said taking off my shirt and showed the scars on my body.

  "Geez dude, how long have you had those?" Rainbow asked.

  "Couple of days, maud gave me a metal that heals all wounds rapidly and/or instantly depending on the size or damage" I said and looked down seeing my scars. 

  "I gotta be honest, it makes you look badass" Rainbow said poking the scars.

  "Thanks, I guess" I said and grabbed my shirt then slid it back on. "Anyways, this little town is beautiful and everyone is so friendly"

  "Not like your world right?" Pinkie asked.

  "How did you-"

  "Dude, trust me, its pinkie being pinkie" Rainbow said and I sighed. "So another world huh, how is it over their?"

  "Shit" I simply said and Rainbow snorted. "People killing one another, competitions that soon escalate, buncha corruption and just out right a buncha shit gone wrong... this world is a hell of a lot better"

  "Yeesh, not one good thing came from your world?" Pinkie asked and I shrugged.

  "A few, but sometimes good things don't last" I said and they looked kinda bummed out with my answer. "Though, I guess music has helped a lot over the years, I'll tell you about that later"

  "I'm holding you to that, anyways, me and Pinkie gotta head off to make last minute party arrangements, wanna come help?" Rainbow asked.

  "Sure, got nothing else to do" I answered and I followed these two to a literal tree house, it looked kinda cool from the looks of it. "Way to take tree house literally, but are you sure we can throw a party here?"

  "Oh yeah it's fine, when someone new comes to ponyville I throw a big party to welcome them" Pinkie said kinda answering the question before we headed inside. "Okay, now let's get started!"




  It took all day but we finally finished the decorations for the party. I still don't understand how Pinkie got a whole table full of food and drinks out of nowhere, but I just chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie.

   Once that was people started coming over with more food, drinks and one even brought some cake. Although we couldn't start the party till the 'guest of honor' finally came. We still talked with one another met the rest of Pinkies and Rainbows friends. Very nice people, even got a compliment from Applejack about my hat.

We all still ate a little I didn't feel a hint of anxiety talking with these people either. For some reason it felt so normal being their, maybe it was because they weren't really human per se.

  "Oh, they're coming everybody, quick turn off the light!" Pinkie announced and we all stopped then someone turned off the lights. The door opened and three figures walked in.

  "Look I don't have time to make friends, I just want to be prepared before Nightmare moon comes" one of them said and I felt a chill go down my spine.

  'Nightmare...' I thought and my heart started racing as small images flashed through my head.

  "Okay Twilight, your a real buzzkill ya know that... wait, why are the lights off?" I heard a familiar voice say.

  "Jackie-" I was cut off when the light flashed on.

  "SURPRISE!" Everyone said scaring the three. And their I saw the one person I thought I'd never see again.

  "Jackson?" I questioned making him look towards me.

  "Thomas!" Jackson yelled in excitement and rushed over putting me in a bear hug. "I've been looking for you everywhere, I'm just glad you still alive!" He exclaimed.

  "I've... missed......... you too" I wheezed out then was released from the prison known as a hug. "I'm glad, I wasn't the only one that got here"

  "I know right, Jay's here but he's recovering back at the castle" Jackson said and I was relieved to hear that.

  "Wait, when'd you get this big?" I asked finally noticing his new addition of muscle. 

  "Oh, I woke up like this and I can control lightning!" He said summoning a small bolt of lighting in his hand. "Pretty cool right?"

  "What about Jay?" I asked in awe at the power in front of me.

  "Apparently he turned into a half Drake, so he has gray scales, wings and claws" Jackson explained further and I figured out one thing.

  "What the fuck- y'all got cool powers but Im still human, what kinda bullshit is that?!" I questioned pissed off that I was normal while my friends got different abilities.

  "Guess you got the short end, sorry man, anyways seems like Twilight headed upstairs, c'mon let's have some drinks and catch up" Jackson said and I sighed then followed him to the drinks.

  We spent the next 3 hours talking and drinking punch. It was nice to talk with my friend again, especially in this confusing world. But it turned out that Jackson got in good with the princess of this world, even became her friend.

  "Okay everyone, it's time to head to the great hall to start the festival" A woman with tanish skin, white hair, blue eyes, glasses, wearing a white shirt holding quite a large bust, a black skirt going down to her knees, mesh stocking and black shoes.

Everyone soon left the building with myself and Jackson then we went into the great hall with every person in town waiting for something to happen.

  "So Thomas, take a fancy to any girls here?" Jackson teased.

  "No... well, actually there was one, but she was kinda... evil" I said and he laughed.

  "Never gonna get a girl with that attitude"

  "What about you mr. Hot Shit?" I asked and he blushed a little. "Oooooh, you did find someone"

  "Well... it's someone who kinda... arrested me" Jackson said and I laughed.

  "Guess you have no right to judge me" I said and we laughed more, it was a wholesome moment. Something I felt like I'd never experience again.

  "Shh, it's starting" Rainbow said flying passed us.

  We watched as the mayor, who was the lady from before, gave her speech on top of the balcony. Building up to a big reveal of the princess, I slipped away and leaned in the back. I tilted my hat forward waiting for it to be done till I saw a purple hand.

   "You know it's rude to ignore an entrance from the princess" A girl said and she lifted my hat up showing me who I believe was Twilight.

  "Well lass Ah do believe ye know it's rude ta touch my property without me permission" I said not noticing my accent switch. "Ah jus' wanted ta be alone fer a minute is all"

  "Well, just be prepared... something bad is about to happen" Twilight said and looked up, I followed and saw what looked like a horse's head on the moon. We stared for what seemed like forever then suddenly. It vanished. "Oh no"

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, our very own, Princess Celestia" The mayor announced and music played. Me and Twilight expected to see this Celestia person but... nothing.

  Rarity went to check but found no one, she was missing. Then suddenly purple smoke spewed out from the curtains and slowly trickled to the floow. Rainbow quickly got Rarity out of their and we all heard a sicking laugh.

  A laugh that had haunted my dreams for days. I suddenly felt something heavy on my back, I looked to see the sword I pulled out, but smaller and more my size.

  "Oh fuck..." I said and pulled the sword off my back and held it up. "We are in big trouble right now"

  "Ah, so good to see my subjects once again after so many years" Nightmare said and a loud pop came from the balcony and their she stood, in all her terrifying glory. "Now I shall rule over you all forever!"

  "Get her, she must know where the princess is!" The mayor ordered the guards and they went but were instantly stopped by Nightmare and were thrown out of the great hall.

  "What have you done to our Princess!?" Rainbow demanded trying to make a go at it but Aj stopped her.

  "Have none of you seen the signs, do none of you know who I am!?" Nightmare questioned and Twilight walked up, I choked down the fear pill and followed. "Thomas! Oh I'm so delighted to see you again, I thought your proposal to be my concubine?" Nightmare asked and I blushed a little while getting looks from everyone.

  "*ahem* I know who you are, you're Nightmare Moon" Twilight said and Nightmare became intrigued with her.

  "Oh, someone who knows... then you must know why I'm here then?" Nightmare asked, more like demanded the answer.

  "You're here too... too-" Nightmare cut her off with a wicked laugh and floated up.

  "I AM HERE TO MAKE THE NIGHT LAST FOREVER!" Nightmare roared giving off another maniacal laugh.

  "Oh, we are fucked"
> Chapter 5: Everlasting Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great Hall, 12:00 a.m., P.o.v- Thomas




  I have many questions, like, how did I end up here. Not in this world, I already know that, I meant hanging upside down from a shadow tendril while everyone else flees from the quite literal evil goddess.

  Honestly I think I just went insane, but pain is a great wake up call. Especially when you're being used as a human shield to block wooden chairs and tables.

  "Fool's, all of them... except that purple girl" Nightmare said idly sitting on the ledge as the guards throw more chairs. "You know, you make a great shield... though trying to fight me was a bit idiotic" Nightmare said and used me to block the incoming chairs.

  "WILL YOU FUCKS STOP THROWING CHAIRS!!!" I screamed at the idiot's and was hit with another. "DONT IGNORE ME!"

  "You seemed to have grown feistier Thomas, to be honest, my dear friend... it's making my heart race" Nightmare said and waved a hand coated with magic and tossed the asshole guards out the hall. "But my dear play thing, I believe I tortured you long enough"

  "Ya... Ya think" I panted finally getting rest after being pelted with those damn chairs. "You can kill those guy's outside if you want... I won't tell" I said and Nightmare giggled.

  "Still as cute as I remember you, once I rule this land and kill those who defy me.... I'll make you mine" Nightmare said turning me upright and pulled me close to her.

  "Uh, you know you kinda want to bring everlasting darkness right, so wouldn't being your king, or whatever, be bad?" I asked and she answered with a small kiss, though it felt longer since it felt soooo nice.

  "Run along now" Nightmare jested and vanished. I fell to the ground with a hard thud and I groaned slightly, I looked around for a minute and saw that no one was here.

  "'Thomas oh my gosh dude are you alright?', ah Im fine guy's nothing but scratches and light bruising, thanks for asking though" I said to myself as I stumbled to my feet and limped my way towards the exit. "No, no one actually help me that'll be too much"

  As I reached the front I felt the bruises start healing, I thanked Maud silently for the ring and soon I was walking to the Treehouse. Had to find the girl's or at least Jackson.

  Once I made it to the entrance, I opened it and was instantly struck with a book to the face knocking me to the floor. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD, AND IT KICKING MY ASS!?" I roared scaring the people inside.

  It was Jackson and the girl's, I got up and calmed myself down. Getting angry isn't gonna help anything, just had to calm down.

  "Were you been Thomas?" Rainbow asked.

  "Ah, you know, I was taking a stroll, thinking of the stars, taking in the moon and- oh yes- GETTING USED AS A HUMAN SHIELD FOR AN EVIL GODDESS!" I exclaimed, I wasn't to happy with them right now. "By the way, thanks for asking if I was okay"

  "Are you?" Pinkie asked.

  "*deep exhale*... yeah... yeah I'm fine, sorry for exploding a little" I said sitting on the couch. "Well at least we know what nightmare is doing... what now?" I asked

  "Well... that's what we're trying to find out, I read somewhere that the one thing that can defeat Nightmare Moon is something called the Elements of Harmony" Twilight said and scoured through the room of books along with everyone else. "Unfortunately, we found nothing so far"

  "Whats it called?" I asked getting up and began searching as well.

  "Elements something, I know I read something like that back in canterlot but I can't find it any-"

  "Oh hey Pinkie look, I found it" I said showing the pink girl.  "The Elements of Harmony, a reference guide" I read out and was shoved out of the way by Twilight. 

  "Where did you find it?!" She demanded, stunned about how I found it so fast.

  "It was under E~" Pinkie answered in a sing song voice.

  "Oh" Twilight said before opening the book. "Okay, it states that there are 6 fragments of the elements of harmony Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, and Generosity"

  "But that's only five, what about the sixth?" Jackson asked.

  "That's the thing, no one knows what the sixth element is, it's a complete mystery. It does say that a certain spark will appear if all elements are brought together which will make the sixth element appear" Twilight continued, I took in whatever information she gave and started thinking of what to do if Nightmare appears. 

  "That's all well an good sugar cube, but we still don't know where the heck these things are" Applejack pointed out which made the others ask the same question. Where were the Elements of Harmony.

  "It says its location is in the castle of the two sisters, deep within the everfree forest" Twilight answered and the girl's all gave a horrified gasp.

  "THE EVERFREE FOREST!" The girls shouted and me, Twilight and Jackson just looked at them confused.

  "What's so bad about this Everfree Forest?" I asked.

  "The Everfree Forest is something of an unnatural place where the weather can't be controlled, wild animals run loose, full of insects and I heard thats where dark magic was created" Rainbow explained, her voice a bit terrified. "The weather thing gets me, it's not natural!"

  "Sounds like home, ay Tommy" Jackson joked and I kinda had to agree with him.

  "You said it man, but I think we should head over before Nightmare Moon gets to the elements, if we know about them she sure as hell does as well" I said and felt a chill go down my spine, I spun around but saw nothing. "We gotta hurry"

  Alright... lets go get the elements of harmony" Twilight said and we all headed off to the Everfree.



The Everfree Forest




  True to the girl's word, the forest did give off an unnatural vibe to it. It didn't help that I had this strange feeling that something or someone was watching. Waiting, for what I don't know, but I think it best we continue moving.

Twilight at first did try to have not follow her in but we just went on in anyways, like she could beat Nightmare on her own.

  "So Thomas, how do you and Jackson know each other?" Rarity asked trying to lighten the mood a bit.

  "Well Im his best friend, though mostly his bodyguard" Jackson said and I slugged his arm. "You know its a little true"

  "Bodyguard? I don't know about that Jackie, he looked like he went through some hell before he found us" Rainbow said. "Even showed us some of his scars on his body"

  "This guy, with scars pfft hahaha!" Jackson laughed and I rolled my eyes. "This guy doesn't get scars, for as long as I've known him he hasn't gotten a scar in his life" Jackson said chuckling.

  "Yeah yeah Jackie, things change" I said a bit annoyed he was outright saying I was a pansy. "I'll have you know that I've gotten plenty of scars back home"

  "Okay, name one time you got stitches" Jackson said and I went to say something, but nothing even came to mind. "That's what I thought, this guy doesn't even know how to fight"

  "I told you that in confidence you dick!" I said and punched him in the side. Surprisingly it actually hurt him a little, even he was surprised feeling some sort of pain.

  "Alright you two, that's enough" Applejack said and we stopped. "If ya don't mind partner, can ya tell me where ya got yer hat?"

  "Oh, I got it from Pinkies dad before I left the rock farm" I said tipping it up. "I think it suits me honestly, what do you think Aj?" I asked the cowgirl.

  "Ah think so too" Applejack agreed, but her tone changed when something popped up in her mind. "Though something's got me wondering about this Nightmare Moon woman"

  "Yeah, what is it?" Twilight asked.

  "Well, you said she wants ta bring everlastin darkness and would destroy anybody tryin ta stop her right?" Applejack asked and Twilight nodded. "Then... why didn't she kill Thomas when he went to fight her?" Aj questioned and they all stopped to look at me.

  "What?"

  "Why did Nightmare not kill you Thomas?" Jackson asked and they all looked at me with suspicion. I couldn't just tell them I had met her way before all this, that would paint me as the bad guy. I had to think carefully with my response.

  "I honestly don't know, maybe she thought I was to weak and took pity on me or somethin" I said scratching my head. "But I can tell you that she did make me suffer for awhile, being a human shield was not fun" I said and the girls cringed at the thought. 

  "Well at least now you're okay, and I kinda see her thinking you're a lil weak" Jackson said and I rolled my eyes. "I'm not saying you aren't strong, but your physical features makes it like that"

  "Thank's, I'll work on that" I said and we continued walking. The moment we started walking, it looked like it was becoming more dark, it reminded me of when me and the guy's were transported here. "I can't see a thing"

  "Ditto man"

  "Oh, I think I stepped in somthin" I heard Applejack say and our eyes finally adjusted to the dark and Rarity let out a shriek. "Relax, it's just mud-oof!" She said running into a tree making a weird face, once she got a look at it she screamed and so did everyone except me, Jackson and Pinkie.

  "Dude get a load of this, looks like Jay's dog" Jackson joked and I looked and laughed a little.

  "Holy shit, why is it so accurate?!" I asked still laughing, Pinkie was a tree over making face's with one of them.

  "What are you guys doing?!" Twilight asked. "Run!"

  "Twilight calm down, it's just a tree" I said giving it a few solid knocks.

 "Yeah look" Pinkie said making more faces at the tree and we laughed at this. 

  "But they're dangerous!" Twilight said and we suddenly heard a melody play out and Pinkie bounced with the beat. Pinkie started singing and during the song the girls, jackson and I saw the faces start shifting in the trees. And when pinkie laugher at it, the tree was back to normal.

 "Girls, all you gotta do is laugh" I said and noticed the one me and Jackson were laughing at disappeared. One by one everyone started having fun and laughing at the tree's. It was a pretty wholesome moment I have to say.

 Once that was said and done with, we continued walking through the forest. The density of the trees lightened up after a while, and soon we heard something... crying?

  "Oh whoa was me!" A voice cried and we heard sobbing, we walked a little further and we saw a huge purple serpent with pretty great orange hair and half a mustache.

  "Ay dude, why you crying?" Jackson asked and the serpent sniffled.

  "Well, I don't know, I was just minding my own busy when suddenly a purple cloud whooshed right past and cut off my beautiful mustache" He answered then started sobbing again. "Now I look simply horrid!" He bellowed out and began bawling over the mustache.

  "Really?" I said turning to Rainbow who shrugged. "Uh look mr. Serpent, trust me when I say that it'll grow back, why not just cut the other side to even it out?" I suggested which only made it worse. Now he was crying even harder.

  "Men" Rarity scoffed rolling her eyes and flicked my ear. "You don't know true beauty" Rarity said and I rubbed my ear. "You poor thing, you have such beautiful scales and gorgeous hair, it must've taken hours to make it so perfect"

  "Oh you have no idea" He said, this went back and forth for awhile.

  "But it's all incomplete without your beautiful mustache" Rarity said.

  "Its true! Im hideous!" He bawled out again.

  "I will not stand by while someone needs help" Rarity muttered to herself and ripped off one of his scales making him yelp. "Thomas darling, be a dear?" She asked holding her hair back and handing me the scale.

  "You sure?" I asked and she nodded, I shrugged and cut off a good portion giving her this punk rocker look. "Here you go"

  "Thank you darling, now then" She said clearing her throat and took the locks of hair and tied it up to the other end of the cut mustache making it whole again. "There we are, now you look smashing"

  "Oh it's beautiful!" The serpent exclaimed and thanked her hundreds of times. He even helped us across the river, after he left we journeyed forward once more.

  As we walked Rarity was brushing her hand over her short purple hair. She looked a little sad knowing her beautiful hair was gone. I sighed and took off my hat and placed it atop her head.

  "You know, I like the short hair, it really suits a beautiful woman like you" I said and she blushed a bright rosy red.

  "T-Thank you, darling" she said covering her face a little. 

  "Hey so, Jackson, where have you been if Thomas was living at a rock farm?" Rainbow asked.

  "Living in Canterlot Castle with Twilight, Spike and Princess Celestia" Jackson said and everyone but Twilight was astonished by this answer. "I'm actually pretty great friends with Celestia"

  "Thats gotta be a lie, no way you lived at the castle and became friends with the princess" Rainbow doubted.

  "Well, I got a feeling he's tellin the truth sugar" Aj said and Jackson thanked her.

  "Oh yeah real exciting, bet you didn't fight and run away from an evil deity" I muttered and clicked my tounge. "Couldn't have been all that good, must've been boring" I shot and got glances from the others.

  "I'll admit it was kinda boring, I was usually just reading and being the Princess's secretary" Jackson admitted, but still got a bit of praise from the girls. "What happened with you Thomas?"

  "Ah ya know... almost froze to death, almost bled out then saved and got doused with alcohol and got my wound cauterized closed and worked for a full week in the blazing sun gathering crystals while still recovering... other than that nothing" I answered getting shocked and horrified looks from the group. "Not that big a deal really"

  "How in god's name are you still alive?" Jackson asked and I shrugged.

  "Im tougher than you think" I said and it was silent for a while after that. It was so quiet that you could probably hear a dog whistle.

  For some reason I felt a chill go down my spine, and the scar started burning a little.  Nightmare was thinking about me, no doubt it was her cause only she would have that much power to make me have this feeling.

  I stopped and felt my body start getting a little hot, it felt like it was a thousand degrees. I took off my shirt and wiped the sweat off with it and wrapped it around my neck, I could feel the cold air brushing past my exposed skin and it felt great.

  "Thomas darling, why did you take off your shirt?" Rarity asked and I finally noticed everyone had stopped to see what was wrong with me. I wasn't a very muscular guy, not by a long shot, but I had some muscle on me even if it didn't show.

  "Sorry, just felt really hot for some reason" I admitted and caught up with them. "My scar's started burning a bit, thought the cold air would help me cool off a little"

  "Well you okay now?" Pinkie asked and I nodded.

  "Honestly it's nothing bad, just a little burn some cool air can't help. Anyways how far do y'all think we are from the castle?" I asked continuing on, they followed after and Twilight hummed.

  "We should be able to reach it in a few minutes, though I'm not sure-" She was caught off by a loud and pain filled roar. We stopped in an opening and their we saw an old enemy. My old enemy.

  "That mothafuckin manticore, I'd recognize that fuck anywhere" I said and felt my sword appear, I grasped it and held it out pointing towards the bastard. "If nobody wants to join in, leave this fuck to me"

  "You sure-"

  "DAMN RIGHT I'M SURE, HOW THE HELL DO YA THINK I GOT THESE SCARS!?!?" I screamed at Jackson who backed up a bit terrified. I walked forward and so did the beast, it went from a simple walk to a light jog then a full on sprint. "C'mon, get some!" I yelled as I jumped up and swung down.

  He dodged swiftly and tried to stab me with its stinger, luckily I deflected it with my sword and grabbed it before jabbing it in the floor. As it struggled to get out, I grabbed a rock and bashed it against it's face.

  He flung his paw against my chest, throwing me back a couple of feet. The beast yanked its tail free and charged at me, I did the same and slid under his tackle. I then used the blunt end of my sword to hit him on his back, but I was cut on my arm by his back claws.

  I hissed at the pain but I just fought through it, thinking I was distracted he went for a lunge to get a chunk out of me. Unfortunately for him, I never took my eyes off him and once he came I smashed the blunt end against his face, knocking him to the side.

  "That all you got, you overgrown mutated cat!?" I said and he cut my side with his stinger. "You cock sucking motherfucker!" I yelled and cut off his tail. "Was bein nice not usin the sharp end, now Ima just fuckin kill ya" I growled and raised my sword only to be stopped by Fluttershy.

  "Don't hurt him!" She cried and got in front of me.

  "Shy get out the way, he might kill you" I said but she wouldn't and walked to the manticore. After a few minutes there was a loud roar then the beast was nuzzling the girl like an actual cat. 

  "It wasn't looking to fight, it was just hurt" Fluttershy said and I groaned, it felt like I was burning up slightly then I felt a sudden chill.

  I spun around only to see nothing, just the moon and the stars. The sword vanished and I was left slightly bruised and cut by a stinger... wait.

  "Is... isn't the sky su... s-supposed to be black...." I trailed off and felt my body swaying a little and I collapsed on the floor. 

  "Thomas! Are you okay?!" Twilight asked

"" I yelled pointing up then having my arm plop to the ground.

  "Shit, that stinger must've had a little bit of poison we gotta suck it out!" I heard Jackson say then I saw a blur of colors.

  "W-Wha... what's up with you guys?" I asked and suddenly felt my body get turn to my left side. "Im-Im fine guy's nothing to worry about" I muttered more.

  I then suddenly felt soft hands on my side and then soft lips. There was a minute of this weird pulling and then it stopped, I was slowly feeling better now and the colors started taking shape.

  "Ooooh... What happened?" I asked and looked around seeing the girls and Jackson standing over me, except for Applejack who was whipping her mouth. 

 "You alright partner?" Applejack asked helping me up.

  "Yeah... thanks" I said and felt my face flush a little. "Anyways, we should keep moving"

  "Agreed, we should be very close by now" Twilight said and soon we continued on. Applejack was helping me walk since the poison had made my senses go awry, honestly it felt oddly nice. 

  After getting here in this land, shit hit the fan so quick. It got a bit better meeting the pie family, but was balanced out with recovering from almost dying and hard work in the unimaginably hot sun all day. Getting just a little bit of help was heavenly.

  "So Thomas, Ah actually wanted ta ask ya somethin" Applejack asked loud enough for only me and her. "Why did ya lie ta me when Ah asked about Nightmare Moon?" She asked, my heart honestly stopped for a second.

  "I-I don't know-" She placed a finger on my lips.

  "Sugarcube, Ah can tell when someone is lying and Ah'll tell you right now, Ah won't be mad at you if ya tell me the truth, right now" Applejack said and I sighed.

  "Okay... guess I'll tell you everything," I said. "I'm not from this world, neither is Jackson or my other friend Jay, when I first came here I was chased and almost mauled by a manticore, Luckily I managed to get away from the beast, but I was on the brink of death and that's when I met Nightmare, she took me to her castle and healed me, though very quickly after that it kinda went sideways when she tried to take over my mind only for her magic not to work on me, also she seemed kinda infatuated with me, even then I was still tossed out a window and then tossed into a river" I finished and Applejack hummed.

  "Seems you have taken quite the beating when ya got here, it is strange that Nightmare Moon had the hots fer you" Applejack said and I chuckled.

  "Well, guess that goes to show my mom was right, I am a handsome man" I said and we both chuckled a little. 

  "Yer mom sounds like a very nice lady" Applejack said and I hummed.

  "She really is... though it hurts knowing that I'll never see her again" I sighed and felt a tear run down my cheek. "Damn, guess that thought just hit me"

  "Oh sugarcube it's alright, you ain't alone... I dont have my parents either" She said.

  Guess I know your pain now huh, feels.... empty" I said and she hummed in agreement.

  "Like a hole in yer heart right?" She asked and I nodded. "Ah know how ya feel sugarcube, but don't you worry, you have us ta help you now" Applejack said comforting me.

  "Thanks Applejack, that... that really means a lot" I thanked her and we continued walking on while keeping a steady conversation going. That is until we saw a deep gorge blocking our path just a few more yards from the castle.

  "Now what?" Pinkie asked and we decided to see if there was any other way around, but as soon as we began walking back I saw something purple and black for just a split second and then suddenly the floor gave way and we began tumbling off the mountain.

  Rainbow and Fluttershy were the only ones that could fly, Pinkie and Rarity were caught by the two pegasi women and set down at the bottom. Applejack and Jackson grabbed onto some rocks and began climbing down slowly, but me and Twilight continued barrelling down the hill. As we tumbled I smacked into a rock hard enough to break a few fingers trying to grab it, I gave a loud cry before I was tossed off the ledge as was Twilight.

  I quickly reached out and grabbed her with my mangled hand and bite back the cries of pain and held back the tears, once I had gotten a good grip I shot my good hand up to grab the ledge. Twilight and I would have most likely died if Applejack hadn't dove down and grabbed my hand, cause I was just a few inches short of the ledge.

  "Thank god!" I exclaimed and gripped her hand hard while keeping Twilight from slipping out of my hand. "Thought we were goners" I said 

  "Ah gotcha don't you worry y'all just hang on" Applejack said and we were both struggling to get me and Twilight up. After a few tries it was clear that we were too heavy to lift up, and even Applejack had to agree. "Damn, if Ah had better footing Ah would've got both of you up here by now" Applejack grunted.

  "We gotta think of something, and quick" I said and for Aj looked around for a bit then suddenly looked up. 

  "Let go" She said looking me dead in the eye.

  "What! No way!" Twilight screamed in terror but I kept my eyes locked with Aj's. 

  "Ah promise you, everything will be fine-"

  "You don't know that, how do I know you're not lying!" Twilight yelled and grew even more terrified.

  "Sugarcube this is the full honest truth, do you trust me?" Applejack asked us and we stayed silent for a minute and I used whatever strength I had left to hoist up Twilight to me. I hooked my arm around her waist and let go of Applejacks hand.

  "This was a terrible Idea!" I screamed on the way down, I almost went deaf from how high Twilights screams were. We fell for a couple of more seconds before we felt three pairs of arms catch us, I looked around and saw Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and. "Oh that's bullshit!" I exclaimed seeing Jackson floating.

  "Quit whining and lets get you both down" Jackson said and soon enough every had been lowered to the ground safely.

  "Lord Jesus, I thought we were gonna die for a second their" I panted out.

  "I know, I can't feel my legs" Twilight added and it was then we realized we had been embracing each other tightly the entire way down.

  "*Ahem* Uh sorry, was trying to uh... hold you up till you got some feeling back in your legs" I said as we separated.

  "I was feeling how shakin' you were so I... tried to comfort you" Twilight said and we both grew red in the face.

  "Okay you awkward love birds, we just need to follow the path back up the cavern" Jackson said.

  "We're not love birds, or awkward!" Twilight and I said in unison and we face palmed.

  "No way can I ever love someone like him" Twilight said and I furrowed my brow.

  "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa princess attitude" I announced and the group decided to... back up a few steps. "Who do ya think yer talkin too? Cause Ah got news fer you, ya ain't no pretty sight either!" I shot and she glared at me and I at her.

  "What did you say" Twilight asked in an angry tone, the group took another step back. 

  "Oh did I hurt yer feelings, sorry I was distracted by the bitchiness" I shot at her.

  "I can say the same to you, you self righteous prick" Twilight shot back, now you could see the lightning as our glares harden at each other.

  "Oooooookay guys, c'mon, let's just go to the castle, grab the elements and hate each other after, sound good?" Jackson said the only one brave enough to step forward, with a scoff from Twilight she walked on the path forward.  

  "*groan* The hell's her problem" I muttered and we all followed.

  "Ah, I'm sure she's fine, probably just stressed and didn't mean to say that to you" Jackson said and I sighed.

  "Probably" I said looking at Twilight, she must've sensed it cause she gave me a sideways glance and gave a loud 'hmph'. "Or probably not" I growled.



(Twilight 3rd pov)

  'Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!' Twilight thought. 'I cant believe how insensitive I was, I didn't mean to call him those things, for some reason I just said it unconsciously. Does he hate me, ooooh I need to make sure he's not to mad' twilight finished thinking and looked back to Thomas then suddenly glared at him and gave a loud 'hmph'.

  'WHY DID I DO THAT!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?' She yelled in her mind.



(Thomas pov, outside the castle of the two sisters)

We continued walking until we were met with a thick, heavy fog rolling in knocking our vision away from us.

  "Okay, this is it" Jackson said as we saw the castle just a few more feet away. 

  "Yes we're almost there!" Twilight exclaimed and rushed forward, but I quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back making her fall onto me, toppling both of us. "Hey, what's the big idea!?" She demanded straddling me.

  "Oh ya know, how about you look before you run through fuckin fog!" I yelled and pointed behind her, she turned and saw the huge cavern with a broken rope bridge just a few feet from us. "A thank you would be nice to hear" I said but she just glared at me.

  "Uh, guys, you do know people are present right?" Rainbow asked us and we noticed the whole group was looking at us with smug looks and a blush from Fluttershy. Twilight noticed how she is positioned on top of me, and her hands gripping my shirt hard. "You guys want a minute alone ooooor..."

  "What, no!" Twilight said pushing herself off of me and dusted herself off. "C'mon, we gotta keep moving"

  "Gee thanks Thomas, I can't believe you saved me twice Thomas" I mumbled to myself as I got up and dusted myself off. "*sigh* Alright, what do we do now, the bridge is broken and that's the only way across" I asked.

  "Uh, you do know we can fly right?" Rainbow said fluttering her wings and I gave an 'O'. "I'll have this bridge back up in a jiffy" she said and dove down the cavern, we waited for a few minutes then she popped back up with the other end of the bridge and landed on the other side.

  We watch as she began to tie the ropes together on a few rocks on her side. When suddenly the fog suddenly moves in front of us, completely obscuring our vision.

  "Rainbow!" I called out only to hear it get muffled. I looked around and noticed that I could barely see myself or anyone else around. "Rainbow Dash!" I called again, but still nothing.

  I continued looking until I saw a break in the fog, I saw Rainbow surrounded by four people wearing black spandex suits along with a yellow lightning bolt and a skull in the center. "She's in trouble... okay... okay, okay, okay!" I yelled hyping myself up and sprinted forward aiming towards Rainbow.

  If I remember correctly, the cliff was at least eighteen feet away, and at the speed I'm going I should be able to get close enough to the edge at the other side if I jump with everything I have. It was gonna be a long one, but I gotta try something, to bad I didn't think of anything else.

  "This was a terrible idea!!!" I screamed as I felt the edge of the cliff. I used all my leg power to hurl myself towards the otherside. "Fuuuuuuck!" I screamed a bit more as I flew through the fog surprising both Rainbow and the group surrounding her.

  "Thomas?.... THOMAS!?" Rainbow yelled in fear for my life and zoomed towards me. I reached my hand out as I started descending, just a few more inches and I can catch myself. But fate had other plans because I was just a bit short, I was about to start falling to my death when I suddenly felt a hand grab mine. "Holyshitholyshitholyshit!" Rainbow exclaimed and pulled me up.

  Once I hit the floor on her side, it felt like my heart was going to explode. I seriously thought I was gonna die right then and there, thank god Rainbow was there. Speaking of, she seemed to be having her own heart attack.

  "I can't move, is that normal?" I asked the woman.

  "I can't either so.... probably" She said and we both started giving out weak chuckles. "What were you thinking dude?"

  "You were in trouble, I just sorta... moved" I muttered, the little break didn't last long when the four people surrounded us and glared at me. "They don't look happy"

  "Quiet!" The leader said and planted her foot on my chest. "Now Rainbow, like we said before, choose!"

  "Choose?" I asked and was stomped on slightly. "Okay, that was a dick move" I groaned.

  "Join us and be apart of the shadow bolts or..." The leader said and lifted me up. "Be like this weakling, unable to fulfill your dream"

  "Don't do it Rainbow, accomplishing your dream comes through hard work and dedication, not from abandoning your friends" I said only to get punched in the ribs. 

  "Silence!" The leader shouted at me. 

  "I choose my friends, if being apart of your group is hurting other people then I want nothing to do with it!" Rainbow stated and the leader growled before throwing me back to the woman. "You okay?"

  "A few bruises here and there but nothing I can't handle" I joked.

  "You'll regret this" The leader growled before she and the other three vanished into the fog. Once they were gone, so did the fog and we could see our friends again. 

  "What... happened?" Applejack asked confused then saw Rainbow trying to calm my nerves from almost dying a fourth time. Rainbow quickly tied the bridge up before coming back to me.

  "What's up with you?" Jackson asked seeing my trembling body. 

  "Just kicking death's door as hard as humanly possible, you know, the usual" I answered clinging to Rainbow. "Sorry Rainbow I just... I just need a few more seconds is all" I said and she comforted me.

  "Bud, are you okay?" Jackson asked.

  "No I am far from alright... I almost died four times since I've been in this world!" I exclaimed making him reel back. "Look, I just need a second is all..." I said and let go of Rainbow.

  The group took a second before heading forward, leaving me with my thoughts. All except Applejack, she sat down with me and we sat there in silence.

  "Why didn't you go with them" I dryly asked.

  "Wanted ta keep ya company is all" She simply stated. "Listen... Ah don't know what ya been through these past few days, but you are one tough guy not breaking down all those other times before"

  "Thanks"

  "So why now?" Applejack asked and I sighed.

  "Everybody has a limit, and I reached mine" I admitted. "Honestly... I've reached my limit entirely, from Earth to Equestria, constantly getting beaten up or facing death... do you know what it's like to look over your shoulder everyday thinking about what might happen, or getting jumped for no reason! Back home I was a loser with only one good thing in my life, and now I can't see them anymore, they're gone, I've lived a miserable life Applejack... and now I'm living a life I never asked for!" I ranted, my voice cracking and tears streaming down my face. "Do you know how it feels to be called nothing" I choked out.

  "Thomas Ah-"

  "This world I live in now should've made me happy, so why am I crying... is it cause Im homesick, do I hate it, or is it because I know the same thing will happen to me just like my life back home" I continued. "I guess I really am noth-"

  "Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Applejack shouted cutting me off. "You ain't just nothin Thomas, you were brought here for a good reason, Ah may not know what but Ah sure as hell know that you are something. Maybe you didn't ask ta be here, but what if this is what you needed... yer life sounded so awful back where yer from, with only a single good thing, so maybe the world was tryin ta give you a better life to live" Applejack said and got up. "Ah'm gonna head in, you can join us when you... feel better" she said and left.

  I was left with my own thoughts, trying to wipe the tears off my face. 'Damn emotions, every second is a pain in my ass and... and I cant fuckin stop crying!' I thought and got back up.

  I could feel all these emotions pouring down on me, I hated it, of all the times to break down why now. "I need help... I need serious help, but nobody wants to give me a second" I muttered.

  "I know what that's like" I spun around and saw that blue woman again. She seemed more formed than before, and she wasn't floating like before. "That's how I became that horrible person inside, I let them control me and went so far as to trapped myself in my own mind" 

  "But you don't know what I had to deal with my whole life-"

  "And you don't know what I've had to deal with" She countered. "We're the same Thomas, just not from the same world" she continued and walked up to me, she stood at eye level with me and raised a hand to wipe my tears. "You're gonna be ok Thomas, you just have to accept why you're here"

  "Why am I here?" I asked.

  "That's what you have to figure out for yourself, but just know that no matter what, you'll always have someone looking out for you" She said and I chuckled.

  "I don't know what to do and I'm not sure if I want to know" I said and started walking towards the castle. "But you're right, I'm here for a reason, now I gotta go find it" I finished and when I did heard a scream, I rushed inside but I got blinded by a bright light and I felt my body shift and fall on the floor.

  I opened my eyes and noticed the whole room blurry, my stomach was churning and soon I felt my blade on my back. I stumbled to my feet and hurled up whatever I eat at the party.

  "Jesus... that fuckin burned" I choked and wiped my mouth and noticed my vision stop being blurry. I then took notice of Twilight, on her knees with 5 stone balls and Nightmare moon standing just 10 feet from her. "And now I gotta deal with this, how many times can I say 'fuck' in one sentence" I muttered and began walking towards the two.

  "Did you honest think you could defeat me?" Nightmare said with a smile that would scare anyone. "Oh, my soon to be king is here, hope the journey was worth while Thomas"

  "Thomas?" Twilight questioned and looked back to see me. "You look horrible"

  "I know, but shut up for a minute will ya" I said and panted slightly. "Alright Nightmare, this ends here" I stated pulling my sword off my back.

  "Oh my dear Thomas, I was being so nice all those times we met... but this time, I won't be so kind!" Nightmare exclaimed and summoned a soul sucking obsidian blade with a midnight silver guard and a black handle grasped in her hand. "Now then, I hope you're ready to die"

  "Uh Twilight, ya might wanna, oh I don't know- figure out a plan!" I yelled at the paralyzed girl, it seemed to snap her back to reality. "You figure out something while I hold her-" I was interrupted, very rudely I might add, by the woman trying to plunge equestria into darkness with a short magic blast to my right arm.

  "Oops, hope you don't need to use that right now" Nightmare said with a cackle, my arm fell limp and I began struggling to hold the sword.

  "Oh you dirty bitch!" I yelled at her.

  "Save the dirty talk when we get in bed" She joked and flew at me barely giving ne time to block her slash. I stumbled back a bit and quickly dodged another strike, but as she swung she spun around kicking me in the face then smacked me with the blunt end of her sword. "Is it to much Thomas?" She asked throwing her blade in the air and proceeded to beat the shit out of me.

  'I can barely keep up, she's so fast!' I yelled in my mind and was suddenly grabbed then head butted. My vision grew blurry again, but I still felt her fists connecting against my body. Nightmare then took a step back and used her whole body to send the hardest punch I've ever felt, connecting with my chest and stomach. 

 I flew back, passing Twilight and tumble away until I hit the wall at the end of the room. I coughed up some spit and blood as I laid there, my body pulsing with unrecognizable pain. Nightmare erupted with laughter as she caught her sword, she walked over to me and gave a small but terrifying grin.

  "A little weak, but I will change that when you become my king, I'll make you stronger than any being on this planet" Nightmare said then lifted her sword up. "But first, you gotta stay here for a bit" 

  "I did it!" We heard Twilight exclaim and Nightmare snapped her neck towards her and her eyes widen seeing the stone orbs start glowing and spark around Twilight.

  "No!" Nightmare yelled and teleported in front of Twilight and kicked her back. "Nononononono this can't be happening, not again!" She was paralyzed with fear, that is until the orbs stopped and fell back on the floor.

  "What... what happened!?" Twilight asked her voice shaking it. But it was drowned out by the growing laughter from the Nightmare moon.

  "Stupid old rocks!" Nightmare said and crushed the five rocks.

  "Twilight... kinda blindish over here, what happened?" I asked struggling to get up. 

  "She-she destroyed the Elements of harmony" She answered.

  "What!" I screamed and coughed up more blood. "H-How in gods name did she do that!?" I asked

  "I don't know... but now she's... completely impossible to defeat" Twilight said and looked completely defeated.

  "C'mon Twilight, there's always a way, to say it's impossible is to rule out any possibilities that can beat the impossible" I said tried getting to my feet, but fail in doing so. "C'mon Twilight, ya gotta think!"

  "I-I... I can't!" 

  "Damn it Twilight, do something!" I yelled at the girl but before anything happened, I heard heavy footsteps and I saw Nightmare approaching us, sword in hand. "Twilight, move!" 

  She was too terrified to move, her face turned pale as she saw the evil entity walk towards her. Seeing this I struggled constantly to get up, but I failed each time. 

  "It was fun beating you senseless Thomas and watching this pathetic being try to be defeat me" Nightmare taunted and raised her sword. "Now it's time to die!" She said and swung down, but it hit nothing.

  "F-Fu... F-Fuck" I panted holding Twilight in a bridal position and it took everything I had to do anything. "H-Here for a reason... my... ass" I muttered out and fell to one knee.

  "T-Thomas‐"

  "Shut... up... and get outta here!" I exclaimed and threw her towards the door just as Nightmare swung her sword. It sliced my chest giving me a deep cut, I coughed up more blood as I fell to my knees. "It just keeps... gettin better" I choked out.

   "That was completely idiotic dear Thomas, why would you do such a thing?" Nightmare asked grabbing me by the throat and lifting me up.

  "Honestly, no fuckin idea" I answered. "My body moved on its own is all" I continued.

  "My dear Thomas... I so wanted you around longer" Nightmare said and ran her sword through my body before I could say anything. "Don't worry my love, I will make sure you come back" she said dropping me to the floor.

  I felt so... cold and immeasurable pain rocked my body. I could see Twilight screaming and reaching out for me, then I saw the others soon come in, but that didn't matter because I began seeing an all to familiar black tunnel closing in. That dream I had two days ago... it came true.

  'This is it... death finally answered the door, and... I'm not afraid anymore, It feels so common now... do I just, wanna die now?' I thought as the darkness finally filled my sight. 'I came here for a reason, to bad I'll never find out... why Im here' I thought once more and let myself drift in the endless void of death.



(Third P.O.V)

  The group stared at Thomas's dead body at the feet of Nightmare moon. The evil woman slowly turned her head back towards the group and gave a wicked smile. Her hands were bruised from beating Thomas and her face bloodied from slashing and stabbing him, and yet her smile remained.

  "Well, well, well, it looks like you brought back up dear Thomas, oh how you spoil me with prey" Nightmare said excitedly and ripped her sword out of his body. "Don't worry my love, they're right behind you!" She yelled and rushed forward.

  Jackson summoned his lightning and threw it at the woman, only for her to deflect it out of her way. He threw two more and charged forward, the first lighting bolt was deflected like the last but the second one was grabbed by Nightmare and tossed back to Jackson who was hit point-blank by it. He tumbled back a bit before getting back up and manifested a lighting staff, the second he got close he swung his staff over and over at speeds even he could barely see. Thought each time, Nightmare blocked each attack and laughed after each strike, almost like she was just toying with him.

  "Your different from my dear Thomas, stronger too" Nightmare commented spinning around Jackson's attack and slammed the back of her fist against his face. "Though not as cute or adorable" she continued getting a foot away from Jackson, she studied him and shook her head. "He's much cuter"

  "I'll fuckin kill you!" Jackson roared and continued his onslaught again. "You killed my best friend, one of the only people that still remembers home... and you took him away!" He screamed at her.

  "So what you pathetic oaf, as soon as I kill you and those six, I'll bring him back to life and he will rule by my side for eternity" Nightmare said pushing Jackson back. "Now if you be so kind as to die, that would be just great" she finished laughing again. As the two continued fighting, the girls all ran towards Thomas's body, they couldn't believe he was dead and they checked three times for a heart beat. But nothing.

  "He's... he's really gone" Rainbow choked out and tried not to cry, pinkie was already bawling her eyes out as was Fluttershy.

  "I know we barely met him but it felt like... it felt like he was here for years" Rarity said taking off Thomas' Stetson. "He was so kind... he was like a little light in the dark" she finished.

  "Ah...*sigh* someone who finally knows mah pain, is the one that dies" Applejack said and kneeled down, she flipping his body gently on his back and they all flinched seeing the huge bloody stab wound. "You deserve more than this, you deserve something better than this place"

  "He... risked his life multiple times to save me... he tossed me out of the way because he knew Nightmare was gonna kill us both if he didn't throw me away" Twilight said and teared up again. "Now he's gone"

  "What happened to the elements" Rainbow asked.

  "Nightmare shattered them, they didn't even work and I don't know why!" Twilight answered. "The spark didn't show up like the book said, I don't know what to do"

  "Well... things may seem bad now, but we have ta put our heads together and figure this out, cause you'n Ah know Thomas wouldn't want his friends ta join him in death" Applejack said and the group agreed. "Don't worry Twilight, we'll find another way... for Thomas's sake"

  "... You're right Applejack, you and Thomas are right" Twilight said and stood up, she looked at the broken shards of the elements then her new friends and came to a realization. "I figured it out!"

  "Figured out what darling?" Rarity asked, before Twilight could answer, the group saw Jackson get blown back and go through a wall. 

  "An annoying one that boy was, all brawn but no brains" Nightmare groaned and stared at the group. "Now then, where were we?" She asked and ran towards the girls, but quickly stopped hearing someone... screaming?

  "What is that noi-" Pinkie started but was stopped when something shot pass them and tackled Nightmare.

  "Remember me you bitch!" Jay shouted and threw Nightmare with everything he had and made her crash against the wall. His body was fully formed to fit his new drake like features, his arms and legs completely solid and covered with gray scales and having each of his nails sharpened to a point, his already toned body was taught and burned to the normal shape of a drake and on his back was pitch black wings that was covered in gray and black scales. "Ready for round 2"

  "Oooooh, you're that dragon boy from the castle" Nightmare said with a curious tone and ripped herself out of the wall. "Didn't I teach you a lesson last time we fought?" She asked and chuckled seeing all the cuts on his body.

  "This time, I got back up" Jay said and moved out of the way of Jackson's lightning bolts catching Nightmare by surprise. She dodged just fast enough to only get grazed, but it still blew her forward when it struck the wall behind her. The second Nightmare was launched forward Jay flew forward and threw a hard right to her face making her fly to the left a couple of feet. 

  "Good to see you up and about" Jackson said.

  "Wish it was under better circumstances... that body back their, was that..." Jay ask and Jackson nodded. "... Let's send her back ta hell"

  "I couldn't agree more" Jackson said and they both rushed the evil goddess.

  As the three fought Twilight was telling the others her plan and how they represent the elements entirely. It was then that the shard of the broken elements started to glow slightly.

  "Are ya sure Twilight with, ya know, bein the embodiment of the elements?" Applejack asked and Twilight nodded.

  "Yes, and I think I know how to unleash the power" She explained. "Applejack, when we were on that cliff you told me the honest truth and I knew right there I could trust you with anything because of how honest you can be so you represent the element of Honesty" Twilight explained and on command the shards of Honest floated towards Aj.

  "Pinkie pie, you made us feel better when we were faced with those trees in the forest and taught us that happiness and laughter can beat fear any day, so you represent the element of Laughter" Twilight went on and the shards of laughter floated to Pinkie.

  "Twilight, it's working!" Rainbow said in awe, then noticed that Jay and Jackson were starting to falter against Nightmare. "Uh, you might wanna hurry a bit"



THOMAS'S MIND (pov- Thomas)




  "I'm still here... why?" I mumble looking into the void. "Aren't I dead?" I questioned.

  "Do you wish to be?" A voice hummed in my ear, it was familiar and chilling all at once.

  "I'm not quite fond of the idea of dying" I answered and opened my eyes, once I did I almost fell over seeing a giant clear box with someone chained in the middle. "What the hell"

  "Funny, I thought this was hell, then again I guess that would make a  helluva lot more sense" The person said with a chuckle, he looked up and I almost froze seeing his face.

  It was just completely covered with a dark shadow, only his narrowed eyes and his jagged smile were all I could see. He giggled like a little kid seeing my reaction.

  "What's the matter Thomas... never seen a demon before?" he asked but his expression and his mouth never moved or changed. "Careful, I like to play with victims before anything else" He added and chuckled.

  "W-what in God's name are you or better question... who?" I asked and we just stared at each other for a painfully long time. His face never faltering, not even once, and those eyes in an endless downward crescent making it look like he was laughing.

  "Good question Thomas, was hoping you would've known since, well... I lived by your side for countless years" He stated and it didn't seem like it, but I could feel burning hatred from his eyes. "I honestly couldn't tell you who I am because I don't even know

  "This is so... confusing" I said with confusion an began trying to wrap my head around this.  "A demon thats been with me all my life, this new world I live in now, my new friends and feelings, countless times of how I nearly died... what the fuck is going on!?" I demand and punched the glass.

  "Your world got flipped the second you ran into those woods, you believed you were safe when really, all you were doing was running right into danger, and now you're too much of a coward to handle it... pathetic" The man taunted. "Not to mention the brutal beating and stabbing from that Nightmare lady, we would've died if we didn't have incredible durability and faster regenerative attributes, you can thank me for that"

  "Regenerative... Attributes?" I asked and the man sighed.

  "We share a mind and a body dumbass, but since your the main person controlling, you are able to use whatever powers I possess... with my permission of course" He answered. "I do have limitations like any other being, so don't get all cocky ya hear"

  "... Wait, all those bruises from the Flash Twins back home, why I was able to wake up so fast and walk around at the rock farm... it was your power helping me"

  "What ya want a cookie, of course it was my power... your lucky we didn't permanently hit the grave with that stab, but I highly recommend not fighting that woman... unless" He stopped.

  "Unless what?" I asked.

  "Unless I give you more power, maybe then you can actually beat that chick" He answered."If you really wanna beat this chick, you might have to go a bit crazy" He finished and chuckled.

  I thought about taking his offer, but how can I trust someone I barely know and more over... someone thats a demon. I felt like if I didn't act now, something bad would happen.

  "I don't have much of a choice" I started, getting the man's attention. "But get one thing straight lad, mah body. mah rules, deal?" I said and the man erupted with laughter and slowly went down to a chuckle.

  "Heh... deal" 



THIRD POV- THE CASTLE OF THE TWO SISTERS




  Jay and Jackson lay on their backs at the far end of the castle beaten to a pulp. Both boys had black and blue bruises, a few broken bones, and blood coming out of their mouths.

  "Jay... you alive?" Jackson asked groaning to the man.

  "Ugh... barely" Jay answered and struggled to sit up. "She's... to damn strong man"

  "You said it... *sigh* still got some fight in you?" Jackson asked and stumbled to his feet along with Jay who spat out some blood. "Guess so... I suppose, it's round 2 then" Jackson groaned and the two began limping back towards Nightmare, who was leaning on her sword, yawning in boredom.

  "Not enough huh, how many times do I have to pumble you both?" Nightmare muttered and decided to leave her sword. "I don't even need my sword for you two, I could kill you with my two hands," she said and chuckled walking towards the two.

  "Jay, Jackson!" Twilight called and all three of them looked to see the girls wearing amulets and Twilight was wearing a crown. Each of them had a different colored stone in there new items. "We got the elements working, keep her busy until we're ready!" She ordered and Nightmare was quick to take action.
 
  "Should've killed you all from the start!" Nightmare roared and shot towards the girls but was caught in mid-launch. By a red tendril. "What in the name of-"

  "Oh… I… Feel... Great~" they all heard then saw Nightmare get flung across the castle and get embedded into the wall. "Doesn't feel good does it" 

  "T-Thomas?" Jay asked and the group looked towards the man, now engulfed in what looked like fire. His eyes were red and his pupils were like a fox's, his hair was disheveled and his clothes torn to nothing but tatters, and the most prominent feature on his body, was the giant black markings on his chest spreading across it and over his arms like paint on a wet canvas. "Your... alive?"

  "You're damn right man, now if you excuse me... I got some anger to relieve" Thomas said and reached out his hand summoning his sword then in a flash he was in front of Nightmare. With barely any time, Nightmare dodged his attack just before he could hit her and went to retrieve her sword. "I don't think so love" He said and grabbed her sword with another tendril.

  He yanked it out of the ground and brought it back to his other hand. Nightmare looked at Thomas with both anger and confusion, but nonetheless she began using her blasts against him, but it had no effect whatsoever. Each blast getting deflected or missing entirely.

  "How is this possible?!" Nightmare roared and rushed towards the man going for close quarters combat. She threw punch after punch while Thomas dodged. "You were supposed to be dead, you were weaker than this damn it... what the hell happened!?" She demanded as Thomas caught her fist.

  "I just got stronger" He said and pulled her in for a hard knee then slammed her to the ground, ending it with a kick to the chest away from the others and in the back of the room. Her body hitting the steps, spinning her around before smacking face first into the floor.

  "Holy shit man... you got really strong" Jay said in amazement then froze seeing Thomas' gaze. "Y-You still with us bud?" He asked, they stared at each other in silence until it was broken with a snort from Thomas.

  "Of course man, by the way, you look like hammered shit" Thomas joked and the two laughed. 

  "Glad your still with us man" Jay said and looked Thomas over. "You look like you've seen better days dude"

  "Uh guys, not to break up a touching reunion but, we got an evil goddess to distract" Jackson jumped in and got the two to focus. 

  "Twilight, how long do you need?" Thomas asked the woman.

  "We're almost done charging, just hold her off for five minutes" Twilight ordered and the man quickly rushed Nightmare and continued wailing on her. "You two... you two look like hammered shit"

  "Thanks for that" Jackson said sarcastically and got up. "C'mon Jay, we gotta help Thomas!"

  "Uh, dude" Jay said pointing to where Thomas was and saw him going blow for blow with Nightmare. Their fists connected each time they swung and even kicked up dust from said fighting, Nightmare went to sweep his legs, but Thomas dodged and gave a hard right landing a direct hit but simultaneously getting kneed in the face as well.

  The two fell to the floor with a hard thud, but quickly sprung back to their feet and began literally throwing each other through the walls, throwing punches and kicks at one another. 

  "Is that all you got!?" Nightmare taunted.

  "Not even close!" Thomas replied and they both threw a punch so hard it shattered all the windows with the sheer force from said punch.

  "Okay... that looks really intense" Jackson  admitted and the two watched them fight so fluently, like watching two masters in the art of fighting sparring. Except this time, it had lives on the line.

  "Okay, we're done charging up the elements, we just need her to stay still" Twilight said as the girls floated up in a ball of pure light.

  "You are asking way to much Twilight... *sigh*, alright jay, let's do it" Jackson groaned and they both sprinted into the fight. Throwing a bolt of lightning, Thomas grabbed Nightmare and flung towards it, but Nightmare grabbed it and used her momentum to throw it back to Jackson getting a direct hit. Before she could laugh, Jay kicked her back to the ground and Thomas followed through with a spinning kick of his own landing right in the middle of her back launching her away.

  She tumbled roughly against the ground losing her pieces of her armor and scratching her body up. She suddenly came to a grinding halt using her hand to dig into the ground and stop her momentum. She shakily got on her hands and knees, it was then that Thomas felt something was off, and it was when Nightmare has looked back up to the boy's and the whole room felt heavier. 

  "What's the matter Nightmare... are you finally pissed off?" Thomas asked and give his own furious glare at the woman whose eyes felt like daggers piercing through the others eyes. "Now you know how I feel" He spat out.

  "I'll kill... Every. Single. One of you" Nightmare growled rising back up to her feet and gave out a wild roar filled with enough fury to rival a damned soul. She rushed forward and drove jay into the ground throwing punch after punch, beating the man into a bloody pulp before grabbing his leg and slammed him against the ground over and over again then spun him around and tossed him out the window hitting and knocking down multiple trees.

  Next she blasted Jackson, who was still recovering, with multiple magic blasts sending him crashing to the wall. Before he could even blink, Nightmare kneed his face against the wall and continuously smashed it in the wall till his body was out the wall. With Jay and Jackson out the way she set her sights to Thomas with intent to kill.

  "Someone's a sore loser" Thomas joked and quickly blocked a kick with his own. "Can you feel it Nightmare, that little feeling that eats you up when you know you can't do anything but run... how long have you felt like this?" Thomas asked only to be answered with a growl.

  The two fought without holding back and without concern for others, they were in their own little world of fighting till their knuckles bled. Twilight and the girl watched the two effortlessly exchange blows that could destroy anything they wish, fighting to live.

  "Twilight, we can't use the elements if she's moving around to much" Rainbow said and Twilight couldn't agree more, but the situation escalated so much that they couldn't move unless they were wanting to die. "What do we do?"

  "We... have to wait, and trust that Thomas can get her weak enough to keep her still" Twilight said and just as she did she heard a groan from Jackson. She snapped her head towards the man and noticed how beaten he was, she used her magic to levitate him over to them. "Jackson, oh Celestia, I can't tell if he's breathing or not!"

  "Let me have a look" Fluttershy said and kneeled down to the man, she did the basic checks of finding of heart beat, then check his pluses from his wrist to his neck. After a few minutes, she clasped her hands in the middle of his chest and struck him, scaring the others. Before anyone could question her, Jackson sprang up gasping and coughing heavily. "Welcome back" She said with a smile.

  "I... thank you" Jackson said and hugged the woman. "I thought I was a goner"

  "I-It, was no problem" Fluttershy whispered and Jackson thanked her a few more times before letting go. He looked back to Thomas and Nightmare fighting and whistled in amazement.

  "Who knew Tommy was this strong, then again, I felt it slightly when he hit me in the woods, but I didn't think it was this much" Jackson admitted seeing Thomas trade blow's with Nightmare. "But we need him to keep her steady"

  "Agreed, although I'm pretty sure we can only wait and see" Twilight said, Jackson went silent and pondered for a moment. He began visualizing his next steps, deciding what action to approach, but every outcome was the same. Getting pummeled by Nightmare until he passed out.

  "*Groan*... This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!" Jackson repeatedly mumbled to himself then full-tilt sprinted towards Thomas and Nightmare. He quickly dodged magic blasts deflected by Thomas and the flying debris from said attacks. With a quick maneuver, Jackson began fighting with Thomas catching Nightmare off guard and a helluva lot more furious. "Thomas, we gotta end this now" Jackson said.

  " know, but this is harder than it looks Jackson" Thomas replied. "We gotta do something and quick, ideas?" He asked just as the two caught a fist and a leg from the woman then kneed her back a couple of feet away.

  "We put her in a hold just long enough for the girl's to work their magic" Jackson said and Thomas nodded. "Still got some juice let man?"

  "Just enough, can't hold this forever though... let's make it count" Thomas said and rushed the evil goddess and bombarded her with every attack they had. Each strike landed and felt heavier than the last, Nightmare couldn't follow the boy's movements so she was stuck in the onslaught.

    "Twilight get those damn rocks ready!" Jackson called out and a second later the six floated in the air and began getting the attack ready. "Tell us when!" He said summoning his lightning and engulfing his right in it to make Nightmare feel more pain.

  "Almost... okay, we're ready!" Twilight shouted and the two quickly put Nightmare in a stronghold, keeping her in place. 

  "NO, I WILL NOT LOSE TO PEASANTS LIKE YOU!!!" Nightmare roared and began to shake Thomas and Jackson off of her, the grips were getting looser and looser as she thrashed about. It took one more hard shake to make Jackson's hold break and Nightmare ripped her arm free from his clutches then elbowed him, knocking him to the ground. She set her sights on Thomas once Jackson was dealt with and began punching away at the mans face.

  Thomas began losing his strength with every punch Nightmare swung, Nightmare sensed this and continued wailing away. Just as Thomas was about completely drained, Jay quickly sprung forward and caught Nightmares fist and put her in the same hold Thomas was doing. Jackson struggled to get to his knees, but once he did, the man held Nightmares legs tight as to have her completely immobilized. 

  "TWILIGHT!"

  "GIRLS!"

    "DO IT  NOW!!!!!" The boy's screamed at the top of their lungs, almost ripping it to shreds, and just as they screamed, The girls blasted the four of them with a rainbow beam. It wrapped around them, covering them inside the beam of energy.

  "NOOOOOOO!" Nightmare screamed in agony before her cries faded away into a distant echo, and just like that... she was gone.



THOMAS'S P.O.V




  All I saw was nothing but the bright shining light surrounding me, then out of nowhere, an explosion blew me, Jackson and Jay in different directions. I didn't go that far, but I was left with my whole body aching and completely sore, I stared at the ceiling for a good five minutes before I mustered up the strength to sit up.

  "Thank you" I heard and look up to the most beautiful woman I've ever seen kneeling in front of me. Her hair was short with a soft baby blue color that matched her cyan iris, her skin was a light purple that looked absolutely perfect and looked smooth to the touch. She no taller than I from what I can tell, and that she's wearing is a white worn sun dress with a colored in crescent moon in the middle. "Are you alright?" The woman asked with a small giggle, her voice as calming as a still river.

  "Ye... yes" I answered, unable to form any other words. "Who... who are you?" I asked without thinking.

  "Her name is Luna, Princess Luna" a voice echoed and we both looked to see another beautiful woman, who Im assuming is Princess Celestia. "It's been a long time... hasn't it?" Celestia asked slowly walking towards us, I can see Luna cowering in fear seeing Celestia.

  "I... I-I" Was all Luna can say before coming face to face with Celestia, she kneeled to Lunas level.

  "Please, we were meant to rule together little sister" Celestia said pretty much shocking everybody in the room. "Will ever forgive me and... accept my friendship?" She asked, the girls were on the edge of their metaphorical seats along with Jay and Jackson.

  Luna looked to me, almost as if she was asking me to answer for her. I simply smiled at the woman and she began tearing up, she instantly latched onto Celestia and began crying her eyes out. "I'm so sorry, I've missed you so much" Luna cried and Celestia embraced her with tears of her own.

  "I've missed you too" Celestia weeped and the two held each other for as long as they could. "Thank you all for bringing my sister back to me"

  "Ah ya know, no big deal" I said dismissively chuckling a little then, I then felt a soft hand from luna cup my cheek and then a small peck on the other. "I-uh…. T-thank you" I Stuttered out as Luna giggled from expression.

  "I can't thank you enough Thomas, as well as your friends" Luna said with the brightest smile I've ever seen. "Im finally home"
> Chapter 6: This is one helluva party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Ponyville, 3 Months Later, Rainbows House 4:35 p.m.
P.o.v- Thomas




  "Thomas... what are you doing?" Rainbow asked me as she watched me meditate in the middle of the room. It was something I had picked up a long time ago to control my anger, after the whole Nightmare Moon thing along with all the other smaller things that kinda peeved me a little. Like how Applejack was too stubborn to ask for help and became sleep-deprived, the other was helping the town understand that a friendly woman named Zecora wasn't a witch bent on taking over their town, then the whole Trixie thing happened which was a mess, and so on so forth. Now everything was starting to finally calm down around here, or at least, that's what I thought.

  "The better question is, what are you doing with that fancy dress?" I asked not even turning around.

  "Well-its-uh, nothing special, just something that Rarity whipped up for that stupid gala thing happening in Canterlot tonight" Rainbow said, I peeked behind me to see said dress and I had to admit, she look gorgeous in it. "She, also wanted us to try it on and I wanted to... to g-get someone's opinion on it, cause I'm pretty sure I look awesome in it, but I wanted someone else to verify that" she said as she cleared her throat attempting to get rid of her small blush.

  "Well, you look amazing Rainbow" I answered and I could sense a small form of giddiness coming from the tomboy. "It is strange seeing you in a dress since you mostly dress like me or my friends" I admitted grinning a bit.

  "Well, I-I wanted to try something new for a change, nothing wrong with that, right?" Rainbow said, trying to play it cool when I knew she was embarrassed showing a girly side.

  "Correct, nothing wrong with being a little girly Rainbow, no one will judge you on your decisions and those who do, are never worth you time" I said, getting up and stretched a bit. "I believe, you should do whatever you feel is right, whether people like it or not, it's all about how you feel and if it feels right to you, then no one should ever tell you otherwise, that reminds me of a quote from my favorite back home" I said turning to her and her face was shocked, blank, and bright red. "Who cares what other people think, they don't decide who you are, you do. You are, who you choose to be" I finished.

  "Wow, uh... thanks for the words of encouragement" Rainbow simply said, I gave her a small smile and started heading upstairs. "Those are some pretty wise words to come up with on the fly"

  "Well, I didn't just make them up, it's what I believe in and it's what my mother would tell me whenever I felt nervous or unsure about something also, it came from that movie I said earlier" I said. "Anyways, if you need me I'll be in the shower, just knock if you need something" I called out as I finished climbing the stairs and went to my room. 

  Upon entering my entering room, I began taking off my clothes to get ready for a shower. Although, when seeing my clothes, I realized how much of a toll they've taken since getting here. I did ask Rarity if she could make me new clothes, but her response was that it would take a week or two.

  So in the end, I asked her to re-sew my torn shirt and pants. After that I might've swiped some things on my way out the door, it was just some black sweats and underwear.

  "I hope Rarity hurries with that request, I'm running out of things to wear" I muttered to myself and thanked god that I did laundry yesterday. Grabbing some clean clothes, I headed towards the bathroom to start my shower, only to be halted by a knock on my door.

  "Hey Thomas, you mind helping me unzip the dress?" Rainbow asked as she walked in my room then froze.

  "Whoa, I didn't even know you could turn that red, but sure Rainbow I'll be happy to help" I said slippin on some shorts Rainbow gave me a while back and walked towards the frozen girl. 

  "Uuuuuuh- on second thought, I can take it off, no need to help Thomas!" Rainbow exclaimed breaking from her frozen stance and backed up. 

   "It's really no big deal Rainbow, honestly, you're acting like you've never seen a guy without a shirt on before" I joked throwing my clothes on the bed and stopped her. "I insist Dash, now then lets have a look at that zipper" I said and with a defeated sigh, the girl turned around and moved her hair to the side.

  "Careful back their Thomas, this dress is extremely important to me- I mean Rarity, its important to Rarity" Rainbow suddenly said and I can see her ears turn red.

  "Its okay if you like the dress Rainbow, you look rather nice wearing it" I said and began unzipping. "Maybe you should wear them more often eh" I joked and finished unzipping her dress.

  "Yeah, yeah, not a chance, this will be the only dress you'll ever see me in" Rainbow stated and didn't realize she was wearing the same attire as I. 

  "You know, I thought you were the type to wear boxers and a training bra... this is a nice surprise" I said chuckling seeing the pink bra and panties cling to her taut but filled out body, and something kinda strange on her shoulder, it looked like a cloud with a rainbow lighting bolt and I couldn't help but stare at it. "Amazing" I unknowingly said out loud before poking the image.

  Rainbow gave out a small yelp before I felt a small sting on my left cheek and a ringing from my ear. She glared at me with an apple red face then dashed out the room, dress in tow.

  "Yeesh, I feel like I could've worded that better, might have to apologize later, but for now" I said grabbing my clothes and walked to the bathroom. "I need to take a shower, grab some groceries and clean the house" I listed off then stopped. "Pff, I sound like a house husband, oh well"

  And with that, I made my way towards the shower.



Canterlot Castle- Jackson's Room
P.o.v- Jackson




  "Do I really have to wear this... this... this-"

  "Suit?" Celestia finished for me as the maids continued making said suit. "Honestly Jackson what did you expect, all members of the royal staff must attend the Grand Galloping Gala with formal wear" She stated and I groaned. "Oh stop being such a baby, you look great so far, and maybe if you're lucky a certain air-user might be there as well" Celestia teased with a shit eating grin.

  "Yeah, yeah, real cute Tia" I remarked and let the maids continue their work. I gotta say, the suit was actually feeling pretty comfortable all considering, also, this will be the first formal attire I will ever own in my life. "*Sigh* have you sent out the invites?" I asked the woman and the waves from her hair stopped and her face turned pale. "Who'd you forget Tia?"

"Well... its all a matter of who didn't get the invitation and what happened to said invitation in the mail and-"

  "Oh dear lord you forgot Thomas" I said with a stunned look on my face. 

  "You see, I was rather busy bonding with my sister that was gone for a thousand years and seem to have lost the... invite... for... Thomas" Celestia mumbled out and could feel the burning rage coming from me.

  "Tia... I cant tell if I'm okay with this little mistake, or Im so unbelievably enraged that Ive come full circle to even get angry" I said and the maids were understandably backing away. "Now tell me Tia, before I rip you a new one, can you tell me what YOU told me to do two months ago?" I asked.

  "To... make enough-"

  "To make enough invites, yes, and now you're telling me that I slaved for two months, thirty-six hours, twelve minutes and thirty seconds, just so you can lose what I worked so hard on" I stated and now I was feeling the anger rising inside of me. "Did I miss anything?" 

  "Uhm-"

  "No? Good, good, because do you know what we are going to do Princess?" I interrupted while asking with gritted teeth.

  "Make a new-"

  "Make a new invitation, except this time we are going to personally hand deliver it to Thomas" I said interrupting her once more. "Do you understand Celestia?" I simply asked giving the coldest and most rage induced look I can fathom, she nodded terrified and jumped when I stepped down from the pedestal I was on.

  "R-Right now?" She whimpered.

  "Tia... you have five seconds before I go into a complete murderous rage, so if you don't want that to happen then I suggest you get out of my room, get the fanciest piece of paper you can find, get the most elegant pen you have, and write an invitation so damn good I'll be crying my eyes out just looking at it" I stated calmly and she shook in fear. 

"U-Uh..."

"Bye" I said and instantly she took off in a hurry.

  "U-Uh mr. Jackson sir?" The maid called and I looked towards the two. "W-Was scaring princess Celestia really n-necessary?" She asked and I gave a small snort.

  "Why indeed ms. Indigo, because I'm sure that lazy princess would've gotten her other maids to make the invitation" I said and stood back on the table. "So a little fear never hurt anyone... okay scratch that, it did a few times, but I'm not gonna get into that, *ahem* shall we finish the suit ladies?" I asked and the two nodded before going back to making the suit.

  It wasn't until a few minutes later did they finish and leave me to my own devices. I changed into some shorts and a blue shirt before heading out to the balcony near my room. I sat on a little red couch that was in the middle of the balcony and blissfully looked across the land, taking in every second of the beautiful scenery, it looked like something out of a painting made by the best artist. I sighed happily and continued to look out unto the world.

  "Greetings!" I heard as Luna sprung out of nowhere.

  "Jesus Christ in heaven!" I yelped, almost toppling the couch back. "Luna, we talked about the sneaking" I reminded as she sat down.

  "But thou looketh so peaceful, We could not resist" Luna spoke, her manner of speaking changed after a few months when she got her original form back. Because she got her old form back, her old ways flew right back to her, now she speaks like a woman from the medieval era, and looks like an eighteen year old. "So what is thou doing out here?" She asked.

  "Just... thinking is all... about my life back home" I said and smiled. "My mom, my dad, if they could see me now, Im sure they would feel proud in some regard" I said.

  "What was thou's life like, backeth home?" Luna asked intrigued. 

  "Well... aside from kicking ass and helping Thomas with bullies, I was just a regular highschool kid with a loving family, good grades, and pretty athletically skilled... I had a great life in all honesty" I answered. "Although, I felt like something was missing from my it, that is, until I came here"

  "Please explain?" 

  "Well, life can only take you so far and from where I stood, I was pretty much in a rut that I couldn't shake off. I tried finding different ways to grant meaning to my life other than the mindset of finishing school, get a job, and live the life I was given, but no matter what I couldn't find anything. That was until Thomas, Jay, and I ran into the woods near the school we went to, to try a run from a group of kids trying to kill us" I said. "Coming here gave me another sense of purpose I didn't know I needed, and now, with these new powers, I can help anyone who comes into harm's way and in some way... I finally feel free from my meaningless rut" I finished still looking out into the world.

  "We see, well we are glad thou has found a new purpose, also... why was our sister running in fear?" Luna asked once more and I chuckled.

  "She made me angry," I answered.

  "Oh, We see, well can thou please teeleth us about sir Thomas?" She asked, a bit excitedly making me raise an eyebrow.

  "Sounds a little specific Luna, does someone have a fling for Thomas?" I teased and Luna gave a cute pout to said teasing. "Alright, alright, where to start... ah! How about the first day I met him, and let me tell ya, he was the single most quietest person you would have ever met"



Rainbows House, P.o.v- Thomas




  "Achoo!" I sneezed entering the house, almost dropping some groceries. "Huh *sniffle* someone must be talking about me" I muttered as I walked into the house, groceries in hand. "Okay, now then, next is to clean the house"

  "Already did that sugarcube" I heard someone say from the kitchen, I walked in and saw Applejack sitting at the table reading and eating an apple. "Took ya long enough, ya get lost out there?" She joked, I chuckled a little and placed the groceries on the counter.

  "Well I just got caught up by a purple woman who wanted to study me, and now a cowgirl is in my kitchen eating my food" I answered with a small chuckle. "What brings you here you Aj?" I asked.

  "Well, Ah was wonderin if ya got yer invitation from Twilight yet" Applejack said pulling out a golden Ticket.

  "What is this, Charlie and the Chocolate factory?" I joked, but Aj just looked confused. "Oh right, uhm, it's a movie in my world that has golden tickets to go inside a big candy factory"

  "Still have no idea what yer talkin about sugarcube" Applejack said and handed me the golden ticket. "So ah'm jus' gonna assume ya dont have a ticket"

  "Nnnnope" I answered giving it back to her and began putting the groceries away. "Honestly Applejack, I'm not really comfortable with parties anyways, sure the one Pinkie gave me for moving into ponyville was great, but I'm kind of an... oh man what's the word?"

  "An antisocial person?" Applejack threw out and I nodded. "Well Ah think you need ta come outta yer shell sugarcube, c'mon, me and the girls are goin, so how bout' you be mah plus one that way you can join us?" She asked and I pondered it for a moment. "It'll be fun~"

  "I'll... I'll think about it, sound fair?" I asked making the cowgirl nod. "Hey, where's Dash?"

  "Oh she's takin a shower, said somethin about feelin dirty from someone eyein'er up" Applejack said making me get a small red hue on my cheeks. "Know anything about what she meant?" She asked and I could feel the massive grin on her face burn the back of my head.

  "Nope, not a clue heh" I lied as I finished putting the groceries away. "Must've been some creep from earlier today" I continued.

  "Ya know it's funny Tommy, she gave a description of the guy, said he was tall, had brown messy hair, tan skin, green eyes, kinda cute, and was as skinny as a toothpick" Applejack listed and I didn't turn as I tried to not make eye-contact. "The only one that matches that description‐" she stopped, walked over to me, spun me around and pinned me to the fridge with a cocky grin. "Is you" she finished.

  "I-I dont-" I was interrupted by Applejack placing a finger on my lips.

  "Sugarcube, y'all already know Ah'm the element of honesty, so why even try to lie ta me?" Applejack asked. "Ya ain't in trouble sugar, Ah jus' like teasing you" she said and began uncontrollably laughing at me, she was mainly laughing at how red my face had gotten.

  "Geez Aj, I thought you were gonna kill me or somethin" I sighed in relief, I got off the fridge door and sat down at the table. "And please stop teasing me so much, please" I begged the cowgirl as her laughter was dying down.

  "Oh but sugarcube it's so much fun, honestly Thomas, you are too easy ta tease" Applejack stated with a few giggles here and there, she sat down and noticed my glare. "Oh calm down, it's all fun an games Thomas, look if it means anything, Ah'll tone it down alright"

  "Thank you, now I believe I need to find something else to do before I become bored out of my mind" I said, they didn't have T.V. or Phones, so I could either clean something, read or sleep. "*Sigh* Well, I got nothin" I said because Applejack cleaned the house, I've read all the books twice and I'm tired, so I really had nothing to do.

  "Hmm, why don't you an Ah walk around town, y'all could use the exercise, plus we could get ta know one another more" Applejack suggested and I shrugged.

  "Why not, but, how about we go to your farm instead" I said, making Applejack raise a brow.

  "Why mah farm partner?" She asked, then got a sly grin. "Y'all ain't tryna do somethin ta me, are ya Tommy?" Applejack teased, makin me blush a little.

  "I just… like how quiet it is there thats all, nothing wrong with quiet right?" I retorted.

  "Fine, but no funny business alright" Applejack joked and I got up, I got a small cloth bag from a drawer and put some water bottles and snacks in it. "Hey, maybe y'all can tell me about how ya met yer friends" she said and I chuckled a little.

  "Well, maybe I should tell you the time I almost got us killed" I said walking out the kitchen with Applejack in tow. "I tell ya, if they weren't around me, I'd be nothing more than a memory from how much crap I got into" I continued as I reached for the doorknob, but I was stopped when the doorbell rang.

  "You expectin anyone?" Applejack asked and I shrugged. "Well, open the door, it's not nice ta keep others waiting"

  "One sec!" I called to the person behind the door and quickly undid the locks before opening the door. "Hello?"

  "Hey Thomas, I think the princess here has something she'd like to give you" Jackson said and I saw said princess shaking like a leaf.

  "I-Im terribly sorry for n-not sending you a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, I misplaced your ticket so I wrote you another" Celestia said handing me the most fanciest parchment paper I have ever seen, it was literally encrusted with diamonds on the edges and the writing was like she wrote it with the same material as the edges. I was to astonished to even hold it, it felt like I touched it, the purity of this beautiful invitation would lose it's amazing glow. "Mr. Knight?" Celestia called getting my attention 
from tapping my shoulder, snapping me out of it.

  "I-I don't know what to say, but, this invitation is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," I said carefully grasping the ticket. "Y-you really didn't have to make such a big fuss about a misplaced invitation, if you just wrote it on some paper with a signature, that would've been just as good"

  "Well, it's to apologize since your invitation was supposed to be one of the first one's to be sent out" Jackson admitted and threw a small glare at Celestia who jumped a little. "Say your sorry Tia"

  "Im... deeply sorry Thomas, it wasn't my intention to invite you this late, what with my sister's return and all" Celestia said. "I just got so caught up with spending time with her and teaching her the new ways of equis, I kinda lost track-"

  "It's okay, no harm done Celestia" I stopped her. "I don't know what Jackson said to scare you this bad over a ticket, but I'm glad to know your helping Luna adjust to the new ways around here, granted, I'm still learning myself" I said with a hand held out.

  "Well, I'm glad you could understand young Thomas" Celestia said with a sigh of relief. "I look forward to seeing you at the Gala tonight"

  "Guess I have no choice huh" I said chuckling a little. "Might have to get a suit, you attending it to Jackson?" I asked the man.

  "Yup, and unfortunately, I gotta wear a suit as well" Jackson complained. "But hey, maybe you, me and Jay can liven things up a bit"

  "For sure man, by the way, how's Jay doing?" I asked.

  "Oh he is doing splendid, a few more days of wing training and he'll be as right as rain" Celestia answered with a smile. "Well young Thomas, I'm afraid we must take our leave, if there's anything I can do just send a letter and I'll see to it first hand"

  "Thank you princess" I thanked, with that the two said goodbye and teleported back to canterlot. "Seems I got some stuff to do, gonna have to take a rain check Aj" I said making the woman puff her cheeks a little.

  "It's fine" She grumbled. "Mind if ah tag along?" Applejack asked.

  "Sure, c'mon, let's go before Dash tries to spread more lies about me" I joked before putting the ticket down on the kitchen table and we made our way towards Rarity's house.

  On our way, we barely got down the street before Dash zoomed next to us. Giving her the rundown about what Applejack and I are doing, she decided to tag along, said something about needing matching shoes for her dress. 



(Carousel boutique) 

  We finally made it and quickly went inside. Not even a second after asking Rarity if she could make me a suit, she was already taking measurements, while Aj and Rainbow were relaxing on her couch.

  "Oh darling I know just the type of colors that will make you simply magnificent!" Rarity exclaimed excitedly. "Trust me when I say that you will look smashing at the gala tonight, all those ladies will be asking to dance with you all night"

  "Eh, I don't know about that Rarity" I said. "Im not what you call, attractive to the opposite sex, even if I wear a good looking suit" I stated making her give a dismissive wave.

  "Nonsense, you are attractive in your own way darling" Rarity assured me. "Trust me Thomas, you are a very handsome man with the best personality I've ever seen," she continued.

  "Thanks Rarity, that makes me feel kinda better about myself" I said and she hummed.

  "Ah bet ten bit's he don't even talk ta one girl" Applejack whispered to Rainbow.

  "I bet he will, and to make it interesting, I bet he will even dance with one" Rainbow whispered back, they both shook on it. "So Thomas, gonna man up and ask someone to dance at the Gala?"

  "It depends if any of those ladies will give me the chance to ask" I answered.

  "Well if nobody will dance with you, you can always ask me" Rainbow threw out.

  "Really?" I asked with small amounts of doubt.

  "Sure, no harm dancing with my friends?" She asked.

  "No harm at all, could be fun" I said just as Rarity finished her measurements. I was finally allowed to sit down after thirty minutes of standing completely still. "Hope the suit comes out great"

  "Don't y'all worry, Rarity is the best from what Ah can tell" Applejack said. "And you know, Rarity ain't wrong either"

  "About?" I questioned.

  "You bein attractive in yer own way, yer kinda dorky an shy which Ah think is a lil cute" Applejack said causing a small red hue to form on my cheeks. "Some girls like dorky an shy guy's, though most of'em pick uptight jackasses" she finished with a small chuckle.

  "Thanks Aj, I appreciate that," I said.

  "I just think you're a cool guy Thomas, sure you're a bit nervous for my taste, but that dont mean I don't find you at least a bit attractive" Rainbow pitched in making my face turn a little more red. "I can see what Applejack means, it's cute seeing you get all shy, it's like you're a little kitten"

  "O-Okay, I appreciate you both for making me feel better about myself, so please stop" I begged trying to fight the blush off my face, they both laughed seeing my flushed face. After another thirty minutes, Rarity came back with a mannequin wearing a silk black coat over a clean red and black leather vest that was also over a dark red dress shirt with the pants having the same material as the coat, and the shoes themselves had a chrome black look to it that shined in the light. "Holy hell, that's-"

  "Elegant?, Beautiful?" Rarity threw out.

  "Amazing" I said in awe. "Is this really mine?" I asked the fashionista.

  "Of course darling, a handsome man like yourself needs to look his best" She said and used her magic to carefully remove the clothes and hand them to me. "Especially to a very prestigious party such as the one happening tonight, now go try them on" Rarity said practically shoving me into the changing room.

  "Alright, give me a minute" I told her and closed the door. Rarity hummed as she walked back to Rainbow and Applejack who were arm wrestling. 

  "Girl's, what have I told you about arm wrestling in my home" Rarity asked using her magic to arrange the clothes on the racks across from them. 

  "Oh calm down Rare's it's just to pass the time" Rainbow said as she lost the match. "Great, anyways, how's Thomas looking?" She asked.

  "We will see once he is done getting dressed" Rarity answered. "For now, we just have to wait and see" she said finishing her rearranging and went behind the counter, pulling out a white box with a purple bow on it.

  "What'cha got there Rarity?" Applejack asked, and Rarity hummed, lost in her thoughts. "Rarity?"

  "Huh, oh, sorry darling, I was just bringing out a gift for Thomas" Rarity answered. "His old hat was torn a bit when we used the Elements of harmony, so I've been fixing it up ever since, as a way of saying thanks for saving us" she said pulling out said hat and the two noticed how nice and clean the rope and leather was.

  "Wow, it looks even better than when he first got it" Rainbow complimented and the two got up to get a closer look. 

  "It looks incredible Rarity, how long did it take you ta fix this here hat?" Applejack asked examining it. "Ya even sewed his name on the inside"

  "Well darling, it took me a good month to find a newer version of a specific type of leather to match his old one, then two month's re-sewing the entire hat stitch for stitch, and two weeks waiting for some of the finest rope materials to give it a finishing touch" Rarity told the two and they were in awe at how hard Rarity worked on the hat. "I wanted to give it to him before we left for the Gala, but since he's coming, I made a suit that matches this hat perfectly"

  "So I'm guessing that hat repairs aren't really your strongest in the skills department huh" Rainbow questioned, to which Rarity nodded.

  "Not that great I'm afraid, but I wanted to give this my all" Rarity said.

  "Alright girls, how do I look?" I asked the three as I walked towards them. They turned and stood up straight, I saw the faintest hint of pink on the girl's cheeks. "You guys okay?" I asked.

  "Yup, I'm good, soooo good" 

  "Eeyup"

  "Quite fine darling, I-I must say you look rather dashing in that suit" Rarity complemented.

  "Thank you, the suit itself fits perfectly, and I love the designs you chose for it as well" I said. "The leather of the vest is smooth and soft to the touch, while the dress shirt allows it to comfortably sit atop it without causing wrinkles, the coat and the pants of course are beautifully made showing me just how much love you have for this type of thing" I ranted off not realizing how red the woman was getting.

  "I-I uh-"

  "All in all, this is the greatest suit I will ever own" I finished saying, chuckling seeing the fashionista fiddle with her finger's having rosy cheeks and stuttering. "You good Rarity?" I asked.

  "Oh she's fine handsome-I mean Thomas" Rainbow said quickly correcting herself. "Sorry, you caught us all by surprise man, wasn't expecting you to look as good as you do right now"

  "Eeyup, hardly recognized ya, ah must say though, you clean up mighty fine Tommy" Applejack said giving me a little jab to the arm.

  "Thanks, now how much do I owe you Rarity?" I asked the seamstress who got herself composed.

  "Oh please Thomas it was the least I can do after you've helped us so many other times these past few months, consider this a token of my gratitude" Rarity answered then gasped suddenly. "That's right, I had a gift for you as well"

  "First you make me an incredible suit for free, now I'm going to get a gift, you're spoiling me too much" I said with a chuckle. 

  "I think you'll like this one Thomas" Rainbow said right as Rarity reached behind the front desk and pulled out the hat Igneous gave me.

  "My hat!" I exclaimed gleefully. "I was wondering what had happened to it, it practically looks brand new!" I said with the biggest smile on my face.

  "Well, try it on darling" Rarity said and I did just that. The second the hat went on my head, I felt complete. "How does it feel?" She asked.

  Perfect, absolutely perfect Rarity" I said giving the woman the biggest hug, picking her up slightly. "Thank you"

  "I-It was no problem at all darling, I'm sorry it took so long to finish" Rarity said.

  "It's okay Rarity, the fact that you did this out of the kindness and generosity of your heart makes this worth the wait" I told her as I placed her back on the ground. "Man, today just gets better and better, you know, I'm kinda excited for this Gala thing" I admitted.

  "It is the biggest party in all of Equestria, so I would hope you'd be excited" Rainbow said. "I'm just excited about meeting the Wonderbolts, I heard they were going to be there this year and I'm gonna show off some moves that'll make leave them in awe!" She said excitedly.

  "Ah jus' want ta sell my apple goods since Ah'm sure there will be some hungry people their" Applejack added.

  "I want to meet my prince charming and live a long happy life together" Rarity said blissfully and both myself and Rainbow couldn't help but snicker at this. "Oh hush you two, a woman can dream can she not?" She asked hushing us both.

  "Sorry Rarity, but I don't think you'll find your 'Prince Charming' at a fancy dance like Cinderella" I said making her scoff. "I'm not saying it won't happen, but I just want you to keep the expectations low, just in case"

  "Whatever you say darling, now then, before anything else happens" Rarity said going behind the front desk and pulled out a box. "Strip"



Canterlot Castle, Medical Wing, P.o.v- Jay, 8:30 p.m. 




 "Arrrgh... c'mon you... stupid wings!" I strained out attempting to fold my wings, but it was no use. "Damn it, I felt a twitch this time" I grumbled, plopping down on the bed in the room they gave me.

  "You know Mr. Adonis, instead of forcing them to close, how bout you actually relax and let them fold naturally as they were made to do" A nurse with blood red skin, long ashy gray hair, about 5'10 and holding an annoyed glare said to me, her voice sounded slightly raspy but smooth as well.

  "Say's the nurse with no wings" I shot at her and her glare hardened.

  "Okay Jay, let me ask you something, did you go to eight years of college for a M.D?" She asked.

  "Uh-"

  "Did you learn the different anatomies of other races?" She continued on.

  "I-"

  "Final question, who has two sisters that consist of an adopted child from the drake race and the other an air-user?" She finished.

  "... is it yo-"

  "ME YOU SON OF A BITCH, SO IF YOU WANNA DO MY JOB, BY ALL MEANS, FUCKIN DO IT!" The nurse yelled at me causing me to shut my trap. "*Deep sigh* Okay then, let's try this again shall we?"

  "Yes ma'am" I said.

  "Good boy, now, relax and focus on the wings" She instructed. "Do what comes naturally" 

  I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, letting my body relax, loosening the muscles and focused on my wings. 

  "Breathe" She continued to instruct, following said instructions from the woman, I kept a slow but steady pace. "There we go, feels better doesn't?" The nurse asked and I opened my eyes.

  I got up and walked over to the mirror at the corner of the room, and I smiled seeing my wings neatly folded into place on my back. It was still hard to believe I actually have wings at all, it should be physically impossible, yet here they are.

  "It does feel better, thank you" I said playing with my folded wings.

  "Now then, that concludes today's lesson  and check-up" The nurse said writing on her clipboard. "I'm going home to visit family in Manehattan, so I won't be here for at least four days, think you can keep out of trouble till I get back?" She asked.

  "Of course, I'm not five you know" I answered earning a look of doubt from her along with a small giggle. "Something funny Violet?" I asked.

  "Nope, not a thing Jay" Violet said covering her mouth as to hide the smile. "I just thought about how you would look as a five year old, must've been quite the cutie" she told me and giggled seeing me with an embarrassed blush.

  "Well... my mom did say I was a cute kid" I unconsciously told her, mentally slapping myself.

  "Oh-ho, A mama's boy huh?" Violet teased. "Isn't that cute"

  "Shut up, it's only natural for a boy to love his mother" I said defensively causing her to giggle harder.

  "Oh that's just precious" She said in a mocking tone, she was giggling so much it soon led to her giving out cute little snorts which mortified her, but gave me ammunition. 

  "What a cute little snort" I said with the biggest grin on my face, our roles were completely flipped now. Violets cheeks were turning pink, growing slightly more embarrassed, while I was now the one teasing. "It's like a lil piglet oinking"

  "S-Shut up!" Violet yelled at me with beet red face. "Or do you want me to perform an early autopsy on you?" She growled, letting me know I had no more ammo.

  "Alright, alright, you win" I admitted. "But in all seriousness, I'll be fine Violet, you don't always have to look after me you know" I told her.

  "*sigh* I'm too used to it now, it might be a little boring not checking up on you everyday" Violet said and I chuckled.

  "Aw, Im touched Violet, I didn't think you'd miss me" I said causing the woman to shyly look away.

  "You wish, I'm gonna enjoy my time off, so don't become a mess when you see me the second I come back, got it" Violet said packing her stuff up. "Anyways, I gotta go to my room to change" she said.

  "Change for what?" I asked her.

  "Oh, I thought I told you, the Grand Galloping Gala is today and all royal staff members must attend in formal attire" Violet explained to me.

  "You, in a dress" I said with almost disbelief. "Must be quite the sight"

  "Wait what time is it?" Violet asked pulling out a watch from her bag. "Shoot, I gotta go!" she exclaimed almost fully sprinting out the medical wing, I sat there for a moment in silence.

  "I wonder if she likes dancing... " I trailed off then looked at my reflection, before chuckling a little. "Let's crash a party"



The Entrance of Canterlot Castle, P.o.v- Thomas 10:00 a.m.




  "I know I asked Twilight to teleport me here so there would be room in the carriage, but they're all late" I muttered to myself. I was standing outfront of the enormous castle, fully dressed and was now waiting for my friends to show up, I watched as nobles walked past me with smug looks on their faces and even some scoffed at me like they were my betters. "*groan* Maybe I should head inside, see how 'exciting' this party is, judging how people are acting, I shouldn't expect much" I muttered to myself once more.

  I waited another five or so minutes before deciding to head in and see what it was like on the inside. Quickly flashing my ticket to the guards at the door, I walked into the castle being greeted with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people talking, eating and dancing.

  The sound of classical music from this world brought a smile to my face, the one thing every world will always have is music. I walked past all the nobles and party guests to see who the people who were playing this beautiful melody.

  To my surprise, it was only a handful of players and what looked to be a dj. The Dj had marshmallow white skin, crazy electric blue hair that was spiked up and dark blue nails, wearing an alabaster white jacket, dark magenta sunglasses, black tights and blue hightops. Out of everyone here, she looked the most out of place, especially with her equipment next to the ensemble. Although it was odd, I didn't question it, I simply took in the nostalgic melody.

  "It may be a different world, but at least classical music never changes" I mumbled to myself with a small grin. "Heh, she looks like she's really into it" I said looking towards a girl with long raven black hair combed neatly in place, charcoal grey skin, and purple eyes, she wore a bright purple dress that went past her knees and black flat heeled shoes.

  "Pretty cute when she's super focused huh?" 

  "Your right about that... wait a minute" I said and turned to my right seeing the dj girl. "Whoa!" I exclaimed making her chuckle.

  "Sorry man, didn't mean to scare you"  The girl said. "Name's Vinyl Scratch" Vinyl introduced herself.

  "... Thomas, Thomas Knight" I replied back, and we went back to watching the girl play. "Who is she?" I asked.

  "Her, That's my girlfriend Tavi" Vinyl said. 

  "Tavi?" I questioned.

  "Her full name is Octavia Melody, but to me, she's my little Tavi" Vinyl said and I chuckled a bit. "Anyway, sorry to say pal, but she's taken"

  "O-Oh, I wasn't hitting on her or anything, I was just..." I trailed off and thought back to home. "Remembering what it was like to be in her shoes" I finished, Vinyl looked at me for a moment before humming to herself.

  "Classically trained or self taught?" Vinyl asked me.

  "Classically trained, I can play the violin and piano, though it's been some years since I last played" I answered.

  "Huh, well aren't you full of surprises... hey, let's go grab a drink" Vinyl offered grabbing my arm.

  "Uh, I don't know Vinyl, I don't drink alcohol  plus wouldn't your girlfriend get upset?" I asked, but she just gave a dismissive wave.

  "Tavi knows I won't ever cheat on her so it's cool, and I don't drink either, but I heard there are soda's outside" Vinyl told me, but still felt kinda awkward about it. "C'mon man, indulge me for a while, what's the worst that can happen?" She asked and I had to agree.

  "You know what, you're right, lead the way" I said finding new bits of courage. Vinyl took my hand and led me outside which surprisingly had very few people out here, and just as Vinyl said, we found a bowl full of sodas and ice. "So what's the equivalent of a cola in this world?" I asked her.

  "Uh, the one that says cola on it" Vinyl said with a confused look. "And what do you mean 'this world', sounds like you're an alien or from another world" She asked chuckling a bit and tossed me a soda.

  "Weeelll" I dragged on causing her to lower her sunglasses showing me her blood red eyes. "I kinda am... from another world" I said.

  "You serious?" Vinyl asked to which I nodded. "Prove it" she told me.

  "Ever heard of Bach or Beethoven?" I asked, she shook her head at this. "Eminem, Wu-tang, Logic, The president or the United States?" I questioned further.

  "Uh, nope"

  "... Do you have Disney movies here?"

  "Disney what now?" Vinyl asked utter befuddled.

  "There's your proof, and to add onto that as well, we don't have princesses to watch over us and we don't have magic" I said almost making the girl look at me like a crazy person. "Believe me if you want" I finished and walked over to a stone bench with Vinyl tow.

  "Wow, I'm actually talking to someone from a different world!" Vinyl exclaimed as we sat down. "This is beyond insane, what else do you guys have?"

  "We have a thing called a Tv and smart phone's, which is basically a smaller, more mobile Tv you carry in your pocket" I said and she looked genuinely intrigued. "I'm sure when y'all create phones and Tv's you guys would have it run on magic or something"

  "I still find it hard to believe you're from a different world, how lucky am I to even talk with you" Vinyl said nudging my arm. "Oh yeah, you said something about a guy named Bach and Beethoven, who were they?" She asked.

  "They're both considered the most famous composers of classical music in all of history" I answered. "Some of their piece's are so good, you get completely sucked into it without you even knowing it, like the third movement of moonlight sonata by Beethoven" I continued.

  "Sounds intense, can you play it?" Vinyl asked and I thought about it for a moment. 

  "I believe so, but I'm a little rusty playing the piano, which is also something that I need to play the song" I said making Vinyl scoff.

  "That's it, I got you covered" She said, enveloping her horn in a red aura before snapping her fingers and making an electric piano pop up in her hands. "One piano as requested, now play me this moonlight song" she demanded excitedly.

  Uh, okay, but I won't promise I will be able to play it fully" I told Vinyl as I grabbed the piano from her hands. I tested out a few keys, adjusting it to the right octave before diving back into my memories. "Okay, let's give it a go" I said and started to play.

   (if you wanna listen to the whole thing, you are welcome to)

  As I played, I could see Vinyls jaw slow drop at how fluently I was gliding my hand on the piano. The speed I was going could even make masters confused on how I was able to produce the sound, I didn't notice at first, but I felt a big smile on my face as I played to my heart's content.

  I got so sucked into playing the movement, I didn't notice I was drawing in a small crowd. All of them watched in amazement as I played, they couldn't even follow my hands but still attempted to do so. 

  "Dude, rusty my ass, you're a fuckin professional" Vinyl said in amazement, I chuckled not even peeling my eyes away. After a good seven minutes passed I finished the movement as smoothly as I played it, and with that, I was brought out of my little world being welcomed with small cheers and applause. 

  "Oh uh, thank you" I nervously said handing the piano back to Vinyl, they soon dispersed not before telling me I played beautifully. "It was fun playing again" I said to the woman and flicked my hat up.

  "I hardly recognized you from that performance man, forgot how much of a music nut you were" I heard to my right, I turned and saw Jay wearing a black suit he clearly stole from a butler. "Been a minute since I've last seen you man" 

  "For real man, how you been?" I asked, getting up and gave him a quick hug. "Heard you were still tryna figure out how to control your wings" I said, making him blow a raspberry.

  "Like there was any doubt, I heard you were living in Ponyville with that girl Rainbow Dash" Jay said and snickered, giving my arm a little nudge. "Who knew you'd become a ladies man"

  "W-wait t-thats not at all what's going on!" I exclaimed as I turned as red as an apple. "S-She just letting me stay until I can find a place of my own" I explained.

  "Suuuure" Jay teased.

  "Uh guy's, someone you're both forgetting here" Vinyl called to us getting our attention. "You didn't even introduce me to your friend here Thomas, that's what most girls consider rude" she told me.

  "Sorry"  I apologized and cleared my throat. "Jay, this is my new friend Vinyl Scratch, she's actually the DJ for the party" I introduced.

  "Jay Adonis, nice to meet you Vinyl"

  "Likewise Jay, also speaking of a party" Vinyl said then checked her watch. "My shift is in a couple minutes so I gotta jet, it was cool meeting you both" She said. 

  "It was nice meeting someone down to earth at this party" I said. "Maybe next time we can make some music together" I suggested and Vinyl thought for a minute.

  "Sure, why not" Vinyl agreed. "Next time your here in Canterlot, look me up and we can hang for awhile, anyways, I really gotta go so I'll see you later Thomas" Vinyl said and quickly made her way back inside the castle.

  "Nice girl, and speaking of girl's" Jay said, spotting a woman with red skin and charcoal grey hair, wearing a beautiful purple dress that fit perfectly with her fit body. "Ay I'll catch you later man I gotta... gotta go do something" Jay said as he walked towards the woman and I chuckled.

  "And he calls me a ladies man" I mumbled to myself, I looked at the sky to estimate the time and from the looks of things, it's been a good two hours, telling me it's the middle of the night. "Alright Thomas, let's go find the girl's, hopefully they aren't causing too much trouble" I said and turned towards the castle but was knocked down by two female guards that were standing behind me.

  "Thomas Knight?" The guard on the left asked.

  "Oow, I am he" I answered just as I was about to get back up, but before I could, the two guards ripped me off the ground and dusted me off. 

  "Sorry for the inconvenience sir, but Princess Luna has asked for your presence at once" The guard on the right said and they both held out their hands for me. 

  "Uuuuh" I said in confusion.

  "It's for safety sir, just incase you get lost is all" The guard on the right told me. "Trust us, it gets really crowded at this time of night" she said and the other guard backed her up on that.

  "W-well... if you think that's best" I mumbled, reaching out for both of their hands and grasped them. Instantly did they start dragging me through the large crowd of people. All of them stared and laughed seeing me being dragged by these two, it felt a little embarrassing to say the least.

  "Don't worry Thomas, most of them aren't as lucky as you are tonight" the guard on the left said to me. "I mean, hell, you're u're meeting a princess of all people"

  "Privately no less, and you got two cute escorts by your sides" The guard on the right said making me blush slightly. "My name's Silver Dust by the way" Silver introduced herself, gently pushing people out the way.

  "My names Blazing Fate" Blazing introduced after Silver, once introductions were out the way, we were walking down an empty hallway that was decorated with a red carpet trimmed with golden thread and pearly white tiles underneath, beautiful flowers that hung above our heads, large windows and about twelve chandeliers. "So Thomas, what do you think of Canterlot so far?" Blazing asked me.

  "It's a beautiful city, I admit, but some of the nobles here really need to get their heads out of the clouds" I answered her. "Some are nicer than others, but mostly everyone I met since coming here is kind of a jerk, especially when I was waiting out front for my friends to show up" I said not realizing I was ranting.

  "Yeah, it's a good looking city, but has some crappy people in it" Silver said, agreeing with me. "Just be glad you haven't met Prince Blueblood, man that guy's a real dickhead" 

  "I know, thankfully that asshat is in Manehattan for four weeks, can't stand how ignorant that little bastard is" Blazing added, from the way they spoke about this guy, it would seem labeling him an asshole was an understatement. "Oh, sorry you had to hear that Thomas"

  "Yeah, it's just, that brat likes to think he's all high and mighty when all he has is his stupid title and his Aunties money" Silver said.

  "I'm gonna assume he doesn't know what humble means?" I asked and maaaaan did they rip into this guy the second the words left my mouth. They continued their rant until we reached a hall that was decorated to look like the night sky, even the floor looked like it was made of stars with the navy blue tiles with little white dots all over it, the walls were also navy blue but had constellation instead, and at the end of the hall was a tall dark blue door with a large white crescent moon on it. "Is that Luna's room" I asked and the two nodded.

  "Pretty cool right?" Silver asked giggling at my astonished face.

  "Took about two months to finish all this, and those guys really went all out decking this place out" Blazing said as they walked me down the hall. Upon reaching Luna's door, Silver gave two hard knocks then opened the door slightly.

  "Your highness, we brought Thomas Knight as requested" Silver announced pushing both doors open, revealing Luna's room to me. Dark purple paint covered the walls with a few navy blue drapes hanging from the large window hanging behind her dark oak wood bed that had a snow white blanket and pillows over pitch black sheets, her carpet was almost matching to the tiles outside her room and the ceiling had all the formations of the moon with hanging white diamonds to resemble star's.

Finally was Luna who has dramatically changed since the last I saw her, her skin was dark blue and looked softer than silk, her hair was still short but had this ether like look to it that resembled the night sky and softly blew in nonexistent wind.

  "Very good Silver, thou both may leave for the night," Luna said, sitting at a desk reading a small book, Blazing and Silver both bowed and left, leaving both Luna and I alone. "It's been some time since we last seen thou Thomas" Luna said closing the book and got up to face me, the moment she faced me I quickly turnee my back to her blushing furiously. "Why art thou not facing us?" She asked me.

  "W-Well, that nightgown you are wearing is leaving little to the imagination" I told her, she was wearing a silk blue nightgown that reached her thighs and hugged her newly acquired figure. The last time I saw her was three months ago, now she looks like a fully grown woman with her assets filled to a good size and it was hard to not blush when facing her like she is right now. "I-If possible, can you please change into something less revealing?" I asked.

  "Ah, yes, We believe that is the best course of action" Luna said. "A moment if thou will, we should not be long," she said and walked into her closet, I sighed in relief and took this chance to look around her room as she changed. Walked towards the window and took in how beautiful Canterlot is at night, the light from the magically powered street lights glowed brightly, almost sparkling off the marble buildings.

  "Can't get a view like this back home" I said to myself, I continued to look around some more and saw the book she was reading on her desk,I walked towards it and picked it up. "The little light in a sea of darkness" I read aloud.

  "It is quite the page turner we must admit" Luna whispered in my ear almost making me jump to the moon, she laughed seeing me jump out of my skin. "Art thou alright?" She asked through her laughter.

  "I… almost… had a heart attack" I panted out and sat on the edge of her desk a bit. "You really know how to sneak up on people" I said and she continued to laugh for a bit until it slowly died down.

  "Well we hope thou do not think ill of us for something such as this" Luna said.

  "I couldn't think ill of you even if I wanted to" I told her, getting a little smile. "I like your dress by the way" I said seeing the sparkly black dress.

  "We were hoping thou would" Luna admitted. "How art thou faring in this world young Thomas?" She asked, going towards her bed and sitting on the edge.

  "I'm doing pretty good honestly, a few mishaps here and there, but nothing a little problem solving can't fix" I answered. "How are you adjusting?"

  "If We are to be honest, We feel as though our subjects still fear us as though we're still Nightmare Moon" Luna said and continued. "We want nothing more than to see our people happy, but how can we do that, if we never felt happiness before? We're looking at life and seeing nothing but division between us and our people, they speak new English and, although we have tried to learn, we find it more difficult than expected. New emotions have popped up for us as well and we don't fully understand such little thing's like before, a thousand years on the moon without a soul to speak with thou takes a serious mental toll" She said with a deep sigh. "We wish we could feel more worthy for everyone else, but it is as though not one being cares for our existence other than our dear sister… we have not made even a single friend since our return, truthfully, We wish we had a friend once more, to talk and laugh with after spending so many years alone" Luna finished, her head hanging low. 

  "We're friends" I said.

  "Pardon?" Luna asked, lifting her head.

  "We're friends, sure you don't know me that well and you tried to kill me at one point, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?" I questioned the woman who looked at me with a small amount of joy in her eyes, I got up and kneeled down in front of her, taking Lunas hand in mine. "We are very different in every way possible, but that doesn't mean jack when it comes to making friends, when I first met you as a spirit the day I came here, you helped me, and even saved my life. These people can say as many terrible things to me as much as they want, but if they ever say anything to hurt your feelings or harm you in any way, just know you can count on me to fight with and for you" I told her, offering a small warm smile. "Because to me, it doesn't matter who you were, it matters what you do to be better than who you were before" I finished my little speech getting a few tears from Luna to which I wiped away gently.

  "We think being thou's friend will be quite the journey" Luna said with a small giggle and gripped my hand a bit more tightly.

  "Maybe, but we can only imagine what the future may hold, so let's think about the now for a moment" I said as I got up and sat next to her. "How about I help you with your speaking?" I offered.

  "We will appreciate that very much young Thomas" Luna said.

  "Okay, let's get started" 



Castle Ballroom, P.o.v- Jackson




  "Tia, people are staring" I said as I danced with the woman who giggled. 

  "Weren't you the one who asked me to dance in the first place Mr. Castle?" Celestia teased with a smug grin.

  "That's only because I got bored of just standing around while you greeted other's" I said. "And this suit may be comfortable, but it really doesn't matter if I don't properly wear it" I stated feeling a bit uncomfortable at the peering eyes of the nobles.

  "Well you look very handsome Jackson, and honestly I'm glad you dragged me away from the greetings, I was however a little surprised when you asked me to dance, what happened with that Air-user Featherweight?" Celestia asked.

  "She told me she had night patrol earlier today" I answered making the princess 'oh'. "It's all fine, Feather just said I owed her a dance"

  "Well I'm glad you both found a way to fix that problem, and it seems you and your friends are becoming quite accustomed to our land" Celestia said. "Even my dear sister has taken somewhat of a fancy with a certain human man" She said chuckling at the thought.

  "I noticed, she asked about him when I was sitting in the balcony and had me tell her everything about Thomas, down to his favorite Tea flavor" I said with my own chuckle. "Maybe this will be good for Luna"

  "How so?"

  "She might have Thomas become her first real friend outside the castle, and you know how these nobles are Celestia, they don't even want to acknowledge her existence for God sakes" I said and the woman frowned a little at this, because she knew I was right. "Thomas will act as a bridge for Luna and once everybody sees those two getting all chummy, they'll slowly start warming up to her" I said and she seemed to like my little plan, it was almost full proof... almost.

  "But what if that plan doesn't work, what then?" Celestia asked.

  "Then they are missing out on a very amazing person" I said making the princess smile gently. "It reminds me of what my mother used to say, 'there are friends, there is family, then there are friends who become family'" 

  "A wise woman she must be" Celestia said as the song ended and we bowed to one another. "She also produced a man who knows how to dance extremely well" she continued hooking her arm with mine.

  "Well I did have practice" I said and Celestia giggled.

  "Sister?" She asked.

  "Sister's" I corrected and she laughed. "You should've seen what they've done to me when we were little, hoooooo boy, so much makeup" I said with a nostalgic chuckle. "Good times those were" I sighed and it seemed Celestia took notice of my sadness.

  "You miss them, don't you?" Celestia asked, already knowing the answer, I said nothing for a little bit, and it felt like reality finally hit me. "Oh you poor boy" she comforted me and wiped some tears from my cheeks.

  "I-I'm sorry… I think it's best if I-" I was stopped by Celestia who started dragging me somewhere. "Where are we going?"

  "Somewhere you can cope without judgement from these buffoons" Celestia answered and continued dragging me until we reached a hallway, she let go of my arm and took my hand, leading me down this maze we call a castle. 

  "I-I'm sorry if I'm being a burden to you Celestia, it seems as though my predicament actually caught up to me finally… I just wish it happened sooner" I said wiping my endless tears away. "I just need to be alone for awhile" I muttered and we finally stopped just outside a beautiful garden sanctuary filled with endless flowers and plants that look more exotic than the last. 

  "What you need right now Jackson is a friend" Celestia stated sternly, she gently pulled me towards a stone fountain made to look like the sun and we sat on the edge. "And a friend is what you'll get, now tell me… how much do you miss your family?" She asked with a genuine smile and I couldn't help but finally break down.

  "I miss them… with all my heart" I admitted and pulled Celestia into a sudden embrace. "Every single day I think about what they must be going through, what my sisters are thinking, what my parents are thinking, I wish with every fiber of my body that I… that we can see our families, just one last time and tell them we're all okay, that we're not dead, that we love them to death and-and…" I couldn't speak anymore because of how choked up I was getting, I was bawling my eye's out profusely and I couldn't stop.

  "It's okay Jackson, let it all out" Celestia said hugging me back. "I know what your going through, and in all honesty, you wish it wasn't true, no matter how many times the world says it is… but we must keep moving forward Jackson, because even though we can't see them anymore doesn't mean we can't keep living on for them. In life you are given a hand you were dealt, and sometimes we either fold them or go all in, but you three tossed your card's away and demanded a new hand without even realizing it" Celestia said to me, and pulled away, summoning a handkerchief then cleaned my raw cheeks and eyes. "With that new hand you got, you came here, your family might be worried, but in the end, you both know you ended up in a better place… and if they knew you were here then they would tell you to keep going no matter what, because that's what they know is best for you"

  "But I-" She stopped me again, this time with a hand over my mouth.

  "What I'm trying to say is… you'll be okay, they will be okay… to live your new life here you must learn to accept the cards given to you again, because your family would want you to, and that is the definite truth" Celestia finished.

  "I-I don't know what to say or think anymore" I said then flinched feeling Celestia caress my raw cheek with her soft warm hand. "But… I know you're right, I just think I need some time to actually process this properly" I said slowly.

  "I understand, just know I'll be here if you ever need to talk with someone" Celestia said and I smiled. "Now then, do you want to go back to the party or stay here and relax a little?"

  "I think I'd rather stay here, this is way better than that dumb party" I said calming down finally. "Can… Can you stay with me?" I asked the woman, she gave a soft snort before scooting closer and leaned on me.

  "Of course, I will be by your side for as long as you wi-"

"YOU WILL LOVE ME!!!!"



Luna's Chambers, P.o.v- Thomas



  
  "I... think... I'm... understanding what thou-you are saying" Luna struggled to say. "This is extremely difficult Thomas"

  "Hey, it's okay, it'll take some time for you to get the hang of new english Luna, you just need to practice" I encouraged.

  "You, really think so?" Luna queried and I nodded.

  "With how far you've gotten in such a short time is simply amazing" I said and she grew a small red hue on her cheeks.

  "T-Thank tho-you, thank you Thomas" Luna said. "You are a very amazing teacher" she told me and I gave a sheepish chuckle.

  "Thank you" I said and blushed seeing how cute she looked right now. "Y-You know, if you want Luna, I can come by and continue teaching you-" I started but was stopped by a loud bang and a violent rumble, shaking us a bit and having Luna fall on me. "A-Are you okay!?" I quickly asked.

  "Yes, I believe so, but what was tha-" 

  "YOU WILL LOVE ME!!!" We heard someone roar and then the guests screaming.

  "What the fuck?" I questioned getting up and almost threw a lamp at Jackson who slammed the door open. "Jackie, what's going on out their?" I asked the man.

  "No idea, but we gotta make sure everyone's alright" He said and I nodded before we ran off in hurry. We raced down the halls till we reached the ball room and it was complete, utter chaos. "Did a fuckin tornado come in here!?"

  "Jesus christ mate, I was only gone for a few minutes!" I exclaimed and I noticed all the girls looking completely miserable, especially Rarity who was covered in cake. "What in the sam hell happened to every- *gasp* Vinyl!" I shouted seeing Vinyl and Octavia trying to fight off a bear, I looked around for a weapon but found none. "How do I always find myself in these types of situations"

  "Wait, what?" Jackson asked but didn't get an answer cause I was making a full tilt sprint towards the bear and with as much force as I can manage out of my body, I shoulder bashed the bear to the ground.

  "Thomas!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Thank the Gods, you saved our lives!"

  "Saved is kinda suggestive here, now get to safety before this bear gets back uuuuuUuuuUuuuuup!" I yelled as the bear stood up with me getting pushed off. "Aaaaaaah crap baskets" I mumbled before rolling out the way from an attack.

  "Thomas, catch!" I heard Luna shout and threw a shield near me. I dodged another attack from the bear and quickly dove for the shield, I felt my sword appear on my back to which I drew and quickly sprung to my feet. 

  "Alright ya damn grizzly, you want a fight, ya just got one!" I cried out and charged at the beast. He threw a big swing to my right and I barely slid under it in time then  cut it's leg a bit, causing the bear to get back on all fours. I jumped up to my feet and snapped my body back to the bear who caught me by surprise and back handed me in the chest, knocking all the wind out.

  I was thrown back to a row of tables from how strong the strike was and barely had time to catch my breath before the bear almost pounced on me. I dove out the way as the beast landed on the tables, crushing it under its weight. 

  'Alright Thomas think! How can you stop this bear without killing it' I thought to myself and tried formulating a plan as I avoided the beasts attack. After a few minutes of thinking I had a plan ready to set in motion. "Vinyl, when I saw 'now' I want you and Octavia to push your Dj booth on top this bear!" I instructed getting looked at like I was insane.

  "Are you crazy!?" Vinyl questioned but I gave her a stern look. "O-Okay, just give me a minute to get my stuff off it" she said and I nodded.

  "Alright, Octavia I need all the strings from those instruments!" I yelled.

  "Are you-" she was interrupted when the bear jumped on me. "Lord's above!" Octavia scream, I tapped into the demons strength and shoved the bear off of me.

  "Just give me the damn strings!" I demanded, she shook seeing my red eyes and quickly took off all the strings from the instruments and gave them to me. I quickly got to work on the strings and fashioned a lasso. "Hey you hairy bastard, come get some!" I yelled at the beast and it ran towards us with the intent to kill.

  "U-Uh, Thooomas" Vinyl said a bit scared.

  "Wait for it" I told her, just as the bear got in front of me I wrapped the makeshift lasson around its front paws and slid under it causing the bear to fall right in front of Vinyl and Octavia. "Now!" I shouted at the two and they pushed the Dj booth off the stage, crashing on top of the bear, knocking it unconscious and immobilizing it. "*deep sigh* Jesus christ... are you guys okay?"

  "Dude, you fought a bear by yourself and you're asking us if we're okay?!' Vinyl exclaimed in disbelief. "You look like you got hit by a train man" she said and I admit I was really exhausted now.

  "Yeah... yeah I think that sums that up pretty well" I said breathlessly and slumped to the floor. The entire place was now cleared out, leaving only us three, Jackson and luna, the girls and the bear. "Not a single day without something going horribly wrong" I joked and layed down.

  "Thomas! Are you alright!?" Jackson asked as he, Luna and Celestia ran down to try and help me up.

  "Im fine guy's, just tired is all... I'm still trying to figure out what caused all this" I said and the girls walked over in a hurry. "Party didn't pan out to be that great huh?' I asked them with a chuckle.

  "Yeah, we all kinda... freaked out," Rainbow said. 

  "Me especially, I just wanted those little critters to love me like my animals back home, but I guess they rather not" Fluttershy said in a sad tone.

  "I found a prince, but he wasn't my prince charming" Rarity growled with cake  still in her hair. "That pompous dickhead" she mumbled.

  "I didn't get to talk with Celestia because someone decided to flirt with her" Twilight growled, shooting a glare at Jackson.

  "It was not flirting, I merely asked for a dance" Jackson defended himself and Applejack was the last to finish.

  "And ah only sold one pie, these here nobles are greedy bunch, and ah worked so hard makin'em" Applejack said. "How bout you Thomas, what happened to you?" She asked.

  "Well, where should I start?"
> Chapter 7: A dangerous game
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Rainbow's House, Thomas's Room, 12 o'clock in the morning




  "You put the lime in the coconut, and drink'em both up" I sang to myself as I got ready for the day. 

  "Hey Thomas, you doing anything later?" I heard Rainbow ask as she opened my door.

  "Not really, kinda did just wake up Rainbow" I answered the woman and finished getting dressed. "You need me for something?" 

  "I wanted to see if you wanna hang out with me and the girl's at Twillights house" Rainbow said and the offer was tempting. "It'll be fun~"

  "Weeell... alright, what's the worst that could happen?" I jested.

  "Thomas, anything could happen in this world" Rainbow said. "Hell, you're here aren't you"

  "That is true, but putting that aside, what are we going to be doing at Twilights?" I asked her as we left the room and went downstairs.

  "Probably just hang out and chill for awhile, you know, relax for a change" Rainbow said and she was right, one thing after another kept coming up ever since the Gala four weeks ago. I started making weekly trips to canterlot to teach Luna new english and hang out with my friends from time to time.

  I still find it strange how much different this world is, I could live here for years upon years and still be amazed. With that being said, I have thought about how I'm going to live my life onwards from here on out, and the first thing I need to do is get an actual job and my own house. I just feel like I'm mooching off of Rainbow ever since she offered to house and feed me rent free.

  "Equis to Thomas, you there dude?" Rainbow called out, snapping her fingers next to my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You okay?" She asked me.

  "Yeah just... just thinking about how Im gonna live my life is all" I said making her chuckle a bit. "What?"

  "Who said you aren't already, now c'mon, the girls are waiting for us" Rainbow urged, grabbing my arm and practically dragged me out of the house.

  "Alright Rainbow, I get your excited but I do need my arm ya know" I said chuckling a little bit, we were already halfway their before Rainbow let my arm go.

  "Sorry Thomas, hope your arm's still attached" She joked and I had to admit that it was kinda stiff now.

  "Nothin' to it Rainbow, although I gotta make sure not to get on your bad side" I said. "Can't tell what you'd do to me if you tried to fight me" I chuckled.

  "I'd probably lay you out" She stated confidently.

  "All the more reason not to get on your bad side" I said and resumed walking to Twilights, that is until we saw a strange pink cloud flying around randomly. "I thought Cloudy was in charge of clearing the skies today?" I questioned, Rainbow groaned slightly and lifted herself into the air.

  "Hold up a minute, I'll take care of this" Rainbow said before zooming off towards the pink cloud, I snorted softly and sat down on a nearby bench to wait for the woman.

  As I sat on the surprisingly comfy bench I remembered something Luna had given me at one of our lessons. Luna said she had it when she turned back into her original form, and I thought I'd never see it again. I reached in my pocket for my phone and took out the rectangular black box and smiled a bit seeing it, this was the last thing I'd ever expect to follow me here, hell I'm surprised it's not broken. Thanks to this world's magic and Luna's quick thinking, she combined the battery in my phone with the magic here as a means of another form of electricity, meaning that no matter where I go, the magic in this world indefinitely charges it and also allows the magic to be some sort of hotspot for it as well.

  "I can't believe you made it through everything that's happened to me, I should thank Luna properly for giving me this gift, but first" I started and pulled out some red earbuds Vinyl made me from my last visit and plugged them in. "Let's start this day off right" I said and picked my favorite song.
 
 

  I sighed in bliss hearing music from my world after so many months, it felt like it's been years since I last heard anything from my world and its honestly still as good as I remember. Nodding my head to the beat of the song, I continued to wait for Rainbow patiently, I closed my eyes and relaxed in my seat for a bit until I felt someone trip over my foot. I opened my eyes and saw a woman with long blonde messy hair, grey skin, and yellow eyes that were crossed, and wearing a mail uniform on the floor. 

  "Oh, sorry bout that" I apologized and quickly got up to help her to her feet, but she was already taking off before I could do anything else. "Huh, maybe she didn't hear me... *sniff* is that... why do I smell chocolate?" I questioned only to soon be answered by brown droplets pouring around me, I stuck out my tongue and tasted the droplets only to realize it was... chocolate milk rain?

  "Thomas!" I heard Twilight cry out to my left and I saw the girl's either soaked in chocolate milk or covered with what looked like cotton candy and popcorn, though Pinkie looked to be enjoying herself a bit. "Don't just stand there, follow us!" Twilight ordered and not wasting a second we all rushed behind her until we reached Twilight's treehouse and rested inside.

  "Twilight, what in the name of everythin holy is goin on out there!?" Applejack asked the woman who looked at a loss for words seeing what was going on outside. "Twilight!"

  "I don't know, okay!" Twilight exclaimed. "My failsafe spell didn't work, cotton candy clouds are raining chocolate milk, bunny's are running around twice their height and corn turning into popcorn spontaneously, I-I just don't understand what's happening out there!" She said and I took a look only to do a double take on what was happening outside.

  "It's complete chaos outside" I said seeing people run for shelter and stampedes of bunnies running through the town almost as tall as a house. "Does Celestia know anything about this?"

  "I'm not sure, I'll be surprised if she didn't hear about these strange anomalies already, but just to be safe I'm going to send her a letter," Twilight stated, going right to the pen and parchment on the far side of the treehouse. The moment Twilight put pen to paper, spike burped out a scroll with Celestia's sigil on it. Grabbing the parchment with her magic, she levitated it to her hands and basically ripped it open. "My dear student, please come to Canterlot Castle Immediately so we may discuss what is going on, bring all your friends, including Thomas, I fear as though we need every last source of power for what's at stake, signed, Princess Celestia" Twilight read and we all looked at one another in complete confusion.

  "Why does the princess need all of us?" Fluttershy asked.

  "And we also have to bring Thomas for a source of extra power?" Rarity questioned why my involvement was necessary.

  "This doesn't sound good at all girls, whatever is going on out there, will be answered if we hear Celestia out" I said and they mumbled in agreement.

  "But how are we going to get to Canterlot if everything is bonkers outside?" Pinkie asked, I hummed at the question before remembering something.

  "Twilight, how good are you with Teleportation magic?"



Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, P.o.v- Jackson



 
  I paced around the throne room in utter distress, trying to make heads to tails about what's going on. Ever since I gave the tour to the kid's from ponyville this morning, nothing has been going right for the past few hours. The weather changed drastically every ten minutes, the streets were turning different colors, hell some of the food was literally sprouting feet and arms right before they 'hello my baby' off the plate!

  "Jackson, will you please settle down" Celestia pleaded, only for it to fall on dead ears. "Jackson!" Celestia shouted, finally getting my attention.

  "What!?" I snapped at her.

  "You need to calm down," Celestia sternly said as she rose from her throne. "Panicking about the unknown will get you nowhere in life, now please, take a seat and breathe" she said, walking down the steps leading to her throne and coming to my side.

 "I-I know, it's just that, nothing is making any sense right now and it's frustrating" I said, groaning as I slumped to a nearby chair by the wall. "But you're right, I need to keep a level head about everything, have you sent a letter to Twilight?" I asked her and she nodded.

  "Twilight should be here soon, once she is, we need to quickly get those girls to the  Elements of Harmony" Celestia stated in a very worried tone, come to think of it, she's been silently freaking out for quite sometime and I just thought it was the freaky things happening outside, but as I looked at her more closely, she looks absolutely terrified for a reason unknown to me. 

  "Hey Tia?" I called, causing the woman to look at me. "Are you okay, you look kinda terrifi-" I was interrupted by a loud pop and six people screamed right before hitting the ground. I turned my attention to the new arrivals and was relieved it was just Twilight and the other's . "Girl's, I'm glad you can make it in such short notice and... uh... where's Thomas?" I asked them as they collected themselves off the floor, only to find no Thomas with them.

  "Shoot, he must've lost his grip while we were in mid-teleportation" Twilight groaned. "I knew I should've held on tighter, but noooo I just had to assume I had a good grip" Twilight said silently scolding herself.

  "Wait, then... where is he?" I asked, slightly worried he ended up in the middle of nowhere. "He didn't get stranded anywhere, right?"

  "Oh no, at least, I think not" Twilight said nonchalantly, not really giving me a hopeful answer. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere, that's assuming he held on long enough to make it here that is" she went on, still not making me feel any better about what happened to my friend.

  "Look, is he okay or not!?" I snapped at her.

  "Geez okay, he's fine Jackson, just somewhere in or outside the castle" Twilight answered. "Most likely somewhere outside the castle, but I'm sure he's fine"

  "Great, now then" I started and turned back to Celestia. "Why are you so terrified right now?"




Hedge Maze Outside The Castle, P.o.v- Thomas




  "Hey... Thomas hey!" I heard echo in my ears, then a sharp pain to my side made itself known, instantly waking me up.

  "Jesus-argh-Im up, Im up!" I exclaimed as I tried to ease the pain. I opened my eyes a bit once I felt a little better. "Jay, the fuck man!?" I exclaimed through my pain.

  "Quit whining Tommy, it wasn't even that hard," Jay laughed and helped me to my feet. "Anyways, why are you here?" He asked.

  "Me and the girls got summoned by the Princess, why are you here?" I asked and noticed next to him was that girl he was with at the gala a few weeks ago. "And who's your friend?"

  "I was out for a stroll to get some exercise in and this is my friend and personal nurse, Violet Stone" Jay said as I shifted my gaze towards Violet .

  "Friend, yes, Personal nurse, no" Violet corrected and held out her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you Thomas, Princess Luna loves to talk about you during her physical therapy sessions" She said.

  "A pleasure and really?" I asked, reaching out and shaking her hand. "Out of curiosity, what does she say about the lessons?" I asked slightly intrigued.

  "Oh where to start, she tells me that you're teaching skills are amazing and the tasks you give her are super simple and easy to pick up, you answer any and all questions she has, and you slow down all lessons if the princess is having trouble with it" Violet said trying to remember more stuff. 

  "Well I do my best to help her out in any kinda way possible" I said confidently. 

  "Freakin nerd" Jay muttered and I jabbed his arm.

  "Oh yeah!" Violet exclaimed suddenly. "The princess also told me that she loves how much of a gentleman you are to the other's inside the castle, all the while blushing as red as an apple going on and on about how cute you look during your lessons, and she turned even more red when she told me how you held her hand to comfort her so she wouldn't be nervous about speaking new english infront of others. A lot of guards and maids thought you two were dating for awhile, some were even jealous at the fact of just how close you two were getting, but-" Violet stopped, now realizing her little rant made me have a beet red face. "Whoops, I might've said to much"

  "Aww, well would you look at that, Thomas here got himself a little girlfriend" Jay teased with a playful nudge. "And a princess for that matter"

  "Shut your face!" I exclaimed, rubbing my blush away. "Luna is not my girlfriend, and I don't think she sees me in that type of way anyways" I told them.

  "Calm down bud, I know you're new to this type of thing, so you don't really understand how it feels to have a girl super into you" Jay said in a condescending tone, though he was right, I don't know anything about women, so maybe she does see me in that way. "That or she really just likes you as a friend or sees you as a brother" Jay threw in and any hint of romance I had in mind, was quickly flushed down the toilet. 

  "Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence dude" I grumbled and sighed. "Putting that aside, I need to find the girls and Jackson, mind helping me out?" I asked the two.

  "Sure, we were just about done strolling around this place when the weather started freaking out" Jay said, catching my attention. 

  "Wait, it's happening here too?" I asked.

  "What do you mean?" Violet queried.

  "The weather in ponyville is all messed up too, and strange things have been happening since this morning" I said in a slightly grim tone. "What could be causing all these weird anomalies, and how strong can it be to be able to reach this far out" I muttered to myself.

  "Hey... is it just me, or did it suddenly get really quiet?" Jay asked Violet and I. 

  "You're right... Violet, I think you need to head home now" I said, just as my sword appeared on my back. "Right. Now" I stated, drawing my sword.

  "Oh, but where would the fun be in that, Little Thomas" I heard a man say behind us, I spun around to see a tall man wearing a yellow and black vest with a black dress shirt underneath, he also sported someblack dress pants to match and shiny black shoes to complete his outfit. His body was slender and his skin was a light ashy grey color, but his hair was as white as snow which matched his cat-like yellow eyes, he also had two different horns atop his head as well as two different wings and a snaggle tooth to complete the whole set.

  "Who the hell are you?" I questioned, making the man laugh.

  "Well my strange friend, I am Discord, the pure embodiment of chaos" Discord addressed, chuckling as he looked at the three of us. "Ill be honest, I expected more than just a runt, a wannabe drake and a magic-user"

  "Who you callin a runt" I growled through clenched teeth, I was ready to fight this guy but before I could move, he put a hand and stopped me.

  "I wouldn't try playing hero boy, you'll only just end up dead" Discord warned. "The way you are now is nothing compared to what I faced thousands of years ago" He stated then snapped his fingers, causing a few roots to crawl out of the ground.

  "Violet, you need to get out of here" Jay told her, taking the hint, Violet quickly made a run for it.

  "Sorry dear, but no one's leaving this place" Discord said, lifting his arm and shot one of the roots towards Violet. Quickly acting on impulse, I cut the root in half, letting it fall to the ground dead, allowing Violet to flee successfully. "Remember what I said about playing hero boy, you'll end up dead" he said, his tone turning malicious.

  "I don't really have a choice if you were going to end that women's life" I said. "But if you wanna kill anybody then why don't you take a crack at me fugly"

  "Thomas was it?, you don't really seem to fully grasp the type of situation you and your friend are in" Discord said chuckling. "If I wanted, I would've painted the ground red already" he stated simply with a sickening grin.

  "Jay, you still remember how to fight right?" I asked, already knowing the answer. 

  "Damn right, let's see how tough this guy really is" Jay said as he popped his knuckles, he looked pissed off as well after Discord tried to kill Violet. "You wanna kick us off Thomas?"

  "I'd be happy too" I said, pulling out my phone and selected an appropriate song for this fight.

  

  Not wasting a second more, I rushed towards the man and tried to go for a frontal slash, but he dodged and out of nowhere I felt something hit my side and I flew to the right with tremendous force. I regained myself just in time to halt my violent movements by digging my sword into the ground.

  I barely had a second to think before bending backwards to avoid something aiming for my neck. I used the sword to keep me from falling and just when the attack missed, I threw my body forward with just enough force to dig up my sword and flinged it with everything I had at Discord.

  As it flew through the air towards the chaos being, Jay dug his feet into the ground and with every ounce of power he had, he shot off like a bullet. His target was in sight, Discord had to make a quick decision if he wanted to live or at the very least keep a limb. That's what I had thought at first, until he calmly smiled to himself.

  "How disappointing" Discord said in a mocking tone. "I thought you'd be much stronger than this, but it seems you still have much to learn" He said and snapped his fingers.

  In an instant, I felt my whole body shift in place and I was standing where I originally was before the fight started with my sword nowhere in sight and Jay and Violet were behind me again, both completely in a daze.

  "Wha... What the hell... just happened? " I asked, completely drawn a blank. 

  "What's going on, I was just at the castle gate and now I'm back here" Violet said trembling tremendously. "J-Jay?"

  "It's okay Violet, just stay by me and I'll keep you safe" Jay said, going to Violet's side as a means to comfort her. "Thomas, the hell's going on?!"

  "He... turned back time" I told him in disbelief.

  "He what!?" Jay shouted in shock.

  "That should be impossible!" Violet exclaimed.

  "Physically weak, but you're dangerously smart and perceptive" Discord praised. "You might be worth the effort after all, although I do have to point out that the girl is correct in some regard. I can bend and control small portions of time with my chaos magic, but since it takes up so much power, I can't do more than fifty feet, otherwise I'd be as useless as a cracked bottle" he explained, gently lifting himself up into the air.

 I readied myself for whatever was about to happen, but before anything could happen, we heard rushing feet coming toward us. I turned to my right then smiled seeing the girl's and Jackson running toward us, I gave a sigh of relief seeing both reinforcements and my friends.

  "Violet, I want you to get out of here as fast you possibly can" Jay ordered. "Under no circumstances are you to look back, you keep running until you get home" he instructed the girl.

  "I can't just leave you here, come with me, they have plenty of people," Violet said, refusing to leave without Jay.

  "Ms. Violet" I called, getting her attention. "I'll bring him back to you alive and safe, I promise" I said and she still seemed hesitant to leave.

  "I'll be fine Vi, we'll finish this before you even make it home" Jay said, a bit more cocky than need be. Seeing as her friend will be safe, she finally agreed to run.

  "Come back to me, alive" She told him, she quickly kissed his cheek and made a break for the exit.

  "How sweet, but I told you before" Discord said holding up his hand. "No one is going to leave this place alive" he said and shot a ball of chaos magic.

  "Not gonna happen!" I yelled and threw my sword at the attack, when the sword itself struck the ball of chaos, it deflected off into a different direction, allowing Violet to get away unharmed. "Whoa that actually worked!" I said in shock.

  "I see, looks like you're going to be a problem after all" Discord muttered and dodged a kick from Rainbow. "And you're going to be faster than that girly" he teased, disappearing then reappearing on top of the hedge maze entrance.

  "Give up the elements Discord!" Twilight demanded, but the man just laughed.

  "Those tacky little thing's, go ahead and take them" Discord said nonchalantly, confusing the girl's a bit. "It's not like you'll be able to use them anyways, so by all means ms. Sparkle, take them away"

  "C'mon girls, the elements are in the middle of this maze" Twilight said and Rainbow blew a raspberry.

  "No problem, I'll just use my wings to fly up and go straight for the middle" Rainbow said a bit cocky in her abilities, but before she could use her wings to get in the air, Discord snapped his fingers and Rainbows wings along Jay and Fluttershy's vanished from their bodies. "M-My wings!" 

  "What the hell!?" Jay cried out.

  "My horn!" Rarity cried out as well.

  "Mine too!" Twilight exclaimed, the girls started panicking about what was happening with their bodies, all except for myself, Pinkie, Aj and Jackson.

  "Sorry everybody, but there are rules to this little game, no magic or flying allowed, you must beat this maze fair and square" Discord explained, making up everything he just said. "If any of you use your abilities, then your entire team is disqualified and you lose the elements forever" he finished explaining, laughing as he saw our faces.

  "Fine Discord, we'll play your stupid game, it'll just make it more satisfying once we turn you back into stone" Twilight  stated confidently.

  "We shall see," Discord muttered then snapped his fingers once more. The ground shook violently for a moment before six large walls broke out from the ground and surrounded all of us in separate groups. "Sorry kids but it's more fair if you're all separated into smaller groups, good luck" he quickly said and vanished.

  "Damn it" I cursed under my breathe. "Is everybody okay!?" I shouted and to my relief, everybody shouted back.

  "Thomas, we have to head towards the middle, and quickly before something bad happens" Twilight told me.

  "Right, everybody, travers through the maze and find the elements!" I shouted to the others. "We'll meet in the middle, now get going!"

  "Alright!" 

  "See you in the center!"

  "Be careful everyone!" Everyone called out to each other and we were soon off to the center. 

  "Alright, let's go Twilight" I said and we set off cautiously through the maze. It was quiet between us for the time that we walked side by side, it almost felt like it was hard to breathe from how thick the silence was. "So Twilight, what happened while I was out here?" I asked.

  "Well, Jackson got scared you might've been transported somewhere else and after calming him down enough, Princess Celestia told us about Discord and what he plans to do along with a plan to stop him" Twilight explained.

  "And I'm guessing he stole the Elements of harmony" I said, and it was a complete bullseye.

  "It's still confusing how he did it, but for now we should focus on getting them back and defeating Discord for good" Twilight said, she looked more determined than anyone I've ever met.

  "We'll get them Twilight, have faith and you will surely come out okay" I told the girl and chuckled. "Though I did have faith you'd teleport us all to the castle, which did happen, but I ended up outside"

  "Please don't bring that up, I thought I had a good grip on your arm!" Twilight exclaimed, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I'm sorry if you got hurt in anyway"

  "Ah, I'm fine Twilight" I assured her. "Im tougher than you would expect, you can thank the Pie family for toughening me up a tad bit more" I said, making her giggle.

  "That is true, I'll be sure to let them know once we see them" Twilight said and smiled warmly.

  "You know Twilight, you should really smile more, it looks great" I told her.
  
  "Thank you for the kind words, but sadly, I don't think my smile is that great" Twilight sighed out.

  "You kiddin, your smile can brighten a whole room up if you let yourself be more confident in it" I said. "My mother always told me you are never fully dressed without one" I quoted and Twilight chuckled.

  "You talk an awful lot about your mother, what was she like?" She asked me.

  "Man where to start, geez" I chuckled for a moment and thought. "Well, I thought of my Mom as a saint"

  "Religious?" Twilight asked.

  "She was, but that's not the kinda saint I was talking about" I joked. "What I meant, was that she is the kindest person you would have ever met, she helped those in need with a gracious heart and fierce determination, she was never afraid to speak her mind about anything, and... she had this vibe to her, an aura of warmth and security that I've felt from no one other than her" I said, growing a little smile on my face. "She was a light in a sea of darkness"

  "She sounds wonderful, what's her name?" Twilight asked.

  "Amara Knight" I answered getting an 'ooo' from Twilight.

  "A name that means grace and mercy, a beautiful name for a woman such as her" Twilight complimented. "I wish I could meet her, I wonder if she likes magic"

  "Uh, probably not your kinda magic, but Im sure if you met her, you and she would've been really great friends" I simply stated.

  "How so?" She questioned.

  "My mom was also a book nerd, she loved searching up new things and would always tell me and my family what she discovered through her research" I told her and Twilight wanted to meet her now more than ever. "Maybe one day we'll find a way to go back home and I can introduce you to her" I said and Twilight smiled.

  "That would be... really nice" She said with a small blush going across her cheeks. "I can't wait to meet her one day" Twilight said.

  "Me too, I really want to tell her about everything that's happened since Jay, Jackson and I got here" I said. "I can even introduce her to the other's as well after she's met you, I'm sure she'll love everyone and thank you profusely for keeping me alive for this long" I went on and Twilight's blush went away and was replaced with a small pout. "Something wrong?"

  "Nope, not a thing" Twilight stated in a huff before walking on a little faster. "Jerk" she muttered.

  "Was it something I said?" I asked myself, though while I was in my thoughts, I heard a little whisper coming from my right. I gave a quick look and saw a door covered in shadows with a strange white marking in the center, it looked kinda scary now that I look at more.

  "Thomas" 

  "Huh?" I mumbled, spinning around to see another door covered with pure light and golden marking in the center, it looked peaceful and I had this warm familiar feeling wash over me as I stared at the door. 

  "Thomas" 

  "Who's there!?" I yelped out then suddenly felt my breath get violently knocked out of me by something so fast that I couldn't even see it. I fell to my knees as I gasped for air, desperately trying to catch my breath to no avail.

  "Sorry you little freak of nature, no outside interference" I heard from behind right before feeling a sharp pain to my neck and I started losing consciousness. "Especially from someone who has more than one soul inside their body" the person said, my vision soon went blurry then a familiar cloak of darkness surrounded me.




Inside Thomas's Mind




  "Look who's back" The chained demon announced as I awoke inside of my mind once more. "How's it hangin kid, thought I'd never get to see that ugly mug of yours again, almost brought a smile to my face" He said with a distorted chuckle.

  "But you're always smiling" I said a little confused.

  "I never smile" He told me, making his voice sound more hellish than before.

  "... Right, sorry uh... can you tell me why I'm back here again?" I asked him, but he just shrugged.

  "You're asking the wrong guy padre, I've been asking myself that same question the second I woke up in this place" He said with a groan. "But if I had to guess, I think you got knocked out cold" he answered, sighing a bit when we heard loud, sickening pops come from his joints and spine.

  "Jesus... and, who could've knocked me out… wait, Discord!" I exclaimed suddenly making the man jump a bit. "I was walking with Twilight when I suddenly felt the air get pushed out of me then a sharp pain to my neck before going unconscious, he must've done the same to Jackson and Jay so we can't help the girl's search for the Elements" I said, slowly fitting the pieces together.

  "Would you like your pipe mr. Holmes, or maybe a line of coke" The man joked following it up with vigorous laughter.

  "Not now Watson, and you should know I don't partake in any sort of drugs that may scramble my thoughts," I played along. "But now I need to carefully plan what my next steps should be, cause if I falter at any point... I will die"

  "Ooooo, ominous" The man said with a chuckle.

  "You know, I could use your powers to fight this guy if you're willing to help" I told him, but he blew a raspberry.

  "Sorry padre, not gonna happen this time, I only helped so I can keep you from dyin last time, but it looks like you got every thing under control" He said and let his head slump down. "Ima take a nap, wake me up if you're alive by the end if this"

  "But wont you die since we share the same body?" I asked.

  "Yup, so do both of us a favor and not get killed, ok" He said before falling asleep.

  "Well, I guess I should wake up now, and when I do, I gotta make sure Jackson and Jay are okay" 



Canterlot City, P.o.v- Jay




  "Shit, Jay watch out!" Jackson shouted, but I was already hit out of the sky by Discord. I was sent crashing through some buildings and skidded across the floor until I was stopped by a sturdy brick wall.

  "Holy... mother of god" I panted out, I wobbled back up to my feet now covered in blood and cuts. "How the hell did they beat this guy, he's almost untouchable, me and Jackson gave it everything we had and still nothing.... I can't win" I said through gritted teeth.

  "U-Uhm... are you okay?" I heard some ask, I followed to where it came from and saw a little girl with her mother. "You're b-bleeding a lot"

  "Mari, we have to go!" Mari's mother told her. "And you should too, you look like you can barely stand as is!" she exclaimed, but I couldn't just tell her I was half ready to kick the bucket, that would scare her daughter even more.

  "That may be true, but there is no way Im gonna give up when people are in need of help" I said and smiled through the pain. "I may not look it, but I'll tell you right now that I was born for something like this, so don't worry about me, cause as long as I still got blood pumpin, no one else will get hurt, I promise" I told them and that seemed to put them as ease a bit thankfully.

  "Jay, thank god you're alive" Jackson said, landing behind me. 

  "Yeah, but what happened with Discord?" I asked him, confused that he's not still fighting.

  "I don't know, one minute we're throwing lightning bolts and chaos magic then the next he up's and vanishes," Jackson said and I started having a really bad feeling in my chest. "I think we should check back in with the girl's, so let's get going" 

  "The girls... oh no" I muttered and Jackson soon caught on. "Listen you two, get out of the city as fast as you can, do not go on the train, just stay at the edge of the forest and have others follow you to safety" I instructed the mother, to which she nodded and headed off.

  "Seems like you're raring to go again, but before anything, we need to get to the girl's and Thomas" Jackson said and I nodded, we both took to the air and headed back towards the castle. "I hope they're all okay, who knows what could've happened when Discord teleported us out of the maze and started that little fight" Jackson said, a tad concerned for our friends.

  "We gotta have faith that everybody will pull through, Im sure they've gathered the Elements and are sending that freak back into his stone prison" I said. "Hell, I'm also sure Thomas is helping them as we speak" I went on then suddenly felt a chill go up my spine, causing me to stop in place.

  "Jay?" Jackson said in confusion. "Hey, you alright?" He asked me, then felt the chill go up his spine as well. "You feel that?"

  "Yeah, it feels malicious and cold" I described. "Like how it felt when Thomas fought Nightmare, but more... heartless" I went on and another shiver rippled through us.

  "We gotta get to Thomas, now" Jackson stated, trembling a bit. I would be lying if I wasn't as well. After scraping up some courage, we flew to the hedge maze and found the girls at the front with Discord looking angry as well as disappointed. But the girls looked different, they all turned dull and grey excluding Twilight and Rainbow dash, who was missing.

  "Looks like someone couldn't follow the rules, and now you all must pay the price for losing the game" Discord said.

  "What, we followed your stupid rules and none of us actually broke them" Twilight argued making discord laugh. "We won't stop going into that maze until we get the Elements back"

  "Oh you thought- and the elements- pfft hahaha!" Discord laughed even hard confusing Twilight, then it dawned on her.

  "They were never in the maze at all" Twilight uttered out in defeat.

  "Correct, I never hid those trinkets in the maze, and yet you still walked right into my trap" Discord laughed as he looked down at the five. "Well, if you ever find those things, I'll be more than happy to let you use them on me, if you can" he taunted before vanishing once more.

  "Girl's, are you all okay?!" I asked them and I was instantly met with a random water balloon to the face. "What the-Fluttershy!?" I exclaimed seeing the normally sweet and kind air-user laugh at me.

  "Awww what's wrong, not cold enough wimp?" She antagonized shocking me, Twilight and Jackson. 

  "Fluttershy, what's wrong with you?" Jackson asked the girl who just mean mugged the man. 

  "Can it pretty boy, less you want a nice bruise for that pretty face of yours" Fluttershy threatened and it looked like she meant every word.

  "Okay then, Applejack, why did you turn grey?" I asked her and she looked like she was trying her damndest to not speak. "Are you okay?" I asked her again.

  "Eeyup, fit as a fiddle sugarcube, totally not lyin bout' that" Applejack said to me, pursing her lips and looking kinda sketchy.

  "Did... Did you just... lie?" Twilight asked in confusion.

  ".... No" Applejack lied again making her weird face again.

  "Twilight, this is freaking me out, what happened here?" I asked the woman who was just as freaked out as I was.

  "Discord must've done something to them, for some reason, he said we lost the game and told us it was because Rainbow took her wings back and flew off to god knows where" Twilight ranted out. "Before the game ended, me and Thomas were talking about his mother, then I sped up a bit to see if there was a turn anywhere, but when I turned around he was gone!" She exclaimed, slowly losing her composure.

  "Twilight calm down, everything is going to be fine, have faith" I said, grabbing and shaking her a bit to get her back to her senses. "Now think, if you were right then the Elements of Harmony are still hidden somewhere, do you have any ideas where they could be?" I asked, letting her go to think for a moment.

  "Twists and turns... go to the center.... at the beginning" Twilight muttered to herself for a moment as we tried to keep Fluttershy away from 'Tom' the boulder, that for some reason Rarity said was a giant diamond, we were also trying to make Pinkie stop trying to fight Applejack. "I got it!"

  "Really!?" Me and Jackson asked simultaneously.

  "Quick everyone, grab on and hold on tight" Twilight ordered, slowly but surely getting everyone to hang onto one another. "Next stop, Ponyville"



The Pie Family Rock Farm, P.o.v-Thomas




  "Thomas?" a faint voice echoed in my head, I groaned a bit and opened my eyes. Everything was a little blurry, but I could feel a sense of familiarity with where I am.

 "This is... I'm at the rock farm" I muttered to myself, my senses felt slightly dull at the moment, but I can feel them slowly coming back. It seems that every time I talk with the demon, my whole body shuts down for a bit, save for breathing.

  "Thomas!" I heard the voice call again, this time a bit louder. I turned to see Lime dropping her pickaxe and quickly sprinting towards me. "Are you okay!?" She shouted, her voice now back to regular volume.

  "Yeah, I'm all good!" I yelled back and lifted myself up, I went to take a step forward, but I suddenly felt weak and collapsed to the floor. "Okay... I'm not all good!" I corrected.

  "Goddess above, I don't know how you're even still breathing" Lime said, sliding next to me, she sounded a little panicked. "C'mon, I'll get you inside" she said as she lifted me up in her arms.

  "Well then... now I know how embarrassing this is" I said with a small embarrassed blush. Lime quickly made her way back towards the house with me in hand, once we got to the house I was greeted by both Igneous and Cloudy.

  "Thomas my boy, are you alright?" Igneous asked.

  "Yeah, can't say what's wrong with me since I can't really feel it" I said and they took me inside the house then laid me on the couch. "Thanks Lime, I owe you one"

  "None of that Thomas, now tell us what happened to you" Lime said.

  "Yes, we'd like an explanation as well since Lime brought you back all banged up" Cloudy said and I nodded.

  "Well, I guess I should start with how it all started," I began. "Me and my Rainbow Dash were on our way to our friend's place to hang out for awhile, that's when we noticed a strange pink cloud in the air, Rainbow went to go take care of it real quick and waited for her to get back. Everything started out fine until this girl tripped over my foot by accident running from something, I tried to help but she ran off before I could and that's when everything started going awry, the clouds changed to cotton candy raining chocolate milk and animals grew as tall as houses" 

  "Yikes, what could've made everything go so bonkers?" Igneous questioned.

  "Just getting to that" I said. "So as I was saying, all this weird stuff was happening and we were forced indoors, that's when we got summoned to canterlot castle to meet with princess Celestia. My friend Twilight sparkle teleported us there but I lost my grip and ended up outside where my friend Jay and his possible girlfriend, Violet... that's when we met him" I said, feeling my hand ball up to a fist.

  "Whose him?" Lime asked me.

  "The person that started all this, the pure embodiment of chaos, his name... is Discord" I answered, sending chills down their spines. "He was probably the one that injured me pretty good back at the castle, caught me by surprise and I was too slow to do anything about it... if only I was faster, maybe then I could help the other's" I groaned slightly, feeling as useless as I did when I first got here.

  "I'm sure you gave it your all Thomas, you're only human after all" Cloudy said, coming over next to me and gave me a comforting smile. "We all have limits, but we can choose to be happy with them, or find a way to go beyond" she said, letting those words sit in my mind for a moment. I could lay here complaining about how useless I am, or, I can get up and push past whatever limits I have.

  "You're right Cloudy" I said and strained my body a bit to sit up, much to the families dismay, but I sat up on the couch with enough determination to push through the pain I could now feel. "I gotta push pass my limits, to become stronger than I was before" I stated, getting up to my feet and slowly walked towards the door.

   "Whoa, hey!" Lime exclaimed, getting in front of me. "There is no way I am letting you leave without some first aid, you may not feel it, but your body is tired and beaten, you need to rest" she told me, but I couldn't wait that long.

  "I don't have time to rest Lime, if I don't leave then all my friends could be in serious trouble" I said and walked past her, only to be grabbed and thrown back on the couch. "Damn it, they need my help!"

  "Be quiet" Maud demanded with a hard slap going across my face. "Your body is hurt, your mind is clinging to crumbling thoughts, and you can barely stand on your own two feet" She listed off, walking up to me and ripped my shirt off. "Look at yourself!" She demanded.

  I looked down only to suddenly feel my breath hitch, and my mouth went dry. Nothing but bruises and marking were covering my torso, I looked at my arms and saw how shaky they were, how many cuts and scrapes they had on them. When I finally saw the damage done to my body, the pain had set in, and it hit me hard. A short, but a loud scream of agony tore through my throat as I felt each of the bruises pulse, one after another, it was brutal agony.

  "I-It hurts... so... much!" I panted out, I was surprised I hadn't felt this tremendous pain earlier. I would've thought with injuries like these I'd feel something.

  "Now you see why Lime was trying to stop you, you were one foot in the grave without even realizing it" Maud said and motioned marble to get the first aid. "The ring I gave you may not be enough to heal these injuries fast enough, but that doesn't mean we cant dull the pain a bit"

  "Ill go get some water and a rag" Cloudy said and rushed off.

  "I'll see if I can find some pain killers" Igneous said, also rushing off.

  "Lime, I need to go grab something from the mines, make sure he doesn't move and when Marble comes back, apply first aid" Maud instructed her younger sister.

  "Wait, you finished it?" Lime asked and Maud nodded before handing me over to her, leaving the house quickly after. It was silent for awhile once everybody was off completing their jobs, the pain I felt was gradually becoming tolerable, with small jolts coming and going. "Geez, it's never a dull moment when you're around Thomas" Lime joked, I chuckled a bit.

  "Sorry about all this, I know you were only trying to help, it's just..." I started, then stopped.

  "You don't like feeling weak, right?" Lime finished my sentence and I nodded. 

  "I thought with how much more powerful Jay and Jackson are, I had to push myself harder to at least get to their level" I said, sighing slightly. "I only have a sword and I can barely use it... I thought I was getting stronger, but I guess I haven't been pushing myself hard enough" I ranted on, feeling the ring heal my arms slowly.

  "Well for what it's worth, I think you're a pretty strong guy, power's or no power's" Lime said, with the first smile I've ever seen her give.

  "Thanks Lime, that means a lot" I told her and relaxed a bit on the sofa. Cloudy came back with a bowl of hot water and a clean rag to wipe off any dirt and blood on my body. Igneous couldn't find any pain killer's so he brought me some bread to snack on, and Marble found the first aid kit then quickly patched my wounds up. "Thanks you guys, if it wasn't for you, I would be six feet under right now" I said.

  "Think nothing of it Thomas, it's not the first time I had to do this for you, you know" Cloudy said with a chuckle. "But I do wish you would be more careful, especially when you're fighting a being of pure chaos" she scolded slightly.

  "Yeah, I kinda wish I had a choice about that, but sometimes you gotta make rash decisions to save someone's life" I said, then thought for a moment. "Maud said she had to get something from the mines, she acted like it was important... what was it?" I asked the family, but they shrugged.

  "She's been sneaking off every night to work on something in the mining cave, I asked her if she needed help because I thought she found a rare metal, but she declined and told that it was an upgrade for something she made for you awhile back" Lime explained and I slowly gripped the ring.

  "So no clue as to what it could be?" I asked once more, but they shook their heads. "Well whatever it is I'm sure it'll help me in the long run"

  "I do hope so dear Thomas, because it would be a shame if you laid there and watched me kill this whole family" We all heard and I ripped myself off the couch to face the voice. "You are one durable kid Thomas, I beat your body senseless but you were still able to get back up, I must applaud your determination" Discord said, rather impressed I was even moving.

  "You leave these good people alone Discord, they've done nothing wrong" I growled at the man. Discord scoffed seeing me ready myself, he was underestimating me because of my condition, that just pissed me off. "Leave Discord, I don't want whatever fight you plan on doing right now, they might get hurt" I said though that just seemed to amuse the man even more.

  It was dead silent for a few minutes, but those few minutes seemed like days passing. I waited cautiously for him to make the first move, sweat beaded off my face and I can feel the situation growing more intense. We stared each other down gruesomely, waiting for the right moment, that's when I saw his eye's shift to Lime.

  "WATCH O-" I was cut off after pushing Lime out of the way, quickly getting tackled out of the house in the process. A large hole stood where the door used to be and we went flying towards the middle of the field. Throwing solid punches to one another as we went through the air until we finally crashed down a few yards away from the house. We rolled and bounced off the floor a couple times, but I was shoved away from Discord after he regained his bearings. I slid on the ground for a moment before coming to a stop a few feet away, now covered in dirt and reopened wounds.

  "Amazing reflexes my boy, you had enough time to run and push that girl out of the way before I could make my move, simply amazing, I might've been wrong about your physical attributes, who knew you were hiding so much power" Discord gushed, leaving me for a blank. "Come now Thomas, you must remember the last time we fought"

  "Well yeah it only happened an hour ago in front of the hedge maz-"

  "Nonono, the fight in the hedge maze" Discord corrected, confusing me further. "You don't remember?" He asked.

  "I think I would've remembered fighting you a second time Discord, but I am curious as to how I got here and why I'm covered in bruises," I said, now it was Discords turn to be confused.

  "I see, most intriguing this is" He mumbled, looking me up and down then grinned. "When we fought in the hedge maze you were downright terrifying, I'm still shaking with both fear and excitement just think about it. The way you moved and the way you acted made me wonder if I would leave with my life" Discord said, making me feel a sense of  déjà vu and an image of a pitch black fist flashed in my mind. "The feeling was... exhilarating" he said before going into a giggling fit.

  "I-I don't understand, I was knocked out by you, how could I even fight you?" I questioned him, but another image popped up with the pitch black arm pinning Discord to the ground with another black fist hitting him. This one looked more shadow like than the other which looked like a river of ink. "What is... happening?" I groaned feeling my body become heavy suddenly.

  "Seems your body is still recovering from that little transformation earlier, but maybe if given the right push..." Discord said, trailing off looking back and chuckled. "Seems they found me, but I think their plan for beating me wont work" he stated confidently and turned to face whatever was coming.

  "We finally found you!" Twilight shouted as the most of the girls came rushing towards us. Jay, Jackson and Spike were right next to them as well and for some reason, Spike was wearing Rainbows element. "Okay everyone, get ready to blast him!"

  "Now watch this dear Thomas, I will humiliate and completely shatter her spirit all in one go" Discord said and walked towards the group. "Ah, ms. Sparkle, it truly is a pleasure to see you once again and pray tell, what kinda thrown together posse have you brought before me?" He asked, amused at how utterly distraught the whole team had become.

  "I figured out your damn riddle and we have the elements, once we finish charging the blast, we'll finally end your reign of tyranny" Twilight said, though Discord had a look of doubt on his face.

  "Well color me surprised, congratulations are in order... tell you what" Discord started. "I'll let you have the first shot" he said.

  "One shot is all we need to kick your ass" Jackson said, but Discord laughed.

  "Is that right, okay then" He started and grew a menacing grin. "If you fail, then I will wreak havoc across equestria for all eternity" Discord warned them, sending chills down all our spines. "Better make it count"

  "Oh don't worry, we will, " Twilight said as the girl's and spike floated up, charging the elements. "Hope you had fun, because this will-"

  "Never work" Discord said, finishing her sentence just as Rainbows element fidgeted on spike, causing some sort of failsafe on the other elements. A moment passed and the elements blew the girls, along with spike, away from each other.

  "What happened?" Jay asked.

 "Everything was fine, until the element of Loyalty triggered something and blew them away" I answered, slowly feeling my body recover. "I read in a book I found at Nightmares castle that only the bearers of harmony can control the power, if used by someone else, a fail safe is triggered and it renders them useless until they're all brought back to the original owner's" I said, slow but loud clapping was heard from Discord who was smiling diabolically.

  "Right on the money dear Thomas, you see I knew the elements wouldn't work without the right criteria in place, so when I deliberately split you all up and took away the three nuances, I was able to break and change the very nature of their beings" He stated and all our hearts sank hearing this news.

  "You... changed them" Twilight said in disbelief and sadness, her color then suddenly started fading away, replacing it with a gray color. Her look became depressed and hopeless.

  "How... how could you" Jay breathlessly asked in shock.

  "You're a monster" Jackson said through clenched teeth. "Turn them back, NOW!" He demanded.

  "Sorry little ones, but what's done is done, and why would I undo my marvelous work I mean just look at them, simply beautiful" Discord laughed out.

  "You..." Discord turned to me the moment I spoke, then turned pale. "Ill... kill... you" 



3rd P.o.v




  "Seems as though your form is back, it's just as terrifying as I remember it" Discord said breathlessly as stared at Thomas. 

  From his kneck to his waist , Thomas was covered in inky unholy darkness, it also covered both of his arms and hands creating small but sharp claws on his fingertips, it ate away at his clothing as though it was paper touching fire. His face had black markings creeping up to his jaw before stopping, forming small sharp teeth in his mouth, his iris turned a burning crimson red that looked tired and angry. Finally was what scared even Discord, two black horns curled on the sides of his head, his form looked unholy and terrifying to the other's who watched Thomas transform.

  "H-He's... t-terrifying" Fluttershy stuttered out, unconsciously falling back into her timid self.

  "So that's what we felt when we headed back to castle" Jay said, getting the same chill as he did before at the castle.

  "I thought it was Discord... but it was Thomas" Jackson said. "Unbelievable"

  "This fear, this excitement... I've longed for something such as this for thousands of years" Discord muttered to himself, feeling his body tremble. "Hehehe... WELL C'MON THEN BOY, LET'S SETTLE THIS RIGHT-" he stopped when Thomas raised his tired eyes to him.

  "Shut up" He calmly told him, to which Discord obediently obeyed much to his dismay. "Jay, Jackson... get everyone as far away from here as possible, and get the pie family as well" he instructed the two.

  Not wanting to disobey him, Jay and Jackson rounded up the girls and Spike quickly before getting ready to run off. Though they were still worried about what their friend was up too, so Jackson held them back a moment.

  "What are you gonna do Thomas?" Jackson asked, though he immediately regretted asking once Thomas shifted his gaze to him.

  "The right question is... what am I not gonna do" he answered, reiterating Jackson's question. "Now go"

  "But-"

  "I said, leave" Thomas repeated himself, the two boy's looked at one another and nodded before taking everyone and rushing away. "I believe this is round three Discord, only this time I'm actually conscious"

  "It would seem so, your very presence makes me want to run and hide like a scared little boy" Discord said with a small chuckle. "But there are no boy's here, just two men itching to kill each other," he continued, summoning and drawing a sword.

  "Men you say?" Thomas queried, holding out his right hand and summoned his sword. "I only see monster's"

  "What's the difference?" Discord asked before readying himself. Thomas took out his phone and pressed something that felt right for this situation.

  

  When the song had started, the two circled around one another just waiting for the first strike. As the song picked up, so did they and inched closer to each other. Then when it finally picked up, the two launched at each other at speeds only Rainbow can dream of, and the sound the swords made when Thomas and Discord caught each other in a power struggle, it reminded Thomas of thunder. 

  Each swing of their blade's sent rippling shockwaves around them, every step was calculated and planned as fast as they moved. The fighting was so intense that the clouds in the sky roamed above them in a circle, bringing down heavy droplets of rain down on top of them. Though it seems it barely affected the two that were caught in the trance of battle.

Thomas parried Discords forward stab and back handed the chaos being a few feet from him, stunning him briefly. Seeing an opening to strike, Thomas catapulted towards the man.

  Once in front of him, Thomas went for a quick jab but missed by a hair as Discord regained his bearings and dodged then sent his own jab. Thomas blocked it in time, allowing him to get a downward slash in, only to be parried and grind against Discords blade. Seeing the situation he was in, Thomas knee'd Discords side twice, giving him a chance to quickly punch then bash Discords face onto his knee.

  Discord growled at Thomas, but jumped back to get some distance between the two. The being felt his blood run down his nose, which seemed to piss him off a helluva lot more than before. Snapping his fingers, he created four chaos orbs all the size of his head and sent them towards Thomas. Thomas saw the four orbs then held up his left hand.

  "White Flame" Thomas muttered, coating his hand in a snow white flame. He then spread it across his sword fast enough to quickly jump over the first orb coming towards him. With a swift motion of his hand, the white flame sword cut through the chaos magic with ease, destroying it without a trace. Landing gently on the ground once more, he ran forward, going head first into danger.

  "Fool, I don't know how he dispelled my chaos magic, but I do know he won't survive if he head's towards them head on" Discord chuckled, seeing as though he might win. 

  "I wouldn't be too sure about that Discord" Thomas said, fluidly dodging, spinning and slashing Discords attacks with ease. "Like I said, I. Will. Kill. You" he repeated himself, entering another power struggle with Discord.



The Pie Family Farm, P.o.v- Jackson




  "Okay, I think that's everyone" I said, suddenly flinching as we heard another shockwave. "Thomas is fighting out there right now and we ran away with our tails between our legs, doesn't that piss you off?" I asked Jay who finished tying up Pinkie, the poor girl was shaking and fidgeting uncontrollably so we subdued her on a chair that we nailed to the floor. Everyone was one edge the second we came here, we ran into maud and her family hiding in a far off cave so we told them to stay there until everything was done, then we came here to catch our breaths from... whatever Thomas was now.

  "You have no idea how pissed off I am, but you saw what that monster did to our friend's, he was able to change their very nature with little to no resistance" Jay said gesturing to the girls, still acting horrible to each other. "If only there was a way to change them back, remember who they really were before Discord got to them" he said with a sad sigh.

  "It's no use, why try and fight it, the best thing to do is just... leave" Twilight said in a depressing tone, she grabbed her element crown and tossed it away. "There's nothing here for me anymore, my friends are gone, and soon Discord will come and kill you two... so I'm taking spike and leaving" Twilight said shocking us both. We tried to reason with her, but she just ignored us the entire time as she headed to the back room where we put spike since he was hit the worst.

  Though the second we entered the room we saw spike on the floor in a fetal position next to a giant pile of scrolls.

  "Come on spike, we're leaving, I don't know where but... it will be anywhere but here" Twilight said, ignoring the fact that her assistant was in pain.

  "I can't *burp*I can't move... Princess Celestia has been spending these letters since I first got in here" Spike groaned out, holding his stomach. I walked over to the poor boy, quickly lifting him up and setting him on the bed. That seemed to help him a tad bit.

  Twilight walked over to the pile of scrolls, picking one up then opening it. It was her friendship report, I would usually get those once a week or so, but I was curious as to why Celestia would be sending them back.

  "I.. I understand now!" Twilight exclaimed, reading more and more of her friendship report. Her original color suddenly started coming with each letter she read until Twilight reached the very last one, completely regaining her form. "Guy's, everything is so clear now. Discord is trying to distract us from what was really important, he knows how powerful our friendships are and he's trying to keep all of us from seeing it" Twilight rant off. "Jackson, Spike, remember how I said that the future of Equestria didn't rest on me making friends?" She asked.

  "Oh yeah, why?" I asked then suddenly came face to face with the woman.

  "Well I was wrong, the friendships I made with you, Jay, Thomas, and girls helped saved everyone from Nightmare moon and any other trouble that came out way" Twilight answered pulling back. "*gasp* I think I know a way to change everyone back to normal"

  "Really, how!?" Jay asked excitedly.

  "I need you two to hold down Applejack while I try a memory spell, in theory, it will help trigger her most recent memories with all of us together and bring back her true self" Twilight said, seeing it as an opportunity to bring our friend back, Jay and I headed back to girls who were all sitting on couch arguing. We grabbed Applejack lifted her up, then held her in place allowing Twilight to try her spell. Twilight charged up her horn for a few seconds before resting it on Applejacks head.

  "Let me go ya damn-" Applejack stopped abruptly, her eyes going wide for a moment then she passed out. A few minutes passed and she sprung up like a scared chicken. "What happened, where's Discord!?" Applejack asked frantically looking around, her color coming back 

  "You're back!" Twilight cheered, quickly embracing the cowgirl.

  "Uh... where did Ah go?" She asked, confused as to why Jay and I were holding her in place. "What happened with Thomas?" Applejack asked, obviously worried about the boy.

  "He's fine for now, but the girl's need to remember who they are so will you please help me" Twilight begged, though she probably should've known the answer to that.

  "Darn right Ah will, c'mon y'all, we got work to do,'' Applejack said then heard another shock wave. "What in tarnation was that?" She asked us, suddenly feeling a chill cours through her body.

  "Well, while you and the girls were trying to kill each other due to Discord changing all of you, Thomas kinda... well he sorta, damn how should I put this-"

  "He changed into what could as well be considered a devil incarnate, he's probably about to kill Discord then kill all of us for fun right after" Fluttershy answered for me, rather accurately I might add. "Now will you all shut up so I can... try not to think about it... please" She muttered, her color coming back slightly.

  "Sure flutters, but we have to discuss what to do if that happens" Jay said quietly, trying not to make her mad.

  "Well first things first, we have to bring back the girls, find Rainbow dash and get her back to normal then hopefully after that we can contain Discord once more" Twilight said.

  "Solid plan, but why the 'hopefully'?" I asked as we headed over to the other three girls.

  "Well like Fluttershy said, Thomas might try to kill him"



Back At the Far End Of The Farm, 3rd P.o.v




  "So Discord, have you finally decided to give up?" Thomas asked the man who was covered in bruises, cut's, burn marks and blood. Thomas wasn't looking that far from him, but he did keep most injuries to a minimum this time so he only sustained bruises and a few slashes.

  "Tho... Thomas my boy, we both know... I will not give up until I have this world on its knees, and have chaos at every turn" Discord wheezed out, coughing up some blood. "You're gonna have to kill me if you ever want peace in this land again" he said in a husky and ruff voice.

  "If dying is the only way to stop you, then I'll leave nothing behi-" Thomas froze in place suddenly feeling this unearthly feeling of pain wash over him like a tidal wave. He dropped his sword and cried out in pure agony as he fell to his knees from how intense the feeling was. "What's... Happening... to... me!?" Thomas choked out, his body pulsing from the strain inflicted upon it, his dark form slowly disappearing as well as his horns.

  "Ha... Hahaha!" Discord laughed seeing what was happening.

  "Shut up!" Thomas yelled at the man but this time, Discord was able to ignore the command. "What the hell is going on!?" Thomas demanded to know.

  "Oh my dear boy, you seem to have run out of whatever that strange power was, you're back to none threatening form" Discord answered the distressed boy's question. "Your body has suffered so much in such little time that it finally gave way to the strain it was inflicting on you" he explained further.

  "This... cant be happening" Thomas groaned in disbelief. "I was so close to winning, so close to avenging my friends... c'mon body, mooooove!" He cried out as he struggled to get his body to respond to his request. "I won't let you win damn it" He said, straining himself even more to move.

  "Sorry Thomas, but it looks like you lose and I get to reign hell over this for centuries" Discord proclaim, walking over to Thomas and lifting him up by his throat. "You never stood a chance anyways" Discord told him pompously before raising Thomas up some more then threw him as hard as he could.

  Thomas flew through the air at high speeds, completely unable to stop himself or even sheild himself from the crash landing he was about to face. 

  "You over did it you stupid brat" The demon told him in his mind. "Pretty stupid going all berserk after taking a piece of my power when you dont even know what you're doing with it"

  "I had to try, if I didn't then everyone would've died by Discords hands" Thomas sighed out, closing his eyes. "But you're right, I don't know what I'm doing and trying to act like I do, doesn't  help in the least. The power I took from you was unruly, menacing, and above all else... it was absolutely terrifying, it even broke down my body without me even realizing" he said in amazement.

  "I'm not here to babysit you kid, you either die or you dont ya hear me, I couldn't care less about what happens to us because we're both monster's on the inside... literally"  The demon said. "But I really, REALLY hate the guy so I'll tell you what... lift up your arm's and I'll help you fight this guy" he said, and the strain on his arms eased up a bit which allowed him to lift them up.



P.o.v- Thomas




  "Got'cha!" I heard as I felt two hands latch onto mine. I opened my eyes to see Rainbow dash, but her color was gloomier than her original but not as gray as the others. "You are one heavy bastard Thomas" Rainbow said, slowing us down enough for her to gently place me back on my feet.

  "Rainbow, are you... you?" I asked the air-user, she landed down next to me then slapped me with her hair. "Jesus, what was that for?"

  "Because I felt like it, now onto more pressing matters," Rainbow hissed the moment her eyes landed on Discord. "I don't really care what happens to you or anyone else, but something inside of me is screaming at me to help you out so don't think this mean's anything" Rainbow stated rather coldly, but that didn't matter to me, what mattered was that I had my friend back. Sorta.

  "Well I could use the help fighting this guy, think you can keep up? "I teased the woman, she shot me a grin.

  "You bet your ass I can!" She exclaimed, racing off towards Discord.

  "Alright you brat I healed your body just enough for you to move, you'll still feel a lot of pain but not enough to hinder you" The demon told me, I flexed my muscle a bit and was met with a good amount of pain surging through me, but not as much as before. "And remember brat, if you steal my powers again, you'll end up more worthless than the dirt... now go kill him!" he instructed.

  "Wait for me Rainbow!" I yelled at the woman before running after her, it was strange, it felt as though I was running faster than before. I was somehow keeping up with Rainbow without transforming into that weird form, my body must've instinctively adapted to it as I was fighting Discord earlier. "If that's the case then I wonder what other physical boosts I manage to gain?" I muttered to myself, but that question would have to be answered later because Discord was charging towards us as well.

  He seemed a lot slower than when we fought, that must mean he's still hurt and weak so he won't be able to use his chaos magic. This left him with no choice but to face us head on, he's getting desperate.

  "I've grown tired of our little dance Thomas, so would be so kind as to die as fast as possible?" Discord asked me, dodging Rainbows dive bomb attack then a sword slash from me. "How you are moving breaks the very laws of this world, you should still be groveling in absolute agony, not swinging a sword!" Discord growled, growing ever more frustrated with the lack of death in me.

  "Sorry Discord, but if I die then who will clean Rainbows house, who will answer Twilights endless questions and who would even remember me if I lost to someone like you!" I shouted at him right before sweeping his leg then dove out the way as Rainbow came rocketing in with a flying drop kick. The force of the attack caused him to fly in the air for a moment before face planting on the hard, rough floor. "Nice work Rainbow!"

  "Shut up would ya" Rainbow said, walking over and helped me back up. "And you do know I clean my own house right?" She asked, a little offended for some reason.

  "Yeah but I would think you'd be pretty lonely without me around the house" I said with a chuckle. A fiery blush wash over her cheeks hearing this and she tried to argue with me, only to let out squeaks and voice cracks. "Aww, I didn't know you cared so much" I teased, giving her a hug.

  "I... you... fffffine, I guess I do care about what happens to you" Rainbow said. "I mean, am I not supposed to care about my best friend?" She asked me before going a still a plank of wood, I let go of her and rainbows gloomy look faded away as her original colors came back to her. "Oooooh~... my head hurts a little" 

  "Good to have you back Rainbow" I said with the first genuine smile of today. I didn't think twice before embracing the girl in a tight hug, she seemed confused but also flustered as this was happening. "*ahem* Sorry about that, its just, your quite possibly the only good thing thats happened to me today" I admitted to her, breaking the embrace.

  "Wait... really?" Rainbow asked, blushing and fidgeting with her thumbs a bit.

  "Oh just kill me already, if I wanted to see a cheesy romance story then I would've gone to the movies'' Discord said, interrupting our reunion and rushed towards me. Pushing Rainbow out the way of danger, I raised my sword to his once more, putting us both in a power struggle. "Why won't you just give up and die already!" he roared.

  "Because Im tired of giving up, I've been kicked and pushed to the ground more times than I can count, people said I was nothing but trash that was meant to be thrown away, I was just another stupid kid with no talent and rotten luck" I said. "But no matter how many times I fell I got right back up, so you can knock me down nine times, but I'll just get up ten and kick your ass!" I exclaimed, spinning our sword's around until we lost our grips with them. Then I slammed my fist in his face and side, but he slugged me in the gut and shoulder with the heaviest punches I've ever felt. Each punch we threw at each other was like a giant weight slamming on our bodies, constantly beating our flesh raw. I'm pretty sure you could hear how hard the punches were.

  "When I kill you, I'll take so much joy in it that I'll dedicate a whole day about how I killed this persistent, annoying, little, shit!" Discord growled, but I chuckled at this comment, making us stop our attacks. "Why are you laughing?" He asked.

  "What's that old saying Discord, 'Be careful how you treat people, because what you do has a funny way of coming back to bite you'" I quoted as I looked behind him, he turned to see the girls all together with the elements functioning properly and boy, do they look pissed. "Karma's a real bitch aint she?"

  "Shit, I gotta move!" Discord cursed under his breath, but before he could move, I put him in a full Nelson. "What the- you fuckin idiot, if you get hit to then were both going to be turned to stone!" Discord said but I didn't move.

  "Time to go back home to your stone prison Discord" I told him and the girls shot the Rainbow beam. Discord and I stared at the beam coming right for use, while he was terrified beyond belief, I was waiting for the beam was close enough. The second I knew he had no chance of escaping, I shoved Discord as hard as I could towards it and jumped out the way.

  "YOU BASTARD, I'LL BE BACK, THIS ISN'T THE LAST YOU'VE SEEN OF ME YOU FOOLS!!!!" Discord bellowed out as the beam wrapped around him for a moment before dispersing, revealing Discord turned to stone.

  "We... we did it" Jay said, helping the girl's down from the air. 

  "Yeah.. we...... did...... it" I mumbled slightly, my energy finally spent, my body went limp and the darkness covered my vision. "I'm just gonna nap..." I mumbled before finally passing out.
> Chapter 8: Choices
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




???




  "So, the boy is progressing fast is he" A rough voice spoke in the darkness. "Then everything is as you said Damon" he continued and was answered with a low hum.

  "I wonder how strong he will become, especially since it's your brother's and that grotesque woman's son" Another voice said, only, this was more feminine.

  "He chose to leave us because of her might I remind you, and don't forget he was the most powerful in our race... a fool he was to let such a trivial thing such as love determine his future" A younger, more calmer voice spoke out, spitting at the word 'love'. "But we have something- no- we have someone he could not have comprehended in his entire life" he said before they all went silent and a deep sigh was all that was let out.



Canterlot Castle's Medical Wing, Midnight, P.o.v- Thomas




  "Who!?" I yelled, sitting up quickly in a cold sweat. I panted slightly as I felt my body's weakened state, I took in my surroundings for a moment and pieced together that I was in some sort of hospital. "My body is so heavy and... it's hard to breathe, did I push myself too hard against Discord?" I muttered to myself  and swung my legs out of bed then stood up.

  With bated breath I stumbled my way out of the hospital room, quickly entering the halls. I picked a direction and walked for what felt like hours, the thumbing of my feet echoed through the hallway and so did my breath. I felt so tired, so weak, but something kept telling me to keep going. Why does my body keep screaming at me to run away from this place!?

  "Thomas" I stopped when I heard someone call my name, honestly it wasn't the words that stopped me, it was the voice. "What are you doing out of bed, you should be resting since your body hasn't fully recovered from your little fight" I turned and saw her.

  "Mom" I choked as I looked towards the woman. Her hair was as black as ink, her skin, as white as snow, and she looked at me with comforting blue eyes with a soft smile that could put anyone at ease and she wore a long black dress that looked like it was moving on its own. Many people back home called her the real snow white because of how beautiful and generous she was. But I only knew her as my mother.

  "My little boy, you've grown to be such a handsome young man" She said with a soft gentle voice that would've made Fluttershy seem like she was yelling. "You look like me, aside from having your father's hair and eyes, you're a spitting image" she said with a chuckle.

  "Mom... is that really you?" I asked her and started limping towards her, both my hands reaching out to her, hoping and praying in my mind that she was real. "Please, tell me it's you and not an illusion!" I cried out just as the waterworks started, she only smiled before allowing me to embrace her once I got close to her.

  "I've missed you my baby, I've missed you so much" She said, I couldn't help but cry even harder. "I didn't know you could cry that hard, does seeing me bring that much joy to you?" 

  "Y-You have no idea!" I exclaimed, she giggled before petting my head.

  "Still the same as I remember, I'm glad you haven't changed too much, I see you still have such a kind and beautiful heart Thomas and I know your new friends see it as well" She said. "Even though it breaks me to say this I have to say it... I have to go baby" she said in a sad tone. Hearing those words made my heart break, I didn't want to see her go. Not again.

  "Please... please don't go mom... I dont think I can live another day without you, or dad, or Margaret, or Sadie or Zion... I don't know how long I have until I go completely insane, I don't know how long I have until the old me disappears" I told her, looking up to see her gentle smile and eyes.

  "It'll be okay Thomas, you may be the youngest, but you fight harder than anyone else in our family... keep fighting my baby boy... I love you, and tell your new family... thank you, for everything" Mom said to me before a bright light shined, blinding me for a moment, then when it vanished, so was she.

  "Mom... I-I don't know... how much more... I can take" I admitted reluctantly, feeling overwhelmingly tired.

  "U-Uh... Thomas?" Another familiar voice called to me, only this time, it was wrapped in my arms. "Are you okay?" They asked, I reared back to see Violet as red as an apple.

  "Violet! Oh my gosh I am so sorry, I-I don't know what came over me, please forgive me!" I apologize profusely to the flustered and confused woman.

  "It's okay Thomas, n-no harm done but... who were you talking too?" Violet asked me, although I didn't know what she meant.

  "Huh?" I said. "What do you mean, was I talking to someone earlier... wait, why was I hugging you in the first place, and why are my cheeks so raw?" I began questioning everything, which was amusing to Violet a little.

  "You started talking to someone before I got here, then when I caught up to you, you launched towards me and hugged me while continuously mumbling 'I can't do this' over and over again" Violet explained to me, though nothing sounded familiar.

  "Uh... I really don't know what you're talking about, actually, I don't even know where I am?" I said, confused.

  "Oh right, after the fight with Discord you've been in the castle's hospital wing for four months straight, it's actually spring time now" Violet told me to which I handled this news as any other man would.

  "I WAS ASLEEP FOR FOUR FREAKIN MONTHS!?!?!?" I shouted, freaking out about how stupid I was for pushing myself  so hard that I ended up putting myself in a four month coma. "What did everyone else do while I was out?" I asked her.

  "Well you missed the Nightmare night festival at ponyville, along with hearths warming but other than that nothing too serious" Violet listed off, knowing nothing major happened really calmed me down a bit. "Also... thank you Thomas, for keeping your promise to me" she said suddenly.

  "Promise, what promise?" I asked.

  "I don't blame you for forgetting since you've been asleep for so long, but it's the promise of bringing Jay back to me alive" Violet explained, instantly letting the puzzle become complete. "You brought him back to me alive, granted he was hurt, but you kept your promise...you saved me, Jay, Jackson, the princess's, those six girls and all of equis... you're a hero Thomas" Violet said then got on her hands and knees to bow. "Thank you, for saving us"

  "Whoa! Please get up, it wasn't anything special really so please don't bow to someone like me, I couldn't have done it without my friends in the first place so if you want to thank anyone it should be them!" I exclaimed rapidly, flustered at how this situation turned out. "Here, let me help you up" I said after calming down, I offered her a hand and with a small smile she took it and I helped Violet up to her feet.

  "You're new to this kinda thing aren't you?" Violet asked,  making me blush in embarrassment.

  "Y-Yeah, it's just, I've spent my whole life being the punching bag for bullies or people wanting to vent out aggression... I've never been thanked for anything in my whole life, save for my friends, so hearing you call me a hero and bowing to me made me feel so... appreciated" I admitted, and it was true. Every last word was the truth.

  "Well mr. Hero, I'm sure you're tired so I'll get you some clothes, check how you're doing then help you to your room" Violet told me, even though I was confused about the room, I was more confused by the clothes thing.

  "Get me some clothes, what do you-" I said only to stop mid-sentence as I looked down to see... well, everything. "aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!" I screamed, jumping back from Violet and covering myself up as much as possible. 

  "Oh calm down you big baby, you're gonna wake up everyone in the castle if you scream like that again," Violet said all the while laughing at my mortified face. "Not like I'm not used to seeing it already" she went on and my heart sank like a brick in water.

  "U-U-U-Use to s-s-s-seeing it!?" I managed to spit out, now my face was as red as the color in Rainbows hair. 

  "Who do you think washed, trimmed and groomed your body for four months," Violet scoffed while I wanted to die as fast as possible. "Honestly you should be thanking me, I bought a really expensive cream that gets rid of hair for those *ahem* special places and I may have gone a little overboard with it" she said much to my never ending torment of embarrassment, I was scared to look down but with enough courage I looked to see no hair at all around my body except for the hair on my head. "The effects are permanent so you're smooth forever so you don't have to shave anything other than the hair on your head"

  "Everything is... smooth..."

  "Yup... I got everything" Violet giggled, I summoned my sword then gave it to her.

  "I give your permission to behead me, here and now" I said with an empty gaze.

  "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND!?" Violet yelled at me, hitting me over the head with a really hard punch. "What are you an idiot!" She scolded me, but her angry expression turned to one of concern seeing me in a fetal position on the floor.

  "Everything, you saw everything" I mumbled repeatedly to myself silently.

  "Ah geez, well, just stay there and I'll get you some clothes" Violet said before rushing off.

  After about twenty minutes had passed, Violet came back with some clothes, which was grey sweats, a white shirt and some running shoes. When I was getting dressed it brought me out of my shock from earlier and Violet took me back to my hospital room to do a few tests on me to see how I was doing. I was still, however, embarrassed about her seeing me naked.

  "Well, everything looks fine, all things considered, " Violet said, writing on her clipboard. "Though the only injury you sustained was a broken hand three months ago, but it healed faster than usual, more specifically it healed in five hours which should be impossible 
but what surprised me the most is how you aren't still in a coma with little to no injuries, especially with how brutal that battle Jay told me about" Violet said a little astonished at how fast and minimal my injuries were.

  "Huh... weird" I mumbled, already knowing the answer to that question. "Did anyone come and visit me while I was asleep?" I asked her, she smiled and levitated a few photos to her hands.

  "Yup, and they all wanted to celebrate the holidays with you so they took pictures" Violet answered, handing me the photos. A smile creeped to my face seeing my friends still smiling and looking happy, they even dressed me up as some other version of Gandalf the great, had the wizard hat and giant white beard as well, the whole shebang. "They came to visit you everyday, even princess Luna would come here every night to check in on you"

  "Really, I must've made them all worried" I said with a soft snort as I looked at the photos. "You said Luna visits me at night right, so I guess that means I just missed her huh?" I asked.

  "Well actually it's only 12:30 a.m. so she should be coming here in just a few seconds" Violet said just before the door gently opened with one of footsteps following it. "Speak of the devil, greetings your highness" Violet addressed and bowed to said princess.

  "Please Violet, I told you to stop all the nonsense, we're friends are we not?" Luna said with perfect punctuation, I turned to face the woman, but when I turned my head I was slapped so hard I felt the sting of it before the actual hand connected. "And you, don't you ever make me worry like that again you hear me" Luna growled at me, though before I could answer she hugged me, much to my endless confusion with my reawakening just twenty-five minutes ago.

  "I'm... I'm completely lost" I said, no longer trying to keep up with this situation. "I guess I should say I'm sorry for scaring you" I said carefully, hugging her back.

  "I'm just glad you're okay, I didn't know when you'd wake up so I started to worry then the whole Nightmare night thing happened and... *sigh* I'm just happy you're awake" Luna said in a soft tone, carefully caressing my cheek with a gentle hand. 

  "*ahem* Sorry to interrupt princess Luna, I just need to sign some papers for his release and you can have as much fun with him as you want" Violet told Luna, breaking her trance on me and blush heavily. "You know princess, he's actually pretty well endowed, bigger than most male equestrians" Violet whispered loud enough for both Luna and I to hear, which caused us both to blush a bright red. "Plus, he's as smooth as a silk down there... you're welcome" 

  "V-Violet, are you trying to-" but before Luna could finish her sentence, Violet was pushing us out the room.

  "Whoop sorry, I realized I can finish the paperwork without Thomas here so Princess Luna please escort mr. Knight to his room, and have a pleasant night, bye!" Violet said suddenly before pushing us out of the medical wing and closing the door, leaving us out in the moon lit halls of the castle.

  "Uuh, what just happened?" I asked, confused as to what just happened right now. Luna looked just as confused, but also flustered by something. "Luna, are you okay?" I asked her, slightly touching her shoulder.

  "YES IM FINE!" Luna shouted while jumping from my touch, her face was red and she poking her index fingers together. "I-Im sorry, I think Violets words earlier might have corrupted my thoughts a bit" 

  "O-Oh... I know what you mean" I said, understanding what she was talking about. "H-How about we walk around for a bit and clear our-"

  "Thomas... how old are you?" Luna asked me, making my heart skip a beat. 

  "Well I actually turned eighteen today if I did the math right" I answered, the hall was silent for a solid minute before I heard Luna clear her throat.

  "W-Well happy birthday Thomas, uhm, since we're both up, how about we go into the city and I can get you a present for your birthday" Luna suggested and honestly I was relieved it wasn't  something perverse. 

  "That... that sounds wonderful Luna, I'd love to go with you" I agreed and Luna made a little squee that was freakin adorable. "Maybe we should get something to eat first, and a better change of clothes" I said, looking down at my plain attire.

  "I don't know, it looks comfortable I must say" Luna said with a little jealousy in the words. "Oh well, but if you want to eat somewhere then I know just the place" she told me before grabbing my hand and rushed us out of the castle.



Canterlot City, 1:30 a.m.,




  "Here we are!" Luna announced happily, we stood outside a pretty nice diner just a couple of blocks from the castle. The sign up top read 'Sally and Barb's All Day an Night Diner', when we walked into the diner we saw a few people inside either just getting off duty or getting out of a bar. It was nice in here, both sides had red booths and cream colored tables all cleaned to a shine, and in the middle had four tables with the same tables but with wooden chairs.

  "Ah! Princess Luna, a pleasure as always" A cheerful voice said which perked up my ears a bit. I looked to see a dark gray skinned woman with pitch black hair that reached down to her shoulders, yellow catlike eyes and webbed wings on her back, all while wearing a bright pink waitress uniform. She was actually very pretty I have to admit.

  "Of course Sally, you and Barb have the best food in canterlot" Luna complimented, but Sally gave a dismissive wave.

  "Oh hush now, me an Barb make good food, yes, but I wouldn't call it the best," Sally said as she quickly blocked a flying egg coming at her. "Sorry baby!"

  "No you're not!" A voice yelled back, who I assume is barb. The woman giggled at this remark before turning her attention back to us.
 
  "Well c'mon now, let's get you two seated and full of some food" Sally said, leading us to a nice secluded booth right next to a window where we saw a great view of Canterlot. "Now then, how about I start you off with some drinks?" She asked.

  "Any soda is fine" I ordered.

  "A cola please, and for an appetizer how about some cheese fries" Luna ordered.

  "Alright, I'll be back with your drinks and appetizer, take a minute to look over the menu" Sally said as she wrote the order. "Barb honey, small basket of Cheese fries!"

  "On it!" And with that, Luna and I were once again left alone. It felt so awkward with how much silence there was, I never really hung out with a girl on my own before so I was at a complete loss.

  "C'mon you idiot, say something to her" I mumbled to myself before clearing my throat, getting Luna's attention. "S-So Luna, I noticed you gotten pretty use to new english now, guess you've been practicing a lot since I've been asleep, it's almost like you were never banished to the moon for a thousand years" I said, quickly realizing what had came out of my mouth and mentally slapped myself. "Wait that's not what I- shit- uh, beautiful night tonight huh?" I asked with a small hope of that saving the conversation.

  "You're not good at this are you?" Luna asked with a small smirk.

  "*sigh*... yeah" I admitted, but instead of laughing, she put her hand on top of mine.

  "Neither am I, so how about we fail together," Luna said and I chuckled at this.

  "Sounds like plan Luna" I said, making her chuckle with me. "By the way, how are they open all day and night?" I asked.

   "Sally and Barb are both from the Bat species so they can only work during the night, they have other workers work during the day to keep the business afloat" Luna explained. "That's how they can stay open day and night, of course there are vacations for the day and night staff"

  "Wow, so that's why she has bat wings, that's super cool" I said, a little fascinated by this. "Man this world is awesome"

  "How so?" Luna queried.

  "It's so full of life here, back home it's nothing like this place, there's no magic or people flying in the air with wing's or people who can do both" I explained. "Were just normal, the only special thing about us is that we have an endless amount of imagination and we can learn new things everyday, but I think this world is way better than back home" I said, then remembered my family.

  "But here, you don't have your family, they're all back in the human world" Luna said, and I nodded. Sally came back with the drinks and fries before taking our orders, though I just copied Lunas. "I know you can feel it in your heart Thomas, you miss them dearly"

  "Yeah, I really do miss them" I admitted. "But I've already accepted the fact I might never see them again, so I continue to look forward, because if I continue to cry about what happened in the past instead of what I can do now for the future, then I wouldn't be able to make it to the next day" I said, unknowingly saying what I was actually feeling and thinking.

  "And that's what makes you amazing Thomas" Luna said with admiration. "You're strong enough to keep going forward, even when the circumstances constantly keep changing and you're faced with a new challenge, I admire that about you... because, unlike you, I looked at the negatives for half my life... then it lead me to become Nightmare moon" Luna said with a heavy heart, her tone was both sadness and disappointment mixed together. I think I saw a few tears coming from her eyes as she spoke.

  "But you made a choice to come back didn't you?" I asked the all powerful woman, who looked at me confused. "You decided to come to your senses the moment you came to me for help, you even helped me out of that rut back at your old castle in the everfree" I went on, listing off everything she's done for me. "You saved my life when Nightmare dumped me in a river, stranded me in the woods and left me with giant slash marks on my chest... but you told me to get up and keep moving, if it wasn't for you helping me back there, then I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you" 

  "But I-"

  "Luna, we all make choices in life, some are good and some are bad, you can't predict what the right choice is no matter how much you want you" I said, cutting her off. "And knowing you make mistakes shows that you're like everyone else"

  "What is everyone else?" Luna asked.

  "Human" I answered, gripping her hand a little. "You are amazing Luna, quite possibly the greatest person I've ever met in my life, and you can get Applejack to come tell you I'm not lying about one word" I said, getting Luna to smile again, it was beautiful.

  "Princess you sly girl you, got yourself quite boyfriend huh" Sally teased, coming back with our food. It was just chicken and fish with a side of fries. "Not bad on the eyes either I must say, no wonder you like him" she continued.

  "W-What, he's not my boyfriend he's just a very good friend that happens to be a boy" Luna defended herself.

  "Sorry to say this princess, but that sounds like a boyfriend" Sally said with a devilish grin. "Say, this wouldn't happen to be a date would it?" She asked, now both of us were blushing.

  "D-Date!?" Luna stuttered out and it looks like her brain is out for a bit.

  "We're not on a date Sally, Luna wanted to celebrate my birthday today so she wanted to treat me to anything, and we came here for a quick bite before heading into the city" I explained, but the girl wasn't having it.

  "Is that right, holding that hand awfully tight for a close friend" Sally said, gazing over to mine and Luna's hands on top of one another. "Buuuut if you're really adamant about not being together, then I won't tease you anymore, how about a free slice of cake for the birthday boy then?" Sally offered.

  "Really, that would be amazing" I said, quickly accepting the offer and Sally quickly came back with a small plastic box with a slice of chocolate cake in it. "Thank you so much," I said.

  "Any friend of the princess is a friend of mine, but make sure to treat her right, understand?" Sally asked sternly.

   "You have my word Sally, I won't ever hurt her, that's a promise I'm confident keepin" I said and Sally gave me an impressed look.

  "Well alright mr. Boyfriend, as another thank you, I give you my blessing" She told me before heading to the back with Barb, slowly gaining an evil smirk.

  "Luna, you okay?" I asked, just as I started eating. "You gonna eat?" I asked her once more before snapping my fingers in front of her face which seemed to bring her back from her daze.

  "Huh, what happened?" Luna asked, forgetting where she was for a moment. "Oh yes, I-I'm sorry about that Thomas, I never really froze up like that before, forgive me" Luna apologized.

  "It's okay Luna no harm done, though while you were spaced out, Sally gave me a free piece of cake and she said she gave me her blessing" I said, this made Luna's face become red again.

  "Sally!" Luna cried out to the girl, which was followed up by roaring laughter from Barb and Sally in the kitchen. "I'm so sorry Thomas, do you... know what that means?" She asked, to embarrassed to look at me.

  "No not really, is it something bad?" I answered with a question of my own.

  "Well, when someone who is close to you, either by blood or friendship, gives your partner their blessing, then their saying that you have permission to... bed your partner" Luna explained to me, though it took a minute to register what Luna had just told me, then it hit me like a bag of bricks. 

  "So you're saying that-"

  "She gave you permission to, *ahem*, j-join me in bed" Luna hesitantly said, mumbling the last words just loud enough for me to hear. To say my heart was pounding was an understatement, it felt like it was amplified a hundred times over, my face was covered in a heavy red blush that reached the tips of my ears and I felt a sudden wave of adrenaline pump through my body. "Thomas, are you alright?" Luna asked as she squeezed my hand I forgot she was holding.

  "Yup, Im fine!" I said, my voice cracking slightly. "Y-You know I think Im pretty full, the food was great, and I'm sure this cake will be just as good so how about we head into town?" I suggested rather quickly, Luna raised a brow before looking at my plate only to see I've only eaten half of it.

  "Sally, two to-go boxes please!"




  "Breathe Thomas" Luna told me as I gave the heaviest sigh I've ever given in my life, we sat on a stone bench outside the diner and I felt so embarrassed about how I acted in there. "Was it about what Sally said?" Luna asked me.

  "*sigh*... Yeah, Im sorry for how I acted in their Luna, it was really childish of me to get so worked up over something so simple as a blessing" I apologized, chuckling at my stupid behavior.

  "Well I have to agree it was a little childish, although, I myself... am also in the same boat when she thought you were my boyfriend and that we were on a date" Luna admitted, laughing with me a little. "So I have no room to judge, though seeing you all flustered like that was kinda cute" she went on, leaving me to give out an awkward chuckle.

  "Well, I'm sorry you weren't able to eat anything because of me" I said, apologizing once again, but this time I had something up my sleeve. "How about we share this cake Sally gave me" I suggest.

  "Oh Thomas, I couldn't possibly have something that is meant for you" Luna said.

  "It's fine Luna, I couldn't have asked for a better person to share this with than you" I told her, opening the little box. I grabbed the bag holding our to-go boxes and found some forks in a little baggy. "Here, I want you to have the first bite" I said, handing her a fork.

  "Are you sure?" Luna asked.

  "Positive, see it as an apology for freaking out in the diner" I assure her and she looked at the cake then at me. With a little nod she took a nice size piece and ate it, humming in delight when it hit her tongue.

  "Ish amashing" Luna said with a full mouth, I snorted softly at this before taking my own bite. It really was amazing, I only thought Pinkie and the cake's could make sweets this great but it seems like I was dead wrong about that. We continued sharing the cake as we looked unto the city, it looked like it was sparkling from the magically lit lights they had and the sky was just as beautiful as the city, maybe even more.

  "The moon and the star's are so beautiful tonight, it's mesmerizing" I admired, not taking my eyes off the moon.

  "I'm glad you think so, it makes me happy knowing someone loves the stars and moon" Luna thanked me, sighing blissfully before eating some more cake. "Especially when it's from you, it makes my heart flutter a bit" she said gaining a slight red hue on her cheeks.

  "I'm just happy I get to see it, honestly, I feel a strange connection to the night, it makes me feel safe and secure... it's like a blanket draping over me, protecting me from everything" I said, losing myself in thought for a moment before Luna poked my cheek with a piece of cake.

  "Im happy it makes you feel safe Thomas... hey I know this is random, and will probably sound silly but, can you do something for me?" Luna asked, peaking my curiosity.

  "Alright, what is it you desire princess?" I asked and she pointed the piece of cake at me once more.

  "I've seen girls do this for boys when they're eating at restaurants or café's, so I've been wanting to give it a try, think you can indulge me?" Luna asked, slowly gesturing me to open my mouth. Chuckling at this request, I agreed and let Luna fed me the piece of cake, it was oddly embarrassing having a girl feed me for some reason, though it is something I never thought would happen to me, especially when said girl is a beautiful princess that controls the moon. "My turn" she suddenly said, opening her mouth slightly.

  Feeling my face flush a bit seeing this, I quickly calmed myself down and went to feed her the last piece. The second the cake hit her tongue, she closed her mouth and hummed happily. It was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen in my whole life.

  "Well, there goes the cake" I said, placing my fork into the box along with Lunas, but as I was putting everything back in the bag I felt a pair of familiar soft lips plant themselves on my cheek.

  "Not all of it" Luna said when she pulled back from my cheek where some frosting was at. I held my cheek that she kissed then looked at her with a stunned expression as she licked her lips that had small amounts of frosting on it. "Hmm, I must say it tastes much sweeter than before, I wonder why?" Luna questioned, smiling happily at her accomplishment.

  "I-I, uhm, w-why did you-?" I was about to ask, but she put her finger on my lips.

  "Take it as an apology for how I acted in the diner as well, now c'mon, I wanna get you a present before anyone else does" Luna quickly told me before grabbing my hand and rushed us toward the city. But on the whole way there, I couldn't stop blushing or stop thinking about what had just happened.



Jackson's Room, P.o.v- Jackson




  "Up a little late, aren't we Tia?" I asked the princess who stood at my door, dressed in her white nightgown that reached to her thighs. I had barely woken up when I heard the door to my room open, I don't know what I was expecting, but I know for sure it wasn't Celestia.

  "I'm sorry to barge in on you Jackson, I just have a lot on my mind right now and you were the first person I thought of for help" Celestia said, gently turning on the light with her magic, bright enough so that our eyes won't hurt. "It's about Luna and Thomas" she continued, coming over to my bedside then sitting on the edge.

  "You think Luna is in love with Thomas, don't you?" I asked the woman, and from the look on her face, I was right. "It's possible Luna might be in love with Thomas, or it could be a fling for all we know" I said, giving Celestia other options.

  "I'm not trying to say it's a bad thing, I think it's sweet if she's in love, I just don't want her to get hurt if Thomas doesn't feel the same way" Celestia said, obviously worried about her sister. It was understandable for a big sister to worry about their younger sister's feelings, I know how she feels.

  "Oh no, Thomas is definitely in love with your sister, no doubt about it" I simply stated much to Celestia's surprise.

  "How do you-"

  "Tia, c'mon, this is a boy who isn't use to hiding his true feelings, Thomas may not look it but he's a sensitive guy that doesn't know how to contain his feelings properly" I said, though this seemed to not make sense to Celestia. "He blushes if Luna so much as touches him, he becomes awkward around her when she shows up or even talks to him and finally, Thomas has shared deep conversations with Luna that she was able to relate to and with that little connection, he formed a small crush that soon blossomed into full on love... that explain everything?" I questioned.

  "I... guess it does really, sorry for ruining your sleep schedule Jackson" Celestia said, but I waved it off as no big deal. "... Hey, since you're up, would you like to walk around the castle with me until I feel tired again?" She asked me, though it kinda felt like an order.

  "Is that an order from the Princess or do I get a choice?" I queried, making her giggle.

  "It's an order from your princess mr. Castle, now come along" Celestia ordered me, obeying my princess's request I got out of bed but she stopped me then covered her eyes. "W-Why are you naked!?" Celestia demanded sporting a dark red blush.

  "I sleep naked Tia, feels great, ya gotta try it one of these days" I answered before going to my closet and threw on some sweats and a t-shirt. "Better your majesty?"

  "Very, now let's go Jackson, I really want to show you my garden, I spent year's growing it" Celestia said, now leading me towards the garden area. It was some place I've been to once when we held the Gala a few months ago, but I really didn't have time to see it since I was crying my eye's out to Celestia, then Fluttershy freaked out, so on, so forth. This time however, I will look intently as a means to see how beautiful it might be.

  "You know Celestia, the guards here might get the wrong idea if they see us together at night, just the two of us" I teased a little, making her blush slightly. "They could mistaken this as a little date"

  "T-They are free to believe in whatever they desire Jackson, because you and I both know the truth" Celestia said confidently, save for the beginning.

  "And what is the truth Tia?" I asked quickly getting in front of her, I smirked a little seeing her shy expression. "I'm just messing Tia, I know you only see me as a friend" 

  "Phew, don't do that Jackson, my poor heart can't take it" She sighed, relieved I was just messing with her. "Anyways, we're here" Celestia said as we stopped in front of a blurry glass door leading outside. With a small bit of her magic, Celestia opened the door for us and the cool night air bit at our skin with its small sharp teeth leaving only goosebumps.

  "Whoa" I said breathlessly, becoming unable to speak due to the sheer beauty of Celestia's garden. There were plant's I've never even seen before, and roses with colors not even the rarest of plants back home have. The place was open for any air-user to see since it was outside, but they wouldn't be able to notice the emerald green walkway with little sun's etched into them, or the vines that hugged the far end of the garden holding plant roots as thick as my arm. Though what really makes this place so amazing, is how comforting and safe it made me feel, like how my mother made me feel.

  "Jackson... are you okay?" Celestia asked while wiping away tears that fell from my eyes. 

  "Ah uh, yes *ahem*, I'm alright just reminiscing is all... about my parents and my sisters" I said, taking a second  before sighing a little. "This place is beyond beautiful Celestia, I can tell how much love and hard work you've put into this place, the flowers, the vegetables, the fruits and tree's... it's simply amazing" I said, a little astonished by this. 

  "I'm glad you like it Jackson, I was only a little girl when I first made this garden, though back then it wasn't so magnificent" Celestia admitted, a little embarrassed. "But tending to the plants was always a wonderful hobby of mine, my mother would always show me new ways to grow the plants in her garden, she even gave me this place so I can start my own. This was the last place she left me before... before disappearing" Celestia said with a frown, her tone started drifting off to sadness.

   "... Im uh... *ahem*, I'm sorry you and Luna had to go through that alone, it must've felt like no one else could understand what you were feeling" I said sympathetically. "I know it must have been a rocky childhood after that... is that how you know what I'm feeling right now?" I asked and she nodded slowly.

  "Seeing you in that state reminded me of myself back then, it reminded me of how I felt during the whole process and knowing that Luna would have to go through it as well broke me completely, like how you broke down when you realized you can't return home anymore" She said with a shaky voice. "We both know what it feels like to lose everything in the matter of seconds and how helpless  we feel while watching ourselves slowly cracking with the constant pressure of looking like you could handle anything then shattering when you couldn't take any more" Celestia ranted a little, losing herself in her thoughts, so I thought of a way to bring her out.

  "Hey Celestia" I called out to the woman and when she turned I kissed her on the cheek. "You know you can rely on me if you need to talk right?" I asked the red faced woman.

  "Was kissing me really necessary!?" Celestia exclaimed in embarrassment. "I understand that you're willing to help, but kissing me is a cheap shot Jackson!" She scolded, but I just chuckled at her expression.

  "I just wanted to get rid of that sadness  enveloping you Tia, I like it when you smile, it brings out a nice warmth inside me when I see it... i-it's beautiful really" I said, blushing a tad bit. "How about we focus on the positives instead of the negatives, I also want to look around the garden for a bit and-" I continued for a moment but was soon stopped when I Celestia turned my head to hers and kissed me for a few seconds, but for those few seconds I completely melted in her hands, feeling her soft lips against mine and her hands clinging to the sides of my head. I wanted this to go on a bit longer, but it soon ended with Celestia pulling back from me with a bright red blush covering both of our faces, though another expression was present at that moment. Lust.

  "That is payback for kissing me suddenly, and also a thank you for those kind words you said" Celestia told me, lightly panting while staring at me with longing eyes. "How did a kiss from a princess feel?" She asked, smirking a little.

  "Heavenly" I answered almost immediately after she asked the question. "T-Tia I think we should stop here before anything else happens" I suggested, instantly wanting to bite my tongue when the word had left my mouth.

  "Maybe you're right, but then again... what's the harm of having a little fun?" Celestia questioned, pressing herself onto me, her chest squishing against mine and they felt amazing. "I feel... sleepy" Celestia said suddenly, making me confused then I realized her eyes were closed.

  "Tia, are... are you asleep?" I asked the woman only to be answered immediately after when she plopped her head on my shoulder, happily snoring softly on me. "Geez... heh, that is some major blue balling Princess, but I can't blame you for falling asleep though, you are an early bird so it's only natural at this point" I said to the sleeping woman, I picked her up in bridal to which her body instinctively made Celestia latched her arms around my neck to keep from falling. "C'mon you silly woman, let's get you to bed" I said softly before heading off towards her chambers.



  Canter Castle's Medical Wing, Violet's Office, P.o.v-Jay




  "You know Vie, I think you work a little too much," I said to the nurse, sitting on a spinny chair just across from her desk. "You'll work yourself to death if you don't relax" I told her, but she just rolled her eyes at me.

  "Jay if I want to be lectured about how to live my life I'd live with my mother, now as you can clearly see I'm working right now and you should be asleep because of your fucked up body... *groan* I swear you three don't know what holding back means. Thomas wakes up then starts walking around like nothing even happened, then a few days ago Jackson comes in with new cut's on his arms and face drenched in sweat, and don't get me started with you mister 'I came back alive didn't I?'" Violet ranted furiously, looking even more stressed out than normal. "Do you even know how hard it was to not freak out healing the three of you, like, seriously, do you guys just attract danger!?" Demanded to know, though I didn't think answering 'yes' was wise at this moment.

  "Violet, you need to calm down a bit and breathe" I said, instantly regretting my decision when she shot me a death glare. "O-Or, I can sit here and not utter another word" I also suggested, if Discord hadn't almost killed me back then I'm sure Violet would've, she is a feisty and scary woman.

  "*sigh* Jay... Im-Im sorry for that little outburst, I've just been under a lot of stress lately and now I have to work extra late and wake up extra early to file these documents" Violet said with a tired look on her face. "I think you're right though Jay, I should take some time off and reset myself, I hear the ponyville spa is great for stuff like this" Violet suggested and it sounded right up her alley.

  "That sounds fun, I'm sure you'll have a great time at the spa Vie" I said, encouraging her to take the day's off. I just want to see her happy and healthy, and this seems like a great way for her to finally relax. "You deserve some relaxation Vie, especially after everything that's happened these past few months so go and have fun, kick up your feet, hell, I know you love reading so read for as long as you like. Do whatever you want for those few days, I'll be waiting right here for you when you come back" I said, it may not have been noticeable for some people, but I felt her give me a small smile.

  "I think I know just what to do for those days, but I want you to do something for me, okay" Violet said.

  "Anything, what is it you desire?" I said, smiling at my accomplishment.

  "I want you to come to ponyville with me" Violet requested, causing me to sit up straight. "And I wanna spend the whole week together, just the two of us, think you can do that?" She asked, smirking at my dumbfounded face.

  "U-Uuuh... yeah, yeah totally" I answered, still a little surprised by the request. "But, are you sure you want me to come along, I might just annoy you the whole time?" I asked, frowning a little.

  "Well if it's you annoying me, I believe I can handle it and besides... i-it's another form of showing affection" Violet said, mumbling the last bit.

  "Well, if you're okay with me joining you then I'm more than happy to come" I said, immediately perking up. "So you gonna request it after tomorrow?" I asked and she nodded.

  "Anyways, I hope Luna and Thomas are having fun together," Violet said, quickly peaking my interest.

  "Thomas and Princess Luna?" I questioned, albeit sounding a little too curious.

  "Yeah, the princess was coming in for her nightly visits when she came in on us talking, she looked so relieved seeing Thomas up and about with little to no injuries on his body. I may have given her a few idea's regarding Thomas's lower region so I hope she doesn't break him" Violet told me and I started laughing. "Or vice versa"

  "You think Thomas, an overly shy and sheltered kid, would have the guts to have sex with Princess Luna, a being who can literally control the moon and is more beautiful than any woman back home?" I asked in amusement, though I felt a glare beam through me right after. "O-Of course you yourself are more beautiful than the girls back home as well, hell, I'd go as far to say even prettier" I said immediately, sweating a bit, trying to keep my head above water and it seemed to be working.

  "Well one, thank you, and two, you never know what could happen between those two. I believe Thomas and Luna would make a cute little couple, and from how you're reacting, I'm pretty sure that would be the only time Thomas has dated a woman so I think princess Luna is the perfect match for him" Violet explained a bit, though I couldn't see it happening. "How about we make a little wager, I bet that Thomas will get together with princess Luna somewhere in the near future"

  "Alrighty then, I bet Thomas and the Princess won't end up together, if I win, you have to do whatever I say for a whole week" I said and Violet 'oo'd' at this.

  "Alrighty then, same here, we got a bet?" She asked, holding out her hand. I grasped it and we finalized the bet with a hand shake. "Get ready to eat those words Jay, because I know for a fact those two have something for each other"

  "Keep dreamin Vie, get ready to do anything I say," I said.

  "Right back at ya... wait... that does bring up a fair question, where did those two go?" Violet asked, sounding both worried and curious. "Luna would've came back to relieve me for the day and tell me she got Thomas to his room by now, where are they?"



Canterlot City, P.o.v- Thomas




   We finally arrived at the edge of the city and we were immediately welcomed by blocks upon blocks of shops as far as the eye can see. I didn't even know where to begin, or what to even get, though I think Luna already has something in mind for a present since she's basically dragging me off somewhere. But on the way I noticed I was getting looks from nobles and their wives, judging my outfit and had appalled looks at the sole fact I was holding Luna's hand. It was kinda annoying seeing them look at me like I was lesser than them, but they're there and I'm with a princess so they can suck it.

  "Thomas!" Luna called out, getting my attention. "I've called your name six times already," she said, a little annoyed.

  "Sorry, was lost in space but uh, whats up?" I asked.

  "We're here!" Luna stated as she pointed to her right, when I looked to where she was pointing, I got a little anxious because it looked like a rather expensive jewelry store. "C'mon Thomas, I'll let you pick out anything you want,  my treat of course" she said, not giving me time to speak, Luna was already heading inside and I followed.

  The place itself was amazingly quiet somehow, especially since there was a ton of people just outside. The inside had marble walls and pillars holding up a shiny oak wood ceiling and the floor was a pure white carpet that had green gemstones embedded into them. This place was so fancy, it felt like my body knew it didn't belong here. I felt my chest tighten up a little, and my mind was screaming at me to leave without saying a word.

  But all that anxiety and tightness soon faded away when I felt Luna's hand slip its way to mine. I gave a silent gasp, and relaxed, focusing on the warmth Luna's hand gave off. I looked to Luna and saw her giving me a small smile, even if it was small, I still found it beautiful.

  "T-Thank you" I said and she giggled.

   "Anytime Thomas, now come, I want you to choose" Luna said and slowly lead me to a case full of gem rings etched into silver or gold. I took a second before looking over the beautiful selection, though, none of these rings really caught my eye until I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was shining a bright blue, I was surprised no one noticed it before.

  I took us over to the case, quickly noticing it was a whole ring made of the gem itself. I looked at the gem ring with an intense stare, feeling enraptured by it's beauty almost like it was calling to me.

  "This one" I said, feeling a sense of happiness inside me. It was actually a pretty nice feeling, one that I hadn't felt in forever.

  "A moonstone ring huh, I don't know if I should be flattered or impressed" Luna joked before calling over a worker and purchased the ring for me. "Let's see how it looks on you Thomas," She said before levitating it in my ring finger, it was a little loose since it hasn't been fitted to my finger yet, but when I look at the ring on my finger, it felt right.

  "I think it looks great, now all I need to do is fit it to my finger and we're good," I said with a smile.

  "Allow me" Luna offered, lighting up her horn and engulfed the ring in a calming navy blue aura. I quickly noticed that the ring itself was adjusting to my finger rather quickly, but I didn't worry too much. I trusted Luna not to cut my finger off with a ring, and that trust was not misplaced because the ring now slid on and off my finger perfectly. "There we go, happy birthday Thomas"

  "Thank you Luna, this means the world to me" I thanked the princess and we headed out of the store, now aimlessly walking around the streets of canterlot. "You know Luna, you really didn't have to get me anything, especially with something so expensive I would've been fine with a card or hell, that meal was enough of a gift actually" I said much to Luna's amusement.

  "I've noticed that you're very humble Thomas, I honestly love that about you, it's an admirable trait and people around here can take a page from your book" Luna remarked, but now I felt the stares intensify even more for some odd reason. "Honestly, I believe you're the ideal man for a husband" she said suddenly, surprising me.

  "H-Husband?" I repeated, it took a second for her to realize what she had just said and covered her face that was glowing red with embarrassment. "H-Hey now that's not something to be embarrassed about, I-I think that's the best compliment I've ever gotten, most girls think Im too nice or too meek to even be considered a man... but hearing you say that really makes me happy actually" I said as I chuckled at her actions.

  "I-I didn't mean to say that Thomas, I mean I thought it but I never meant to actually say it but... I-I think I'll stop talking now" Luna said, ending it with a nervous giggle. 

  "Well... I uh, I think you'd make a wonderful wife in my opinion" I said trying my damndest not to look embarrassed.

  "Really?" Luna asked, looking at me with a suprised look on her face. 

  "Really" I answered. "You're strong, open minded, adorable and beautiful, you speak your mind and have a very calming aura to you that puts my mind and body at ease, you're... well you're simply wonderful and amazing" I continued, then stopped when I noticed something up with the sky. "That's weird, is it me or did the stars and moon just get brighter?" I asked, turning my attention to Luna who was now smiling happily with her body clinging to my right arm.

  "O-Oh, really? M-must be your imagination" Luna stuttered a bit, clinging to my arm even more. "How about we head back to the castle, I just thought of one more present I can give you" Luna told me, suppressing a grin.

  "You spoil me Luna, you don't have to you-" Luna stopped me with a hand over my mouth. 

  "I think... I do" She said as she looked me in the eye with an unfamiliar look. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was intense. It took me a solid five minutes to realize we were already walking back to the castle, a little faster than when we were heading here to shop, I was a little disappointed we couldn't look at some more shop, but something else over shadowed that emotion. Curiosity.

 I have no idea why Luna was so adamant about giving me this gift... but it was making my heart skip a few beats. I couldn't take my eyes off her, nor did my eyes want to, so I followed behind the princess with a tight but gentle grip on her hand. 

  "Okay Thomas, calm down, its probably nothing as serious as you think it is. What are you getting so anxious for, it's not like Luna's planning anything lewd or sexual... right?" I thought to myself, feeling my heart racing faster. "O-Of course! I'm sure I'm freaking out over nothing, but the way she looked at me earlier really surprised me. Luna never had that look before, she looked like she needed me... no... it looked like she wanted me" I thought, not even realizing we're already back at the castle. I was really shocked until I realized how short the walking distance is when you've been teleported. I honestly dont know how I missed that.

  "Thomas, Ive seen you thrown to the biggest wolf in the pack at your weakest then come back stronger than you were before with the wolf tamed. You're an incredible man with an innocent and kind  heart, you put others before you as a mean's to shield them from danger... I admire that, but sometimes I see you wanting to be a little selfish for things relating to you, as all people should feel at times, but instead of being selfish like anyone else, you take in consideration for the people around you and how it would affect them. If I were to quote you, "You're like everyone else, you're human", I don't know how many times I've had that replay in my head for the past few hours but it really helps me reminds myself of what I really am, human," Luna said softly as we traversed through the halls of the castle. "At some point I felt like I didn't see you as human, though Im not sure what I saw you as exactly, but I know I still had the same feeling as I do now" she continued.

  "And... what feeling is that?" I asked without thinking, how could I? I didn't even know what else to say since she was saying all these nice things about me.

  "I'm not sure exactly, although I feel my heart flutter when I see you and my mind turns to mush when I think of you. I can't put it into word's right now, but maybe I can express it in a more... direct way" Luna answered as we stopped in front of a room just down the hall to Luna's, it must've been mine since it looked like no one else was using it. 

  Luna let go of my hand so she can turn to face me, the moon shined brightly through the windows in the castle halls, giving me a full view of the beautiful woman in front of me. She looked up to me with a flushed face, looking me right in the eye and reaching up to my face with both hands. Once Luna's soft hands found their way to the sides of my head, she gently held them in place then I saw her face slowly inch towards mine.

  I couldn't move, nor did I want to move. I was too enraptured by this sudden turn of events to even care what happens, my body felt hot and cold at the same time, my heart raced a million miles per second,  and my mind was telling me one thing over and over again. 

  "I want her" I thought before my body moved on it own, pinning Luna to the door leading into my room. She looked like she didn't mind this lustful desire inside us both, so she closed her eyes with her lips presented to me, with both her arms clinging to her chest. I raised an rested my left hand on Luna's right cheek, caressing it as a means to see her blush a little more. "Luna... will you allow me to be greedy… just this once?"

  "... yes" Luna answered, almost in a whisper. I brought my face just inches from her's, our lips almost connecting, until I heard those dreaded footsteps.

  "Princess Luna, are you alright!?"
> Chapter 9: Arrangements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




3 Weeks Later, Rainbows House, 1:25 p.m., P.o.v- Thomas




  I layed in my bed back at Rainbows house just three weeks after I finally woke up from my coma. Everyone was so happy to see me awake again, Celestia even brought the Pie Family to come see me since they've been asking about my health for weeks before hand. I swear on my life, I saw Maud crack the biggest smile when she laid her eye's on me, Lime even looked happy to see me, she also thanked me for saving her life when Discord tried kill her for pure entertainment.

  Even though I had people around who were glad I was awake and kicking, I still felt this strange sensation inside of me, it didn't feel good or bad just.... strange. On that night Luna and I got caught, she got so embarrassed when that blue haired bastard with purple armor showed up that she literally threw me in my room, locked the door and hid inside her own room until I left two days later. Of course I too was embarrassed when we got caught and interrupted, so I thought I was feeling anger of some kind, but for some reason... that answer didn't fit this description.

  The feeling started after I got this urge to just... take Luna, to make her mine, a highly selfish want that almost made me go crazy when we were both in the moment. No matter how many times I try not to think about it, I end up doing the opposite. Every time I just think of how Luna looked at that moment I feel my heart race and my breathing becomes ragged.

  "Take her-Stop it!" I stopped myself, jumping up to a sitting postion in my bed. "Damn it... what is going on with me, I cant even think about Luna without this feeling well up inside me... *sigh* fuck" I muttered to myself, putting myself in deep thought. "And these nightmares haunting my dreams... I can stop having them, I feel like Im going insane ever since I stole the demons power, I-I don't feel human anymore... I need someone to help me, Im scared and I... I don't know what to do" I whimpering silently to myself, frustrated at myself but also terrified about whats happening to me. "I feel like a monster" I muttered as I looked at my shaking hands.

   "Thomas, you awake? You've been asleep for a couple hours than normal" Rainbow asked, opening the door looking at me with concern. "You okay bud?" She asked me reaching a hand for me.

  "NO DONT!" I shouted suddenly scaring Rainbow a bit. "I'm... I'm sorry... I don't know what's come over me lately, I-I suddenly cant sleep, I can't think, I can't even look at myself in the mirror without seeing horn's and fangs ever since I've woken up from that damn coma... I'm scared Rainbow" I told her much to her surprise, but she could see the terror enveloping me. "Am I... a-am I a monster?" I asked as my word's cracked and tears streamed down my cheeks, I felt so helpless, I felt so lost. 

  "Thomas..."

  "I can feel myself, slowly drifting away from my humanity day by day and I can feel a monster molding itself in my very soul while I break down in despair. I don't know what to do Rainbow, I don't want everyone I hold dear to think of me as some... thing!" I exclaimed with shallow breaths, more an more tear's fell the more I spoke. "Please... please... help me" I begged, burying my face in my hands.

  A long, grueling silence hung between us for quite some time once I stopped talking. I half expected her to say something like, "don't talk like that Thomas" or "You are no monster you idiot". What happened was actually something I didn't know I needed till now.

  "If you're a monster, then this world doesn't deserve a sweet monster like you" Rainbow said calmly, sitting next to me on my bed, now hugging me. "I don't know what you're going through Thomas, but no matter what... I'll always trust an believe in you, I will always be right by your side... till the very end" she said, now the waterworks wouldn't stop anymore. "And, I think you'd look pretty badass with horns an fangs, buuuuut I like your cute innocent face more" Rainbow told me, trying to lighten the mood up.

  I chuckled through my break down, honestly feeling better than before. I pulled back from Rainbow and genuinely smiled, it was astonishing how fast she made me feel better, though I guess she had a natural talent for putting others at ease, even if she doesn't admit it.

  "You know, *sniff* you'd make a wonderful mother one day" I said suddenly, making her blush furiously but smiled happily.

  "Geez, I'm over here trying to make you feel happy" Rainbow joked now laying down on my bed next to me. I joined her down bellow and we stared up at the ceiling, both feeling a small sense of joy. "Hey, can we stay like this for a while?" She asked, although it was a strange request I wanted the same thing, so I made some more room for her. 

  "Thanks for making me feel better Dash" I said which cause her to snort a little. "What?"

  "That's probably the second time you've ever used my nickname, I've always been meaning to ask you why you just say Rainbow" Rainbow said with curiosity in her tone, I knew this question would come up, but I didn't dread it like I did before. Might as well tell her my 'tragic' backstory.

  "Well Dash, it's because I knew two people with the same last name Dash who were... especially fond about making my life a living hell more than it already was. Day in an day out, it was my ass on the ground either robbed or just jumped for no apparent reason, these really weren't typical bullies mind you but legend say's they used to be normal kid's at one point" I said making Rainbow laugh at the last part. "Heh, I would get my ass beat twice a day by those two, but in came Jay and Jackson, like Spiderman and Iron Man. They're the reason I've been able to live this long, especially since they were always with me one hundred percent when I was in trouble" I reminisced a little more, remembering how Jackson tackled one of the twins through a door and Jay popping the tires to their cars. Good times.

  "Seems like you're a little traumatized from those bullies of yours, if I was there I would've totally saved your whimpy butt" Rainbow said and I laughed. "Though saving you would be kinda nice, even if it's nothing major like beating two evil deities" she said, surprising me by curling up to me.

  "Whoa, never seen you get this physical with me before" I joked slightly, it was true though, Rainbow has never gotten this close to me before. I can feel her heart beat calmly as she got comfortable next to me. 

    "S-Shut up, I-Im only doing this so you don't break down again!" Rainbow excalimed while I chuckled at how her words didn't match what she was doing. "You better not tell anyone about this you got it" Rainbow growled, but the way she was holding on to me made it less threatening.

  "Okay, it'll be our little secret" I assured the girl. "But I think we better get up soon, Im starting to get hungry" I said much to Rainbows disappointment, but she knew I hadn't eaten anything so she groaned letting go of me. We both got up from my bed and I went to the closet to grab some clothes while Rainbow stretched her limb. "It totally slipped my mind that I don't have that many clothes, so I think Im gonna head to Rarity's and see if she can make me some clothes"

  "Mind if I come along? We can grab something to eat on the way, my treat" Rainbow said, reminding me about my jobless life unlike Jay and Jackson. Still find it hard to believe that Jay got a job as an assistant for Violet, but she doesn't really get that many patients since she's the Castle's doctor so I guess it would be pretty easy to be her assistant.

  "Sure, it'll also give me time to figure out what to do for a job" I said and Rainbow hummed, then looked around my room. "What?" I asked the snooping girl.

  "How about you become my personal housekeeper, you could clean the house, wash the dishes, do the laundry and I'll pay you extra to mow the lawn" Rainbow suggested. "Of course you'll be paid accordingly, since it's a pretty decent size house how about a sack of forty bits a day?" She asked making me question how much she was getting paid at the weather factory, especially since she had to pay for the bills for the house and other necessities.

  "Are you sure Rainbow, I don't want to put you in a tough position financially if you pay me forty bits every day" I said and she just laughed it off.

  "Do you even KNOW how much air-users get paid just to change the weather?" Rainbow asked with a smirk. 

  "I'm guessing a lot since you're offering to pay me every day" I said with a small chuckle.

  "So what do ya say?" Rainbow asked, holding out her hand. I kinda saw no downside to this job offer since I basically clean this house literally everyday, and I quite enjoy cleaning and I wont have to worry about being fired if I go on an adventure with the others since my boss would be joining me. I'm only seeing a win right now.

"Well, guess you got yourself a housekeeper" I answered with a firm handshake. "I'm guessing I'll be working for you tomorrow?" I asked and Rainbow nodded.

  After getting everything sorted for my job, Rainbow decided to wait downstairs for me while I do my morning routine of personal hygiene. When I entered the bathroom I stopped in my tracks when I came face to face with the mirror inside, my breath hitched while my heart sank as I stared into it. The mirror showed a reflection of me, but it showed a reflection of that demon form I went into when I fought Discord. I stared into it's angry red eye's, vividly remembering how I felt back then and remembering the feeling of power I struggled to control inside me, a power that almost destroyed my body. I took a long shakey breath before slowly walking towards the mirror, feeling a bit terrified but also... relaxed.

  "You know, I think Rainbow was right" I said, smiling at my reflection to which it copied and reverted back to my normal form. "I do look badass with horns and fangs" I joked before going on with my business.



Ponyville




  Rainbow and I walked down the streets of Ponyville eating some donuts we got at Sugarcube Corner for free since they made to many. The sun was out, the bird's were chirping, I was eating sweets with my new boss and it seemed all was right with the world. We soon arrived infront of the Carousel Boutique and were about to knock when we heard the sounds of arguing, we looked at one another before knocking of the door 

  "Now you and your friend's stay put until I get back!" We heard Rarity yell from the other side of the door, making us wonder who could've pissed her off. It was only a few seconds later before we saw the door open and a very angry Rarity was infront of us. "Pardon the look darling, but it seems my sister and her friends thought they can get their cutie marks from cooking... as you can clearly see, it didn't end well" Rarity said rather annoyed, but it was hard to take her seriously with the flour covering her.

  "I see, we could come back later if you like" I suggested but Rarity shook her head.

  "No, please, come in" Rarity said sounding kinda desperate as we walked in, though we quickly noticed three girls sitting on the couch all covered in flour like Rarity. "Meet the trouble makers, this is Scootaloo, Applebloom and my sister Sweetie belle " She said, pointing to the three girls.

  First was an air-user who had orange skin with dark purple eyes an hair, she about 5'5 in height, and wore green cargo shorts and a black shirt with a skull on it, topping off the whole outfit with green running shoes. 

 Second was an earth-user with light yellow skin, blood red hair with a bow on top, and orange eyes wearing a green shirt that held a colored in apple in the middle, light blue Jean's and well worn boots.

  And finally was a pure white magic-user like rarity, but her hair was light purple and pink hair that goes in a swirl and her eyes are Light green. She's wearing a pink stripped shirt with a purple skirt and sneakers.

  "Sup, names Thomas nice to meet you guy's" I introduced myself, still eating my donut. "So... cooking huh?" I questioned them, causing them to flinch at the word. 

  "We thought we could get our cuties marks that way, but we kinda destroyed Rarity's kitchen" The one named apple bloom said innocently.

  "Yeah! We didn't mean for thing's to get so outta hand so fast!" The named Scootaloo said and Rarity's sister Sweetie belle was just pouting angrily, not even looking at us.

  "I see, well since you failed at cooking... maybe you can try your hands at cleaning, and wouldn't you guess it, their's a mess right over there" I said, seeing if they would fall for it. "You could get a cleaning cutie mark if you do it fast enough" I threw in, making theie ears perk up and all three bolted to the mess.

  "Whoa, how'd you get them to do that so fast?" Rainbow asked, now sitting on the couch.

  "Well I would usually watch Jackson's sister's while he had football games, and I found out that if you say they'll earn something from doing what they're told then they quickly do it without complaint" I explained, sitting down next to her. "Simple psychology, now for the reason Im here-"

  "Hold that though darling, as soon as I'm clean I'll be happy to hear what you have to say" Rarity interrupted before quickly heading upstairs to get clean, leaving me and Rainbow to wait.

  "Hey Thomas" Rainbow called.

  "What up?" 

  "Do you have any brothers or sister's?" She asked and the question kinda made my heart ache a little, though I knew this question might come up sooner or later.

  "Yeah, I got two sisters and a brother" I said. "They're all older than me so they've already moved out the house to live in dorms at their dream college's, my two sisters are studying to become medical scientists which are people who investigate diseases and conduct research and methods to prevent, as well as treat, in order to improve overall health in humans. My brother want's to be an actor so he's going to an acting college to improve his skills so he can be in big time movies" I said, giving Rainbow a quick briefing on my siblings.

  "Whoa, bet all you guys were all egg heads like Twilight" Rainbow joked making me chuckle. "What're there names?"

  "Margaret, Sadie and Zion" I answered.

  "So since you were the youngest, I'm sure it must've been hard to see them leave huh" Rainbow said, hitting it right on the money. 

  "Yup, they were all fulfilling their dreams while was getting bullied for being me" I said sadly, making Rainbow frown. 

  "Well, if those two didn't exist then you wouldn't have met Jay or Jackson, or have come to this place... I say they were a blessing in disguise, sure it must've been shitty but look at you now. You're literally saving the whole world with your friend's and meeting new people everyday, so if you ask me, I think you hit the lottery" Rainbow said in an attempt to get me feeling better. 

  "I guess you're right, this place is great compared to my world" I said, feeling a little better, though now their was a long awkward silence between us. It felt really hot in here for some reason and I couldn't understand why. "Soooo, dash, do you have a dream?"

  "Hell yeah, I'm gonna be a wonderbolt!" Rainbow exclaimed excitedly. "I would get to travel all across equis doing shows and preforming stunts no one would ever think of doing and fly side by side with the pro's like spitfire and soarin" She said with as much excitement as a little kid. "What about you Thomas, what's your dream?" 

  I honestly had to think about this for moment, back home I wanted to start a career in music with the skills I've acquired through my life. Though now, I couldn't really fulfill that dream anymore since I know nothing about the type of music here, so I was honestly left with nothing. 

  "My dream before coming here was to have a music career and use it as a way to help people deal with problems in their lives, but since Im in equestria now, I cant really pursue it anymore so... I don't really have a dream right now" I said, feeling a sort of emptiness inside me. "Maybe one day I can find a dream of mine, but until then, I'll try to live my life in happiness"

  "Well even if you don't have a dream, at least you have a pretty nice goal in mind. Living your life in happiness sound's great honestly, if only it was that easy" Rainbow said and I had to agree, that goal was going to take a lot more work than anything else.

  "Sorry for the wait you two, a lady must always look her best infront of company" Rarity said as she walked down the stairs, clean and calm. "So Thomas, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked walking over to us.

  "I was hoping it wouldn't be to much trouble for you to make some outfits for me" I said, chuckling a bit as I saw the fashonista shake in excitement. "I do intend to pay you once I get the money of course, so do you think you can help me out?" I asked and before I could blink, I was already in another room, stripped down to my underwear and standing on a podium with my arms out. "I'll take that as a yes"

  "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask me to make you some clothes, I've had so many idea's for what can go with you and I'll surely throw in a custom design of anything for free!" Rarity said excitedly as she took my measurements with measuring tape and jotting them down on some paper with her magic. "Thomas, with a body like yours I can make you the most fabulous outfits anyone has ever seen, you have brighten up my day tremendously darling"  Rarity continued with a big smile on her face, I couldn't help but laugh at her excitement and joy.

  "Im glad I could be of assistance, I can already tell the outfit's you'll make will be the best clothes I will ever wear" I said, making her blush a little.

  "Are you trying to get a discount with flattery Thomas, cause I'll tell you now it's working" Rarity said making us both laugh. "I alao appreciate what you did earlier with the kid's, I was mas of course but I was just blowing steam when I yelled at them. At least I know what to do next when they do something like this" She said.

  "It was no problem Rarity, and Im glad you picked up on what I did as well, though don't use it too much or they'll catch on" I told her. "I almost blew it one time but that was a long time ago" I said feeling a small sense of nostalgia as I remember the day's of when I looked after Jade and Ruby. "Aaah, so much make up" I said with a blissful sigh.

  "Oh, that reminds me about the picnic myself and the girl's planned today" Rarity said suddenly, peaking my interest. "If you like, would you care to join us?" She asked and seeing I had nothing better to do for the rest of the day, I agreed to tag along.

  "Im surprised Rainbow didn't tell me anything" I said, a bit confused about that. 

  "Well Rainbow is known to sometimes forget's event's and parties until the last minute so don't blame her to much" Rarity said with a small grin.

  "Hey now, I remembered the picnic today Rarity, I even made the sandwiches everyone likes" Rainbow said defensively, coming in the room trying not to look at my half naked form. "Anyways, I didn't bring it up because I thought Thomas would appreciate some alone time after just waking up" She said all the while shielding her eyes.

  "I appreciate you looking out for me Rainbow, but I think I would much rather spend my free time with you, spike and the girl's rather than by myself" I said.

  "Well if you need some alone time, just tell me alright" Rainbow told me with a hint of concern.

  "Will do, now then, tell me more about this picnic" I said a little curious about it. While I was getting measured for my clothes, the two told me how they planned a little picnic today to just relax and enjoy the day with friends while eating some good food. Rarity also told me it was a chance for them to stop and take a moment to reflect on what has happened in the last few months, which honestly, was a lot to unpack. It felt nice talking with these two again, made me feel silly for overreacting at home.

  After about an hour and a half had past, Rarity was done with my measurements and handed me my clothes back. She told me the clothes will be done later today after the picnic so I can head over an hour  before her shop closes. As I pulled my pants up I can feel six set's of eye's peering inside the room, I looked towards the door and saw the three girl's peaking inside the room.

  "You girls done cleaning up?" I asked, gesturing them to come in as I adjusted my belt. 

  "Yeah and no cutie marks showed up, you tricked us!" Scootaloo said angrily.

  "I said try your hand and you might get your cutie marks, I never said they would show up" I defended myself, making Scootaloo open her mouth for a second then close it while pouting. "But look on the bright side, that's two things down from a whole list of skills to choose from, and if I read correctly about cutie marks then you're just gonna have to be patient. A talent takes time to craft and master, so you just have to find out what you're good at and make it your own, but it takes a lot of work... think you can handle it?" I questioned the three, who nodded.

  "A talent of our own huh, guess we're gonna have ta work harder girls" Apple Bloom said getting the other two hyped up before they rushed out the room. I felt a little envious towards those three, they had the drive to work to the bone to find their dream, while I was stuck inside a hole in my mind.

  "Cute kid's, wish I had their energy still" I said, a bit jealous. "Now then, when's that picnic supposed to start?"



Throne Room, P.o.v- Jackson




  The castle was filled with people decorting and people barking orders to one another. A wedding was taking place in two days at this very castle, and it seem's like everything is going as planned.

  "Alrighty, the roses are in order, the dress is being made as requested, everyone is putting up decor accordingly, and invitations have been finalized and sent to the guests... that sum's up everything quite nicely, right Tia?" I asked the woman, but she seemed to be in deep thought. "Still worried about that threat against the city, right?" I asked getting a nod from her.

  "As a princess it is my sworn duty to keep everything and everyone safe from harm, if this threat were to come to pass Jackson... I fear we might not be strong enough to defend ourselves if push comes to shove" Celestia said grimly, her mood has not been a happy one ever since she got word of an attack that was supposed to happen on the day of the wedding. "Jackson, go an see how Shining Armor is doing, who knows how much strain he must be putting himself under just to maintain this protection spell around the whole city" Celestia ordered, I nodded and went to go find the man of the hour. It was his wedding after all, cant have him injured two days before he marries his fiance.

  As I searched for the man, I kept thinking about what Celestia said about the attack. Truthfully speaking, myself and Jay would be more than enough to hold off any attacker's coming inside the castle, but if it's a full scale invasion then I can see why Celestia would say we wouldn't be able to hold our own for long. Jay and I are strong, but even we have limits, plus without Thomas to help us out it would be an unfair advantage for us.

   "Why can't I ever have any happy thoughts" I groaned a little only to feel that negativity go away with a simple question.

  "Guess who?" Feather chimed happily with her hands covering my eyes.

  "Is it Blazing Fate?" I guessed amusingly, Feather giggled a little at this.

  "Nope, last try, if you guess right Ill give you a prize~" Feather flirted, getting a small blush outta me.

  "Is it Feather weight?" I guessed once more and got kissed on my cheek.

  "Correct, how's work going Jackie?" Feather asked me, now wrapping her arms around my neck and floating up aimlessly like a balloon. It didn't hurt nor did I feel any choking from it, it was just a cute way of showing affection.

  "It's been hard Feather, though not as much as what you guys are doing" I said, spinning around to face her. "You look tired, why not take a break love?" I suggested and she kissed me.

  "What do you think I'm doing right now?" Feather said, it's been a good two weeks since we started dating and I whole heartedly love every second of it, we actually had a lot more in common than we originally thought. Although when it was really awkward on our first date, it did however get a lot better from their, she even wanted a date night after work.

  "Im still surprised you wanted to have a date on a work night, did the princess of love make you feel lovey dovey towards me" I teased the girl who blushed at my comment. "So about our date later, where did you want to go?" I asked.

  "I was thinking we could go to the movies, I heard they made a pretty cool action movie that just released, I think it's based on this book called daring do" Feather suggested and I was down with anything that had good action. 

  "Sure, I can use a good movie to get my mind away from all this craziness" I said with a chuckle. "Hey, where's your captian at, I gotta make sure he doesn't get to carried away with his magic" I asked.

  "Oh, Captain Armor is at the main gate keeping watch with the others" Feather answered, I spun back around and headed towards the front with Feather in tow. "I think he needs a break considering he hasn't slept in three days, he may not look it, but he's in tremendous pain right now and a little on the loopy side" She said a little upset about her captians well being.

  "Really? I heard his fiance is helping him ease the pain with her magic" I said just as we made it to the door. "But I guess even the strong have a limits" I added, opening the doors to front and seeing all the guard's doing their rounds while Shining Armor was up on a balcony ledge overseeing his troops.

  "Get back to work you slackers, you aren't getting paid to lounge around understand!" Shining yelled towards two guardsmen sitting around talking to ine another. I walked up the stairs leading towards him and patted his shoulder.

  "Take it easy captain, your gonna have a head of gray hair before you even get married" I joked making Feather giggle a bit, but it seemed he didn't find it funny.

  "lieutenant Feather Weight get back to your post, we need everyone staying vigilante as a means to keep canterlot and the princess's safe" Shining said tiredly, much to Feathers disappointment as she dropped back down to her feet and let go of me.

  "It's fine Feather, when your shift is done you can hang around my neck until I get off work" I said almost immediately getting a smile from her.

  "That's a promise Jackie, I'll see you later!" Feather said before flying off to do her rounds again.

  "You should head back to the Princess, Tell her I'm fine and everything is under control" Shining stated rather coldly, seems he wasnt doing fine at all.

  "You know Shining, I was visiting Thomas in ponyville a few a day's ago to say hi but then I ran into your sister" I said immediately having a sword put against my throat. "Does she even know you're getting married?" I asked and he said nothing, which ultimately told me everything. "Well I sent her an invitation so she can at least support you"

  "Does fucking with me get a kick out of you?" He asked with the blade still at my throat.

  "Yup, especially when you're acting like a dick right now" I answered truthfully. "You weren't like this two days ago, you need to rest Shining, if you keep going you'll end up dead-"

  "SO WHAT, IF IT MEAN'S KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE THEN I'LL GLADLY LET MYSELF DIE!!!" Shining roared at me, getting everyone around to look at us. 

  "I get that you wanna keep everyone safe, but killing yourself will do them and your fiance no good" I said as I tried to reason with this worn down and obviously sleep deprived royal guards captain.

  "What do you know Jackson, you only saved equestria twice, I've been saving it ever since I became Captain of the Royal Guard, so tell me, what else have you done other than fuck one of my soldiers!" Shining shouted, it was silent after he uttered those word's. The atmosphere was so thick, a knife could cut portions out of it. "I bet you only fell in love with her for her body, the moron... she's a damn idiot if she fell for someone like you" he growled.

  "Im a very hard man to anger, Ive held my tounge when it was time to call it quits and I never fought anyone without a reason" I said, sharply inhaling as I gingerly placed my clipboard to the side. "But when someone says something negative about the one's I care about, especially the one I'm in love with... their's not a god or a devil strong enough to hold me back" I told him, undoing the tie I had on then rolled of my sleeves and popped my knuckles.

  "Am I supposed to be intimidated, you're nothing but a damn mistake, a fuckin accident made by your parents you cant even see anymore!" Shining yelled at me more, now officially pissing me off. I didn't care he was in a state of grogginess and stress, I wanted beat him to a bloody paste.

  "Go to bed Shining, this is your first and final warning" I threatened, but he just reeled back with his sword and tried to cut me down, but I snapped my fingers and a small bolt shot from them, instantly melting the blade. "If you don't want to go to bed, I'll just make you" I stated angrily.



Jay's Room, P.o.v- Jay




   "Hey Violet, you got any remedies for a headache?" I asked the nurse as I sat on my bed while she was getting ready for us to go out. Violets been extra busy ever since we came back from her vacation, and even though it did help her reset, I still wish she didn't strain herself to much. So I proposed that we go and find a gift for the bride and groom for the wedding happening two days from now and even get me a suit for said wedding.

  "Yeah, I got a spell to fix that so get in here, oh wait-!" Violet said but she was to late to warn me as I walked into the bathroom. Two things happened in the span of three seconds, one, I saw Violet completely naked with a towel in hand, and two, I don't think I could've become more red then I was now. "Dont look!" She screamed, quickly covering herself with the towel.

  "I-Im sorry!" I exclaimed and raced out the bathroom. "I-I didn't know you got out the shower, sorry about that Vie" I apologized.

  "N-No, it was my fault for forgetting I was naked for a second... though... I-I guess I don't mind if it's you who saw me naked, better then some random person" Violet said making me feel less bad about walking in on her. "Do you still want me to get rid of your headache?" She asked and truthfully, I no longer a headache anymore thanks to all the blood rushing towards... somewhere else. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I decided to try and push my luck.

  "Ye... yeah" I lied, wanting to get another peak at her. "Still kinda hurts, think you can use your spell?" I asked but was left with silence until a few seconds later when she cleared her throat.

  "Sure... come on in, it's okay now" Violet said shyly, I slowly turned to the bathroom door and walked inside. 

  "U-Uhm... you're still... naked" I pointed out, seeing Violet cover her face with a hand to hide her blush but also trying to act like it's nothing.

  "S-So, it's perfectly natural for a girls boyfriend to see her naked!" Violet exclaimed frantically, catching me offguard when she said boyfriend. "W-Wait, thats not what I meant, I-I meant that you uhm... u-uh..." she tried to save herself but ultimately failed.

  Honestly, she was acting so cute right now it distracted me from her naked form. I snapped myself out of my trance and walked towards her with my eye's never leaving hers.

  "I-I know my assets may not be as impressive as most girl's, so I'll understand if you're a bit disappointed" she said, but that was far from the truth.

  "Violet... you're beautiful" I said now standing infront of her cupping her cheek with my hand. "And if you're happy with someone like me... I'll gladly be your boyfriend" I told her, now it was my turn to blush furiously.

  "I'd... like that a lot" Violet said with a smile on her face, gently grabbing my hand with her's. "I'm really glad I met you Jay"

  "Me too Vie, this is honestly the happiest I've ever been in such a long time" I admitted, then we suddenly heard purring from somewhere. "Am... am I purring?" I asked, kinda amused at this, as was Violet.

  "People from the drake race are said to be the human embodiment of a dragon and will take on traits from them such as wings..." Violet said before embracing me then nuzzling into my chest, making the purring louder. "And purring" she stated with a small giggle as we continued hearing me purr.

  "Well I guess that mean's I'm telling the truth about being happy" I said, snorting softly. "C'mon, let's go get that present and find me a suit" I said and started towards the door.

  "What about your headache?" Violet asked but I waved it off.

  "Oh, must've went away" I said, getting a little smirk from my new girlfriend.

  "You just wanted to see me naked didn't you?" Violet asked, getting it right on the nose.

  "Whaaaat, nooooo..... yeah" I admitted, giggling like a little kid as I rushed out the restroom when she threw her brush at me. 

  "Pervert!" Violet called out, laighing a bit before continued her routine. After about fifteen munutes we were both dressed and clean and out the room, we decided to ask the castles personal seamstress if she could make me a suit before the wedding , so thats where we're heading right now. Violet said the girl owes her one after Violet saw her sneaking a guard into her room and didn't rat her out since that kinda thing isn't allowed. "I think I know just what to give them" Violet said, walking next to me while we traversed the halls of the castle.

  "For the present, What did you have in mind?" I asked.

  "We could get them matching gemstone bracelets, it would look so cute on them" Violet suggested and I kinda liked that idea.

  "Well, guess we got the present down, now we just need my suite and we're good to go" I said, grabbing Violets hand. She didn't seem to show it, but I could tell she was brimming with joy right now, it was cute how she was barely able to hold it in. Honestly, I felt so happy, so at peace right now that it really felt like I was dreaming about this whole thing. I found someone who loves me, I'm living in a castle, I have a job and I found new friends to cherish. 

  I do wish my family could meet everyone, but that's sadly not possible. it devastated me when Celestia told me I had no way of going home or seeing my family ever again. I was completely broken an became really depressed by this news, but thanks to Violet, I was able to pull myself together and learn to deal with the new face of reality, I just hope everyone back home is doing okay... especially Michael. Though for now, everything was perfect.

  "Jackson stop!" I heard Feather scream before we saw a body get flung through a window next to us. I quickly shielded Violet with a wing and looked at who came in.

  "Shining?" I muttered as I saw the man bruised and a little bloodied on the floor. "Shining, what's going on!?" I asked the man but he just... glared at me. His eye's flashed a lime green for a second before returning to normal. "Hey... are you okay?"

  "Don't worry Jay, I'm only holding back" Jackson said, jumping in from the opening and staring daggers at Shining. "If I actually wanted to I could've knocked you out with one punch, but I wanted you to feel my anger" Jackson said through gritted teeth making his way towards Shining.

  "Jackson stop, its okay, he didn't mean to say those things, he's just delirious and really out of it right now!" Feather exclaimed to her,  quite possibly, bloodthirsty boyfriend. "Please just stop!" She begged which seem to work.

  "Jackie, what's got you so worked up to kick your own friend's ass!?" I demanded to know, walking over to the man who seemed to be in some sort daze. His eye's also glowed green for a second before going back to normal, which made start wondering what was going on with Shining and Jackson even more. "Jackie, you got anything to say?" I asked, snapping my fingers infront of him, but he just seemed confused for some reason.

  "How... did I get here?" Jackson asked confused. "Feather? What are doing back from your post, did Shining change his mind?" He asked the girl, taking her aback.

  "What, no, when I barely got back to my post Blazing came running after me and told me that you and Captain Armor were fighting one another so I raced back over to stop you from hurting him to much" Feather said. "But it looks like I was a little too late"

"Wait, what?" Jackson asked confused.

"What the hell has gotten into you, you could've kilked the Captain!?" She demanded.

  "I-I have no idea what you're talking about, were friends, why would I fight Shining?" Jackson questioned, looking at said man on the floor. "Jesus christ, I did that?" He asked, a little shocked.

  "Do you not remember?" Violet asked. "You said you were holding back so he could feel your anger" she went on, shocking the man even more.

  "What... I-I would never fight someone without a good reason, hell, I would never fight my own friend!" Jackson defended himself. "I don't remember when or even how we started fighting"

  "What's going on here?" We heard princess Luna demand, walking towards us in her regular attire, though the short hair was new. "I leave to patrol around the castle for a few minutes and I come back to the groom on the floor injured, shattered glass beneath us and bickering between all of you, so someone explain now because I am in no mood to play babysitter" Luna said, looking at all of us all with an icy cold glare. It was enough to make even Shining shiver.

'Why Thomas is in love with this woman is beyond me, she's scary as all living hell!' I shouted in my mind, as her glare continued to get colder the longer we said nothing.

  "W-Well your highness, it seems my Boyfriend and Captain Armor got into a heated argument with one another, which unfortunately escalated into a full on brawl with eachother" Feather said, throwing a quick glare at Jackson who was still befuddled about everything going on, but it soon softened when she saw how apologetic he looked as he look towards Shining Armor. "Although it may seem these two knew what they were doing... Jackson told us he had no idea he was fighting the Captian in the first place and as you can see, he's very distraught and he still doesn't fully understand whats going on right now" Feather threw in to defend the man.

  "Is that right?" Luna doubted, but did take notice of Jackson's body language. "Then tell young Jackson, do you know what's happening right now, or anything that happened a few moments ago?" She asked, keeping a close eye on him.

  "I-I have no idea what's happening or why it's happening, nor do I even remember fighting Shining in the first place... I think I do remember something though... a voice I believe, female from what I can tell" Jackson said, getting all our attentions now. 

  "lieutenant Feather, go take your Captain to the medical bay, Jay and Nurse Violet please go with her and tend to this man's wounds... Jackson" Luna ordered sternly before turning. "We will discuss this in my study, come" she ordered once more and we all went to our respective roles. I was worried something was gonna happen to Jackson, though what he said was really strange, even Luna found it jarring.

  "Guess we got stuck with work today" I said with a sigh, though Violet just grabbed my hand and smiled gently.

  "I have a feeling everything will be okay, so don't worry" She assured me, enough to stop worrying about Jackson a bit. Though what he said about hearing a voice, what did he hear and what was the woman say. Questions for later, but for now, we gotta make sure Shining doesn't have anything to serious.



Luna's Study, P.o.v- Jackson




  The room itself was clean, not a speck of dust in sight, not even a scratch on the shiney oak wood floor. The walls were covered in a mixture of navy blue and alabaster white marble tiles, creating depictions of the night sky that complimented the dark blue ceiling above.

  "Have a seat Jackson" Luna told me to which I quickly did, sitting on this rather comfortable blue couch resting infront of a black desk with a white crescent moon in the middle. "I'll tell you right now my dear friend, you're not in trouble in the sense of getting punished for your actions... but you are in trouble of being controlled by something or someone" Luna said cautiously trying not to freak me out, which kinda didn't worked.

  "Hold on, you're saying someone was controlling me?" I asked to which she nodded. "But, I was no where near anyone who could've controlled me and from what Feather said, Shining was to sleep deprived to cast any other spell except for the protection spell around the city" I said getting a low hum from the princess.

  "It's possible someone else was being controlled at the time and you accidentally absorbed some of the excess magic when you came in contact with said person... but that's only if someone was lacking in that department because a spell will give off an aura if it's weak or unstable, though it is invisible to the naked eye, only myself, Celestia and our niece Cadance can see it" Luna explained, though it was kinda hard to follow.

  "So you're saying that I accidentally absorbed some of this magic from a spell that was coming off from some other guy being controlled?" I asked and she nodded. "Wait, how come you, Celestia and your niece are the only one's that can see it?" I questioned.

  "Equestrians born or ascended into the Alicorn race can sense, detect and spot the flow of magic if we focus our gaze, it's the one thing no other equestrian has which makes us a very rare and unique race" Luna explained. "It's what I was doing back in the hall's, I knew you could've never done something such as that since I remember you said that you only fight for a good reason and you would never harm your friends, but that still left the question as to why you did it... that's when I focused on you and saw the depleting remanents of the spell all over your body, though by now Im sure it's no longer on you anymore" Luna went on, this conversation was so intense that it started to make my head spin at the amount of information being told to me.

  "Okay... that also leaves the question, who is controlling who" I said, Luna agreed to the statement but neither of us could figure it out. It was almost impossible for anyone to get into the city. "Luna, I do believe we have an intruder in our midst and it must be someone who is in this very castle, but who they are is another thing entirely" I said.

  "You said you heard a female voice talking to you, what did she say?" Luna asked, I had to think really hard about this because of how faint the voice was.

  "I think she said... take out the lighting boy, the dragon boy... but leave the devil to me" I recited to Luna. "I'm guessing lightning boy is me and dragon boy is Jay, but, who's the devil?"

   "I'm not sure myself, but it seems like I was correct about you absorbing excess magic, because if they were ordering to take you out then it would be impossible to get rid of Jay, this woman is powerful that's for sure... argh! we keep going in circles Jackson, we find pieces to the puzzle but all of them end up being corner pieces!" Luna shouted in frustration, I too was getting aggravated but getting angry won't solve anything.

  "... I think I know a way for us to get more piece's Luna, although we're gonna have to switch game's" I said slowly getting her attention. "This is now a game of chess, the Queen sent her knight to get rid of the rook, but was a move to short so I was able to beat her knight, right now she passed her turn to come up with another strategy, so I believe it's time to send in our knight in shining black armor" I said getting her full attention.

  "Do you think we should tell him?" Luna asked, but I shook my head.

  "Our knight must know nothing, tell him only about the wedding and what's happening, and have a little fun while you're at it Lulu" I said, teasing the woman a bit who hid a blush. "In a game of chess, Every. Single. Move. Counts, so let's make her believe we're trying to win this pissing contest and play dumb as a means for her to drop her guard, then when she slips up-" I snapped my fingers. "Check mate"

  "Playing the fool to win the game... a clever man you are Jackson, hopefully it goes as planned" Luna said with a tinge of worry. "I hope Thomas doesn't think we're using him as bait when him and the other's get here"

  "It'll be fine Luna, just act as though nothing had happened and have fun with your little boyfriend" I told her as I rose to my feet. "Let the Queens pieces fall so our puzzle can be complete" I said before heading out, leaving Luna with her thoughts. "Now then... how am I gonna apologize to Feather for beating up her Captain"



The Grassy Fields Outside Of Ponyville, 5:30 p.m., P.o.v-Thomas




  "So Thomas, have you found anyone special yet?" Pinkie asked out the blue making me choke down the soda I was drinking. It's been a couple hours since I went to Rarities to get some clothes, now the girls, spike and I were on a hill above the grassy fields just outside of ponyville having the picnic Rainbow and Rarity told me about.

  Fluttershy brought vegetables and fruit, Applejack brought the drinks, Rarity brought the blanket and plate's, Twilight and Spike brought over a picnic basket full of sandwiches and salads, Pinkie brought desserts out of nowhere and finally, Rainbow and I brought a guitar for me to play some music and my phone incase I got tired. It was peaceful until what Pinkie just asked.

  "Pinkie" I groaned but this only made the girl giggle. "*sigh* No, I don't have anyone special yet... maybe one day I'll find one, but that day wont be coming for a loooong time" I answered, feeling two distinct small glares from Rainbow and Twilight. "What?"

  "Nothing," Rainbow said.
 
  "Jerk" Twilight spat.

   "Alright settle down now, how's
'bout y'all play us a little somethin with that there guitar Tommy," Applejack said, pointing to said guitar next to me.

  "Sure, any requests?" I asked but they knew I had no clue what songs were popular here. "I'm just messing, how about I play something from my world?" I said, strumming a few strings.

  "Oooo, can it be something soft and romantic?" Fluttershy asked, getting looks from the others. "I-I just really like those types of songs"

  "Sure thing Fluttershy, and I know just the song" I told her, quickly remembering the melody and soon playing it. "This is called, 'Falling in love with you'" I said before clearing my throat.

   (love this cover, wish they had studio audio but oh well)

  For the very first line I could tell the girls were loving the song, even Rainbow was drawn into it. I was so absorbed with the melody, I hadn't noticed I had my eyes closed during it. I remembered how at peace I felt when my mother sang this song to me and my siblings, it made me feel full of hope and joy, I felt a smile creep it's way on my face remembering her voice.

  "But I can't help falling in love with you" I finished, though it felt like others were singing with me. The feeling felt so nostalgic, like I was back home singing with my family again but when I opened my eyes, I was met with something else and it made me realize something. When I opened my eyes I didn't just see my friends, I saw my new family all smiling and cheering as I put the guitar down. 

  "That was down right beautiful sugarcube, did you write that?" Applejack asked but I quickly shook my head
 
  "It was written by the late king of rock, Elvis Presley" I said. "And I'm glad you enjoyed it"

  "What other songs do you know?" Twilight asked, seeming interested in my world's music.

  "Well there is a group I loved to listen to called 'Imagine Dragons'" I said, kinda snorting at their name since my best friend is half dragon now. "Oh! I know a great song from another band I listen to, took a couple of weeks but I finally figured out how to play it" I said excitedly, getting ready for my next song. Until we heard spike start groaning slightly before burping up a scroll from the castle.

"Pause that song for a second Thomas, I think it's Princess Celestia responding to a request I sent for extra books for the Library" Twilight said making me give a disappointed sigh, she opened the letter and cleared her throat before speaking again. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, you and your friend's have been cordially invited to the wedding of one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and... WHAT!?" She screamed at the top of her lung's, I'm pretty sure she scared the whole town with that scream.

"Jesus Twilight, I like to have my hearing thank you very much" I said, a bit annoyed at the book worm. "Gimmie that" I demanded, ripping it out of her hands then reading it in my head a little.

"So who's the groom?" Rainbow asked.

"Some guy named Shining Armor, it also says it happening two days from now... why are we just barely getting this?" I muttered that last part, I looked to the still stunned Twilight and poked her cheek a bit. "Twilight, why are you so shocked about a little wedding?" I asked only to quickly get tackled by the woman, she straddled me with eye's of pure rage staring into mine.

"It's not just any little wedding Thomas, it's my Brother's wedding" Twilight seethed, digging her nails into my arms that she held firmly above my head. "I'm gonna kill him, I'm really gonna murder that bastard for not tell me, his own sister, that he was getting married!" Twilight growled, eyes still locked on to mine with burning hatred and I kept asking myself. 

'Why is this version of Twilight really hot?' I thought randomly. "So... you gonna keep giving the others a show or you gonna get off me?" I asked with this weirdly new found confidence. The hell's up with me?

"What, o-oh!" Twilight said realizing the position she was in and blushed. She quickly got off and rubbed her flushed cheeks, I sat back up and chuckled.

"Never seen you this pissed off before Twilight, guess your brother really hit a nerve" I said as I looked over the letter. "Family problems?"

"Not exactly, but when he went to train for the Royal Guards and I for the Celestias school for gifted magic-users, we kinda lost contact with eachother... I have seen him in ten year's" Twilight said with a hint of sadness. 

"Yeesh, I can honestly relate to how you feel Twilight, not talking to your own flesh and blood for so many years only to come back with shocking news like getting married... kinda hits home" I said, chuckling a bit remembering something that happened with me and Sadie. "But instead of getting angry Twilight, you should be happy that he's still in your thoughts and wants you to be there for him on his big day" I threw in, which did seem to calm her down a tad bit. But she still held on to some anger.

"I guess you're right, but Im still gonna give him a piece of my mind once we get to Canterlot" Twilight said, getting a chuckle from me.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn" I muttered before getting to my feet. "Well girl's, guess we'll take a rain check on that song cause we got some packin to do. If we leave tonight we should arrive before the sun is up tomorrow" I said to which they all nodded in agreement.

"Alright y'all, let's say we head to the station at 10:30, it'll give us all enough time ta pack and get ready for the trip over, sound good?" Applejack asked.

"That sounds excellent darling, it'll give me time to get some dresses and a suite ready for us" Rarity said with an eager look in her eye.

"Nah, it's all good Rarity we'll just wear the stuff you gave us for the Gala" Rainbow told her and it looked like everyone agreed to this, much to Rarities disappointment.

"B-But you know, I was thinking I could use another suite in case the other one got dirty" I said as a means to make her feel better. Which worked because she was gone like a bullet when I told her that, even took the stuff she brought with her. "Wow... she really loves making clothes huh?" 

"I mean can you blame her, making clothes is what she love's, its her calling to make everything beautiful" Pinkie said as she picked up her stuff as well and began bouncing off. "Oh yeah, be sure to duck when we get to canterlot" she told me before heading off, though confused I picked up the guitar and pocketed my phone getting ready to head off.

"Guess we'll be seeing you guy's, and Twilight please dont plot ways to kill your brother" I told the bookworm but it fell on deaf ears. We gave one more goodbye and started our way back home, it wasn't everyday you'd get invited to a wedding, especially one that has a princess getting married. "Wonder how fancy that wedding will be"

"Well if it's a princess getting married then I'm pretty sure they're all pulling out the stops" Rainbow said also imagining it. "I wonder what Twilights brother looks like, I mean, if he joined the royal guard then he must be pretty built" 

"Who know's, he might be the male version of Twilight for all we know" I joked eliciting a chuckle from Rainbow. "I think one book worm is more than enough don't you think?"

"Absolutely, is she still doing experiments on you?" Rainbow asked.

"Nit as much, she came to the conclusion that our biology is basically the same except for a few... minor attachments" I said patting Rainbow's wings getting them to twitch and having her give an embarrased blush. "That and there's a thing were you guy's have something called heat"

"O-Oh... she told you about that" Rainbow said, sidestepping a bit away from me. 

"Yeah, though she didn't give me an explanation about it, but she did say that female's here have their body temperature increase which cause them to get aggressive" I said now noticing the girl was six feet from me. 

"That's one way of putting it, you can look it up in one of your books you nerd" Rainbow said, slowly coming back to her regular attitude. We soon reached the house and with a quick turn of the knob I opened it and was met with the cool air of the A/C. 

"Man, magically powered A/C units are waaaaay better then the one's back home" I said, sighing in relief to be out of the hot sun. Dont know what Celestia is doing but I know she can feel this heat too, maybe she's sunbathing or something. "Hey Rainbow, mind if I take the first shower? Cause I know you like to take long hot shower's" I asked as I removed my shirt upon entering the house, but after a minute of silence I turned to the rainbow headed girl only to see her face completely red.

"S-Sure" Rainbow stuttered, not taking her eyes off me. "H-Hey uh... when did you get like this?" She asked which confused me.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a chuckle.

"W-well... you just look different from usual" Rainbow said, trying not to look at me. "No offense but you look... more like a man now" she said then blushed when I busted out laughing.

"Thanks I guess, anyways, I'ma go an take that shower so I'll see you in a bit" I said, beginning my accent up the stairs and quickly going to my bathroom. "Look more like a man now hehe, don't know if that's a compliment or not" I said, starting the water and waited for it to get warm.

I kept thinking about what Rainbow said and it just seemed so funny to me. I've always been considered a boy even though my age say's otherwise, it was all thanks to my body looking so fragile and weak. Being skinny was both a blessing and a curse since I've struggled to actually build up some muscle over the years.

"Guess I'm cursed to be like this.... though I guess it wouldn't hurt to humor the idea" I said quickly glancing at the mirror then walked over to it, giving me a full view of my body. "Well uh... that's new" I said, staring at the new found muscle on me. Granted it wasn't anything grand or godly, but it did fill me out pretty decently, it kinda looked like I was in the middle of toned and untoned which weirdly balanced out. "Maybe it's a boost from the demons power, but hey, Im not complaining" I chuckled and stripped before heading into the shower.

"I got a good feeling about this wedding"



A Few Hour's Later




Rainbow and I sat on a bench an waited at the Train station for the others to show up since we packed pretty quickly after taking quick shower's at home. 

"Man I cant wait to see the guys again, it's been a bit since Ive seen them and I gotta be honest, it feels weird not seeing them everyday... I wonder how they're doing" I said excitedly.

"Ive actually been meaning to ask about you and yours friends, how long have you guy's known eachother?" Rainbow asked and I had to think for a bit.

"I think we've known eachother our whole lives, they're my best friends, I'd even go as far as to call them my brother's... if it weren't for them, I'm pretty sure I'd end up a completely different person" I said, smiling warmly at the old memories flashing in my head. "How about you Dash, before you met the girl's, did you have any best friend's you were close to?" I asked, but her happy face was replaced with an angry one.

"Other than Fluttershy, I had another friend who I thought I could consider my sister... she actually showed up to ponyville one day out of the blue and I was so excited to see her. I wanted have her meet my new friends so they could see how awesome she was... but..." Rainbow stopped, trying her hardest not let her anger out. 

"Im guessing it didnt end well huh?" I asked, and she nodded.

"She treated our friends like annoying insects and even screamed at Fluttershy for helping a couple of duckling cross the road. Pinkie told me everything that was happening, and so I wanted to see for myself and it turns out... every word was true. It hurt so much finding out what was going on, but it hurt even more when I realized she could never accept my new friends no matter how much I wanted her too" she continued with her fury slowly turning to sadness. We both sat in silence for a bit, but it was broken when I heard small hiccups and sniffling from the girl. Before she could go into a full breakdown, I reached over with one arm and pulled her in for a hug. "It hurts, so much... to hide these emtions"

"I... I understand how you feel Rainbow, I wish I was hear to try an make thing's better... I'm sorry you had to hide your emotions Rainboe" I said, letting her cry into my shoulder. "Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the one person who you thought would never hurt you... do you hate her Rainbow?" I asked.

"No... just disappointed" She answered through her tears. I felt my heart ache seeing her so miserable, letting emotions build up can really harm the body, but when you let them out it becomes uncontrollable. 

"They say that a friend can turn into a stranger, but a stranger can become a dear friend" I qouted, getting her to look at me. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were raw from the tears flowing down her face. "You may have lost your friend, but you got six more to fill the cracks... and you have me, for better or worse, no matter what you say or do I'll always be right there with you" I told her, gingerly wiping her tears away and it seemed she relaxed under my touch.

"Why do I have to be in pain Thomas?" Rainbow asked.

"It's what makes you human... or equestrian, still confused about that" I said, getting her to giggle a bit. "Everything will be alright Rainbow, I promise"

"Thanks Thomas, you're actually the first person to see me like this in years" She said slowly pulling back. "I honestly hate crying"

"... Me too" I said letting her calm herself down a little more, wiping the tears away and trying to look more like herself. Though her raw cheeks and red eyes were gonna get some questions from the others. "You feel better?" I asked, gently patting her head.

"Yeah, guess I just needed someone to listen to me ramble for a bit... sorry you had to see me like this" Rainbow apologized.

"You don't have to apologize for having emotions, feelings pain shows that your maturing" I said, bringing out my phone and earbuds. "Here, why don't I put on something to get your mind off it" I said as I plugged the earbuds in and put one in her ear and the other in mine.

"I think that's a great idea Thomas" Rainbow sighed blissfully, closing her eyes and leaning on me. I chuckled a bit before I looked for a song then hit play.



We let the song play as we waited for the others to get here. I honestly felt like I was starting to get closer to Rainbow, she usually shy's away from telling me what was wrong with her, but she poured out her heart out talking about how she felt when her bestfriend wasn't who Rainbow thought she was. I wish I could take the pain away, but I sadly dont have that power... not even superhero's have that power.

I sometimes think about how much I really dont know about the others, sure we've had conversations but nothing really deep. The only one's I've actually had a deep conversation with is Rainbow, Applejack and Luna. I sighed at this thought, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I get to know more about the girls so for now I just have to wait and see if they will open up to me in the future.

"That song actually made me feel... better" Rainbow said as the song ended, though she didn't move from her position on me. "Music from your world is amazing"

"Yeah, those two always make great song's and Im glad your feeling better Rainbow" I said putting my things away. "The other's should be here any minute now, wanna go greet them?" I asked, but it seem's she fell asleep on my arm. While she gave soft snores I held back my laughter, though it was short lived when I heared footsteps and voices talking amongst eachother towards us.

"Thomas ya'll-!" Applejack called out but I shushed her when she appeared with the others. I pointed to the sleeping daredevil and they all 'aw'd' at the sight, I chuckled at there reaction and carefully picked the girl up trying my hardest not to wake her. "Alright then, let's get goin" Applejack whispered to us and we boarded the train.



2:35 P.M., Halfway To Canterlot




I stared out the train window as the others fell into an early sleep hours before. I watched as the scenery rushed past us in a mesmerizing manner, it was peaceful for a moment in my life. Though even good things must come to an end.

"Thomas, you awake?" I heard Twilight ask in a low voice as a means to not wake the others. 

"What's up Twilight, bad dream?" I asked her, turning to face her.

"You could say that, it was rather intense really" Twilight said sitting down next to me. "Mind if I use you as a dream journal?"

"Go ahead Twilight, Im all ears" I told her and she took a deep breathe before starting.

"We... were all together at my brother's wedding, getting ready for the ceremony. All of us were laughing, smiling, having Rarity freak out over her dress because it was a different color, but... I looked around and I couldn't find you, it was like you vanished from existence. I searched the castle for you but still no sign, I guess I assumed you were alright so I decided to pay my brother a visit only... I saw someone controlling him like a puppet, thats when the dream started shifting" Twilight said though took a second to relax herself from her uncontrollable shaking. "I ran to the other's to tell them, but they didn't believe me because they thought I was acting out of jealousy for losing my brother. I went to Celestia and Jackson and told them the same thing, though they only laughed at the thought, even Jay didn't believe... then suddenly the sky became dark, their was a loud crash and a loud explosion shook the castle. Everyone was panicking as these black orbs chased them around the castle, I headed towards the throne room to see if the others were okay, but when I got their I... saw a man, covered in darkness with horns curled to the sides of his head as well as horns curling up, standing above a mountain of dead charred bodies all while holding a sword and a broken shield, but that wasn't what terrified me the most... it was his face..." Twilight stopped unable to control the shaking now, I gave her a quick embrace which kinda helped her settle down.

"Twilight I-" I said but was stopped when she pushed away from me and looked at me with both anger and terror in her eyes.

"What scared me the most, was that your face... was exactly like his"
> Chapter 10: Dreams Do Come True
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




???, P.o.v- Thomas




"Th... Thomas!" A strain voice cried out, my movements did not falter, nor did I care who was calling out for me. "Its... its over, please stop!" The voice strained again, I couldnt hear them that well this time, but I couldn't have cared less about what they wanted.

"Be quiet... if you dont want to die like her then I suggest you keep your mouth shut" I growled, gripping my sword with enough strain to break skin. "She hurt everyone... SHE DESERVES THIS!!!"

"D-Dude... you gotta stop, you're not yourself right now!" Another voice said, though this one shouted and sounded so familiar.

"I have to make sure, she doesn't hurt us ever again... an arm or a leg would do just fine" I said, feeling myself grin at the comment.

"Snap out of it man, this isn't you, come back to us!" Another familiar voice shouted, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my head hearing it.

"THOMAS!" I heard many voices shout, I could hear them as plain as day, thats when it finally clicked.

"My friends... those are my friends... Jay! Jackson!... Girls!" I called out, I was suddenly turned around by someone, I was expecting it to be one of my friends, but I only saw a full length mirror showing me what I've become. Two black horns curled on the sides of my head and two protruding out of my forehead curling  straight up a few inches with the tips looking like sharpened daggers, my upper body was completely shrouded in darkness like when I fought Discord, my eyes were the same crimson red as before and my teeth all sharpened to a point. I was a monster.

"No..... NO!" I screamed, smashing that damn mirror. I gave a shakey breath once I calmed down from my rage and I slowly pulled my fist back, letting the glass fall from the mirror and I fell to my knees. Tears rolling down my face. "I don't wanna be a monster... I don't... somebody, please... please help me"



6:30 a.m., Canterlot Train Station




"Whoa... what's gotten into you Thomas?" I heard Twilight ask, I opened my eyes and quickly took noticed that I was clinging to the woman for dear life with tears flowling out of my eyes. "Did what I say last night get to you? B-Because Im still extremely sorry about that, it was rude and arrogant of me to be scared an angry at you over a stupid dream I had... Im sorry" Twilight apologized for the fifth time since she told me about her dream. Though that nightmare is something that's haunted me since I've woken up, I was sure talking with Rainbow helped, but I guess I still need some help with this.

"It's okay Twilight, this is related to... something else" I assured her before letting her go, it looked like we made it to the station at dawn like how Applejack said we would. It also looked like it was just me and Twilight in the train right now.  "Where are the others?" I asked, now grabbing my things then made my way off the train with Twilight.

"The girls already started heading to the castle when we arrived, I decided to hang back and wake you up" so you dont end up in appleloosa" Twilight joked. "You actually just missed it, when we entered the city we had to go through a magical barrier" she said, still in amazement.

"Wait, why would Canterlot need a magical barrier over their city?" I asked just as we got off the train, now making our way towards the castle. "Seem's kinda strange dont you think?" 

"A little bit, maybe we can ask the princess's about this when we get to the castle after I beat my brother to a bloody paste" Twilight said, in a terrifyingly calm manner, though I still found it oddly attractive. "Now c'mon, I'm sure the others already halfway there!" Twilight exclaimed, grabbing my hand and  was now rushing us to our destination.

We got many look's from other people walking and heading to get breakfast in the opposite direction, but it didn't matter to Twilight since she was currently bloodthirsty at the moment. We soon slowed down when Twilights body finally realized it wasn't athletic and now she held onto me to keep herself from collapsing. 

"I... forgot... I wasn't great, ugh, at track" Twilight said with batted breath, I snickered at this which elicited a very weak punch from the girl. "Shut... up"

"I didn't say anything" I said innocently, although it took everything I had just to keep a straight face. "Think you'll be able to make it?" I asked, though it seemed she was to put of breath to answer.

Seeing her like this, I felt like I had to do something to help her. I had an idea, but Im pretty sure she's gonna hate me for it. I stopped us both after a bit and looked around, this confused Twilight a bit.

"Whats... wrong?" She asked with shallow breaths, she 'eep'd' when I lifted her up in a bridal hold and started walking with her in my arms. "Put me... down you... asshole" Twilight weakly yelled at me, planting delicate punches on my face. None of them hurt, but I acted like they did so it wouldn't hurt her ego. 

"C'mon Twilight, another second walking and Im sure you would've collapsed" I told the girl who glared at me. "Glare all you want, but Im not letting my friend get hurt because she was too impatient to kill her brother" I said, a but more sternly then normal. And true to my thoughts, she glared at me with eyes that felt like daggers. I sighed feeling her glare, but continued on towards the castle.

We weren't far from the castle by any means, just a quick twenty minute walk. The weather was great today, sunny skies, no clouds, and the wind blew past us keeping us refreshed. It was also nice and quiet since everyone was barely waking up, so you can hear the birds fly and chirp on by as you walk. It was so peaceful.

"I got a good feeling about today" I said with a smile, I was expecting a response from Twilight until I noticed the feeling of her glare was gone. I looked down to see what's up and I swear my heart skipped a beat when I saw her sleeping soundly in my arms. "Guess it really was peaceful out here" I said quietly to myself.

"Look sweetie, that's what me and your father were like when we first started dating" I heared a woman say, I looked around and spotted the woman talking to her daughter a little ways behind us. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to bother you young man" the woman apologized. She had light purple skin with lavender colored that complimented her navy blue eyes, she wore a black shortsleeve shirt along with blue jeans and dark purple sneakers. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know a gray dragon boy would you, about a few inches shorter than you, red hair?" She asked catching me a little of guard.

"U-Uh, yeah that's my buddy Jay" I said getting pleased look from the woman. "H-How do you know him?"

"Well he was actually the one that helped us, and a lot more people out the city, when Discord was running loose, although he looked pretty beat up when my daughter found him" She said, quickly looking down to the little girl, she was a magic-user with very light orange skin, kinda matched Applejacks, short yellow hair, navy blue eyes and was wearing a bright green shirt, a yellow skirt and white shoes. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, my name's Lavender Grow, an earth-user, and this little darling here is Marigold Grow, a magic-user, say hi to the nice man sweetie"

"H... Hello" Mari said shyly with a tiny wave, I think she was cuter than the sleeping girl Im holding right now. "Do you think we can see mister Jay again?" She asked me.

"I-Im not really sure Mari" I said getting a disappointed look from her that hurt my heart. "But how about I let y'all tag along with me to the castle and see if I can get him to come see y'all" I offered them.

"Are you sure, we wouldn't want to bother you or him if you two are busy since I heard their was a wedding happening tomorrow" Lavender said. 

"Im sure Jay isn't busy right now since the wedding is tomorrow, and Im positive everyone would love to meet this lil cutie" I said getting an excited look from Mari, like if I told her she won the lottery.

"Can we mom, pleeeease!" Mari begged her mother, with a defeated sigh Lavender agreed and we resumed walking to the castle.

"So what's your name?" Lavender asked.

"My names Thomas Knight, but you can call me Thomas or Tommy" I said getting a small laugh from Lavender. 

"That's a very strange name you got there Thomas, but I like it" Lavender said making me blush a little. "So whose your girlfriend?" She asked making me confused at first only to soon remember about the girl in my arms.

"S-She's not my girlfriend, her name is Twilight Sparkle and she's just my friend" I explained to Lavender, but I saw a familiar  look Applejack would get when she would tease me.

"Are you sure she's just a friend, you know, not just any girl would willing let a man carry them like this, she must really be infatuated with you" Lavender said grinning a bit. "Maybe she likes that cute face of your's, I know I do, or maybe she likes the way you feel since she's all cozied up in your arms Thomas. She probably loves how kind and gentle you are, all these are good attributes in a boyfriend... or a soon to be husband" She went on, making my face as red as a tomato.

"You know it's not nice to tease people Mom" Mari scolded causing her mom to puff her cheeks.

"But Mari~ it's so much fun teasing this one, he's so cute and easy to tease" Lavender whined a bit, but stopped nevertheless. "Fine, sorry for teasing you Thomas"

"It's fine Lavender, my friend Applejack love's to tease me all the time so Im pretty much use to it" I said, but still accepted her apology anyways. "Sorry if this sound weird, but where's Mari's dad?" I asked immediately getting them both to frown at the question. "Oh... I see, I'm sorry for your loss"

"Thank you" Was all Lavender said before a thick silence hung over us. I had no idea what to say, I only experienced death once in my life and that was when I was barely five. I have to think of something to help ease this tension away.

"Wait... Stop!" We all heard from across the street, we looked to see a man with blue skin, yellow hair and green eyes wearing a white hoodie, green pants and black shoes pushing a girl into an alley nearby.

"Lavender, do you think you can hold Twilight for a moment?" I asked the woman, she looked back to me and I could sense her shaking when she saw the cold look I was giving. 

"U-Uh, you want me to take her to the castle?" Lavender asked as I handed her Twilight, she looked surprised when she realized how light she was.

"Yeah... don't wait up" I told her before heading towards the alley, I could hear the faint voices from the entrance then a loud smack. I walked into the dark alleyway and used the sound of the voices to help me navigate towards them.

"Get the hell off me you creep!" I heard the girl yell, there was a small ruckus before I heard another slap then something ripping.

"Shut that mouth of yours little birdy, matter'o fact, let me shut it for you" The man said with each word telling me his intent.

"Hey, Im pretty sure the lady said to let her go" I said calmly, the man looked at me with a punk out glare as well as trying to make himself look bigger. "So let her go"

"Or what shrimp, you think a scrawny little punk like you can take me?" He queried, turning his full attention to me. "Let me tell how this is gonna go down, you are gonna turn around and forget you ever saw me or this bitch you understand?" He asked now walking towards me.

"I can handle this man, get outta here!" The girl yelled, I looked behind the man and saw a woman with broze colored skin matching her yellow eyes and had short white hair with purple dye on the tips, she wore what use to be a white longsleeve shirt, some faded black cargo pants and worn out black boots. Thought what really stood out was the bruise on her face and her exposed chest from her ripped up shirt.

"What's your name?" I asked the woman taking her aback a bit.

"... Gilda" She said.

"Well Gilda, you look a little out of it so I can only assume he either drugged you or hit you in the back of the head so if it's all the same to you-" I stopped once the man was infront of me. "Let me handle this" 

"Last chance, leave and live to see another day" He said, pulling out a pair of worn down brass knuckles. "Or I break you skull" he threatened, if I was back home I would be terrified right about now, but for some reason... I was extremely calm.

"Did you use those to hurt Gilda over there?" I asked him eliciting an ugly glare. "I'll take that as a yes... you know, where Im from-" I stopped just as I rammed my fist in his gut, to fast for the both of them to see. "We kick the shit outta scum like you for even touching women without permission" I continued, letting the pain settle into his body before slowly pulling my fist back.

The man loosened his grip on the brass knuckles after a few second, he looked confused at first only to soon collapse to his knees while holding his stomach. I must've hit him really hard cause it looked like he couldn't scream out in pain, only give out silent grunts. I reached down and pulled his head up by hair to make him look at me.

"Disgusting" I muttered, glarring at him with my cold red eyes. Before he could give out a cry for help I slammed his face to the wall with enough force to knock him out cold. "Freakin hate garbage like this, you alright?" I asked, turning my attention back to Gilda who looked to be in shock.

"H... H-How did you do that?" Gilda asked me just as I get near her.

"I've fought literal deities, a common asshole isn't even close to being on the same plane as me" I answered, quickly offering a hand right after. "How'd you end up in this mess anyhow?" I asked, helping her up.

"Was on my way to the station when this asshole came up to try an get another girl on his belt, I refused, he got pissed, punched me in the back of the head and started leading me here... Im sure by how I look you can guess the rest" Gilda explained to me before gesturing to her exposed chest, catching me by surprise. 

"Whoa! U-Uhm... can you please cover yourself?" I asked while emitting an embarrassing blush and looking away.

"Are... you blushing?" She asked, her impressed gaze now lost in the wind. "Let me get this straight, you came here and beat a random person up, for good reasons, looking all badass until you see a little nudity!" Gilda exclaimed making me blush even more. "And another thing, how can a weak looking guy like you knock a guy out that easily in such a short amount of time, what are you, wh-who are you!?" Gilda demanded finally feeling the anger rise up inside her, but that anger went away when I offered her an undershirt and shirt from my bag. "... *sigh* Sorry 'bout that, I have an unpleasant tendency to let my anger get the best of me" 

"I-it's alright Gilda, I don't blame you for getting angry, especially since you almost got... raped" I said, cringing at the words. "I know a guy who deals with anger issues too... might wanna put that on, dont want others to ogle at your bare chest" I said and she looked at me for a second then chuckled.

"You're a weird guy" Gilda said as she put on the stuff I gave her. "You got a name dweeb?" She asked me.

"My names Thomas Knight, but you can call me Thomas or Tommy" I introduced myself, Gilda looked me up and down before grabbing my hand. "Hey what are you-"

"I'm starving and Im sure you haven't eaten anything either so let me treat you to some breakfast as a way of saying thanks for saving me" Gilda said now dragging me out the alley and back into the sun. The area itself was still fairly clear save for a few early birds, but I didn't have time to look because Gilda was already leading me to our destination. "I know this great place just up the road, Im sure you probably heard of Sally and Barb's all day an night diner" Gilda told me and I dont think I could forget that place.

I stayed silent during our walk to Sally and Barb's, though I did notice wings on Gilda's back that were different from other air-user's and the dragon race.

"Hey Gilda, are you an air-user?" I asked the girl, she snorted a bit at my question before laughing.

"Sorta, I'm from the Griffin race" Gilda corrected. "It's a common mistake since we both have feathered wings, though key features on our race is the sharp black nails and amber gold eyes" She said showing me her black fingers nails and her golden eye color.

"Whoa, guess I shouldn't be so surprised since two of my friend's are literally from the Dragon race and one control's literal lightening" I said under my breath, I was honestly fascinated with her lineage. "So Gilda, why were you heading to the station before that mess happened?" I asked, though I realized it must've been a private matter so I might've made her upset.

"Well... I was going to the station so I can travel to ponyville to both get my ass kicked and apologize to my friend for breaking her trust... and quite possibly her heart" Gilda said, slowing down to a stop. That friend sounded awfully familiar, but I shouldn't assume anything right now.

"What happened?" I asked her, but she was silent. Now that I got a look at her, it looked like she hadn't slept in day's, the bruise on her cheek wasn't doing anything to help either. "I understand if that's to personal to share since we've just met a few minutes ago" I told her, trying to get rid of the silence.

"She was my best friend in the whole world... and I let my anger an jealousy get the best of me, I'm so stupid" Gilda said suddenly, breaking down into tears in the matter of seconds. It was so sudden I hadn't realized she was clinging to me while crying, I blinked a couple times before hugging Gilda back and tried to help her calm down. "She trusted me, she saw me as a sister and I threw that all away because I couldn't control my emotions... I've spent every day regretting my actions, wishing I could make it right but nothing could mend that broken trust anymore" Gilda sobbed out, it didn't take a genius to realize Gilda was talking about Rainbow Dash since I heard about it just yesterday, but I think letting her get it out would help rather than saying I knew her old friend.

"Gilda, let's sit down and let you collect yourself for a minute" I suggested, gesturing to a wooden bench a few feet from us. I led Gilda over to the bench and sat her down before I joined, it was strange talking to Rainbows old friend, but no matter the history between them I couldn't just stand by and let her suffer. "Tell what happened Gilda, I'll listen for as long as you need me too" I told her, Gilda slowly collected herself with a few breathing exercises before staring at her hands.

"I was visiting my old friend at her new hometown thought I'd pop in an surprise her, we always did that in cloudesdale when we were kids so I wanted my visit to be nostalgic. When I arrived I was immediately greeted by a pink ball of energy which both scared and annoyed me, I told her to leave me alone and I walked off toward's Dash's house, heard she had someone living with her as well so I wanted ta give him a little scare just incase he tries anything" Gilda started getting a chuckle from me, before she continued. "Got to her house, we hugged and decided to hang out for the day and thats what we did... but the pink girl kept popping up everywhere and my short fuse lit after about an hour of her following around, I know I shouldn't have snapped but after me an dash were done hanging out this air-user with pink hair ran into me on accident and... I... blew up in her face making the poor girl cry, I-I never felt so bad in my entire life before, it hurt my heart seeing what I did. I was gonna go and find her to apologize, but that earth-user showed up again to invite me to a party later that day to welcome me or something, I asked if a pink haired air-user would be there and she nodded so I accepted"

"I see... I'm guessing it didn't pan out the way you expected it to huh?" I asked, already knowing what happened. Gilda nodded, but still continued with her story.

"I finally cooled down after an hour of walking around ponyville and I started heading to a place called Sugarcube Corner, when I got there I looked around for the girl so I can apologize only to get bombarded with questions, it was around fifteen questions is were I started getting irritated but I answered all their questions on where I was from, what my name is, how my life is going, my career, so on so forth. It was a little after an hour did I see that girl again, I began walking towards her to say my apology when that DAM-... *sigh* when that pink girl came up to talk with me, all while these pranks were happening every step of the way until my fuse was finally lit once again and... I snapped" Gilda stopped, her eyes now full of regret. "It's funny you know, because, I-I thought the pranks were from that crazy pink party girl but it was actually Rainbow dash heh, so there I am screamin my head off at someone who didn't deserve it... again... *sniff* y-you know I tell myself everyday, e-even before I came to ponyville I said, 'You gotta work on your anger Gilda, or else you'll lose everything you hold dear'... boy was I right"

"I can guess you and Rainbow had a fight that ended with you saying things you didn't mean and her telling you to never come back... am I right?" I asked to which she nodded. "So you going to ponyville to apologize is your way of trying to find redemption so you can right a wrong, correct?"

"Thats the plan... I would do anything if it meant I could make thing's right" Gilda told me, her voice both filled with sadness and determination. I chuckled a bit before getting up from the bench.

"If thats the case, then all you have to do is take my hand" 

"Heh... wa-wait, so you're telling me that in order to get my friend back and apologize for all I've done, I just need to take your hand?" Gilda said, drawing out the possible outcome. "I-I don't know if this is some cheap pick up line o-or what, but it's not funny Thomas, I just poured my heart out to you and you act like it'll all go away if I take your hand..... it cant be that easy... can it?" Gilda asked almost hesitantly, I just kept my hand out for her so I can help her het back on track.

"Sometimes, it is just that easy" I said, letting my words sink into the girl's mind. Now that I know both sides of the story, I can try and mend the friendship back together if I can get these two to sit down and talk. They both have suffered enough, if it means getting these two to become friend's again and be happy, I can handle a screaming session from Rainbow. "Im sure you both suffered enough Gilda" I said getting a look of realization on her face.

"You're the guy" Gilda said her expression turning to surprise, I chuckled.

"Yeah... I'm the guy" I admitted. "I heard both of your stories and I can honestly say that you both are hurting more than you think, if you want to mend the trust back together and have Rainbow be your friend again then all you have to do is take my hand" I told her, giving Gilda a chance to get her friend. It was quiet between us, all that was heard was the sounds of the wind and the clicking of peoples shoes, I started to think Gilda wasn't gonna take my hand a one point but that doubt was quickly flung away when she pulled me into a hug.

"Please... I just want my friend back Thomas" Gilda cried as she cling to me even more, I chuckled and smiled when I hugged her back. 

"Let's go help you get your friend back"



Canterlot castle's front gate




"Now I know you hate her Rainbow, but do I really have to pin you down in order to get you to talk like a civilized person?" I asked the pinned woman, she answered me by thrashing around even more. The second me and Gilda came into view with the other's at the gate, Rainbow tried to literally put Gilda through a wall, luckily I was quick to react and pinned the crazed speedster on the floor. "Gonna make hold you here till ya calm down?"

"You can kiss my ass!" Rainbow retorted, continuing her thrashing. "I told you about her Thomas, and you got all buddy buddy with her after everything she's done!?" Rainbow shouted at me, each word dripping with hatred and venom.

"Well she was about to be... *ahem* violated, so I saved her and we started talking. Rainbow I need you to listen to her side of the story okay, you both are hurting and you both need to talk this out now" I stated, a bit more sternly much to their surprise. "I'm gonna let you go, and if you try to hit her I will never speak with you again, you understand me?" I asked, she growled for a moment then groaned.

"Fine, your lucky he's on your side G" Rainbow told Gilda rather harshly before I got off and helped her up.

"I'll give you two a minute" I said giving Rainbow one last look and walked over to the group. "So how yall doing?" I asked, quickly getting slapped by Twilight. "I deserve that"

"Damn right you do, you gave me away to someone I don't even know who could've kidnapped and killed me!" Twilight yelled at me. "No offense by the way" she calmly said to Lavender who waved it off, quietly stepping back with the others.

"And I'm sorry about that Twilight but what was I supposed to do, leave you out in the open for some random guy to have his way with you" I said, her glare not falter but neither was mine. "I had no choice-"

"You always have a choice, you just chose the wrong one dick head!" Twilight growled, understandably she was angry since I only met Lavender and Mari about twenty minutes ago, but like hell I'm backing down from this. "You know what, maybe you should just stay outta my way for this trip, I can finally get rid of the stupidity you been rubbing off on me and that stench, have you even bathed!?"

"Oh ya really wanna talk about smellin like shiet, let's talk about the time ya smelled like absolutely garbage two day's ago because it was for a damn friendship report you missed for the second time in a row" I remarked, reverting to my Irish accent. "Smelled like two dead fish were done goin at it for six hours ya bitch" I said, the group quietly stepped back even further.

"I swear if you weren't my friend I'd put you in a trunk and throw you in the ocean!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, screamin an hollerin at yer friend is such a good way ta strengthen a friendship" I retorted, our glares interlocked with eachother and I swear there was lightning sparking between us.

"Prick!"

"Cunt"

"Bastard!"

"Bitch"

"You damn hero wanna be!"

"You damn princess wanna be!"

"Is-uh.... is this a normal thing that happens with these two?" Lavender whispered to Applejack.

"Yup, these two could go at it fer hours if we don't intervene" Applejack said quickly noticing Mari heading over to me and Twilight. "Shouldn't y'all stop her?"

"Just watch" Lavender said, getting looking from the others but ultimately let the little girl go. Mari reached us just as Twilight was winding up for another slap until Mari cleared her throat.

"So who more of the adult here, you two or me?" Mari simply asked quickly getting us two look at each and blush in embarrassment remembering all the vulgar things we said infront of Mari. "That's what I thought" she said before walking back to Lavender, the woman herself was laughing at the other four girls look of shock at how fast Mari ending our fighting.

"That was rather... anti-climactic I must say" Rarity thought aloud getting nods from the others.

"*sigh*... I'm sorry for... freaking out on you Thomas" Twilight apologize further shocking the girls.

"Yeah Im sorry for handing you to someone we barely even knew... friends?" I asked, making Twilight giggle.

"Yeah, friends" She said, now jaws were on the floor at this point.

"What kinda powers does that child have?" Applejack asked Lavender who chuckled at their reactions.

"Well when my late husband was around and we'd have arguments, this little darling was able to stop us with a few simple words. I think she has a talent for solving these kinda problems, oh, I wonder if her cutie mark will correlate with that" Lavender told Applejack, though just as me and Twilight stopped fighting we saw Rainbow and Gilda walking back to us, both more calm and relieved.

"Well I gotta say Thomas, when you said it's sometimes that easy... you weren't lying" Gilda said looking like the guilt and shame was completely lifted off her shoulders. 

"I just needed you two to talk it out, I know it couldn't have been a pleasent conversation but it was a conversation that needed to happen nonetheless" I said.

"Look G, I just wanna sorry again for not considering your feelings at the time and forgetting about your anger issues" Rainbow apologized. 

"Well I did scream at your friends for no reason, and said some things I shouldn't have so I hope we can start over" Gilda said holding out her hand. "Though I'd understand if you feel differently, I don't wanna oppose you or anything"

"You kidding, of course we can start over but there is someone you need to apologize too first" Rainbow said sticking a thumb towards Fluttershy. "Do that and all is forgiven"

"Was planning on it" Gilda said before walking over to the shy girl, who by the way looked terrified. "Look uh... I'm sorry for yelling and taking my anger out on you, it wasn't right for me to blow up like that so... I hope you can forgive my stupid ass, and possibly be friends in the future" Gilda apologized.

"U-Uhm... I-I guess if you felt that bad then... ok" Fluttershy said making Gilda smile then hug the girl a little to tightly. "A-A little to tight!"

"Oop, sorry bout that" She said letting Fluttershy down, allowing her to breathe again.

"Well aint this just sweet" We heard from above, we looked up to see Jay and Jackson sitting on the concrete wall. "What up guy's, been a minute since we've last seen ya" Jay said as the two jumped down to greet us.

"How's it going man" Jackson said pulling me into a quick hug. "Whoa, you look like you packed on a bit of muscle these last few weeks, what've you been doing?" He asked, I shrugged in all honest.

"No idea, Rainbow pointed it out yesterday and I have no clue as to why I filled out so suddenly" I said. "Though maybe it's been the work Ive done for Aj thats made me like this, those apple crates are heavy, especially when you try to show off muscle you dont have" I said, chuckling as I remembered how I almost keeled over when I tried to impress Applejack by carrying three extra apple crates more than her. Admittedly it kinda worked until I threw up five minute later then was sent home. "Though my theory is that it's a side effect from whatever power I got when I fought Discord, it's not bad having muscle for once"

"Yeah, couple more months and you could look like a smaller version of us" Jackson joked getting a laugh out of Jay. "Anyways it's good to see you all, and uh Thomas, Luna was wanting to see you about something so might wanna head on over" He told me and I nodded.

"Alright, while I go and see Luna you two keep the girls company, oh and Jay" I said, getting his attention. "There's a little cutie and her mother wanting to talk with you" I said before walking off towards Luna.




Canterlot Castle, P.o.v- Jackson




"So you two are the one's that Jay saved, Im surprised you remember this guy at all" I said, walking the group through the halls. "It seems Jay over here has a fan, must really look up to you" I said seeing Mari beaming with joy just being next to Jay, he didn't seem to mind the attention either.

"Well we just wanted to thank you personally for saving our lives, if you and your friend hadn't held back Discord then Im sure we would've died, I am forever grateful mr. Jay" Lavender praised the already big headed man, the girl's were talking amongst eachother and making friendly like with Rainbows old friend Gilda. It really brought a smile to face seeing them all happy, but I knew deep down those happy face's will vanish when they discover whats going on, but I cant afford to let them know about the intruder. That's for myself and Luna to know until we catch the bastard, I just hope Thomas will forgive me afterwards for using him like bait.

"Ah, I see you two have greeted out honorable guests and it seems we have three new faces" We heard Celestia say, walking out of the maid's room. "Might I ask who you three are?"

"Of course your highness, Im Lavender grow and this is my daughter Marigold Grow, it's an honor to-Mari wait!" Lavender cried out as Mari now stood infront of the Princess.

"Wow... you really are beautiful" Mari complimented, making Celestia giggle at the comment. "Your hair is amazing as too, how do you get it to move like that?" Mari asked.

"Well my dear subject, that's a secret only myself and my sister are allowed to know" Celestia said, scooping up the girl in her arms. "But how about this, when you're a little older Mari, I'll teach you the spell in secret, sound good?"

"Yeah!" Mari exclaimed excitedly, hugging Celestia who was really keeping her composure well. She had a weakness for cuteness. 

"Well aint this cute, you look like a mother Celestia, gotta say it looks good on you" I teased the woman.

"Oh hush, I cant help but absolutely love children" Celestia said, walking over then handing Mari to me. 

"Whoooa, are you even real or are you made of rock mister?" Mari asked, making me laugh. "And why is my hair all frizzy?"

"Well Mari I can control lightning and I always emit a small electrical field around me which burns any fat on my body and chisels out my muscle, though between you and me... they can be a little annoying" I told her, making her 'aw' at this.

"Suuure, says the guy who spent an hour looking at himself in the mirror" Jay mocked, causing everyone to laugh and made me give an embarrassed blush. 

"I thought you said you'd keep that a secret you jerk" I growled at Jay who just rolled his eyes. "Oh right, you probably wanna go back to your mother" I said remembering about Lavender and let Mari go back to her.

"She such a sweetheart, you are raising her well ms. Lavender" Celestia complimented her, which seemed to brighten up her day. "Apologizes for making you wait to announce yourself ms..."

"My names Gilda your highness, Im an old friend of Rainbow, it's nice to finally meet you" Gilda introduced herself, bowing a little. 

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you three, Im sure you've heard about my niece's wedding happening in two days" Celestia said, which seemed to confuse the others, then I remembered about what happened yesterday. "I would be very pleased if you attended, of course you will be given dresses and a room to sleep in until the event has ended"

"Thank you very much for you hospitality Princess Celestia, we are grateful" Lavender said as the two bowed.

"Thank you Princess" Gilda thanked as well then bowed.

"Uh, Princess, wasn't my brother supposed to be married tomorrow?" Twilight asked makin me stiffen up at the question.

"Well it seem's Captian Armor has gotten himself injured while conversing with Jackson about his wedding day, but worry not, Mr. Adonis and nurse Violet have everything under control and promised to have him up and about in two days" Celestia said, assuring Twilight her brother was okay as well as lying to help me not face Twilights wrath. I mouthed a thank you to her, giving me a short nod in return. "Now Jackson, I do need assistance with other preparations for the wedding so if you please follow me, we can get to work"

"Right away Tia- I mean, Princess" I corrected, getting a smirk from Celestia which was subtle enough for only myself to see it.

"... Are you in love with mr. Jackson, Princess?" Mari asked suddenly getting everyone to freeze in place from Mari's words. "What?"

"Mari that is very rude and disrespectful, I thought we talked about this!" Lavender scolded her daughter, though Rainbow, Gilda and Jay were holding back their laughter from seeing my flustered face as well as Tia's red face. "What even makes you think of something like that!?" Lavender demanded to know.

"Well she gives a certain look to Mr. Jackson and even speaks differently to him, she also tries to get closer to him without realizing it and call's him by his first name" Mari explained which seemed to be making Celestia sweat a little. "Plus she gave him a smirk when Mr. Jackson called her Tia"

"*Ahem* Sorry to burst your theory little one, but I am just a very close friend of Jackson, he has been my most loyal and most trusted friend I've ever had so it has made me more comfortable around him" Celestia said which seemed to make Mari give her a suspicion look on her face. "N-Now if you'll excuse us we have some important business to attend to, Jackson"

"Coming princess, I'll see yall in a bit, for now I'll let Jay take my place as leader" I said and headed off with Celestia. "And Mari, try not to embarrass my boss as much, that's my job" I joked, laughing as Tia broke her composure and began beating my chest.

"So you think just because a little girl said  I was in love with you, you think you can embarrass me more!?" Celestia yelled, though my laughter drowned it out. "C'mon you damn bastard or Im deducting your pay" she threated, storming off in a random direction.

"I'll see ya'll later, gotta go face my judgment, see you guys at dinner" I said before following my now angry boss.



Outside of Luna's Room, P.o.v- Thomas




"I wonder what Luna wants to talk about, first thing's first Thomas, you gotta apologize for losing yourself three weeks ago" I mumbled to myself as I stood infront of the dark blue door, I hesitated to knock because I didn't know how to word my apology. "Maybe I should come back later with an actual plan"

"Something on your mind Thomas?"

"Yeah, just trying to figure out how to word an apology to my friend" I said.

"Sounds exhausting, maybe you should just wing it"

"Nah, Luna would probably hate me if I only half assed an apology, maybe I can tell her that I didn't mean for things to go that far and ask for her forgiveness" I said with a sigh. "No that wont work either"

"I dont know, I kinda thought it was alright if you ask me" 

"... Fuck it" I finally said with a made up mind, I reach out and gave three good knocks on the door. Now I stood their waiting for Luna to answer, though after a few minutes nothing happened. "Huh, is she not here?" I mumbled then knocked a couple more times.

"Hold on, let me get the door for you" The person said grabbing the door handle and opened up her room.

"Oh thanks, much appreciated... AAAH LUNA!" I screamed in fright seeing the woman, she laughed at my frightened self and walked into her room. "J-Jesus woman, you sure know how to scare someone half to death dont you?" I wheezed out, Luna on the other hand was laughing the entire time.

"C'mon Thomas it wasn't that bad, you're just a scaredy cat" Luna teased, I snorted softly at the remark. "Come, we have business to discuss as well as your roll for the wedding" Luna said waving a hand to follow her, following her command I let her lead me into the room. "Oh yes, I do forgive you for how you behaved last time, not that I actually minded" she said making me feel better about everything.

"Still as nice as I remember, you sure love cleanliness Luna" I complimented, taking a seat on the black sofa near the right wall. "So what business does the princess of the night need me for?" I asked the woman, though she seemed to already be one step ahead of me.

"To be my date of course" Luna said happily, tossing me a light blue crown with a black crescent moon in the middle. "For one night you will be my king and I your queen" she said, placing a similar crown on her head only it was more of a tiara than anything.

"W-Whoa, wait a minute, I-I don't know if my heart can take all that king and queen stuff, I dont know how to run a country!" I sputtered out as I gripped the crown tightly, feeling the smooth steel on my fingers, but as soon as I got familiar with the cold steel it glowed a bright white color which blinded me for a moment. I opened my eye's once the light disappeared and I was left with a pitch black crown with four tiny sharp horns arching upward, the texture was still smooth but the light blue steel was now charred black causing it to appear rough. "What the hell?"

"Whoa, I never seen it actually transform with someone else before" Luna said observing the pitch black crown. "Only myself and my sister are able to change the form at will, but the Changing Crown only works with royalty, how strange"

"Wait, the Changing what now?" I question as I look stared at the crown in confusion.

"The Changing Crown is a magical crown that every prince or princess have to forge, by hand, for their future king or queen. It is a very sacred tradition that is spread out in every kingdom, they say when the crown is finished they change shape with someone they have found worthy to be the next king or queen to rule beside you" Luna explained to me, although I was still a little confused with how the Changing Crown worked. 

"Okay let me see if I got this straight, you forged a crown that will be for your future husband/king, and the crown will change shape if they find the person worthy of being said husband/king, correct?" I questioned to which Luna nodded in response. "Then... since it changed shape while in my hands... that means..." I trailed off with the slow realization hitting us both.

"... Oh... shit" Luna said what we were both thinking, we slowly looked at eachother only to quickly look away with the darkest shade of red covering our faces. "I-I mean its just a stupid crown!"

"Yeah totally, it would probably change shape if anyone held it" I quickly agreed.

"Of course! I bet that stupid story was untrue anyways s-so let's not jump to any conclusions a-alright" Luna stuttered out. We were both in a long silence, both of us unable to say anything, until a question popped in my head.

"Wait, why give me a crown for a little date?" I asked a bit more quietly than normal.

"Well my niece Cadance demanded I go and find a date for the wedding since everyone already had, I honestly couldn't really think of anyone else except, well, you" Luna admitted, I was truly both happy and flattered I was the only person she thought of.

"Im flattered Luna... guess I'm your king for that day" I said, agreeing to her request which got me a little peck on the cheek.

"Thank you" She said while I continued to turn red.

"I-it's no problem at all, h-how about you tell me more about your niece, what's she like?" I asked, quickly getting my mind together.

"Ah, you see, I learned only recently about her but Ive grown quite fond of her if Im to be honest with myself" Luna said. "It was shocking to have someone other than you talk, smile an laugh with me instead of be afraid, it felt incredible... in the short amout of time we spent together, I felt happy... I love that girl like she was my own daughter" Luna said with joy in her tone, it was nice seeing her so happy like this. I knew she was gonna meet someone who can see the good in her, it was only a matter of time so now Im certain she will find more people like her niece.

"You know, I kinda wanna meet your niece Luna as well as tell her congratulations on her wedding" I told Luna, she smiled at this before taking my hand.

"Well let's go meet her, I'm sure she's in her room making sure everything is going well" Luna said and raced us out of the room, we sped walked down the halls to reach Cadances room. On our way there Luna told me everything she was doing with Cadance while she was here, they read together, shared stories, practiced her magic and even went shopping to find a dress for Luna that would look good for the wedding. Luna smiled the entire time she talked about Cadance, a warm feeling washed over my body the more she smiled, it was intoxicating, I loved it.

"You're smile... it's beautiful" I said suddenly, making us both slow down until we came to a stop. 

"W-What?" She asked a tad flustered at the comment.

"H-Huh... OH MY GOD DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD!?!?!" I shouted, mentally slapping myself over and over again. "Wait that's not what I meant-I mean I thought it-but I didn't mean to say it outloud!" I exclaimed, trying to save myself but nothing was working and Luna's blush grew more an more.

"Beautiful?" Luna asked as she began slowly smiling at the words I said, she quickly turned away, letting go of my hand and covering her face in the process. 

"I didn't mean to say it, Im sorry!" I apologized for making her so flustered, who am I kidding I'm feeling exactly how she's feeling. 

"P-Please... don't apologize" Luna said, letting a hand fall to reveal a part of her flustered face. I suddenly felt that urge again, the same urge I had three weeks ago, I wanted her... right now. "I think it's sweet that you think my smile is beautiful"

"Luna... I-"

"Hello Auntie Luna" We heard a woman say behind us. We looked and we saw a woman with a fit hourglass body with bubble gum pink skin that looked as smooth as silk with eyes resembling amethysts and had hair that was long and flowing an had three distinct colors, hot pink, cream and purple. She wore a beautiful pink dress that faded to white near the bottom of it and had golden gladiator sandals. "I see you've been talking with... the help" she said with a very arrogant tone.

"Oh, we were just about to come see you Cadance" Luna said while fanning her blush away, I stood silent as I looked at the woman. From how she talked, this Cadance person doesn't sound like anything of what Luna was describing earlier at all. "How does your wedding dress feel, any comments or changes?" She asked.

"Yes actually, I would like to completely redo the dress, I found a rather more fitting design for this type of occasion. I heard that the element of generosity was quite skillful with a thread an needle, I must speak with her at once and demand she make me this new dress immediately" Cadance said, this sudden change had shocked Luna a bit but in the end nodded. "You, boy"

"Who, me?" I asked as she walked over to me, staring directly in my eyes.

"You will bring that woman to me immediately, then once that is done I want you out of this castle an out of my sight, are we clear?" Cadance ordered, I was starting to get a little annoyed by her attitude towards me.

"Excuse me?" I questioned making both Luna and Cadance stand up straight from my sudden change in tone. "Where Im from we say please if we want someone to do something for us, so why don't you try it princess" I told her, getting her to look at me with wide eyes, almost like she never had anyone talk back to her before. Meanwhile I was quietly wondering where this sudden aggressive attitude came from, I would never in a million years talk back to someone like this. What is going on.

"You dare tell me how to speak you ingrate, I ought to have you thrown into the dungeon for the rest of your life, you are a peasent and I royalty, you are to obey my every command!" Cadance exclaimed, ending with a small shove that actually pushed me back a good distance. When I recovered my footing from the push I looked back to Cadance and saw her trembling slightly, her eyes became wider with streams of tears suddenly coming down her face. "Y-You're... The... Devil"

"Cadance, are you alright?" Luna asked walking over to the scared girl, Cadance gasped a little before regaining her composure, even if it was a tiny bit. "Thomas, can you please go get Rarity, we really need to get that dress before the wedding" Luna said, I wanted to keep hanging out with Luna but I don't think I can stand that woman anymore. In the end, I sighed heavily when I turned around and walked off to go find Rarity.

"Please tell me you aren't inviting him to my wedding Auntie" Cadance said. "I heard about his little skirmish with Discord, they say he's the reincarnation of a devil, he even walks around her as if he owns the place"

"Now Cadance I know Thomas is a strange man, but I find him to be very interesting as well as a little cute, he's saved myself an others more time's then I can count so please... try to be a little more trusting" Luna said staring off to where I was walking. "I only believed men like him existed in fairytales, but there he is, a man with a golden heart" she said with a small smile.

"... Or devil in disguise"




"Something isn't right with that girl, Luna was giving her so much praise that I believed that Cadance girl was nothing more than a saint... is she stressed, multiple personalities, a perfectionist or does she just straight up hate me?" I muttered to myself, walking down the halls of the castle. "She acted like some sort of ignorant queen"

"Met my sister-in-law huh?" Twilight asked somehow appearing next to me. I've grown use to this since for the last few weeks she's been doing this in order to study me. "Princess of Love my ass, I felt no love when she saw me earlier"

"Yeah I know what you mean, all that praise she was given by Luna went down the drain when she spoke to me like I was a piece of garbage... something aint right here Twilight and I want to know what it is" I said getting a hum in a agreement from the girl.

"Im glad I'm not the only one, I can't put my finger on it but I think it has something to do with that threat against the kingdom" Twilight said surprising me with this news.

"A threat, from who?" I asked.

"Yeah, I talked to my brother earlier before wandering around and he told me that a threat from an unknown enemy is planning to attack the kingdom on the day of the wedding" Twilight told me, I processed this information for a moment to see if this could help me piece together this puzzle. "He also told me that he's been working around the clock keeping that barrier up, he looked exhausted but when I told him to rest he said he was fine and that Cadance was helping him with his fatigue along with his headaches"

"I didn't know magic could help with head aches, would've visited you a few days ago to get rid of a killer migraine" I said with a small chuckle.

"So that why I didn't see you for three days, I would've gone straight to you if I had known" Twilight said, I snorted softly then patted her head.

"I didn't know you cared, Im touched" I said causing her to punch my side, this time it actually hurt. "Yeesh, dont like head pat's?"

"As a matter'o fact I don't, especially from someone like you" Twilight stated with a 'humph' I laughed at how she was acting so I gave her another head pat. "I told you I don't like head pats Thomas" Twilight growled though her words didn't match her facial expression.

"That smile says other wise Twily" I teased as I looked at her smile. "I told you, you have a great smile didn't I?" 

"Shut up you idiot" Twilight answered, pushing my hand off her head then began walking faster. "C'mon I wanna go talk with my brother about this attack an try to figure out what else is going on" Twilight said, I still have to find Rarity an take her to Cadance. I was going to tell Twilight until I saw Blazing and Silver coming in the opposite direction.

"Blazing, Silver, good to see you guys!" I exclaimed getting their attention. They perked up seeing me and came over to me an Twilight.

"Thomas what's up, haven't seen you in a while, thought you forgot about us" Silver said with a little jab to my arm. 

"For real man, you were starting to make us feel lonely" Blazing said with a teasing smile. "Don't you like us anymore?" Asked pushing herself onto me causing me to blush a little.

"O-Of course I've missed y'all but-but I just didn't have time to visit since I'm still kinda recovering" I told them as Silver came up and clung to my right side. "G-Girls, please, I wanted to ask you a favor" I said.

"A favor, what kinda favor?" Blazing asked gaining a rather devilish smile.

"W-Well can you please go find and take my friend Rarity to princess Cadance for me" I requested from them and they looked at eachother then back to me with an unfamiliar look.

"Alright Thomas, but in exchange-" Blazing started

"We get a favor in return" Silver finished, the way they made favor sound was kinda seductive. I wanted to go with Twilight to figure out what was going on around here so I agreed to their demand.

"Alright, I'll do whatever you want no questions asked, deal?" I told them before they both kissed my cheeks.

"Deal, let's go Silver" Blazing said to the girl and they both went off to find Rarity. I was left with a burning red face while they walked off, Twilight looked at me for a second then punched my arm.

"Ow! What the hell!?"

"C'mon lover boy, keep your pants on we got some stuff to figure out" Twilight said sounding a bit angry for some reason. She hit me one more time before rushing off.

"Hey, wait for me damn it!"



Medical Wing, P.o.v- Jay




"Stay. Back" I warned Shining, I stood infront of Vie to make sure she's safe from this lunatic. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but attacking us will achieve nothing!" I told him, but he just growled at me like a wild animal. Shining was fine a few minutes ago then when Vie tried to put some new bandages on he almost broke her arm, if I wasn't their to stop him he probably would've.

"Kill the dragon boy, Kill the dragon boy, Kill the dragon" He mumbled to himself grabbing a scalpel from a nearby tray. He positioned himself in a stance before long for me, I pushed Violet out the way and tackled the man to the wall but he jabbed the scalpel into left wing continuously. The pain was to great to keep my grip on him, unfortunately he knew this and headbutted me as hard as he could getting us both to bleed from our foreheads.

I staggered back a bit but was immediately punched in the face by Shining. I went for a jab with my right only for him to push it away and stab my arm, I cried out in pain for a moment before back handing Shining with the same fist he pushed away. He flew back to a bed in the corner of the room while I fell to my knees from the amount of pain going through my body.

"I... am so glad... I showed... everyone to their rooms first" I panted out, my throat an mouth were becoming more dry by the second and the amount of blood coming out of me was starting to making me feel dizzy. "Guess thats why-ah!- you're the captain of the royal guards... you know all the weak points in my body, dont you?" I asked, ripping the scalpel out of my arm.

"Oh my goddess, a-are you okay!?" Vie asked, quickly rushing to my side. "He missed the vital areas on your back and shoulder but you wont able to use your wings for awhile, I'm going to try and stop the bleeding so just stay still" Violet told me then quickly got to work on my body with her magic.

"We're not done dragon boy, not by a long shot" We heard Shining say, getting back up from the bed. He looked around before picking up a needle near the sink and began his walk towards us, I strained to opened my wings to protect Violet. It hurt so much, but I had to keep Violet safe so I grit my teeth and spread them open, I groaned in utter agony but nothing else mattered otger than Violet. "A fleeting effort, damn Changeling" he spat.

"Stay away... from Violet, you bastard" I strained to say, I looked up and noticed he had those strange green eye's again from when he fought Jackson. "I wont let you hurt her" I stated.

"I'll kill you and all those traitorous Changeling's trying to destroy my home" Shining said now standing infront of us with the needle raised up, I spun around and shielded Violet with my body then waited for what was to come.

"Now now my love, I think we can hold off on killing these fools for a while longer" We heard someone say, cautiously I looked behind me and saw princess Cadance. "I found him, The Devil"

"I see, what do we do about these two my queen?" Shining asked which confused me, it was like he was speaking to someone other than his fiance. That's when a circle of green fire surrounded the princess and soon the flames bursted upward around her. When the fire left I saw a woman with charred black skin that had holes along her arms an legs, her body was a like Cadance's but a little more plump in her thighs, she had long dark sea green hair with light green eyes, dark green lips to match her eyes and had both a black horn and sea green wings that resembled a fly's. She wore a long bluish green dress that rips towards the bottom, black high heels and finally, a black an green tiara that sat atop her head.

"W-Who are you, and have you done to my friend you imposter!?" I exclaimed only to be silenced with the needle shining was holding getting thrown into my other wing. I cursed under my breath as I felt the pain course through me once more.

"You will show respect to Queen Chrysalis you damned dragon" Shining told me, each word felt like more daggers hitting my body. 

"Calm down my love, we shall deal with them in due time, but for now... I believe these two deserve a very pleasant vacation, don't you think?" Queen Chrysalis suggested, coating her horn and hands in a green aura of magic.

"I do think you are right my Queen" Shining said before this Chrysalis woman enveloped us in her sicking magical aura. "In a nice dark cave with that woman" was the last thing we heard before we got transported somewhere. When we soon appeared in the place they where talking about, I felt our bodies falling so I wrapped my wings around Violet and cushioned the landing with my body.

"J-Jay! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness please stay with me Jay, whatever you do don't move" Violet ordered, frantically getting off of me then started preforming her medical magic on me.

"I-Im sorry" I said.

"Dont talk, save your energy damn it!" She shouted out, concentrating harder on my wounds. "You did everything you could, Shining Armor is a lot stronger than you has fought many more battles thsn all of you combined, you may know a few things about fighting but he's the captain for a reason"

"Im sorry" I said again.

"I told you to shut up didn't I" Violet said, sweat dripped off her face and her hands shook with strain, her magic was being pushed to their absolute limits right now. "Just a little bit longer Jay, y-you'll be okay I promise"

"Im sorry" I said before falling unconscious.



 ???, P.o.v- Violet




"Jay... JAY!" I screamed, finally finishing my spell. It wasn't enough but I was able to stop the bleeding from the stab wounds, all his injuries were aimed towards his weak points precisely which made them harder to heal. "Jay you gotta wake up, c'mon open your eye's damn it!" I screamed some more, trying to wake him up. 

"Maybe... I can help" heard a woman say from the darkness, I snapped my head towards the voice and saw the last person I thought I'd see. "My healing magic is considered the best in all of equestria, please let me help him" Princess Cadance pleaded, this Cadance looked like she had been starved an dehydrated for days. Her hair was a mess and her dress was completely turned to rag's clinging to her body.

"P-Princess... but how are you-"

"That bitch tossed me down her a few weeks ago in order to take my place, she disguised herself as a maid before attacking me in my room then when I was weakened she fook up my form an banished me down in canterlot's crystal mines" Cadance explained as she walked over to Jay, with a gentle hand she checked his pulse then laid her head on his chest to hear his heart beat. "He's just unconscious, it looks like he barely sustained any damage to his body save for those recently closed wounds... was it my future husband that did this?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I knew she'd take over his mind, she must've been observing this man for quite awhile to find out any weak points then told my Shiny how to take him down" Princess Cadance said, she covered her hands and horn in a calming light blue magical aura then began her healing spell. "This will take a moment, I need absolute silence for this to work so please bear with it for a moment. I'll help your boyfriend get back into action" She said with a comforting smile.

"How'd you know we were a couple?" I asked only to quickly cover them give a muffled apology.

"Heh, well I am the princess of love miss, love is kinda my forte" The Princess said before going back to concentrating on Jay.

'Im glad Jay will be okay, but everyone else doesn't know about Chrysalis, we need to get out of here before its to late'



Medical Wing, P.o.v- Thomas




"Huh, that's weird" I said as Twilight an I stood in the empty room. It didn't look like anyone was there or even set foot in the room. "Are you sure this is the room Twilight?"

"Yes Im sure I was just here a few minutes ago" Twilight argued, trying to find out why no one else is here. "Maybe they decided to take a break and maybe Shining felt better" she said, though I think that was unlikely since Jay an Violet rarely leave this place from what he told me when he came to visit.

"I don't like this Twilight, something is telling me that danger is afoot... I want to know why my friend isn't here with Violet and I want to know more about this threat" I firmly stated.

"Okay, let's just calm down and think. The last time I was in this room was when nurse Violet and Jay were checking up on my brother, Shining said he felt like he could run a marathon so he asked to see if he can leave. Nurse Violet said that she will do one more check up to determine if he was physically alright like he said then she said I needed to leave so they could proceed... I guess he was right, so they must've taken him to see the Princess and show her his recovery" Twilight said, coming to a conclusion while I thought about it.

"On the way here you said Shining fought Jackson correct?" I asked to which she nodded. "You also said he was pretty banged up with that little fight with Jackson, how can a man like your brother withstands attacks from Jackson who literally looks and is as strong as a superhero in my world?" I asked her, but as Twilight was gearing up for an answer she stopped. She opened her mouth once or twice before finally thinking it over.

"I knew I'd find you here, but I didn't expect to see you with that insolent cur Twilight" We heard Cadance say from behind, we turned to face her which led us both to give her nasty looks. "I'm here to tell you that the wedding has been moved up to tomorrow thanks to my healing magic helping my future husband, I also gave those two who worked so hard keeping my shiny happy the month off with pay" she told us with a smile, though it felt like a forced smile instead of genuine one.

"Well that's good to hear I guess, but where are Violet and Jay now Princess?" I asked her.

"They decided to head to miss Violets house and spend some time together, a young couple does need time to get...  well acquainted with one another" Cadance answered, making us both blush a slight pink at the comment. "Anyways, I hope to see you two at the wedding, oh yes, I actually want to ask Twilight if she could be my bridesmaid for the wedding" she said suddenly making Twilight get taken aback.

"But I thought you didn't like me?" Twilight questioned the woman. "When I did the 'sunshine' dance you looked at me like I was completely stupid" She said which now got my attention.

"Im sorry, I've been very stressed out with the wedding as well as sending out invitation, the decorating and my new duties as a princess, I hope you will forgive my rudeness Twilight" Cadance apologize which actually sounded genuine. "I'll give you time to think about it, I'm going to go check on Shiny, cant wait for your answer" she said excitedly before rushing off.

"Think she's telling the truth?" Twikight asked me, I scoffed.

"If she's telling the truth, then I can fly" I said. "I dont think thats really Cadance, and her suddenly being rude then nice to us also meant something was going her way" I said getting a look from Twilight.

"You dont think this fake Cadance is the one who made the threat do you?" Twilight asked, I wasn't to sure right now since we know nothing right now, but I have a hunch that she is apart of it.

"It might just be an assumption, but I have a hunch I might be correct. For now we gotta make sure everyone's alright, I'll go check on Luna and Rarity while you go make sure your brother and the others are okay, sound good?" I asked and she nodded.

"Be careful Thomas, that woman might not have us fooled, but she most likely has fooled everyone else" Twilight warned before heading off toward the other's. If Im right, then everyone is in deep trouble right now and that attack will happen sometime tomorrow.

"I have to warn everybody, wait... if I just come up to them and say 'that woman is not the real Cadance', they would all think Im lying " I told myself, I mulled over how to make everyone believe me though everything I thought of came back as nothing. "Damn it, there has to be something that can help me with my case but what!?" I questioned, getting more frustrated with every passing second.

"Hey brat, instead of whinning like an infant, how about you use my vision to help you look for clues" The demon suggested.

"Wait, I you can give me your vision?" I asked.

"Of course I can you idiot, you just only ever ask for my physical power instead of my other power's" He said making me wonder about what other power's this demon has. "Brace yourself brat, this is gonna sting a little" he told me, just as I was about to ask I felt both my pupils and retinas burn as if they were on fire.

I screamed in response to feeling this uncontrollable pain in my eyes. I used whatever sight I had left to look for a sink, unfortunately the pain was so grand that I was collapsed to floor before even moving a step. At one point I thought ripping my own eye's out was better than this, but the thought soon passed when the pain immediately vanished just as it appeared. I hadn't noticed I was breathing until I choked up a bit, gasping and coughing profusely until I got back to my regular breathing pattern.

"Jesus lord almighty.... what did you do to me!?" I demanded only to have the demon laugh.

"Go to the mirror" He instructed me, I wanted to yell at him but I grumbled at his instructions before I got up an walked to the mirror in the back of the room. "Say this word in your head, Laever" he said, I shrugged at the weird name and thought for a moment.

'Laever' I thought, I watched my eyes become pitch black around my now white slit pupil's. "What the hell!" I exclaimed in fright, the room was all shaded black with the outlines being white. I looked around for a few seconds to get myself adjusted to this new ability until I saw a large puddle of white on the floor and even a green mist a few inches from it. "What am I looking at here demon?"

"The space between worlds, no matter what you do to clean or fix a tragedy or accident, it will never be gone for good" He said, I walked over to the mist and puddle to examine it more until I noticed a distinct smell coming from the puddle. "Blood"

"Yes, but whose blood is something I have yet to find out... perhaps it has something to do with you my green misty friend" I said as I stared at the mist. Taking a risky chance, I reached out to touch it though when I got near it the mist shot backwards then whooshed out the room. "Get back here!" I yelled out quickly chasing after it.

I chased the green mist through numerous hallways and rooms, it was like this thing was trying to shake me for some reason, it was like it had a mind of its own. It made a sharp right down another hall before fazing through a door, I slowed down to a stop and began catching my breath.

"Say lamron" The demon said.

"Lamron" I repeated which immediately brought my vision back to normal. I stared at the door the mist fazed throught and noticed it looked a bit like Luna's except it was pink with a blue crystal heart. "Why go here, what's behind this door?" I questioned.

"I remember you, what are doing infront of my fiance's door?" Asked a familiar voice, I turned to see none other than mister cock block himself.

"So your name is Shining Armor, I just assumed your name was mister cock block" I said getting an annoyed look from him. 

"I can't cock block someone if they we're going to have sex in the first place" He retorted. "And besides, why would anyone  want to do a scrawny little man like you?" Shining questioned in a snooty tone.

"I don't know, why would a princess marry an incompetent man with little to no regard for his family as well as not talking to your own blood for a whole decade?" I shot back at him, seems I left a mark on that insult. "Oh yeah, and why would a princess marry a one pump chump?" I asked, finishing my little list of insults.

"You know, I think I might've saved princess Luna from the worst night she could have had with a dumb little shit like you, hell she might as well come to me if she wants to have a real man in bed with her lonely ass" Shining said though before he could say anymore, my hand was firmly around his throat.

"Wanna run that by me again?" I asked clenching his throat even more. "If you touch her, I'll break you" I threatened, this feeling washing over me felt amazing. The fear in his eyes was immensely satisfying to see, I want to hear him scream, beg for mercy, I wanna watch him bleed. "Jesus christ!" I shouted suddenly quickly letting go of Shining, I fell back and clutched my head to ease this massive headache.

"Y-You're... you're the devil!" Shining screech out, I was to busy trying to keep this horrible feeling buried in the confines of my mind. Shining had gotten up from the floor then grabbed me by the hair before going into Cadance's room, throwing me at her feet. "My Queen, I've found him as requested, it seems he wasn't just here to find that purple haired woman" he stated to someone, I mustered enough strength to look up at Cadance only to see a completely different woman entirely.

"Good job my loyal husband, now that we've secured the devil... we can make him our slave, hold him down" Ordered the woman, Shining held both my arms with one hand then used his other to pull my hair as a means to get me to raise my head. "A devil with no horns or tail is a devil to weak to be amongst his own, I shall take pity on you and let you become one of my many lovers as well as my eternal slave, giving up your life for me and me alone" She said as she lit up her horn, I tried to struggle out of this hold but this son of a bitch had a tight grip and weighed like a pile of bricks.

"Get back... stay away!" I shouted to no avail, the woman placed her hands on my head then transferred her magic to her hands. The magic burbed my skin tremendously, I felt something sharp piercing the inside of my skull, I was being taken over. I wailed in agony as the magic screwed my brain, it was the most Excruciatinging, unbearable pain I've ever felt in my entire existence.

"Become my pet, serve me like a good slave, you are mine and mine alone!" The woman exclaimed in joy, laughing as she performed her spell on me. That laughing stopped when she felt something amiss with her spell, she concentrated harder but something had stopped her mind controlling spell. "What is this, you dare defy my will you little cretin!?

"I am no slave, nor will I ever be you goddamn bitch!" I answered, using the demons power to block and push the magic out of me. "Now get... off... of... ME!" I roared, it was full of so much force that it made them fly back in opposite directions of eachother. "Im going to enjoy killing you two-" I stopped when my body pulsed and I collapsed to the ground. 'Damn... my body hasn't recovered from the last time, I've used to much energy... I'm gonna pass out, damn...' was my last thought before I fell into darkness.




"T... as... will.... oka...."

"... will try......" 

I heard bit's an piece's of a random conversation, though I couldn't make put together what was going on. I strained a little to open my eyes but as I did, all I could see was a pink blob and nothing else.

"I feel... warm" I muttered eliciting a distant gasp from the one's around me. "I only see pink" I continued muttering, slowly my vision started to become clearer by the second and the blog was soon taking shape into something I honestly didn't expect. "Boobs?" I questioned, poking one without thinking getting the woman to 'eep'.

"Uhm... p-please dont poke my chest" I heard a sweet voice say, then a flood of embarrassment washed over me. I shot into a sitting position immediately then threw myself backwards into a wall.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to touch your chest it was an accident!" I apologized rather profusely, I took a moment to get my bearings to understand whats going on until I saw Jay laying unconscious on the ground next to. "Violet, oh my god your okay!" I exclaimed excitedly, rushing over to hug the girl.

"Yeah, he's okay" Violet said as she hugged me back.

"I see, however he still needs to be tended to so please come back to me if you will" I heard that voice say again, I turned to see who it was and to my surprise it was Cadance, only more put through the ringer. "I'm sure your confused as to why there are two Cadance's, well that bitch up in the castle is a fake named Chrysalis and she plans to take over Equestria starting with Canterlot" The Cadance explained and I groaned.

"Im awake for three weeks and I have to save Equestria again!" I complained a little. "Like seriously, I found two literal deities for christ sake so what is up with people hell bent on taking over in this place!?" I groaned loudly and laid back down.

"Ooooh so you're the one who helped Auntie Luna come back and defeated Discor" Cadance said with sudden realization. "I honestly thought it was the Lightning guy or Jay over here, what are your power's?" She asked, I sighed when she asked and summoned my sword an the shield Luna gave me. ".... go on"

"That's it" I told her in a monotone voice.

"I see... how the hell did he beat Auntie and Discord!?" She whisper to Violet.

"Well actually, Jay told me that Thomas turned into a terrifying being that could only be manifested in his worst of nightmares then proceeded to beat the living shit out of Discord bare handed and with swordplay" Violet said making Cadance feel a little doubtful at this. "Apparently that's what Jackson said too, even Twilight and her friends said the same thing"

"I guess I just have to see it with my own eyes to believe it" Cadance said which was fair since I only turned into that demon or devil form once. "I just hope you an your friends will be able to take down Chrysalis in time"

"Oh yeah that reminds me, how long have I been out for?" I asked the pair.

"A day" Violet answered, I sprung to my feet immediately upon hearing those words.

"No... we have to get out of here, now!" I exclaimed, running around to try and find an escape route. "C'mon guy's, help me out here!"

"We tried already Thomas, we can't find a way out... it's hopeless" Cadance said, her tone dropping from normal to depressed. "Today was supposed to be my special day, I was gonna marry the most handsome and honest man I know, I was finally gonna be happy with someone I loved... but it's all ruined, I'm stuck down here while that fuckin bitch takes away everything that I love" she said, crying halfway through her rant. 

"It's not over yet Cadance, we still have time to get that happily ever after!" I told her. "Are you just gonna let some bitch steal your identity, steal your soon to be husband, hurt your family!?" I questioned and she thought for a minute. "If you're not willing to fight and get your hands dirty, then you don't deserve a happily ever after at all!"

"You've said enough Thomas, think about how Cadance is feeling right now-"

"I know exactly how she's feeling, I just want to hear her say it" I said, waiting for the princess of love to respond. 

"... Im gonna end that whore" Cadance stated confidently, she rose to her feet and wiped away her tears. "I remember I use to come these mines as a little girl, my memory however is a little hazy on the details but I do know their is a way in an out of this place, unfortunately it's a complete maze from here to the exit"

"Then all we have to do is find the right path in order to get out, which tunnels have you tried so far?" I asked, she pointed out three tunnels behind them and one tunnel to my right, leaving only two tunnels to search. "Okay, let me try something real quick" I said, turning my attention to the tunnels. 'Laever' I said in my head giving me the demons vision.

I looked at the two tunnels up ahead and notice dark but noticeable footprints. I walked over to the tunnel on the right then inspected the footprints, they looked heavy, as if they were wearing armor. I walked back to the three and slapped Jay as hard as I could, scaring Cadance and Violet.

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" I announced, repeatedly slapping him until he finally woke up.

"I ought a break your fuckin hand you dick head!" Jay growled, his anger being shown with small puffs of flames coming out of his mouth. His anger vanished when Violet literally threw herself onto him, crying tears of joy.

"Im so happy you're okay!" Violet exclaimed happily, tightening her hold on Jay.

"Of course Im okay, you think a little beating like that will take me out of the fight?" Jay asked jokingly, he was immediately slapped then kissed then slapped again. 

"Yeesh, and I thought I had trouble conveying emotions" I said to Cadance eliciting a giggle from her.

"You know Thomas, I can see why Auntie likes to talk about you, you're very easy to talk too and you give pretty good pick me up speeches" Cadance said, I snorted at her comments but I guess she was right about being easy to talk too. 

"You know I was actually pretty shy when I first came to this land, always the less likely to be the center of attention. I guess you never know whats bound to happen in the future" I said, remembering my old life back home. "Anyways, we gotta get going so we can make it in time for your wedding" I said before offering the princess a hand.

"You're right, we must get moving before it's too late" Cadance stated, after getting Violet to stop kissing and slapping Jay repeatedly, we finally made our way inside the tunnel with the footprints. I used Laever to guide us through the tunnel's safely while studying where these footprints had come from. "I have to ask Thomas, how did you end up here?" She asked.

"Well princess, myself and Twilight split up to go make sure our friends were okay but I stayed behind to investigate anything clues left behind to help me prove the Cadance up their was a fake, unfortunately I got caught infront of your room while following a lead and I kinda entered a little insult contest with you fiance. He said something that really pissed me off and kinda started losing it, but I was able to stop myself from killing him then he dragged me into your room where Chrysalis was, they tried to take over my mind, failed, I passed out and here I am" I explained to her, she seemed like she had many questions right about now.

"Wait, how'd you know Chrysalis was the fake me?" Cadance asked.

"Luna sung your praises on our way towards your room, I wanted to meet you since you were the one other person who saw her as a person, she told me you're like a daughter to her so when I met Chrysalis... I just sorta knew it wasn't you" I answered, Cadance seemed to smile a bit when I mentioned how Luna felt about her. "Oh yeah, congratulations on your engagement" I added in, getting her to laugh.

"Why thank Thomas, you really know how to make someone feel better" Cadance said, I chuckled at this. "When you beat that bug woman, I will personally make you the guest of honor at the wedding" She told me and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

"I-I... I don't know what to say, I'd be extremely honored princess" I said, bowing a little.

"Oh please dont bow, never cared for that anyways, and call me Cadance" Cadance told me to which I was happy to do. We soon reached a fork in the road, each one as dark as the others. 

"Which way now?" Jay asked.

"Huh, that's weird" I said, kneeling down infront of a strange green pile on the floor. "This looks like... mucus, but from what I've gathered there shouldn't be any living creatures in these tunnels except for us" I said as I looked around with  caution, we stayed silent for a moment to see what will happen until I felt a droplet fall on my arm.

I looked at it and then shot my gaze above us to another tunnel just above us. I stayed very still and motioned the others to do the same, I activated laever and almost froze on the spot.

"Thomas... what's going on?" Cadance asked, which I quickly answered by taking an arrow to the shoulder. "What in the name of-!"

"RUN!" I screamed and pushed Cadance towards Jay who picked up both ladies and started making a break for it. "Take the right tunnel, I saw smaller footprints over there that looked recent, it must've been Chrysalis!" I instructed the man as I summoned my shield, blocking and deflecting anymore arrow attacks. We quickly entered the tunnel to get to safety, however when I looked back I took notice of the endless amounts of strange beings that looked like Chrysalis, only they wore charcoal black armor and helmets accompanied by a large jagged sword in hand.

"Thomas we gotta do something man, I don't know if we can out run these guys!" Jay exclaimed, I knew he was right so I slide to a stop then summoned my sword. "Thomas, what are doing!?"

"Buying you time" I said, taking out my phone and hit random.



Third P.o.v






Thomas took off like a rocket as the song began, flying head first into the small army with only his shield and sword. Taking a bit of the demons power, Thomas's movements grew faster as he swung his sword either attacking or parrying. The swarm of soldiers surrounded the man as a way to overwhelm him but Thomas was putting up a fight worth a whole group of men.

Thomas shield bashed one of them then stabbed him before ripping it out of the thing's chest an cutting another one's head off. His movements matched the tempo of the song that played perfectly, it was like he was dacing around the place with little to no effort in each step or strike he took.

Thomas was so occupied about fighting that he hadn't noticed the black ink creeping up his torso. He smiled as he fought with extreme excitement, one monster went for a horizontal slash but he bent backwards far enough to dodge. Thomas dug his sword in the ground an kicked the bug thing with all his might then used the moment he gain to do a spin attack, killing three other bug creatures around him.

Once Thomas got back to his feet he blocked two arrows with his shield and hurled his sword like a boomerang, killing dozens of the endless horde. Calling the blade back to his hand was a different story as the bug creature's tried to take hold of it on it's way back his hand. As Thomas waited he fought bare handed with the creatures, he swung a hard right against one of them making them fly back due to the force, then he used his shield to break a hole into another bug creatures chest piece reducing them to an unconscious state.

"C'mon you fuckin bastards, you want some more!?" Thomas lashed out, breaking another creatures neck. "I'll kill you all and take pleasure in it!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, laughing uncontrollably then suddenly stopped. It was as if someone had turned him off, but the moment a creature went to attack it was skewered by two black tendrils, it lifted the thing up and rip it in half, letting it fall with a wet splat on the floor. This scared the other's around which caused them all to stop their attack. "What's the matter...scared to die?" Thomas asked as the black ink now covered his body from his neck down, only this time it grew over the left side of his face creating a shadow mask with a white eye and a white jagged smile. His horns grew to the sides of his head but two new horns grew on his forehead, curving up to a sharpened point.

The creature's around shook upon looking at this terrifying form. Like before the black ink at away at Thomas's shirt until nothing was left, leaving him more open than before. His body gave off little steam trails as this black ink sat on his body, although it didn't effect the shield nor the sword in any way.

"C'mon, who want's to go first?" He asked, seeing as no one was trying to attack Thomas chuckled. "Then get out of my way" He told them, but they didnt move. Gritting his teeth he looked at his right and decided to try something both stupid and unbelievable. "Blackhole..." He started then reeled his arm back then shot it forward, stretching out out like some sort of rubber band. "BULLET!!!" he roared, striking a nearby bug creature but it didn't stop their, Thomas stretched his arm until he shot through a line of them before bringing it back. "It worked... guess I need more practice though, now then" He said staring at the other's around him. "Whose next?"



Crystal Mines, P.o.v- Jay




"Wait, put me down we have to go back and help Thomas!" Cadance shouted, trying to squirm out of my hold. 

"You do not want to go back there princess, Thomas is different from what you initially thought" I said. "He's not Thomas right now"

"What are you talking?" She asked.

"You see, when Thomas fought Discord he turned into something I didn't think could exist, it this aura that myself and Jackson could feel from the other side of the city. Right now, I only feel that aura creeping up on us, hell I'd rather fight Chrysalis than ever fight Thomas when he has that black shit on him" I said, trying to explain it to the princess though I'm sure I just told her that Im a wuss. "Look, all that matters is that we get you to the wedding in order to stop Chrysalis"

"Jay, I know you want us to keep a steady pace but I think we can run on our own" Violet told me and which admittedly I was gonna let them down the second we got to a safe distance from that bloodbath bacl their, but I keep having this feeling of uncertainty. It's as if my body is telling me 'if you stop then you'll die'. "I think some of them are coming Jay, they might've came after us while Thomas was dealing with the rest"

"Damn... okay you two, I'm gonna buy you some time to run so no matter what you hear, do not look back" I told them as I put them down, I turned in the bug people's direction and only saw four. "I can handle this, I'll catch up in no time now go!" I exclaimed, rushing towards the four bug people before the two could protest.

"C'mon, we gotta go!" Violet said grabbing Cadance's hand and continued running on. The moment I got close to one I went for a right jab, but it dodged in time giving him time to counter with own which felt as heavy as a fifty pound weight. I coughed up some spit but I choked down the pain and grabbed the thing by the head with my left and slammed him to the ground as hard as I could. It looked like I knocked him out, but I forgot their was three more.

"Shit!" I mustered out just before I was slashed across the chest, I knew what slashes felt like but. "I-It... burns" I spat out, coughing up some blood though I had dodged another attack from the same soldier. I huffed and puffed till I felt my throat dry up and my lungs burn, that sword was like a blade of acid. I ducked under a jab from the second one then blocked a kick from the third.

When I blocked the third one's kick I grabbed it and swept him off his feet and onto the ground where I spun him around until I hurled him towards the first creature's body. He caught his friend but in doing so he left them both wide open to which I rushed over and dropped kicked them both towards the wall, knocking them out. The last bug creature stared at me with full intent to kill me, I narrowed my sights on him and picked up an acid obsidian sword on the floor, thankfully it didn't burn my hand. 

"Let's do this you ugly fuck" I said, loud enough for him to here. He gave a loud war cry as he made his way towards me, I raised the sword towards him and got ready to attack. After watching Thomas swing his sword I can kinda guess his technique for swordplay, I was gonna try to end this in one blow but the moment the bug man was infront of me I quickly had to jump back as a blade skewered right through him. It scared me a little when the sword appeared, but what scared me more was the person who threw it. "Holy shit... Thomas... is that you?"

"J... J-J... Jay" Thomas groaned as he reached up and ripped his sword of the dead man's back. "I... I dont know h-how but...I did it, I killed them all" He said, I was too shocked staring at his banged up body. It was like he was chew up by a ginormous bear then spat out, the amounts of bruises on his body were endless and the slash marks along with scratches an cut's were right be it. That form he had seemed to have run out at some point to which he was more vulnerable to their attacks, so much blood was on his body that it was hard to distinguish if it was his or the bug men he slaughtered. "Jay... take me to that whore... right now" He demanded, standing infront of me then collapsed in my arms.

"Thomas, you're so banged up that Im scared to take you to Chrysalis... she'll kill you" I said though he did not answer. "If yoh think acting brave will get me to take you then you have another thing co-"

"Being brave isn't the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it... do you understand what Im saying Jay?" Thomas asked, and I did. "He who has takin everything, will have end up with nothin"

"... Okay, lets get you to that wedding, you are the guest of honor" I said, chuckling a little before running after Violet and Cadance.




"Damn it where are they!?" I exclaimed as I ran through the empty halls of the castle, Thomas had used whatever strength he had to guide us towards the exit. Unfortunately it seemed that our little fight had taken longer than expected because we couldn't find the girls anywhere, but Thomas said he knows that they got out somehow. 

"You doing alright man?" I asked but it looks like he passed out on my back. "I hope you have a plan to deal with Chrysalis, but for now I gotta get you to Cadance so she treat your wounds" I said and chuckled a bit, "Dont you worry Tommy, me an Jackson can take down Chrysalis no problem so you just sit back and take a break" I told his unconscious self before running even faster.

We ran past a couple of maids an guard's  doing their jobs and they looked liked they were terrified seeing Thomas all banged up, but they didn't have time to ask what happened. I didn't have time to stop, I needed to find Cadance right now.

"Hault mr. Adonis!" I heard a guard's woman ordered, I looked up ahead and saw Blazing and Silver. "I said HAULT!" Blazing demand, her voice both pissed and powerful. I skidded to a stop upon hearing her order and stopped a few inches from them, they glared a me for a second then we heard Silver gasp seeing Thomas.

"Gods above, Thomas!" Silver shrieked inspecting his face and body. "W-What have you done to Thomas!" Silver exclaimed, quickly going for her sword but Blazing stopped her.

"Stand down Silver, look at how bad mr. Adonis is as well, it seems they were fighting something... or someone" Blazing pointed out, and she dead right. "Who has done this to our sweet Thomas?" She demanded to know, though I'm not sure she would believe me.

"Well... it's hard to explain but if we get to the throne room I can explain everything!" I said, they looked to one another before nodding and Silver took Thomas off my back and held him up in her arms. "Quickly, we don't have much time, has the wedding started?" I asked, though before either could answer we heard bells chiming from inside the castle then heard the sounds of music could be heard as well. "Let's move!" I ordered, we quickly sprinted through the halls and with stronger people holding Thomas it was easier to run without worrying about his health.

Hall after hall, we raced down each and every one of them until we were in view of the throne room. As we got closer to the door we suddenly heard shouting from the otherside, it kinda sounded like Twilight along with Violet and Cadance. I went to open the door but Thomas was already opening it, I looked an noticed not even Blazing or Silver noticed him until a few seconds passed. I turned back and we already heard screams of horror.



Throne Room, P.o.v- Thomas




I could hardly breathe, I could hardly see, hell, I can hardly stand. I don't how I was able to move so quickly to the door, but I didn't care at the moment, all I cared about was what I was going to do next. I opened the door to the Throne room and was meet with a scream of horror from a woman with pale grey skin and white hair with light purple in it.

I breathed heavily as I walked further into the room, I could feel the stares all around me with each heavy step I took. I looked around with my tired eye's and saw Twilight, Cadance and Violet looked at me with eye's that looked mortified. I continued to press in towards that fucking bitch, I cared not for what the other's would think of me, nor did I care if they think its wrong. But I'm going to kill that goddamn whore.

"Stop right their sir, you have interrupted my wedding and you are scaring all the guests including the princesses. I would ask you to leave this place at once, if you dont, I will use force" That mind controlled asshat said, he stood in my way towards Chrysalis and right about now... I was getting tired of being stopped. "I will tell you again, leave at once!" He demanded, unsheathing his sword.

"Walk a mile to avoid a fight... but when one starts... dont back down an inch" I said, coughing a little due to my dry throat. "If you wish to fight, then why dont you try striking me down if you think yourself strong enough" I said, he looked annoyed at what I had said but I kept my contempt look on my face.

"If you ask me to kill you here and now, then I'll gladly oblige!" Shining cried out and went for an above strike, the spectator's watched as Shining went to attack and some of my friends were rushing out of their chairs to get to me. "Die you unholy monster!" He shouted bringing his sword down.

"THOMAS!" Twilight shrieked out in terror.

"Out of my way" I simply said before sidestepping to the right, dodging his attack fluently then I threw the hardest left hook I muster. The moment my fist connected with his cheek, Shining was immediately across the room with his cheek already purple. The others around the room looked on in awe as I still stood infront of them, unscathed from his attack. "You..." I said, pointing at the fake Chrysalis, "I'm gonna kill you" I said and the woman was silent for a solid two minutes until she started laughing.

"Do you honestly believe you can kill someone such as myself you insolent worm?" Chrysalis asked, transforming back to her original form whhich shocked everyone in attendance. "I've already dealt with Celestia as well as Luna, I spun them up in a cocoon of Changeling slime, it's already to later... because you just let my people gain access to the kingdom" Chrysalis said and that's when we heard a loud crash from outside, everyone looked out the windows and saw hordes of those Changeling's outside, the guests all started panicking and rushed out of the room.

"Everyone... protect the people, I'll take care of Chrysalis!" I said much to their surprise. 

"You can be serious, how can a weakling like you every hope to compete with someone like me?" Chrysalis mocked, laughing the entire time. "The devil has lost his powers and his body is reduced to pure adrenaline, you have no hope of winning!" She continued though I smiled through her laughter.

"Thomas, she's going to kill you, run!" Twilight shouted.

"Let me and Jay beat her, you need to make sure everyone will be safe while we hold her off!" Jackson said, though I just started laughing.

"Im not telling you because I think I might die, Im telling you, because I cant hold back my anger any longer" I said causing everyone to tremble at my voice. At that moment I could no longer hold back the demons power, it was taking everything I had to hold it back but I cant no longer. "Twilight" 

"Y-Yeah?"

"That man in your dream, you said it had my face" I said as I transformed back into to that unholy form, I gave a sigh as I finally released this power. I turned to her and summoned a broken shield and my sword, Twilight covered her mouth in absolute terror seeing me like this. "Guess dreams do come true"
> Chapter 11: The Devil's Goodbye, A Promise To Be Kept!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Castle Throne, P.o.v- Thomas




  "Blackhole Bullet!" I roared as I shot my fist towards Chrysalis, but she was able to dodge it in time. I clicked my tongue as I retracted my arm back to me and blocked more magic attacks from Chrysalis, I had to be on the defensive most of the time since this woman is keen on only using projectile attacks. "I'm getting real sick of this shit Chrysalis!"

  "Well sorry to say Devil, but I don't plan on being killed while my plan has finally come to flourishin, so excuse me for being cautious!" Chrysalis retorted all while continuously hitting me with magic blasts. This woman was agile, I'll give her that, but it seems she was itching to fight me head on, though she knows that will end up with her head smashed beneath my feet. "What's the matter Devil, scared of a little magic?" She antagonized me, I rolled my eye and started sending her attacks back with my sword. 

  With each attack she sent I hit right back to her, Chrysalis may be smart, but when it comes to making quick decisions it seems I'm taking that trophy. Seeing her attacks starting to come back at her, she jumped from corner to corner like a frog dodging dangerous animals, and I'm one helluva animal. Seeing it no longer working she decided to call upon a few of her soldiers to back her up, the changeling soldier's broke through the stain glass windows by the dozens until half the room was filled with them. I was pissed off at first, but that anger turned to laughter as soon as I realized something.

  "A Queen using pawns to take out a King, how pitiful Chrysalis... have these pawns ever been in a fight before?" I asked Chrysalis who scowled. "These pawns are about to die to someone far above their level of power, and you're okay with sacrificing them?"

  "I will do what I must to ensure that we win and finally take over Canterlot, you're friends may have escaped but I'm sure those fools will be captured and brought before me on their knee's any moment now" Chrysalis boasted triumphantly, it was almost like she had forgotten about me... let's change that. "So I suggest you give up now or Ill slaughter each and every-AAAAAH!" She screamed halfway through her threat as I cut one of the soldiers in half then crushed their head. "You... You insolent cur!"

  "Like I said Chrysalis, are you willing to let these 'children' die?" I asked as the small army began to back up a little. "So you do feel fear, then you must feel pain too" I said an swung my sword again, it took a second but four changeling soldiers fell to to the ground with on leg cut clean off of them. Their screams filled the room immediately after they fell to the ground, and now even Chrysalis was starting to get scared. "Just close your eye's kid's, The Devil's gonna make this quick" I said and pulled out my phone, then hit play.

  

  "Kill him!" Chrysalis ordered and they all charged me, I smirked as the fools came to their death. Once the first Changeling swung his sword at me, I deflected it and stabbed him in the throat then cut most of his neck out when I swung my sword again cutting his friend's head off in a single strike. I raised my broken shield slightly, which blocked a stab from a soldier to my left, I used a tendril to grab his sword and pulled him closer before head butting him then quickly broke his neck with a single chop to the neck.

  "Die!" Another cried out but he was silenced when I threw a punch so hard my fist went right through him. Seeing more of them coming behind me, I spun around with the body still on my arm then let them embed their swords in their comrade which seemed to finally kill him. I kicked him off my arm as I dodged an arrow aiming for my head, thats when I saw four archers surrounding me when I got my footing. I grinned seeing the four soldiers and an idea popped in my head, I used my demons power to stretch out my arm holding my sword and then spun around fast enough to act as a buzz saw. They went to fire but when the arrows got torn to shreds the moment they made contact, they started noticing that their attacks were not working so they went to run but I grabbed them by their legs with my tendrils when they weren't looking and pulled them in. 

  "My Queen! Help us, please help us-!" His cry for help was cut off as his body was ripped to pieces. Chrysalis was watching her 'children' die right before her, and I was making sure to be as brutal as possible in order for her anger to spike. When I had finished my attack, I noticed that only a small handful of five Changeling's were left due to me being unable to hold back with that last attack.

  "Sorry kids, mommy's not gonna help you out of this ass whooping" I told them in a patronizing tone. "Mommy doesn't have the balls to fight The Devil herself, so as punishment, I'll make her watch as I murder every last changeling right in front of her" I said with a sicking grin, I started towards the remaining soldiers who were cowering together infront of their precious Queen who was too helpless to stop me. 

  "Stop" Chrysalis said, but I didn't falter. "I said stop!" She demanded though I just chuckled at her pleading.

  "You think words will stop me now, your arrogance has brought you an your 'children' face to face with The Devil, I WILL RIP AND TEAR UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING BUT BLOOD AND GUTS UNDER MY FEET! I roared and laughed manically before rushing forward to the group in front of me, I was quickly tackled back and thrown to the wall across from them. I was embedded into said wall but I quickly ripped myself out and smiled like a madman when I saw the burning hatred in Chrysalis' eyes.

  "I'LL FUCKIN KILL YOU!" She screamed and raced over at break neck speeds, throwing a punch. I dodged the attack but the wall behind me now had a hole peering outside and we could see the people of equestria fighting the changeling army, I can even see my friend's protecting the people who couldn't fight and quickly getting them to safety in the Everfree where Jay, Gilda and Violet held down the fort while Jackson threw bolts of lightning at the oncoming enemy getting to close. When I started fighting Chrysalis they all took off, either out of fear or feeling the need to protect the people in Canterlot. Or both.

  "This invasion will not be as you intend it to be Chrysalis, I can promise you that" I told her, her response was to kick me towards the thrones in the far back, I crashed through both of them and bounced off the wall then tumble to the floor. "Now that wasn't very nice, still pissed off about your little pawns dying" I laughed as I slowly got back up to my feet.

  "You have no idea as to how Im feeling, if you were a man then you'd fight me with your own two hands instead of your sword" Chrysalis said changing into an air-user version of herself, except she wore a black chest piece, black gauntlets and black armor around her legs and her skin was a pale green that matched her dark emerald hair. Admittedly she looked rather attractive in this air-user form, then again she looked pretty attractive in her original form as well, however, no matter how attractive she is, Im still gonna kill her. "Well Devil, are you man enough to face me hand to hand?"

  "Hand to hand, swordplay, magic fight, none of it matters because the results may vary" I said, taking my shield off my arm and let it drop to the floor. "Either we both live... or we both die " I said and stabbed my sword in the ground next to my shield.

  "It will not end in both of us dying or living, it will end with your severed head beneath my foot" Chrysalis said confidently and I chuckled, I flexed my hands for a moment then balled them up.

  "If you're so confident... come and take it" I said immediately dodging her fist, it was fast but manageable. I sent my own fist but she dodged it as well then jumped back a couple feet and circled around behind me before rushing towards me. She reeled her fist back and threw a barrage of punches, but I dodged them all with little effort. "C'mon, I want you to give me everything you got!" I shouted and backhanded her oncoming fist then landed a hit against her chest which threw her back a few feet.

  "If you wanna die that badly then fine!" Chrysalis exclaimed and flew at me.

  'So fast!' I thought before I was punched across my face then elbowed in my stomach. I coughed up some blood when it hit me then staggered back a few steps to catch my breath. Seems I succeeded in pissing her off.

  "Now that's what I call a punch... this is gonna be interesting" I said and played another song.
 
    

  At the start of the song of the song we stared at eachother then as it picked up we ran at eachother then threw our fists. They had connected with eachother but I sent another to her side landing a clean hit but Chrysalis had the same idea and we both grunted. I pushed her back then sent a couple jabs to which she blocked and countered with her own, landing a clean hit but I grabbed her arm and pulled her in, giving her a hard right then a quick knee to the gut.

  Chrysalis coughed up some blood but quickly headbutted me which made me stagger back a bit, giving her the chance to tackle me to the ground. Once I was pinned, Chrysalis threw some of the most heaviest punches Ive ever felt, but I toughed it out until I picked her up and slammed her on her back with almost everything I had. It was so hard that I actually cracked the ground beneath us the moment Chrysalis made contact. Seeing an opening, I went to stomp on her head but she rolled out of the way and kicked me back then went for another tackled but I caughter her halfway and we were both got caught in a power struggle until I gripped her arms and hurled her against the window behind me.

  Chrysalis bounced off the thick glass with a hard thud which elicited a loud crack from the window, but I wasnt done yet. I ran a few feet back while she was recovering then I full tilt sprinted towards her. Just as she finally recovered I had already speared her out of the window.

  As we rocketed towards the city below we threw punches an kicks at eachother on the way down. I blocked a kick from Chrysalis with my own and she countered my jab with a straight right, the sounds of flesh beating flesh echoed through the air like a bell ringing at a church. Time felt like it had slowed down the more we fell and continued fighting in the air, each hit was heavier than the last and the sounds of our fighting overshadowed the fighting going on right now. Chrysalis threw a heavy left hook to my cheek but I took it with little to no effort and reeled back my arm to give her the same treatment. When my fist landed against her cheek, time resumed and my punch made her plumet to the ground faster than when we first started falling. She slamed against the ground with a loud vibrating thud while I landed right on my feet, leaving a small crater where I now stood. While Chrysalis was recovering, I went to go continue the fight until I finally looked around the broken city of Canterlot. I felt a hint of sadness as I realized how many families were now homeless or short one family member. It was all because of her, and her damn horde of Changeling's.

  "Look around you Chrysalis, because of you, all these innocent people have no place to reside anymore... their children will live on the streets because of your invasion, do you feel no remorse for ypur actions!?" I shouted at the woman, Chrysalis only laughed as she slowly rose to her feet.

  "You damn fool, we Changeling's feed off of emotion, be it hate, love, depression or sadness, we take those emotions and eat them... what do I care if those useless brats are homeless, as long as I get to feed off their emotions I couldn't care less about them. That reminds me, have you noticed that your burning hatred has been suddenly quelled?" Chrysalis asked and for some reason she was right, my anger was somehow gone. "During our fight I took the liberty to feed off your hatred and I must say it was delicious, and the more I tasted it, the more I wanted to keep fighting" She said, I growled at the woman but she didn't seem fazed. "Another nifty perk with eating emotions is that we can see where its aimed and strangely enough that hatred was not only aimed at me, but it was also aimed at yourself" Chrysalis said and I gritted my teeth hearing this because she was right. "My, my, you're a boy trying to play the hero, maybe even hoping to win the affection of a certain someone if you win, but in reality, you're just a monster wanting to be a regular person"

  ".... You're right" I said, making her smirk. "But is it so wrong for a monster to have wants and needs too... I want to be a regular person, but no matter how much I wish for it... I'm just nothing more than a monster. Unfortunately, my friends don't believe in that little fact, one even told me that if I was a monster, than this world doesn't deserve a sweet monster like me... kinda sounds funny when you think about but honestly I agree with her" I said making her smirk turn to a glare. "The reason why you tasted hatred towards myself was because I hated the fact that I had to become a monster to even defeat you... but if turning into a monster will mean my friends will be safe, then.... I'LL GIVE UP MY HUMANITY WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT!!! I screamed and launched at her, hitting her as hard as I could.

  My attack sent her flying at high speeds, she crashed through a couple of buildings  on the way, but she had stopped in one of the houses and flew at me with the same amount of aggression. I slammed my fist into hers and I swear you could see the electricity flying off of them. Swiping her hand away, I threw my own punch but she dodged it fluently and gave me a quick jab to my chest, unfortunately for her that punch didn't feel as heavy as before so I was able to take it. We threw more punches at each other, dodging out of the way the moment a fist came close to us, each jab was matched with another jab which nullified it but the force between us both made our knuckles start bleeding the moment we connected our fists. Each punch felt like a knife being jammed into each bone in my hands, but I couldn't let up, I had to win no matter what. I kicked her back and stretched out my right arm to get ready for an attack, but I suddenly felt a sharp pain course through my body, causing my arm to retract back to me.

  'My form is starting to faulter, I don't know how much more my body can take, especially since I've already taken a beating way before this fight, I don't know how much more I can take' I thought but quickly ripped out of them as my instincts made me duck under an oncoming kick from Chrysalis, then I had to immediately block two more kicks, causing me to skid back a few inches. I shook off the pain and refocused myself on the fight at hand.



Everfree Forest, P.o.v- Jay




  "Keep it moving people, make sure to help anyone that is in need!" I instructed the hundreds of people who now stood inside the Everfree Forest with me, Violet, Jackson, Gilda and any guard not fighting. "I need to head back and see if their was anymore people who haven't made it here"

  "I don't know if that's a good idea Jay, what if you find T-Thomas?" Violet asked, scared out of her mind right now.

  "Then I'll help him fight Chrysalis, after I've gotten the citizens to safety" I said but it seems Violet was still too scared to let me go off. "Violet its gonna be okay, me and Jackson are gonna go find the girls if Thomas needs some help then we'll-"

  "No!" Violet cried out.

  "Violet, what's gotten into you?" I asked and I can visibly see her shaking.

  "I-I... I-I... I don't want you to help that unholy monster, I want you to stay as far away from that thing as possible!" Violet exclaimed, taking me aback a bit. "I-I know Thomas is your friend and he's mine as well, but that monster is not Thomas anymore he's just a thing that only wants to see everything dead, he won't care who you are so dont help something that will kill you without single thought" Violet demanded and I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

  "Violet listen to yourself, this is Thomas we're talking about, he's no monster he's some we hold dear too" I tried to assure her, but it wasn't working she still didn't want me to leave because of her fear of Thomas. "Violet, listen to me, I know you're scared of Thomas' transformation but I promise you that he will not kill us or anyone that he considers his friends... Thomas is our friend through an through, so no matter what form he takes I know he's still the shy, soft spoken nerd we all know and love, so please just calm down and think about what you're saying" I told her, she looked at me for a while and slowly started crying.

  "Im... Im sorry... Im so sorry" Violet whimpered out, I hugged the girl and sighed. "How... how could I say such horrible things!"

  "It's okay Violet, you were just scared an confused, I was too when I first saw it" I said, comforting her as she cried into my chest. "I hope the girls are okay, I remember Twilight saying that they were going to stay behind, but I'm not sure that was such a great idea"

  "Jay, I think we're finally starting to get things under control, Feather told me that Silver and Blazing are bringing in more people after their squad killed more of the changelings around the eastern side. I also got word from some air-user's that they witness Thomas and Chrysalis crash through the throne room window and fall right into the city... I honestly don't know how everything turned so shitty in just half an hour" Jackson said landing in front of us. "I still haven't found Cadance or the girl's either, we need to go back and find them or else they'll be killed"

  "I know, I was just about to head off to the castle, you go on ahead I'll catch up" I said to which he nodded before running off. "Will you be okay by yourself here Violet?" I asked her, she looked up and wiped her tears away then nodded. "You and Gilda are in charge of helping the injured, Ill be back, I promise" I said, kissing her cheek and running off to catch up with Jackson.

  It didn't take long for me to catch up, but I knew it was going to be difficult getting from the forest to the castle. Deciding to save a bit of time we both flew up and started our way towards the castle, we looked down and felt sadness as we saw the destroyed homes and businesses beneath us. The Changeling numbers were dwindling since they weren't trained properly, but that doesn't mean we haven't taken a few casualties while they first arrived. The moment they landed they started killing people left an right without hesitation, men, women and even children. I wanted to kill every last one of them knowing what they have done, but sadly I was too out numbered to do anything to stop them.

  "Jay, you think Thomas will be okay?" Jackson asked me.

  "I think so, he's a tough guy considering how skinny he is or used to be... hey Jackson" I called out.

  "Whats up?" He asked.

  "That form that Thomas has right now... what do you think of it?" I asked, making him hum a bit.

  "It's quite possibly the most terrifying thing I've ever seen, but no matter what form Thomas takes up, he'll always be our friend through an through" Jackson answered honestly.

  "I couldn't agree more, now let's get to the girl's and fast, who knows what's going on" I said and we increased our speed, the closer we got to the castle, the louder the fighting became. We stopped when we heard a familiar voice to our right and lo' an behold it was Thomas fighting Chrysalis bare handed. "Jesus dude, Thomas sure doesn't hold back does he?" I asked.

  "Seems they're both giving each other a hard time right now" Jackson said just as Thomas was punched across the face, sending him right through a wall. It wasn't long before he suddenly ran back out and picked Chrysalis up before ramming her through a couple of buildings before throwing her to the floor with a sound that made us cringe. "I think Thomas can handle Chrysalis, let's keep going" Jackson said, I nodded and we were back on track. It took us a couple more minutes to get to the castle, but we made it just in time to see the girl's being taken to the throne room in chains by a few Changeling soldiers.

  "You go left and I go right?" I suggested, Jackson gave me a thumbs up before we burst through the windows and started fighting off the soldiers. I picked one up and threw him out the window then grabbed another and slammed his face into the wall near me. I quickly picked up his body and tossed it towards another soldier coming at me but as the soldier caught him, I picked up one of their acid blades and sliced right through both of them before they knew what had happened. As I finished off my enemies I heard the cracking sounds of Jackson's new lightning staff buzzing through the air and striking three guard's in a quick fashion causing them to wither and collapse, it was expected since the three felt the force of a million volts of electricity slam against their skulls.

  "You girl's okay?" I asked, breaking them out of their chains.

  "Thank ya kindly boy's, a second later an Ah thought we were done for" Applejack said, racking an unconscious soldier. "Serves ya right"

  "I believe we are all alright darling, we honestly should've been more careful but there were some stragglers in the castle so we decided to guide them out. Unfortunately we had to fight off the horde of Changeling's coming at us in order for them to escape. They escaped, unfortunately for us, we did it not" Rarity said, which explained how they got captured.

  "If only I was just a little bit faster, I could've taken all of them!" Rainbow said, obviously pissed she was caught.

  "Im just so happy to see you two okay" Fluttershy said while Pinkie was squeezing us both to death. "Well, kinda, okay"

  "Where's Thomas?" Twilight asked which seemed to make everyone but Jackson and I tremble a bit.

  "He's fighting Chrysalis right now, it looks like this fight is much more intense than the fight with Discord" I told them. "But don't worry, I know Thomas will pull through, he's our friend after all" I said, getting grim looks on some of the girls face's. "He's our friend... right?"

  "No" Applejack said coldly. "Ah just can't sugarcube, he-he's... he's too terrifying, that thing is a monster" Applejack said, shocking myself and Jackson.

  "I-I hate to say it darling but... I have to agree with Applejack on this one, Thomas is sweet yes, but I don't want to think about what could happen if he were to lose control of himself while in that horrid form" Rarity threw in. "If I've learned anything from the books I've read over the years, it's that a monster will eventually bare its fangs on the ones they care about, even if they don't mean too"

  "He's every nightmare I've ever had rolled up into one" Fluttershy whimpered. "He's everything that my mother said a Devil would look like, he's nothing but a monster!"

  "He makes me feel like Im going to die just by being near him, he's like a monster you have to run away from" Pinkie said, and I just cant believe they thought of him as some sort of monster too. "Thats... Thats not Thomas anymore"

  "I... I can't you guys, this is your friend, thi-this is someone who is fighting to keep everyone, including all of you, safe... and you're calling him a monster" I said in disbelief, these four girls who were his bestfriend's were saying such terrible things about him right now.

  "Jay is right, how could say that about your own friend, Thomas is still Thomas no matter what you may think. How do you think he would feel if he heard you call him a monster!?" Jackson questioned the four and they looked down to the floor in shame.

  "I know how he would feel" Rainbow cut in getting all of us to look at her. "Thomas was already dealing with this situation way before he transformed into that form we see now, at home he was crying and asking for help because he was scared that everyone was going to think of him as nothing but a monster, I dont ever want to see him like that again. Thomas is our friend and you have the nerve to say these terrible things about him, if he was here now I'm sure would be completely heartbroken hearing you call him a monster, Thomas is a sweet man who cares about all of us so dont you dare call him a monster!" Rainbow yelled at them, we've never seen Rainbow this emotional before so it was kinda shocking to say the least.

  "I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed, when I would ask Thomas about your world during the three weeks he was awake I noticed he was struggling with something mentally, it looked like it was eating away at him inside for quite awhile, I wanted to help him but I didn't know where to start so Im glad he finally talked to someone about it" Twilight said, turning her attention to the four girls. "Rainbow Dash, Jay, and Jackson are right, you should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking such things, a person is a person no matter who they are or where they come from, and you know who told us that?" Twilight asked the four who looked disappointed in themselves.

  "Thomas" They said and finally realized what they had said about their friend.

  "Ah cant believe Ah would badmouth mah own friend... granny would be so disappointed in me" Applejack said. 

  "Me too, I shouldn't have ever said such horrible things about someone who truly cares about us" Rarity said, sighing as she covered her face with her hands. Pinkie and Fluttershy were crying a little remembering their words. 

  "How could I *sob* say such hurtful things to the kindest person I've met?" Fluttershy questioned herself as she cried with Pinkie.

  "Save the tears for after we're done rescuing people in the castle, have any of you seen Cadance or the other princesses?" Jackson asked and Twilight nodded.

  "Yes, we met up with princess Celestia halfway through the castle as we were getting those people out, she said she had went to her room to get her gift for Cadance and my brother when she was knocked out by Chrysalis, then she ran off to goddess know's where in a panic. Princess Luna was also knocked unconscious in her room but when we found her, she was drenched in blood and holding a blue steel spear that was also coated in blood, she looked like she had fought off hundreds of those Changeling things and she said she was on the hunt for the real Cadance and was making sure that guard's didn't leave a single Changeling alive" Twilight said and it seems Luna is very pissed off at the moment and Celestia was still somewhere in the castle.

  "Okay, I think I have a clue as to where Celestia might be at so I'll head on over, you guys go find an join Luna on the hunt for the real Cadance, I'll catch up with you guys when I find Celestia" Jackson said before taking off in a random direction, but knowing what our task at hand was, we started towards the direction Twilight last saw Luna going.

  "I hope Thomas will be okay, he looked pretty messed up before getting into that fight" Twilight said as we ran through the halls.

  "For real, I'm surprised he hasn't kicked the bucket yet, just how tough is he?" Rainbow asked while I just shrugged.

  "Beats me, but Jackson told me that a couple of air-user guards spotted the two crashing through the throne room's stain-glass windows and were falling down to the city" I said which made them all look shocked. "We also saw him tackling Chrysalis through buildings and slamming her on the floor, honestly we heard just about every punch and attack they threw at each other as clear as day" I told them and they cringed at the mere thought of sounds of fleshing beating flesh.

  "I hope he'll be okay, if he loses... then we have no way of defeating Chrysalis, and she'll take over equestria" Twilight said in a grim tone, unfortunately she was not wrong, just by watching them fight I can clearly tell that myself and Jackson would be killed almost immediately. "Let's not focus on that stuff right now, we should focus on finding Cadance, my brother, and princess Luna"

  "Alright" I said before we upped our pace. All the while I was praying that I wouldn't find Thomas lying on the street dead somewhere. 'C'mon Thomas, I know you can do it, so just hang in there a bit longer'



Castle Gardens, P.o.v- Jackson




  "Jesus... they destroyed everything " I said in disbelief as I looked around at the now destroyed garden. I cant even imagine how Celestia must feel seeing all her hard work destroyed, it makes me angry knowing they had the ball's to destroy such a beautiful place. Then again, I shouldn't expect much from the people killing and destroying everything in sight. "Celestia you here!?" I called out, now traversing through the demolished garden. "Celestia if you can hear me then follow my voice, we gotta get you outta here!" I shouted, then heard the sounds of sobbing. I quickly followed the sound and was quickly met with something heartbreaking.

  "They destroyed everything Jackson" Celestia said, her voice turning distorted then back to normal as she spoke. Bodies of Changeling's laid around her sobbing form, but the thing that made my heartache was the fact that her form was changing into something that resembles Nightmare Moon. "My mother trusted me with this garden, but now it's all gone... Im gonna kill them all... ever last one of them!" She screamed and slammed her fists to the floor, creating a big crack. Her pale white skin was giving off a slight orange tint and her hair was starting to resemble the flames of the sun instead of her normal, calming rainbow hair.

  "Celestia... it's gonna be okay-"

  "SHUT UP!" She shrieked, her voice boomed with enough force to knock me on my ass. "My whole life I've taken care of this garden, this garden was like a part of me... now they've taken that away, and you're telling it's gonna be okay!?" Celestia shouted in pure rage. 

  "Celestia please, I know you're hurting right now but becoming angry wont change anything" I said, getting back up an slowly started walking towards her. "I know how much this garden means to you, but you have to understand that everything here can be grown back or even healed" I continued, still keeping my slow pace. I think I can see the grass around her starting to turn black just from being near her. "I'll help you grow a new garden, one that'll be better than this one!"

  "Nothing we do can replace all the blood, sweat and tears I've poured into this garden... this was the last thing I have of her and they took it away from me!" Celestia cried out, her left eye slowly turning black with an orange iris. 

  "I know... but you still have something, or rather someone else your mother left behind and that's your sister!" I shouted to which she winced hearing this and her eye started turning back to normal. "Think about Luna, think about Cadance! This garden isn't the only thing your mother wanted you to care about, I'm sure she would want you to protect you little sister from any danger that comes her way. Your mother left you more than just this garden, she made sure to leave you with family in hopes you keep smiling and being who you truly are, so please calm down and be who you really are" I said, finally reaching her and pulled Tia into an embrace. It burns just being next to her, but I can't let a little pain stop me from helping a friend in need. "You have people who care about you too like Twilight, Spike, Mari, Gilda, Lavender, Jay, Thomas, Violet, the girl's all the maid's and guard's serving under you... I care about you, so please just come back to me... please" I cried, I could feel the tears evaporating off of my cheeks the moment they came out of my eyes.

  I heard nothing from Celestia for a moment that felt like centuries until I noticed the heat coming off of her was starting to fade. The orange tint on her skin had also went away and her hair turned back to normal, I slowly pulled back from the hug and gave the heaviest sigh of relief I've ever given in my entire life. Celestia was back to her old self again, save for the orange eyes, she was back to the way she was and she cried her eye's out on my chest.

  "It's all gonna be okay Celestia, we'll... I'll help you get through this like how you helped me before" I said, finally able to feel at ease once again. "C'mon, we gotta go find the others, Thomas is taking care of Chrysalis right now so we have time to get everyone out of the castle" I said and picked her up.

  "Do you think Thomas will be okay?" Celestia asked, I chuckled at the question.

  "Of course, this is Thomas we're talking about, I bet he finished mopping the floor with that bug bitch"



Canterlot City, P.o.v- Thomas




  "What's the matter Thomas, you were talking so much about how you'll beat me and yet..." Chrysalis started as she held me up by my throat, my form had finally reached it's limit and it started receding back inside of me. "Here you are, as weak and as fragile as a new born baby... although it looks like you are a man after all, I must say, that's quite the impressive set of equipment you got their" She taunted.

  I could barely move, I could barely breathe, I could barely see or hear anything at this very moment. I was rendered completely useless, I did feel two things, first was the agonizing pain rocking my whole body due to the backlash from using my new form, and the second thing was the cold wind that rushed past my now naked body. So, she was kinda right on the money with how I look and feel.

  "I was led to believe that you absolutely decimated Discord, a being of pure chaos, but I guess it was those other two friends of yours that actually did him in. I'm disappointed really, a little boy like you gave me so much trouble only moments ago, but now, I'm gonna make sure that this is your last breath... and I'll make it the most agonizing breath you've ever taken" Chrysalis said then slammed me to floor, I barely had time to make a sound before she started dragging me through the concrete streets then threw me up and delivered a punch with enough force an power to make me go through five and a half houses. 

  I gave out small cracking cries of pain when I stopped in the middle of the fifth house. I coughed up a good mouth full of blood as I laid on the floor and stared through a hole in the ceiling, allowing me to gaze up at the dusty brown sky. I let out slow, shaky breaths the more I laid on the floor, I felt.... so helpless. I had honestly forgotten this feeling ever since I came to this world, I started thinking about home, my mom, my dad, my brother and sisters, Jay and Jackson and even the girls. I could feel the warm tears pool over the sides of my eye's, because this was the first time I was clearly seeing my life flash before my eyes... and I it didnt scared me.

  'So this is how I die huh... I still had... so much to do, but I think I can forget all of that now' I thought. I didn't know wether I should struggle to keep fighting, or to let myself be taken by death. 'I guess this is it for me... take care of them you two, Im putting my faith in your hands' I thought before slowly closing my eyes, to finally let the darkness consume me.

  "A... A-Are you alive?" I heard someone ask, I slowly reopened my eye's and saw a scared little girl covered in dirt and scrapes. "P-Please... Please dont die, I... I don't want to be alone" She whimpered, I slowly focused my vision on her and noticed she was a magic-user with short hair that matched the color of the arctic snow, her skin was a whitish grey color that made her crystal blue eyes more noticeable than anything else. She looked no older than Marigold, and she looked like she's seen enough fighting an death to last her a lifetime. Knowing my vocal cords were a bit shot, I beckoned her to come closer before speaking.

  "Ch... Child... w-where a-are...... your parents?" I asked the little girl, I felt like I knew the answer to this and feeling her tears drip onto me told me everything. Using every ounce of willpower I had, I raised my arm around the poor girl and brought her down for a hug. "I-Im... I-Im s-so s-s-sorry" I whispered to her, I couldn't imagine how she must be feeling right now.

  "T-They tried to protect me, but... but-"

  "Shh, try not to... think about it... I'm sure your parent's... would be happy to know... that you're alive right now" I said. "W-What is... your name?" I asked and waited patiently for her to answer.

  "M-My name... my name is sn-snowflake" Snow said and I weakly smiled.

  "That's a... beautiful name... my names Thomas... nice to meet you" I said, letting Snow get back up. "S-snow... I ne-need your help sweetheart... do you think... you can get me into a sitting position?" I asked to which she hesitantly nodded before grabbing both my arms and began pulling me up with all her might. I threw in my own strength to help her lift me up, and slowly but surely we were able to get me in that position.

  "Mr. T-Thomas... are you gonna be okay?" Snow asked as she held me up straight, I just gave her a big smile.

  "Im gonna be just fine, so don't you worry Snowflake" I said, it was small but I could feel a flame burning inside of me. I mustered up enough strength to finally stand to my feet, it was difficult because of the tremendous amount of pain I was feeling, but I sucked it up and stood on my own two feet. "Hop on my back Snow, I'm gonna take you to some very nice people who will look after you at the castle" I told her, kneeling down enough for her to get on my back. I held her up with arms and started making my way towards the castle, it was gone be a long treck up, but I know the other's will be able to hold off that bug bitch just long enough for me to get there.

  "Mr. Thomas, I-I can't stop shaking" Snow said, I could probably guess she was still scared right now, which was understandable, so I had to come up with something to calm her down.

  "H-Hey uh, don't look around at all the scary stuff, just stare at the back of my head and keep holding onto me. I promise that no matter what, I won't let anyone lay a finger on you" I said, she slowly nodded and held on tighter. "I know you must be terrified right now Snow, heck, I myself am pretty terrified too" I said.

  "Then why do you look so calm?" Snow asked.

  "I don't really know how to put it, I guess you can say I'm already used to being in scary situations" I said. "You see Snow, I have fought many things that your people have considered terrifying, but I swallowed my fear and gained the courage to do what needed to be done. I used to be a regular person before I came to this world, I was actually a nobody back home, but the moment I came to this world I was immediately thrusted into a life of adventure and honestly, I don't want it to end. I've met and befriended so many people here that I don't think I would ever want to leave this place... my friend's are what actually keep me going, without them I'd be... lost" I said, accidentally going on a rant.

  "So the reason you're so calm right now, is because of your friends?" Snow asked and I nodded. "Can... can we be friends?" She asked.

  "What are you talking about?" I questioned and a look of worry came over Snow's face. "We're already friends aren't we?" I asked and I could feel her hugging me as I walked. "When we get there, I'm gonna let you down near a very pretty lady with rainbow hair okay" I said and Snow nodded, though she still looked scared about everything  going on around us. "Hey Snow, how about I sing you a special song that makes you more brave just from listening to it?" I suggested, this seemed to pique her interest. 

  "W-Will it really make you brave?" Snow asked.

  "Of course, it may sound a little sad at first but I promise it'll make you more brave than me" I said which made her really interested. "So you wanna hear?"

  "Y-yes please" Snow said and I couldn't help but chuckle at how shy she was being right now. My throat was still a little hoarse and hurt slightly, but I promised the little lady a song so I have to deliver. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath before starting.

  

  I started out slow with the song before getting to tempo and sang at full volume. Snow was immediately entranced by the lyrics of the song and stared at me with wonder, the more that I sang, the more I started hearing the sounds of a guitar and   jangling chains that matched my footsteps. I looked at the castle and it felt like I was about to fight the final boss for the last time, I took a peek behind me only to see Snow sound asleep on my back with a small smile on her face.

  "There ain't grave, can hold my, body down" I finished singing and took notice I was now in front of the castle, it was oddly confusing since I only walked for a couple of minutes up the street. Pushing my confusion to the side, I made my way past the broken gates and walked towards the front entrance. All I could see was bodies on top of bodies around the area, thankfully I didn't see Blazing or Silver on the floor so I could only assume those two got out safely. "Okay Chrysalis, hope you're ready for round two" I said before walking into the castle.



3rd P.o.v- Throne Room




    "How... how are you here?" Jackson questioned as everyone stood in utter disbelief as they stared at Chrysalis, sitting on a broken throne. "Thomas... h-he was fighting you, Jay and I saw him put you through building's so how are you here!?" He demanded to know, Chrysalis laughed at how distraught Jackson was.

  "Where's our friend!" Twilight demanded as well, all Chrysalis did was laugh at them then tossed over his sword an shield. A feeling of dread had washed over every present, Twilight's knees buckled and she fell to the floor in utter anguish. "Thomas?" She mumbled out as she reached over and picked up his broken shield.

  "I must admit, that little boy gave me quite a scare... unfortunately, he never stood a chance, oh yeah, this was also with him before he died" Chrysalis said, finally done laughing and tossed over his phone. "The taste of despair is quite honestly the tastiest thing I've ever eaten, so please, keep it coming" she said as she continued to consume their emotions.

  "Jackson, I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty sick of hearing this bitch talk" Jay said, balling up his fists to the point where he drew blood from his palm. "I may not be as strong as that form Thomas had, but I'm gonna knock her teeth in!" He shouted before grabbing Thomas' sword then hurled it with all his might at Chrysalis like a spear. She motioned her head out of the way and held a blank expression on her face, Jay sprinted towards her with the intent to kill but the moment he got close to her to throw a punch, Chrysalis caught the fist and reeled him in to bury her own punch in his gut that soon sent him flying back to the others.

  "Is that really all you got Dragon boy?" Chrysalis asked as she swatted away a bolt of lightning with her magic. "So you're  next then Lightning boy, hopefully you wont be as disappointing as that one" She said with a sigh before getting out of her seat, another bolt of lightning was thrown and just like last time she swatted it away but she didn't notice the man who threw it was right in front of her now with his arm cocked back. With little time to react, Chrysalis put up a small barrier just strong enough to keep her from feeling the full force of Jackson's strike.

  Chrysalis was pushed back a few feet away, but she was able to get her bearings in order and send her own attack to nullify Jackson's attack. The shock wave from the two fists colliding made the window behind her shatter come and blow back some wind. 

  "I'm gonna make you pay for everything you've done" Jackson growled as sparks of electricity bounced off his body, the white part of his eye turned yellow while his pupil shrunk to pinpricks, and yellow flames oozed out from the sides of his eyes and finally his arms were coated in electricity. "I ain't no push over when it comes to fighting, so Im confident I can take over from where Thomas had left off" 

  "Jackson... where did this-?"

  "Remember when I asked to leave early all those times during the three months Thomas was asleep?" Jackson asked Celestia who nodded. "Each time I would go out and train till my body goes completely numb, to the point were my speed recovery is pushed to its limits" Jackson explained, clenching fists.

  "So that's what Vie was talking about *cough*... she said you would come back full of bruises and scratches almost every night" Jay said, sitting up while holding his stomach. "To think you were training that hard"

  "I was pissed off when I realized I wasn't strong enough to protect everyone... I would tell myself everyday, 'if you were just a bit stronger, no one would have to get hurt'. When I was too afraid to fight Discord, Thomas didn't even hesitate to go blow for blow with him, even if he wasn't as strong as us" Jackson said, quickly creating a lightning staff. "I never felt so helpless... but now, I think I can finally put my foot in the same race as Thomas, I'm gonna tear this bitch a new hole"

  "Do you honestly believe you can measure up to that beast" Chrysalis retorted and Jackson glared at her. "That strike was like a feather compared to that man's fist, his was as if a mountain had hit me each time it connected... I'll be completely honest, I got lucky when I beat him" Chrysalis said as she got back to her feet as if nothing had happened, shocking not only Jackson but everyone else.

  "Applejack... is she telling the truth?" Celestia asked and the mortified look on her face told her everything. "Lord's above... Jackson, we have to get out of here!"

  "It's fine Celestia, that punch was just a warm up... I'll have her see what I'm really made of" Jackson said and zoomed towards her then swung his staff horizontally, hitting the womans side and sending her flying to the wall nearby. She ripped herself out of the wall and elbowed Jackson in the face before giving him a hard right then grabbed him by the throat and threw him across the throne room. As he flew through the air, Jackson recovered and threw three bolts of blue lightning that traveled faster than his yellow ones.

  Chrysalis barely dodged the bolts of blue lightning but each one did graze her. The spots that it grazed rendered them numb and sent small shocks of electricity through her body, however it seemed to barely faze her. Jackson was quick to throw more of the blue bolts at her making Chrysalis dodge, not noticing that Jackson had rode one of the bolts od lightning and delivered a hard kick to the side of her head which plummeted her towards the ground with a hard thud.

  Chrysalis shot back up almost instantaneously and grabbed his leg before slamming him against the floor with a sicking smack. She then hurled him through the air towards a nearby wall to which he broke through, then Chrysalis flew over and threw him back towards the others.

 Jackson recovered and threw three more bolts of lightning at Chrysalis which seemed to actually hit her this time. She screamed in pain for only a moment, but then glared at Jackson. Finally getting annoyed, Chrysalis used her magic to summon a katana sword in her hands, when she unsheathed it, the groups saw that the blade was completely pitch black with a lime green edge and had a pattern that made it look like it was cracking.

  "Fancy sword, though I think you're gonna need more than-" Jackson stopped when his instincts threw him to the right just as Chrysalis was about to slash him. "Whoa... I barely picked up on that, how did you-"

  "Little boy, I'll tell you this once, you can't and won't ever beat me" Chrysalis stated. "Your form may be powerful, but if you don't know how to use it then it's basically useless, I bet this is your first time using it"

  "Shut it!" He yelled then pounced at her, quickly throwing a hard left towards her face but she caught it and kneed him in the face. He flew back before crashing to the ground and spat up some blood. "What... what just happened?" Jackson question, his question was answered by Chrysalis' sword going through his right shoulder.

  "You lost, thats what happened" Chrysalis said and twisted the blade causing Jackson to cry out in pain. "I'll admit that you are strong, but you're not strong enough to beat me. The only person that can defeat me, is currently dead"

  "I wouldn't be too sure about that Chrysalis"



P.o.v- Thomas




  "If I was dead, then how am I talking to you right now?" I asked the woman who snapped her head towards me, her face as pale as the moon. "What's the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost"

  "I killed you" Chrysalis said in disbelief.

  "You almost killed me, but all it took was one little girl to help me remember what I'm fighting for" I said as I finally stepped into the destroyed throne room, everyone now turned to look at me with hope in their eyes. "Sorry I'm late guy's, but almost dying really tires you out"

  "I cant *sniff* I can't believe you're alive!" Twilight cried.

  "Geez, dont scare us like that" Rainbow said, looked like she was fighting back her tears. 

  "Im so glad that you're okay!" Pinkie exclaimed happily then noticed something very visible. "Uhm... where are your pants... where are your clothes!?" She asked as the others now noticed that I was naked, making the girls turn red when they looked down.

  "... Wow" Applejack mumbled.

  "That's rather *ahem* impressive" Rarity remarked.

  "It's... oh my" Fluttershy squeaked out, covering her eyes in the process.

  "I don't think this is the time to admire my equipment people, we have other pressing matters to attend too" I stated but even Chrysalis was staring at my naked body.

  "A man you are indeed" She mumbled to herself and bit her thumb. Chrysalis finally shaking her head out to clear her perverted thoughts. "Don't try to seduce me with your naked form!"

  "Seduce you!?" I shouted but sighed at their reactions. "Snow, I need you to wake up now" I said calmly as I looked behind me, Snow grumbled a little before opening her eyes slowly.

  "Mr. Thomas, where are we?" Snow asked then popped her head over my shoulder. "Is that the pretty lady with Rainbow hair?" She asked, pointing at Rainbow.

  "Yup, now go over to her and stay close okay" I told her to which she nodded and I let her down, but she grabbed my hand. "What's the matter?" I asked.

  "Are you gonna be okay?" Snow asked and I felt my heart melt.

  "I'll be just fine sweetheart, now go before you get hurt" I assured her and she slowly let go of my hand and ran over to Rainbow. "Take care of her Rainbow, I'm putting my trust in your hands" I said and she nodded.

  "How's it going kid, my names Rainbow Dash, what's yours?" Rainbow asked.

  "My names Snowflake, mr. Thomas was right about you ms. Rainbow, you are pretty" Snow said and made her blush a little.

  "T-Thank you" Rainbow thanked then looked at me. "Pretty huh?" She teased and I chuckled.

  "We can talk about that later, for now I got something I need to do" I said and summoned my sword to my hand, I walked over to Twilight and gently took the shield out her hands making her look up at me. "Everything is gonna be okay now, no need to worry anymore Twilight" I said and gave her my phone.

  "You shouldn't even be breathing let alone moving, so tell me what in the hell are you!?" Chrysalis demanded to know, but I didn't answer. "Don't ignore me!" She screamed and launched at me swinging her sword as she get close to me.

  "So impatient Chrysalis, are you still mad at me for killing your subjects?" I asked as I locked swords with her, my eye's turning red. "By the way, it looks like your invasion went down hill" I said pushing her back and pointed outside, she followed and could see that all the guards and the kingdoms army was either capturing or killing off the rest of the changeling soldiers. "You may have won the battle, but the war is ours to take"

  "... I wouldn't be to sure about that Thomas, you see, were both in the position to make checkmate, but the question is... who's gonna make the move" Chrysalis said and shot a magic bolt at Celestia but it was blocked by a blue metal spear.

  "A cheap trick for someone such as you bug" We heard someone say and we looked to see Luna with Cadance and Shining armor, only, Shining armor looked more regretful and traumatized. "Oh yes, before I forget, I killed all your soldiers in my castle so it seems that we have declared checkmate" Luna stated as she walked over to her sister and ripped her spear out of the ground.

  "Thank you Luna, you came just in time" Celestia said, hugging her sister.

  "Apologies for being so late, I was repelling the mind control spell placed on Capitan Armor, though he is back to normal, it seems he has went through alot in the past few months" Luna said as the two looked at the man being comforted by Cadance. "I heard about what happened here from Cadance, are you alright Thomas?" She asked then covered her eye's. "Why are you naked!?"

  "Long story, but I'm glad you're safe, how'd y'all get out of the cocoons?" I asked and Luna summoned a decent size orange knife and Celestia pulled out a similar knife but it was blue. 

  "Birthday present" They both said and I chuckled before turning back to Chrysalis.

  "Give up Chrysalis, it's over" I said and she gave a cold empty glare towards us, I suddenly felt something uneasy from the woman and readied myself. 

  "You know Thomas... I was so fascinated by your power's that I wanted to see what it felt like, and luckily-" She started and summoned a piece of the demons tendril, and my eyes went wide. "I get to experience it!" Chrysalis finished and I grabbed Twilight and threw her to the other's, but I wasn't able to block the punch coming straight at me. It came so fast and it felt so heavy that it made the ground crack before I even hit it.

  I groaned a bit as I laid on the ground. I looked up in shock an fear seeing Chrysalis in the form I was in before, except her horns started from the front and curled around her head, her eyes glowed a dark green and her tongue grew  longer so it hung out of a mouth that held her razor sharp teeth.

  "This feels exquisite" She growled and slammed her foot on my chest knocking the air out of my body and I think broke a rib or two. "To hold a power in such a weak little boy is such a waste, don't worry though, I'll make great use of this power... and I think I'll start with that little girl" Chrysalis said, I choked down my grunts of pain and sprung back up to strike her down but I immediately slashed across the chest and grabbed by the face then buried me in the marble floor. "Don't worry boy, your time is coming, for now just listen to the screams of your dying friends" Chrysalis said and started towards Rainbow and Snowflake.

  "S-Stay back!" Rainbow warned, getting in front of Snow.

  "Stay away from them!" Jackson cried out, zooming behind her and threw a punch but she dodged it and broke his arm with a simple push up then headbutted him hard enough to knock him out. She scoffed before throwing him out the hole in the wall. 

  "Jackson!" Celestia shrieked, Chrysalis laughed at the devastated look on her face.

  "You bitch!" Jay growled trying to go for a tackle only for him to get grabbed and take a knee to his face then a kick to the gut that launched him past the others and through a couple room's. Everyone shook in fear as the three strongest people were taken out so easily. Chrysalis finally made it infront of Rainbow and Snow though Rainbow tried to shield her.

  "Don't you dare touch this little girl you heartless bitch" Rainbow growled at her, Chrysalis chuckled and grabbed her arm then dislocated it with ease, making the girl cry out in pain, causing her knees to buckle. Chrysalis grabbed Snow who was too scared to move and instantly vanished then appeared in front of the thrones with Snowflake still in her hands. "Let her go!"

  "Such a delicate little thing she is, and what beautiful hair she has... I wonder how she'll look with a little blood on her face" Chrysalis said and broke her nose, Snow cried out in agony as she held her broken nose that bleed profusely. "Gorgeous... I wonder how she'll look with a missing arm"

  "No! Someone help me! Please!" Snow cried as she struggled to get out of Chrysalis' grasp. Tears stream down her eyes as she felt terror beyond her imagination, and at that moment. I got pissed.

  "Enough" I said, making Chrysalis stop in her tracks an look at the hole she put me in. "Get your hands off that girl" I ordered, climbing out of the hole in that inky form again only this time a quarter of my face was left uncovered. 

  "You do not frighten me anymore boy, I have your power and with the power I already have, I am more than powerful enough to defeat you in any form you take" Chrysalis stated then everyone felt the whole room go cold.

  "That little tendril you absorbed in your body was not even half of the power given to me, since it's hard to gauge it properly right now I guess you can say I was only using... ten percent" I said which made everyone look at me in awe, then they noticed that the black ink covering me was creeping up an over the rest of me. "I told you that if it meant saving my friends, I'd gladly give up my humanity... guess it's time for me to back that statement up!" I shouted and I let the demon's power take over me, covering the right corner of my face in darkness with a little crescent eye.



3rd P.o.v




  The room was silent, no one dared to move save for the man completely covered in darkness. Thomas swayed back an forth as silent as a mouse, Chrysalis was waiting for him to make a move but he made none. 

  "Fool, paralyzed by his own power... hmph, I guess you are worthless" Chrysalis said with a scoff and went to rip Snowflakes arm off only to see her hand was now empty. She looked around for the girl for a moment until she heard her crying behind her, Chrysalis turned and froze on the spot seeing Thomas cradling the girl in his arms. He placed a hand over her face and small black tendril gently pierced her nose, allowing Thomas to give her his fast regenerative properties which fixed up her broken nose instantaneously.

  "M-Mr. Thomas... is that you?" Snowflake asked, Thomas said nothing, he only brushed her hair off her face and patted her head. "I... I wa-was so scared!" she cried out, Thomas said nothing again, only turned and started walking back to Rainbow Dash.

  "That's my prey!" Chrysalis screamed, trying to get Snow back in her hands to rip her to piece's. She didn't know how or when it happened, but she was now embedded deep within the ceiling, looking down at everyone. Thomas didn't even miss a step when he struck the woman up and was able to reach Rainbow in just a few seconds.

  "H-Holy shit... holy shit" Rainbow mumbled, looking up at the man who resembled the devil himself. He looked down at her, but instead of feeling scared, she felt calm under his gaze. Thomas looked at Snow and placed her down next to Rainbow before summoning his sword and shield then gave them to the girl.

  "These will keep you safe" Thomas said, his voice even more deeper and distorted. Snow looked at the shield and sword then clutched them both in her hands, Thomas patted her head before turning back to Chrysalis. "Cadance" He called, getting the woman's attention.

  "Y-Yes?"

   Combine yours and your husband's magic... then fire it when I say, understand?" Thomas said to which Cadance became confused, but Shining Armor knew exactly what Thomas was planning.

  "You will need to hold her still just long enough for us to hit her, think you can manage that?" Shining asked as Chrysalis ripped herself out of the ground an shook the ground upon touching it.

  "Just be ready" Thomas told him, Shining nodded quickly explaining a combination spell to Cadance and the two began charging said spell.

  "Seems we're due for a rematch little boy, this must be my lucky day, I get to kill you and those worthless piles of waste all in the same day" Chrysalis said with a horrifying laugh.

  "'A harmless man is not a good man. A good man is a very dangerous man who has it under voluntary control'... my father would say that to me every time I would come home in bruises. He wasn't saying it because he thought I was trying to be a good man by being harmless, he was saying it because he knew how dangerous a good man like me can be" Thomas said, reaching out to his phone. A tendril shot out his hand an ripped it out Twilight's hands then retracted itself back to his hand. He looked for a moment before pressing play then threw it back to Twilight.

  

  The song started calm, like the winds before the sounds of war took over. Chrysalis took the first step forward while Thomas stood his ground like a statue. Just as the music got a bit more intense in sound, Chrysalis flew at Thomas throwing the hardest punch she could muster at the man but the moment the drums came in, Thomas already landed the first punch.

  Chrysalis flew back as her body flailed in the air, crashing against the ground each time she got close. Digging her claw into the ground, Chrysalis was able to plant herself back on her feet then rip out a fragment of the marble floor and chuck it at Thomas. He grabbed it and crushed it with ease before he dug his foot into the ground and launched at Chrysalis going at speeds too fast for anyone to see, before they knew it, Thomas had already kneed Chrysalis in the face then grabbed the back of her head and slammed it to the floor. He wasn't done yet, he used the moment he gained to dig a small trench in the ground with her face, then tossed her up and sent a barrage of jabs leaving indents on her body.

  Chrysalis coughed up some black blood upon feeling said attacks land on her body. Once she recovered a bit, she summoned her sword and swung it at him, landing a solid hit across his face, leaving a large white line. Chrysalis smiled seeing her handy work, but that didn't last long when she saw the white slash mark close and all that was left on his face was the demons jagged smile. Suddenly feeling a sense of danger flood her senses, she jumped high into the air as Thomas sliced the floor with a pitch black sword made from one of his tendrils.

  The sword sliced right through the ground with ease, almost like it was soft butter. Chrysalis' face paled when she saw how easily that attack was thrown, now her flight or fight instincts kicked in and it was telling her to escape now. Pushing down her fears, Chrysalis flew at Thomas, ready to spear him with her sword, ready to end this fight. 

  "Slow" Thomas said, appearing behind her, catching Chrysalis off guard and unable to block the foot planting itself firmly against her chest. As Chrysalis rocketed down to the ground, Thomas grew out a long tendril from his left shoulder and ripped it out, the group down below could only recognize it as some sort of spear. Thomas reeled it back then threw it with all his strength, skewering right through Chrysalis' right shoulder and made her crash right through the floor and into the crystal mines below them, which set off a a sudden chain reaction for the rest of the area. 

  "T-The ground is shaking!" Twilight said, the others suddenly felt the ground start shifting downward and finally noticed that the floor itself was finally collapsing inward. "We gotta get out of here!"

  "Everyone grab onto me and Luna!" Celestia instructed, quickly grabbing Snowflake and Rainbow Dash. The others soon grabbed onto the two and the sister's combined their teleportation magic to get them out of there, but Cadance and Shining ran out of the room so they could continue to charge their spell. A bright flash of light appeared before vanishing just as the ground gave way after it's endless punishment.



Outside of Canterlot, 3rd P.o.v




  Gilda was out looking for anyone who got lost on the way to the forest when she suddenly saw the princesses appear in front of her with The girls, Rainbow dash and Snowflake.

  "Hey G" Rainbow waved then winced, feeling a sharp pain from her arm.

 "Geez, all of you look terrible, where in the hell were all of you" Gilda asked, going over towards them. "And what happened to you?" She asked Rainbow.

  "That bitch Chrysalis dislocated my arm, ya mind helping me pop it back in?" Rainbow asked, Gilda nodded and grabbed the girl's arm then waited for Rainbow to brace herself. 

  "By the way, where's Thomas?" Gilda asked. 

  "He's still at the castle fighting- FUCK!" Rainbow cried out, feeling Gilda pop her arm back into place. "Thanks you dick, ugh, anyways, Thomas is at the castle fighting Chrysalis... the fighting got so intense that the floor literally caved in on itself" she said, getting a jealous look from Gilda.

  "Wish I could've seen it, sounds badass" She mumbled to herself, getting a chuckle from the girl. Gilda helped the others get up on their feet and started walking them towards the camp they set up in the Everfree. "By the way, a couple of guards named Featherweight, Blazing and Silver found two bodies outside the castle, said it was some people they knew"

  "Did you catch the names of the two?" Celestia asked, a hint of worry coating those words. "Did one happen to be near the throne section of the castle?" She asked.

  "Actually yeah, it was that big guy who was your assistant, man did he look beat up. The other guy was from the dragon race, but he woke up just as Violet went to check on him, poor guy didn't make it after that" Gilda said sorrowfully, getting the others to gasp.

  "He's dead!?" Fluttershy cried out.

  "What, nononono, he's just fine, though Violet was a few seconds away from putting him six feet under" Gilda said, which made everyone shudder. "Oh yeah, who's the little girl you're carrying Dash?" Gilda asked, seeing Snowflake being carried in Rainbows arms.

  "This is Snowflake, it seems Thomas found her in the city and brought her to me so I could look after her" Rainbow said while Snow kept clinging to her like a child to clinging to their mother. "She's honestly adorable, and she thinks Im pretty"

  "So does Thomas" Pinkie threw in making the girl blush. Luna raised an eyebrow and look to her sister for confirmation.

  "I believe that is true" Celestia said, making the moon princess puff her cheeks a bit. "Dear sister, you wouldn't happen to be jealous of Rainbow Dash would you?" Celestia teased, getting her sister to give off a pink hue going across her cheeks.

  "I am not, he's called me pretty plenty of times, in fact he said I was more than pretty, he said I was beautiful l" Luna said, even though Rainbow wasn't the type to get jealous, she couldn't help it this time.

  "I'm sure everyone calls you beautiful princess, he told me he would stay by my side for better or worse, so he basically just confessed to me and he trusted me to look after Snow" Rainbow said, acting a bit high and mighty much to Luna's aggravation.

  "Just because he said he'd be by your side doesn't mean he confessed, he probably meant it as a friendly gesture, so dont you even think it means something else!" Luna retorted getting a grimace look from Rainbow. As the two bickered back and forth over what Thomas thinks, the others were just entranced by how an all powerful princess and a girl who didn't show any signs of interest for love were trying to outdo each other over a boy.

  "Princess, have you ever seen your sister act like this before?" Rarity asked in a whisper to Celestia who was holding in her laughter.

  "I have not, has ms. Dash ever acted in such a way, especially since she's forgotten who she's arguing with" Celestia whispered back.

  "Never, we always believed she didn't have any interest in love... that is what their arguing about right?" Fluttershy asked to which Celestia nodded.

  "Well ain't that sweet, but ah think we should stop'em before they go a bit too fa-"

  "He said he would introduce me to his mother first!" Twilight blurted out and everyone stopped mouths agape while staring at the bookworm.

  "What?" Rainbow and Luna asked as they turned to the girl with a glare.

  "Thomas told me that if they ever found a way home and can come an go freely, he said that I would be the first person he would introduce to his mother" Twilight said again, making the two girls flinch at the comment. "And he said I had a beautiful smile"

    "R-Really now, that's very interesting news" Luna said, almost bending her spear.

  "Very interesting news" Rainbow agreed, making a chill go over the group's spine. 

  "Why are you so upset about that?" Snow asked Rainbow.

  "W-Well... when a boy or girl you like introduces to their family, it's a sign that they feel a special connection with you and that they trust you whole-heartedly" Rainbow explained, making the girl 'oh' at the explanation. "Kinda wished he said that to me rather than Twilight" Rainbow mumbled, the three looked at one another until they reached the little camp Jay and Jackson built for people evacuating.

  "There you guys are!" The group heard Jay call out quickly getting their attention. "Glad you guys are okay, I was starting to-ah!" He cried as he felt Violet finish wrapping bandages around his wounds.

  "You need to stop moving around so much, but I do have to agree that I'm glad the other's are okay" Violet said as the others came over. "You all look terrible, but from what I can tell, you all look physically fine"

  "Save for me and Snowflake, by the way, you think you can look her over... she got a little hurt by Chrysalis" Rainbow said, setting the girl down.

  "Well aren't you just a little cutie, come over here and let me take a look at you" Violet beckoned, but the child was a little hesitant. "It's alright sweetie, I wont bite"

  "C-Can ms. Rainbow stay with me?" Snow asked, the nurse looked at Rainbow who gave a sheepish smile.

  "Sure thing, it'll give me a chance to get a proper look at her as well" Violet said before getting up. "You aren't out of the woods yet mister, but for now your off the hook"

  "Yes ma'am" Jay sighed in defeat as he watched his girlfriend take Snowflake to another part of the camp. "Phew, thought she was gonna kill me after coming back like I did... but on a serious note, what happened while Jackie and I were out cold?" Jay asked, his tone turning serious.

  "Well, even I'm not sure how to explain what's happening... Thomas just...... let that weird power take over, it's like he's a different person but also not at the same time" Twilight said, confusing the man slightly. "It was like someone else was controlling him, but at the same time he was in control"

  "That sounds... really complicated" Jay admitted. "So I'm guessing Thomas is doing fine, but how did you guys end up here?"

  "When Tommy and Chrysalis were both going at it, the floor started givin' way and began collapsing in on itself" Applejack explained to him, the look on Jays face was everything but shocked. 

  "Probably started caving in because of those changelings burrowing holes in the crystal mines" Jay said. "Although it still would've taken an immeasurable amount of force to make even a hole, but making the whole floor cave in, son of a bitch that must've looked cool" He said getting a face palm from Twilight and Luna.

  "That's not what the takeaway should be darling, Thomas was strong enough to destroy a pure marble an diamond floor almost as if it was nothing" Rarity pointed out, getting agreeable hum's from the others.

  "Yes, but I want to know if Thomas is still in control of himself or not" Luna said, looking back towards the castle. "And what on earth is that unholy power he possesses, it almost resembles... no"

  "Luna, something wrong?" Celestia asked, getting Luna to snap free from her thoughts.

  "... No, no it's nothing, I'm just a little tired is all" Luna said and walked over to a nearby stump to sit on. She watched as the others talked more about what to do after everything was all said and done, but Luna was only thinking about Thomas. "If what he possesses really is that type of power, then he is quite possibly as strong as the one mother told me in those stories... I have to look into this further, for now... I just hope you're safe Thomas" she said before hearing a loud boom, then something that chilled everyone in the camp to the bone

  

   ".... What... in the name of Faust... was that?" Twilight asked.



Canterlot Castle, a few minutes earlier




  Thomas was throwing punch after punch against the Queen, each and every one of them landing in solid places. Chrysalis was now covered in bruises and large gashes from the constant beating she was taking.

  Thomas was pulling out almost all the stops when fighting her, it was like he wanted to have her feel the pain. Chrysalis did throw her own jabs and hooks at Thomas, but it seemed like it didn't even faze him, the black inky form around his body was acting almost like a suite of armor. Chrysalis felt utterly helpless at this point, nothing she did was making a dent in Thomas' defenses, she was running out of options and time. She quickly slashed his chest as deep as she could and jumped back to get some breathing room. 

  "This shouldn't even be possible, how are you this strong after everything I've thrown at you" Chrysalis growled at the man, Thomas stayed silent as he let the wound slowly close back up. "What the hell are you?" she asked him, again only met with silence. "FUCKIN ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD DEVIL!" she demanded as loud as she could, which blew back a few rocks and some dust past the man. Thomas didn't even flinch at the sudden roar, he simply took in a very deep breath before exhaling.

  

  The force of the roar was so strong that it made Chrysalis get thrown back against the wall of the mines. She could hardly move from how terrifying the roar was, it reminded the woman of some sort of monster and restless souls screaming in agony. Once the roar died down she shook heavily at the after shock, she sat on her knees and panted heavily before vomiting.

  "I warned you Chrysalis, now you will die here" Thomas said now walking towards her, she looked at the man with pure terror in her eyes and tried crawling away, clawing at the walls just to get anywhere that's away from Thomas.

  "Thomas, we finished!" Cadance announced as the two stood at the entrance of the throne room, they looked down and saw Thomas walking towards Chrysalis. "Thomas did you hear me!?" Cadance cried out, but the words fell on deaf ear. 

  "Cadance... I don't think he's in control anymore" Shining said.

  "Don't say that, he has to be, we just have to reach him" Cadance said, jumping down and ran towards Thomas, Shining followed suite. "Thomas, you don't have to hurt her anymore, so please stop, this isn't you!" She shouted but he didn't listen, he grew out a tendril which took its form as a sword and kicked Chrysalis on her back before firmly planted his foot on her.

  "P... Please... Please..." Chrysalis begged, tears of fear falling from her eyes as she watched the man raise the black sword up. "Please..." she begged once more, he went to bring the sword down but Shining caught his arm just before he reached her neck.

  "Stop... the fight is over, you've won" Shining stated, however he noticed that Thomas wasn't budging. "Can't you see that she isn't even fit to fight anymore, she lost, you won, now put down the damn sword and let us take care of-" he was cut off by the black blade going across his chest, cutting deep, but not deep enough to be fatal. he fell back against the floor and writhe in agony, yelling and hissing at the pain.

  "Shining!" Cadance cried out.

  "By everything holy... you truly have become a monster... was throwing your humanity, or whatever you called it, worth it?" Chrysalis asked and Thomas gave a low growl. 

  "You killed thousands"

  "And you hurt someone close to you without even batting so much as an eye, what would your friends think if they saw what you did to my beloved shinny... what would Twilight say if she saw you cut down her own brother? Chrysalis asked seeing the smile on his face twitch slightly. 

  "Shut your mouth... I'm warning you" Thomas said, his voice faltering, Chrysalis saw a chance to escape and she was going to take it. "I became this.... this........ this damn thing and I wont let you.... I wont..... FUCK!" Thomas screamed, stabbing the sword next to Chrysalis' head, his form began receding back until it only covered his legs and torso. "I don't want to be a monster... I don't want to be a monster... I don't want to be a monster"

  "T...Thomas" Shining called to him, Thomas looked at the man now being treated by his wife. "Don't.... Don't listen to that woman... you aren't a monster, and you'll never be a monster"

  "But I hurt you, I-I-I can't just-"

   "Yes you hurt me, but you protected Cadance, my sister, the princesses, your friends, hell, you saved me by knocking that mind controlling spell out of me" Shining said, yelping as he felt his wife's spell taking effect. "Who cares what other people think, they can think whatever they want because you know the real you...you are who you choose to be"

  Thomas felt like a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. He felt at peace with himself for the first time since his awakening. Cadance and Shining watched the boy slowly start tearing up and finally come back to his senses.

  "How touching, but do you mind if I cut in?" They heard Chrysalis say just as Thomas' black sword was skewered right through his body. Thomas stood stock still for a moment, unable to register what had just happened at that moment. Blood seeped through his lips as he stood there, Chrysalis ripped the blade out of the boy and let him fall to ground with a wet bloody thud. "You really shouldn't turn your back to you enemy, we have a nasty habit of stabbing you in the back the first chance we get"she said smashing her foot against his right arm breaking it like a twig.

   Thomas gave out soft, weak grunts as he felt the pain continue to pile up. Chrysalis kicked and stomped on the many all while laughing to her hearts content, during Shining's speech, Chrysalis slipped free from her pinned position and ripped the sword out of the ground and waited for the right moment to strike.

  "I'm gonna make you watch as I kill these bastards, so you can remember their agonizing faces when you finally die" She said and started towards the two, only going about two feet before stopping when she felt something grab her leg. Chrysalis looked down to see the ink black hand gripping away at her thigh, the woman scoffed at this and kicked the hand away. However, she was able to move any further because of the hand that was still grabbing her. "How many times must I kill you, just to get you out of my hair?"

    "....... I'm..... very stubborn" Thomas choked out, his wound trying to heal as fast as it can. "My body... just wont... let me... die" he said, coughing up some more blood.

  "Thomas...." Cadance said breathlessly.

  "You were fun to play with at first... but now you've grown to be just plain annoying, you worthless sack of shit" Chrysalis said but Thomas worked up enough strength to chuckle. "Something funny you pile of waste?" she asked.

  "Nothing too funny....... but it seems you forgot about my healing abilities" Thomas said, the woman looked confused until she saw the stab wound almost finish closing up. Before she could make another move, Thomas jumped up to his feet and wrapped himself around the woman, quickly using all his might and all his tendrils to hold the woman in place. "DO IT NOW!"

  "But if you get hit, then you'll disappear just like Chrysalis!" Cadance exclaimed but he did care. 

  "I SAID DO IT, I CANT HOLD HER FOREVER!" Thomas cried out as Chrysalis began struggling to break free. Cadance was hesitant to go through with this, but Shining sat up from his spot and gave her a reassuring smile. With heavy hearts, the two quickly charged the spell up and aimed it right at Chrysalis and Thomas.

  "YOU DAMN FOOL, IF YOU GET HIT WITH THAT BLAST, THEN YOU BE TURNED TO NOTHING AND WONT EVER SEE YOUR FRIENDS AGAIN!" Chrysalis cried out but Thomas kept his grip on her.

    "Shining, Cadance!" Thomas called out to the two. "This is goodbye for now, but tell the others that no matter what may happen, I WILL find my way back, thats a promise!" He exclaimed and the two nodded then readied themselves. "LET'S GO TO HELL TOGETHER CHRYSALIS!!!" He shouted and gave out a hearty laugh. 

  Shining and Cadance fired their spell, letting the pink beam fly towards Thomas and Chrysalis at high speeds until it engulfed the two. The beam went off for a  few minutes until it finally subsided, Shining and Cadance were completely exhausted from that spell, it was something that was never attempted before, but it worked and all that was left was a massive hole going right through the crystal mines. The two were astonished at their handiwork until they realized that Thomas was no longer standing in front of them anymore.

  "What will the other's say?" Shining questioned, though neither could really answer it.

  "We'll... tell them what he told us, 'I will find my way back'" Cadance said and Shining snorted softly. "I guess we should started heading back towards the others"

  "Yeah, it's gonna be really hard telling Twily about Tho-"

  "U-Uhm... e-excuse me?" A soft, scared voice announced itself. The couple looked  at where it came from and were shocked to find a naked woman with light teal skin, long emerald green hair and golden eyes stood before them. though that wasn't the only thing that shocked them. "D-Do you know where I am… and where my mother Faust is?" The mysterious woman asked as she unfurled her wings and made sure her horn was intact. After everything they have gone through, they were able to handle this situation very well.

  "YOUR MOTHER IS FAUST!?"
> Chapter 12: What Now? Finding A Way To Become Stronger!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Everfree Forest, P.o.v- Jay




  "Jay, are you okay?" Celestia asked seeing the tears rolling down my cheeks. I blinked a few times realizing that I was suddenly crying for some reason.

  "Y-Yeah, I uh, I-I don't know why I'm getting so choked up" I said wiping the tears away, but they continued coming down my cheeks. "What's happening to me, it's like my body is thinking for itself... I-I cant stop crying!"

  "Alright, I checked on Snowflake and ms. Dash, other than a sore shoulder and arm, they'll both be just fine" Violet said walking back with a clipboard in hand, she looked up from said clipboard and almost immediately dropped it when she noticed me crying. "Jay what's wrong, is something hurting, did I miss a broken bone, was I being too mean earlier!?" She asked me frantically but I shook my head for all of them.

  "I don't know, I just started crying out of nowhere for no reason" I said, clutching the area above my heart. "Why am I feeling so much pain, what's wrong with me?"

  "My guess is that you have a broken heart" We heard a soft voice say from behind the group, we looked to see princess Cadance and Shining armor, although he looked worse for wear. Knowing that they were okay was one thing, but the thing that caught our attention was the woman standing next to them wearing a female guards cream colored tunic and brown pants that sported calf high leather boots, knee guards and a leather chest piece to complete the whole outfit. The woman looked like she made to wear such an attire due to her fit body, but the way she was shyly looking away and fiddling with her armor made it clear she wasn't cut out for something such as that.

  "A broken heart?" I asked and the woman nodded, making her way over to me. She kneeled down and brought her hands up to my cheeks to wipe the tears away. "W-What are you talking about, and who are you!?" I demanded, pulling her hands off of me, that's when I noticed that the crying had ceased almost immediately. Actually, my sadness was gone as well, almost like it removed somehow.

  "Oh, I am so sorry, please excuse my rudes, my name is Emerald Melody, I am the youngest of one brother and four sisters, and I can alter emotions, as well as feelings, with my magic" Emerald said. "Oh, and I do love flying from time to time" She finished much to everyone's confusion until Cadance cleared her throat and pointed to Emerald then to her own wings an horn.

  "No way... are you serious!?" I asked the woman who nodded, I turned Emerald around and, lo and behold, she had wings that matched her skin color. "Violet, are you seeing this!?"

  "How is-that just can't be possible!" Violet exclaimed, coming next to me and touching the young girls wings, causing her to yelp and even made her spring them open suddenly. "You're part of the Alicorn race!?"

  "WHAT!?" Everyone shouted in shock seeing the, apparently new Alicorn woman standing before them. 

  "Uhm... can you please not do that again" Emerald asked Violet, blushing while she folded the wings back up.

  "Oh... OH! I am so sorry ms. Melody, I shouldn't have touched your wings without your permission, please forgive me!" Violet pleaded as she apologized profusely.

  "I don't understand, how can there be another person that comes from the Alicorn race, I thought Celestia, Luna and Cadance were the only one's" I said, completely confused about the whole situation.

  "I would like to know as well, how in equestria could their be another person just like us, Cadance I understand because she ascended, but how did you become one?" Luna asked as she marched over to the girl, looking down at her slightly since Emerald came up to neck level with Luna. Emerald didn't say anything for a moment, though it looked like she was studying Luna's face for a bit, then she grew a big smile and hugged her as tight as she could. "Hey, unhand me this instant!"

  "I'm so happy to finally see you again big sis Lulu!" Emerald said, getting the woman to freeze in place at the little nickname.

  "Pfft... big sis Lulu?" I questioned, trying my hardest not to laugh.

  "Hang on a second, if princess Luna is her big sister, doesn't that also make princess Celestia her big sister as well?" Pinkie queried, getting everyone to look at the sun princess.

  "Wha-But I don't even remember having two little sisters!?" She exclaimed. "A-And who knows if she's even telling the truth!"

  "Sorry ta say princess, but that their girl wasn't lying the entire time she was talkin" Applejack said, getting a look from Celestia. "What?"

  "*sigh* Ms. Melody, can you please explain to us how you know my sister's na-"

  "Sunnybun! I've missed you so much as well!" Emerald exclaimed, letting Luna go and wrapped herself around Celestia. "Hey Sunnybun, how did those snapdragons I planted in mother's garden turn out, I bet they became beautiful!" She said much to everyone's surprise at not just knowing Celestia garden but also her nickname.

  "Sunnybun?" Celestia asked and it looked like it triggered something in her mind. 

  "Oh it's so good to see you two again... but where's mother?" Emerald asked then something clicked in her head that made her frown. "Oh... that's right" she muttered in a sad tone, she slowly unhanded Celestia and looked at the ground. "She's not here anymore"

  "Correct, she vanished almost a few thousand years ago, yet you speak about her as if it just happened" Celestia said, slightly intrigued.

  "Because to me... it did just happen" Emerald said, tears slowly welling up then falling down her cheeks. "I've been trapped inside that accursed Nightmare form ever since mother vanished all those years ago!" She cried out, getting surprised and shocked look's from the two sisters.

  "Nightmare form... you mean like how Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon?" I asked, though she looked at me with confusion.

  "Night.... Nightmare Moon?" Emerald asked and she looked to Luna who looked away in shame. "Not you too big sis Lulu... you were the happiest amongst us all"

  "Yes, well... people change I suppose" Luna retorted a little coldly. "I take it that what Jay asked is true then?"

  "Yes, it's hard for me to say because I know not of how you'd react, but... I'm Queen Chrysalis" Emerald said, getting us all taken aback. 

  "You mean... that horrible woman who was hurting everyone I cared for... was you" I said getting up and started walking towards her. "Where's Thomas?" I asked, Violet could feel my anger slowly rising so she went to try and stop me.

  "Jay, calm yourself honey, if what she says is true then she didn't have any involvement with the invasion" Violet said but I didn't stop.

  "Where is Thomas?" I asked again, the anger currently rising even higher. 

  "I... I don't know who that- ah!" Emerald yelped as I lifted her up by the shirt and glared daggers at the girl. "P-Please, I-I don't know anyone named Thomas!"

  "Where's my friend!" I demanded, then suddenly felt a hard slap go across my face. 

  "Put the girl down you idiot, don't you know it's cowardly to hit a defenseless woman" Jackson said, retracting his hand back to him. The slap snapped me out of my rage and I let the girl down, I was ashamed of myself for even considering the possibility of hurting her. I walked off in a random direction and didn't look back. "Violet... help him calm down a little more, I think he needs you right now" Jackson said and the girl nodded before rushing after me.



3rd P.o.v





  "I'm sorry about my friend Emerald, you see, your Nightmare form put us through a lot of hell and we are all a bit on edge at the moment. You seem like you're a nice girl so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but I would like to know where my friend Thomas is if you have any clue" Jackson said and Emerald hung her head.

  "I'm sorry, I don't know anyone of that name" Emerald said and Jackson sighed at this response.

  "Emerald here actually appeared right after we finished firing that beam of magic we used earlier... she was the only person their" Cadance said, it took a moment for the other's to realize it, but Luna was the first to understand what they meant.

  "Please tell me you're joking... please let it be a joke" Luna said, her voice getting caught in her throat. Cadance wanted to say more but all that came out was a heavy sigh of sorrow.

  "Thomas... *sigh*... we finished the spell after a few more minutes so we went back to Thomas and Chrysalis, however we ran into a... minor set back" Shining started, feeling his soon to be wife's hand run over his brand new jagged scar. "Thomas jumped on Chrysalis as a last hail mary attempt that soon lead to Chrysalis' demise... unfortunately it led to his demise as well" He finished, finally letting the pieces fit into place.

  "My god... I can't believe it" Jackson said in disbelief, falling to his knees and holding back his tears. "Thomas... Thomas you fuckin.... fuck" he said, hanging his head and cried silently.

  "You're lying" Snowflake said, getting everyone's attention. They looked and saw a silently sobbing Rainbow Dash holding hands with the snowy white girl. "He can't be gone, he promised that he'd be okay"

  "Im sorry kid... he's gone, he uh... he went out like a true hero" Shining said, his tone also a bit gloomy. 

  "No... no!" Snow cried out, making the other's flinch at her voice. "Thomas is not dead you hear me, he's not..." she trailed off, letting her tears finally fall from her eyes.

  "I think you're right little girl" Cadance said, gaining all their attention. "Before we blasted them with our magic, he wanted us to tell you something"

  "What?" Rarity asked.

  "'I will find my way home'" She said. "It's funny, right before they both got blasted he was laughing so much it almost like he planned the whole thing from the very beginning" Cadance said, which made Jackson chuckle. 

  "Of course that idiot would laugh in death's face... if he said he'd find his way back, then I believe he'll come back to us" Jackson said in confidence.

  "We can worry about that at a later date, for now I think we have some work to do" Luna said, making the now homeless citizens of Canterlot known. "It will take at least a few months to rebuild everything that was destroyed in the city even with the most skilled of carpenters" She said which made the others think about the situation.

  "... Oh! Ah think Ah know just the people ta help rebuild this place" Applejack said.

  "I also believe ponyville has quite the group of capable doctors and nurses that will be more than happy to help the injured" Rarity threw in.

  "For now we have to make sure the people of Canterlot are well, I believe I have enough magic to teleport us to ponyville while Applejack writes a letter to the people she knows" Celestia stated then remembered her 'brand new sister'. "You will stay with ms. Fluttershy for the time being, if word got out that you were the cause of all this then everyone will be hellbent on killing you, for now just pretend you're a regular magic-user" She said, even though Emerald felt saddened by the request she still agreed since she knew her sister was right.

  "Rarity, me and you will go gather the doctors and nurses in ponyville along with any able person willing to help these people in need" Jackson said and Rarity nodded. "Twilight I want you, Spike and Applejack to send that letter to the people she knows and then set up a few medical tents for the injured"

  "Got it" Twilight said.

  "Rainbow... I want you to look after Snowflake, just until we get everything sorted out, sound good?" Jackson asked the woman who wiped her eyes and nodded. "Everyone knows what their job is?" He asked, they all nodded. "Then it's time to get to work people"



Rainbow's House, 8:05 a.m. , 2 Months After Emeralds Invasion




   "Snowflake I hope you're dressed, cause you're gonna be late!" Rainbow called up to the girl who was still in her room.

  "I.... feel sick!" Snowflake replied from her room much to Rainbows disappointment, she looked at the clock on the wall then sighed.

  "Im coming up kid!" Rainbow announced before going up the stairs and walked to Snow's room, she slowed down slightly when she passed Thomas' room. Rainbow looked at the door feeling a wave of sadness come over her, but she quickly shook it away and continued towards Snowflakes room. "Snow... you doing okay?" Rainbow asked, opening the door a bit.

  "I feel sick" Snow answered, though, Rainbow knew that was a flat out lie. "I don't think I can make it to school, in fact, I should probably stay here until it's over" she said making Rainbow snicker at her boldness.

  "C'mon kid, school isn't that bad" Rainbow said, mentally laughing at the statement. "I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better if you found some kids to play with that are around your age" she said, coming into the room.

  "But I like playing with you, and you're old!" Snow said getting her cheek pinched.

  "Im nineteen you brat, and I like playing with you too, but I think it'll be more fun if you had more friends to play with incase I'm too tired" Rainbow said, letting her cheek go. 

  "But what if they make fun of me?" She asked.

  'Now that's cute' Rainbow thought before humming. "Then ignore them, words can hurt but that's if you let them" she said. "This is something Thomas once told me when I was feeling what you're feeling, 'Who cares what other people think, they don't decide who you are, you do. You are, who you choose to be'"

  "Mr. Thomas said that?" Snow asked to which the speedster nodded. "I think I kinda get it... but wait, why would you be scared of people making fun of you?"

  "Uh-well-that's-uh..... a-anyways, just don't let their words get to you and just be yourself, I even think I know who your first friends might be" Rainbow said, getting them back on track. "I know these past two months have been hard on both of us, but we know that one day Thomas'll come back, so why don't you just have some fun until he does"

  "I'll try... I still think I'm gonna be made fun of" Snow said but Rainbow flicked her in the middle of her forehead.

  "Just remember those words and everything will be fine, now hurry up and get dressed, you're late as is" Rainbow told her before the two got up, Snow went and put on a fresh pair of clothes then went to the bathroom to do her daily routine while Rainbow went downstairs and sat on the couch. "*sigh* Hope everyone else is having fun rebuilding Canterlot, I know I gotta take care of Snow but I didn't think it be this tough, she's been like this for a month already... I have no idea what I'm doing, but neither did my parents and neither did their parents so I guess this is parenthood or guardian hood in my case" she said to herself before hearing a knock at the front door.

  She got up to go check, she made it to the door and opened to see Applejack with Apple bloom next to her. Just as Rainbow was about to say something Rarity popped up behind her with Sweetie belle and Scootaloo.

  "What's up you guy's and why aren't they at school?" Rainbow asked the two.

  "Well you see, Ms. Cheerlie posted at the school saying she was feeling a little sick after staying up late reading to the children in the remaining medical tents" Rarity answered, making Rainbow 'oh' at this. "So we thought we'd introduce the kid's to little Snowflake"

  "Oh, she was getting ready so she should be down any minute now" Rainbow said. "You guys wanna come in?"

  "Be happy too, so how you feelin Dash?" Applejack asked as the five walked into the house. "Haven't seen ya since my cousins stopped here for supplies two months ago, oh yeah, they also said that it'll take another two more months to finish rebuilding the city, Ah tell ya, havin magic-user's in the construction business sure came in handy" she said while Rainbow closed the door then walked back to the couch.

  "Well I'm glad they're almost done, and to answer your question about where I've been, I've been here taking care of Snowflake" Rainbow said, which made the girls a little perplexed. "What, is it hard to believe I'm taking care of a child?"

  "Well... a little, I thought at this point you were able to find her parents" Rarity said but noticed Rainbow looking slightly sad an grim. "Whats the matter darling?"

  "Well... remember how Thomas arrived with only Snow?" Rainbow asked and they nodded. "It was Just Snow" she rephrased it, a few seconds passed as they thought about the words and then it clicked.

  "Their dead?" Applejack asked, the only one out of the two brave enough to ask. Rainbow said nothing but nodded, answering Applejack's question, making Rarity gasp in shock. "Gosh, poor kid"

  "I had no idea, I thought they got separated, that poor little girl" Rarity said in a hushed voice, though the little trio was nowhere to be seen. "Where did those three head off too?" She questioned, only to be answered by the sounds of laughter echoing in the house.

  "Guess there with Snow, wonder what their laughing about" Rainbow said and the three got up to go see what was going on. As they climbed the stairs, Rainbow remembered that they had to pass Thomas' room in order to reach Snowflakes room. Taking a silent breath they started walking past the door, but Rainbow suddenly stopped right in front of it unbeknownst to the two going to check on the kids.

  Rarity was the first to reach the door and she peered inside, cracking it open just enough for Applejack to look inside as well. They saw the four talking and laughing with one another without a care in the world. After everything they've been through, Applejack and Rarity felt a little more happy seeing the four girls get along with each other.

  "So Snowflake, how are liking ponyville?" Sweetie belle asked her.

  "It's a lot better than Canterlot, everyone is so much nicer here but I think Im still getting used to it, Ms. Rainbow helps me relax when I feel anxious about being new here" Snow said and Applejack aw'd quietly.

  "Ya hear that, Rainbow is really doing a great job takin care of her, it was like she was born for this kinda stuff just like how she was born to be a daredevil" Applejack whispered to Rarity who hummed in agreement.

  "I think we don't have to worry about those four getting along anymore, right Rainbow... darling?" Rarity asked only to finally notice that their rainbow haired friend isn't with them. They looked down the hall to see if she was behind them, but they only saw the door next to them open. "Rainbow Dash, are you in here darling?"

  "Go away guy's... I don't wanna talk right now" The girl muttered while curled up on the bed.

  "Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked, walking into the room and over to Rainbows side. "... How much time have ya actually grieved darlin?" She asked her friend as Rarity closed the door behind her and came over to her side.

  "A day" Rainbow answered somberly, making the girl's become worried.

  "Darling, I understand that people grieve in their own way... but it looks like you've bottled it all up" Rarity said.

  "Does it look that obvious, man I must look pathetic" Rainbow sighed, adding an empty chuckle. "I know he'll come back one day... but it still hurts you know, he was one of my best friends and he's gone for who knows how long... I don't want Snow to see me like this so I push the feelings down until they were almost gone, but everytime I walk past his room I just feel it sting my heart. I keep expecting Thomas to just walk out his room with a smile on his face or be cooking in the kitchen or opening the front door with groceries telling me how Twilight keeps experimenting on him. I just wish he was here and not somewhere we don't even know" Rainbow said and the girls watched as their friend became more and more broken.

  "Ya know Rainbow... we understand how you're feelin, we all miss Tommy as much as you, Ah loved havin him come an fool around with me an mah sister's, tryin ta do more work than he should, but we all had time ta understand the situation" Applejack said, placing a hand on Rainbows shoulder. "Yer the only person who hasn't had time ta process such things"

  "Maybe you should go see Princess Emerald at Fluttershy's cottage, if I remember correctly she can help with this type of thing, Fluttershy said that the princess helped mend her sadness with her magic" Rarity said and Rainbow kept quiet. "I just hate seeing you suffer like this Rainbow... and I'm sure Snowflake would hate it just as much as us" she told the girl which got her thinking.

  "If I keep acting like this I wont be able to take care of Snowflake, and Thomas entrusted me to take care of her... *sigh* I'll go talk to the princess" Rainbow decided and Rarity smiled.

  "We know y'all don't like being open about yer feelin's, but this will be good for you, Ah went an Ah feel ten times better" Applejack said and the girl humed. "We'll look after the kid's so go on an see the princess"

  "Alright, I'll be back in a bit... can you guys keep this a secret from Snow though" Rainbow asked the two. 

  "Of course darling, now go before they find out where we are" Rarity said and Rainbow slowly rose to her feet before quietly walking out of the room then quietly exit the house. "I've never seen her this depressed before, losing Thomas must've been really hard on her"

  "Ah know what ya mean Rares, Twilight was acting weird as well an even princess Celestia told us that princess Luna wont come outta her room unless it's for food and water" Applejack said and gained a small frown. "Thomas said he's not attractive to the opposite sex but he left three girl's heartbroken" she said, though Rarity noticed that Applejack wanted to say something else, but decided it wasn't a good time to ask.

  "Well... when he comes back, that boy will have a lot of questions to answer and face the wrath of three heartbroken women" Rarity said. "I'll bring the camera and take pictures of the beating" she added, making the girl chuckle a bit.

  "*sigh* Alright, let's get those three an take'em to the farm to go play, we actually have a pond past the orchard if they wanna go swimmin, it'll be fun to actually relax a little for a day" Applejack said which surprised Rarity.

  "You, relaxing, I never thought I'd see the day" She commented and they both went to get the kids.



Near Fluttershy's Cottage, P.o.v- Rainbow Dash




  "This is stupid, I'm just a little sad that Thomas isn't here... *sigh* I hate feeling like this" I said to myself as I walked to Fluttershy's house, I don't know what the princess is gonna do, but I'm sure I'll get over whatever I'm feeling. I walked along the dirt path for a few more minutes until I finally reached Fluttershy's house. "Alright, just ask if she can help then get out, easy" I muttered then knocked on the door then waited.

  "Yes?" Emerald asked, opening the door slightly. "Oh, ms. Dash, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, inviting me into the house.

  "Well princess, it might seem a little stupid, but my friends think something is wrong with me after the whole 'Thomas disappearing' thing and they think you can help pinpoint whatever is wrong with me" I explained as I walked over to the couch and sat down, Emerald hummed at this while closing the door then thought to herself for a second. "Do you think you can use your magic to help me stop feeling like this?" I asked.

  "My magic doesn't work like that Ms. Dash, I can alter emotions as well as feeling's yes... but it will only for a short amount of time... can you elaborate on what you are going through, tell me how you're feeling every time you think of Thomas?" Emerald asked, but I felt a little hesitant to do so. "It's okay to open up about how you're feeling ms. Dash, there is no shame in confiding your feelings and emotion with someone, so please... tell me" she begged which got me to break.

  "Okay, okay..... ever since Thomas vanished after fighting your nightmare form I've been having this constant pain in my chest for the past two months, I went to see my friend Violet to check if everything was fine and she said nothing was wrong, but the pain kept on coming. For two months I've felt this pain as well as unbridled sadness, rage and the urge to cry my eye's out... the day that Twilight's brother said Thomas was gone was probably the worst day of my life, my friend was either somewhere alive... or somewhere dead. When I started taking care of Snowflake, I buried these emotions and urges to make sure she didn't have to go through what I'm feeling. I want her to have hope that Thomas will come back home just like he promised, but everytime I pass the room he stayed in, I feel...." I trailed off thinking about his room door. I would always think about how it would just suddenly open up and I'd see him there in his bed reading. It makes my heart hurt.

  "Heartbroken?" Emerald asked, finishing my explanation and I looked at her like she was crazy, after a minute I shook my head and sighed before getting up and went for the door. "I-It's only natural for you to feel this way when you deeply care for that person!"

  "Yeah, sure, next you're gonna say that I'm in love with him" I said, slightly annoyed.

  "Well... are you?" Emerald asked just as I got to the door, I whipped around to answer but nothing came out of my mouth. "Is that why you're feeling this way, are you in love with Thomas?" She asked again, but I didn't say anything, "... Rainbow I know most of you don't like me very much, and I'm also the reason Thomas is gone, but I want to make up for that any way I can... if you want me to help then tell me, if not then I completely under-"

  "Yes!" I blurted out catching the woman off guard.

  "What?" She questioned. 

  "Yes okay! I've been in love with him ever since he started living with me!" I said and Emerald looked a little surprised. "... Well!?"

  "I-I honestly thought you were going to leave, b-but this is good, now we can dive deeper into this and find some peace of mind" Emerald said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back to the couch. "Okay Rainbow, I want you to tell me everything"

  "L-Like... what kinda everything?" I asked nervously, she sat me down and looked me dead in the eye.

  "Everything"

  "Well... alright"



Medical Tents Near The Entrance Of Ponyville- Jackson




  "Another day, another few hours tending the injured" I said as I walked around the medical tents set up around the entrance of ponyville. It's been a strange couple of months, but I'm glad that we only have a handful of people left in these tents left, though it will take another two months for the city to be finished. "*sigh* Alright, guess I should go relive Violet of her duties, she even requested a day off since everything could be handled by the remaining doctors in ponyville, glad everything is going back to nor-"

  "Jay c'mon, you know we have to get back" I heard Violet say behind an empty tent, I quietly snuck over to see what was up and saw Jay and Violet both sitting on the floor making out like a couple of horny teenagers. 

  "Aren't you the one who dragged me here in the first place?" Jay asked when they parted from each other, Violet was blushing a bright red after they finished kissing. "Maybe later you can come with me to Sugarcube corner, say an hour after your shift is done?"

  "I like the sound of tha-"

  "What are you doing!" I exclaimed, jumping out from my cover. Violet screamed in fright while Jay had picked her up and was ready to haul ass until he realized it was me. "Having a little fun are we?"

  "We were, then you came in and ruined the vibe" Jay said, making me laugh. "Anyways, what are you doing here Jackie, thought you were heading back to Canterlot today?" He asked which made me feel a little iffy but I forced a smile.

  "Ah you know how Tia is with her subjects, wants to make sure everything is going smoothly and that the people are healing at a steady pace" I said and Jay seemed to notice something off.

  "I'll meet you at Sugarcube Corner Vie, Jackie... let's go on a walk, been a while since we've actually talked," Jay said as Violet excused herself to go get ready. Jay started walking towards the outside of the town, beckoning me to follow to which I did, now we were walking along the edge of ponyville. "So what's wrong man, you seemed a bit down back there" Jay asked.

  "That obvious huh?... well it's nothing to serious I guess, but me and Feather decided to stay as friends" I admitted, making Jay cock an eyebrow at me.

  "You two were only together for two months, what happened?" He asked, admittedly I didn't want to say but Jay's my best friend so it's better him than no one.

  "Feather said she didn't want to always worry about me being alive or dead when we get into fights with people like Chrysalis. Apparently she's been feeling this way ever since she found me half dead outside the castle when I got thrown out, I can't blame her for not wanting that burden really... I can't imagine what it must feel like to always wonder if the person you love will come back alive or dead when faced with terrible danger... how does Violet handle all that?" I asked the man and he just shrugged.

  "We actually talked about that after the whole Chrysalis thing, she made me promise to always come back alive that way she can kill me herself for making her worry so much" Jay said, getting us both to chuckle. "That girl is special, I'll tell you that much, she knows full well about the dangers we face and has come to terms with it... and I guess I understand where Feather might be coming from with not knowing if you will be alright, but that's just life... well, our life anyways... I don't know the right words to say, nor will I attempt to find said word's, but just know that I'm always with you man, no matter what" he said and it actually made me feel a little better about the whole thing.

  "Thanks man... that means a lot to me" I thanked him. "So to add on to more depressing matters, how do you think Thomas is doing?" I asked and Jay gave a low hum.

  "Well he's either dead or alive somewhere, seems like everyone is hoping for the latter, so honestly I don't know how he might be doing... I just hope he's okay" Jay answered.

  "If he's alive... then all we can do is wait for him" I stated, getting a firm nod from Jay, losing our friend was a hard pill to swallow but it was necessary if we were to keep our friends safe and sound. "... I wanna get stronger... I want to be strong enough to actually put my foot in the same race as Thomas... and I know you want to get stronger too"

  "No doubt about that… I wanna get stronger no matter what... so what do you think we should do?" He questioned. "How can we re-learn what we already know?"

  "We train, perfect our skills, we'll ask Shining if he can teach us how to properly fight and think of strategies on the spot when needed, then we'll hone any and all abilities that we possess in order to further strengthen ourselves... we can't stay as we are now, we have to get stronger, even if it kills us" I said with determination. "You in?"

  "... Yeah, I'm tired of having my ass getting kicked" Jay stated, then looked at his hands. "If getting stronger means I can protect Violet and all our friends, then I'll gladly do anything to be as strong as Thomas" he said.

  "We'll train until our bodies are purple and blue, until we've gone past our normal limits, we'll train until we can finally hold our own with people as strong as Thomas!" I exclaimed, holding my fist out to Jay. "This'll be hell, last chance to back out"

  "It's me you're talking to, like I'm ever the one to back down from a challenge" Jay joked then fist bumped me. "Let's get stronger... for Thomas... for everyone" he said and I nodded.

  "Agreed, before get started with training though... go have some fun with your lady man, and be sure to tell her about the training or else she'll kill us both" I said to which Jay joked, "And thanks for the talk man, I really needed that" I threw in, getting a hug from the man before he headed back to Violet. I was once again alone to think for myself, my plan for getting stronger was honestly all over the place, but it's better than not having anything.

  I walked around the edge of Ponyville for a good twenty minutes, thinkin about home for the first time in six months. Mom is probably still flipping over streets to find her 'little' boy, my dad was most likely trying to keep her from tearing open the whole world, but I know my sister's will be okay since they are able to adapt in any situation. The pain of never seeing them again felt faint, but it was fading, as if the wound was finally able to heal, and all that's left is the tenderness it's left behind.

  "Enjoying your walk Mr. Castle?" A soft and sweet voice asked, I chuckled a little bit knowing who it was already.

  "Indeed, beautiful day for a walk thanks to your power over the temperature Ms. Celestia" I answered, eliciting a giggle from the princess. "So I'm guessing everything is running smoothly at Canterlot?" 

  "Very, remind me to give Applejack and her family a little reward for helping us rebuild Canterlot, and in such a short time as well" Celestia said, I was about to write it down only to remember I didn't have my usual equipment with me. "Seems someone loved their work" she teased.

  "Sorry to say Tia, but that's what happens when you write reminders and schedules for a boss who forgets everything planned a few days prior" I retorted, getting her to bite her lip and blush a slight red. "So what brings you here Tia, I thought you'd be supervising the rebuilding process"

  "I got some free time, besides if Applejack trusts them then so do I, anyways I hoping you'd like to accompany me to Sugarcube corner for some breakfast... if you want" Celestia asked me and I stopped.

  "Are... are you asking me out?" I asked, a bit amused but also flattered.

  "Wha-What! Of course not, I just wanted to see if you wish to join me is all!" Celestia said hastily, blushing a bright red color. I chuckled at her reaction, and it honestly made me feel better. "D-Do you want to join me or not?" She asked, more sternly this time. Although her blush face wasn't helping her sound more stern.

  "Hmm... on one condition" I said, getting her full attention. "I want to plant the first flower in your new garden, deal" I said, she chuckled at this before shaking my hand.

  "Deal, what will you plant inside my garden?" Celestia asked, I choked down a little laugh and composed myself.

  "Probably some dandelions, those were mine and my mother's favorite kinda flower" I said, getting her to giggle a bit.

  "A Mama's boy huh?" Celestia queried, I actually felt a slight burn on my cheeks when she said that.

  "Kinda" 

  "How cute, that gives me more teasing material" Celestia said as we began walking back to town. "Maybe I'll plant some black rose's in a special place for Thomas"

  "Aren't black rose's mean death?" I asked her.

  "Yes, but it also has a positive meaning as well, such as a new beginning and a major change occurring" Celestia said while humming happily. "Do you believe Thomas will keep his promise… to find a way back to us, I admit I have my doubts if we'll ever see him again… but then again, I doubted I'd ever see my sister again. So maybe the impossible isn't as impossible like we first thought"

"Well, if he comes back then we'll throw the biggest party for the hero of Canterlot" I said, eliciting a giggle from the princess. "I trust that Thomas will show up one day, until then, all we can really do is continue moving forward and protect those who cannot protect themselves. After everything is back to normal, myself and Jay are going to ask Shining if he could teach us how to properly fight and plan ahead, I hope you don't mind" I said, throwing in the training me and Jay wanted.

"I can teach you how to fight" Celestia said and I gave her a questionable look. "Before our mother had vanished, she spent a good three years teaching me how to fight, and when Luna was old enough I taught her what I knew. I am a princess, yes, but I was also trained to be a fighter as well, I actually use to disguise myself then go to a gym to spar with other's who could fight like me but I'd always win with a knock out within five seconds after a month of going there" Celestia said, nonchalantly telling me how she basically fought people for fun then knocked them out in just a few seconds.

"You are one scary lady Tia, remind me to never piss you off" I said and she laughed. 

"So how about it, want me to train you personally?" Celestia asked, I thought about it for a second and realized that if I train with Celestia personally then I could develop my skills quicker and inhance my lighting abilities as well. "I can arrange Shining Armor to train Jay while you train with me"

"Alright... you got a deal" I said.

"Good, now first lesson!" Celestia exclaimed, getting right in my face, her arms slowly wrapping around my body and coming closer to my face. I was to shocked to move and just waited for the inevitable, but she just giggled before sweeping my leg then pushed my to the ground with little to no effort. "Never let your opponent get close to you"

"This training is gonna be hell... isn't it?" I asked, getting myself back up on my feet.

"Oh, you have no idea"
> Chapter 13: Welcome To The Crystal Empire! Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




7:00 a.m., Five Month's After The Invasion Of Canterlot, P.o.v- Jackson




  "Must you sleep naked Mr. Castle?" Celestia groaned, shielding her eyes as I rose out of bed nude. "Cant you at least wear some shorts or boxers?" 

  "It's not as comfortable, but it's your fault for waking me up so early in the morning on my day off" I said whilst walking to the closet and threw on some boxers and shorts. "What do you need Tia?" I asked the woman who slowly uncovered her eyes then sighed.

  "Can you please help me with Luna, after Cadance left for the Crystal Empire a month ago she hasn't so much as said a word to anyone... I'm worried" Celestia said and to be honest, I was also worried for the girl too. It's been five months since Thomas vanished and so far it seems like everyone has given up hope that he would ever come back, even Luna. "Would you please come and talk to her with me?" She requested and I nodded.

  "Let me grab a shirt an we can go, don't need you ogling me while you talk with your sister" I said, to which elicited a fiery blush from Celestia. I caught her staring at me a few times when we would train together, speaking of, I seem to have gotten better at using my lightning abilities and even learned quite a few new fighting techniques with and without weapons. I even slimmed down a tad bit too, Celestia said that big muscles would only slow me down, so she came up with a way for me to debulk myself a bit while still keeping the hardened muscles I gained.

  "I do not ogle at you, girl's ogle, a grown woman such as myself inspects to see where improvements can be made if necessary!" Celestia shot back, though I was used to these responses, hell, I even found them adorable at times. 

  "Is that why you were drooling at yesterday's training session?" I asked, putting on a red and white shirt. Celestia went to reply, but nothing came out, her mouth just opened and closed for a bit. "It's okay Tia, I don't mind the ogling, but try to make it a little less discrete next time" I said, chuckling at her shocked and embarrassed reaction. 

  "Just.... follow me damn it!" She exclaimed with a small growl before storming out of my room with me in tow. As we walked down the halls of the castle, I couldn't help but still be surprised at how good it looks after being rebuilt in such a short amount of time. When Applejack's family finished rebuilding the city, Celestia wanted to pay each and every one of them for working as hard as they did, but they all declined the payment no matter how many times Celestia insisted. 

  "Have you gotten the Apple family to budge on their payment?" I asked to which she groaned.

  "No matter what I say they won't accept it, they just told me they were happy to help and no payment was required... I understand that they are good people and wanted to help, but let me at least show my gratitude in some way" Celestia said, and I chuckled at this little reaction. "I'll deal with it another time I suppose...... is it me..... or does it feel like the days are starting to become longer than they were before" She said with a hint of sadness.

  "I know what you mean, feels like something is missing" I said, looking out the windows we passed. "It's a lonely feeling... isn't?" I muttered, though my question was left without an answer. I guess I already knew her answer since we're both one in the same in many ways, I just wanted to hear her say it.

  "My mother would use to tell Luna and I that everyday was a new beginning, so we must take a deep breath and... start again... but it's also hard to forget someone who's given you so much to remember" Celestia said, her voice becoming slightly uneven as she spoke, but she choked down whatever feeling she had and gave out a sorrowful sigh. "He was a nice boy... never failed to bring a smile to other's face's... even risked his life to save people who knew very little about him... it's always the good one's... isn't" She asked this time, and like before, no answer came out because she also knew my answer.

  We continued our walk in silence for a while until we reached the hall towards Luna's room. As we moved closer to the door, I saw two familiar faces standing guard outside of her door.

  "Silver, Blazing, how have you two been?" I asked the two.

  "We've been hanging in their, been listening to Princess Luna play this strange music on Thomas' phone, gotta say its pretty good" Blazing said. "Did you two want to come in and talk with her?" She asked, we nodded and she reached for the knob then turned it. When she  cracked the door slightly we heard the sounds of the music Blazing was talking about. "Princess, your sister and Jackson are here to speak with you"

  "Go away!" Luna demanded though it was muffled by a pillow, and turned up the song she was listening too to full blast.

  

  Although I loved her music selection, we gestured both Silver and Blazing to stay outside and we went inside Luna's room. Her room was completely pitch black save for the glowing light of Thomas' phone on Luna's bed, we slowly walked over to her bedside and sat on the edge.

  "I told you to go away," Luna said through the pillow that was covering her face, Celestia gently removed the pillow and frowned seeing her sister's raw cheeks. "Leave me alone…"

  "You can't stay cooped up in your room all day Luna, you need some sun and a decent meal" Celestia said, but Luna just stared blankly at the wall opposite of us. "It's been five month's Luna, you're gonna have to let this thing go"

  "And what is this thing you are implying sister?" Luna asked, her voice a little lower than normal. 

  "Look, Luna.... it's been five month's, we understand that you're going through a rough time right now, but you have to realize that.... Thomas might never come back" I said, slightly reluctant for the words to come out of my mouth. Luna stayed quiet for a while, but she ended up turning off the music.

  "Get out" Luna said coldly, not even looking at us.

  "Luna please-"

  "I said LEAVE!!!" She screamed out, making both of us jump back in fright. "GET OUT!!!" She demanded and we Immediately ran out the room, slamming it closed, scaring Blazing and Silver.

  "What happened?" Silver asked us, looking at us with concern. "Did she have a Nightmare outburst?"

  "A WHAT!?" Celestia and I exclaimed.

  "Yeah, princess Luna has small outbursts of where she goes into a small state of her Nightmare form... happens every now and again" Blazing said calmly, she acted like it was no big deal when clearly that was NOT the case. 

  "And you didn't think to inform us of this happening!?" Celestia asked, outraged by their negligence. "How long has this been going on," Celestia demanded to know.

  "Uh... four months, Princess Cadance told us how to handle it so there's really nothing to be worried about," Silver answered, still unbothered by the angry sun princess.

  "Honestly it's not as bad as you think, I would say it's a defense mechanism that doesn't really cause harm to the mental or physical health" Blazing explained.

  "It's basically a more hardcore version of a mood swing" Silver said then a muffled beep went off inside Luna's room. "Oh, guess it's time for her daily snack" 

  "No, no, that's at twelve, we usually go in and set up her bath and change her music at eight" Blazing said and opened the door. "Princess, give us a moment please, we'll be right with you in a bit" she announced then softly closed the door.

  "Dont worry your majesty, we understand what Princess Luna is going through since we were in the same position as her, she just has a harder time accepting it so please give her time to recover a bit more" Silver said, while the Nightmare outburst were a bit of a concern, it seemed like these two had everything under control. I looked to Celestia to see what she thought of it.

  "*sigh*... Thank you for taking care of my sister you two, this means the world to me... just be careful, understand?" Celestia queried and the two saluted before heading inside Luna's room. "Walk with me Mr. Castle" she ordered and started towards a random direction.

  We walked in total silence for what felt like eternity. While walking down the massive halls of the castle, I still find it hard to believe that everything, including 
the city had been rebuilt in such a short amount of time. This world ceases to amaze me, first the kindness it's shown us, then the friendships we've created, then these new powers that were thrusted upon us... feelings we've acquired for a certain person. This place was everything I needed to be happy, and yet, I feel so... empty in some strange way. I've finally accepted the fact that I could never go home and honestly, I didn't want to... but I just don't understand why I have this feeling of emptiness.

  "Jackson?" Celestia called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Didn't you hear me?"

  "O-Oh, sorry about that Tia... was lost in thought for a little bit" I apologized. "What were you saying?" I asked, finally taking notice of the frown presenting itself on her face. "Whats the matter Tia?"

  "Am I a horrible person Jackson?" She asked, taking me aback a bit by the question, but then I remembered how she handled Luna when she was in her Nightmare form.

  "Why do you think you're a horrible person Tia?" I asked and a heavy sigh went past her lips.

  "Did you see how much of a handle those two have on Luna?" She asked though I didn't answer. "They knew exactly what was wrong, how to handle it, took measures of how to help her through everyday life, hell, they even know how she's feeling... for four months she's been having these 'Nightmare' outbursts and I didn't even know. I thought my relationship with my sister had finally been fixed, but all Im doing is repeating the same dumb mistakes I've made back when she felt exactly like this... I didn't take the time to consider her feelings so she turned into that monster, and now it could happen again and I still failed to help her. Silver and Blazing are doing everything they can to help her get back on her feet while I was busy preparing Cadance for the trip to The Crystal Empire... I'm a terrible sister and person for neglecting someone who needed me" Celestia said and wiped away a few tears, I could tell she wanted to completely bawl her eyes out right at this moment, but if she did then her image as a ruler would be ruined.

  Knowing that she needed help, I took Celestia's hand and quickly led us down the endless halls of the castle until we reached her room. I moved her inside and shut the door behind me, leaving only us two in the privacy of her room. I walked over and immediately brought her into an embrace. 
 
 "Jackson what are you-" 

  "You're not a horrible person person Tia, you're only one person and you are doing everything you can" I stated firmly, much to her surprise. "Luna is just going through a hard time since Thomas disappeared, but I know she loves you and understands that you're trying to help, you aren't repeating what you did a thousand years ago... all of us can see you're trying to be a better sister and it's slowly coming into fruition, of course you'll make mistakes time from time but hey, you're only human, there is only so much you can do" I said as calmly as I possibly could, all while keeping her in a tight embrace. "You've helped me through so much when I first came here, I can never thank you enough for that, but maybe it's time for me to be your shoulder to cry on" I said and I heard her sniffle a bit, then give out a little whimper.

  "Thank you" She whispered and began crying her eyes out, slowly wrapping her arms around me, Celestia was holding me so tightly that I felt my entire back pop. Though at this moment, I didn't mind a little pain if it meant making her feel better. "Thank you" she whispered again, though it was hard to hear since she was now burying her face in my chest.

  "Just let it all out Tia, I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever" I said, stroking her hair gently. I used to do this to calm down my sister's when they were crying or upset, it always worked so I might as well give it a try with Celestia. "You'll never be a horrible person, you're sweet, beautiful, strong, caring and can make a mean chocolate cake.... Celestia, in my eyes, you're the most amazing person I've ever met or will ever meet" I said, she raised her head up to me with streams of tears running down her cheeks. I gently wiped her tears away and gave her a warm smile, and that very smile was exchanged for a very passionate kiss from Celestia. I immediately froze feeling the soft lips press against mine for the second time, I was expecting her to hug me tighter and cry a little more. Fortunately, I was wrong.

  "I-I'm sorry... you were saying all those nice things a-and I thought..." Celestia said once she pulled away from me, her cheeks turning to a bright red. I blinked a couple times as I processed what had just happened, once I did I grew my own blush. "I-I think I might've jumped the gun on this, I was to forward, I should've waited to see if you-hmph!" I cut her off by cupping her cheeks and bringing her lips back to mine, she immediately melted into the kiss and slowly wrapped her arms around my head.

  "Still as heavenly as I remember" I muttered, parting from the woman who had a look that begged for more. "You know, I feel the same way Tia... I've felt like this after we started training together, I even liked it when you ogled me during breaks" I said, chuckling at the red faced women.

  "I-I told you... a woman like me inspects... and I liked what I saw" She said then pulled me back to her lips, while she distracted me with her lips, Celestia turned us until my back faced the bed then pushed herself against me. Unable to balance myself, I fell on the bed with Celestia on top of me as she continued to relentlessly attack my mouth. "Do you mind?" She asked, pulling away and tugging her dress with a sultry smile.

  "U-Uh... s-sure" I said and she straddled me, I leaned up and took hold of the edges of her dress. I was confused about how to take it off, but Tia softly snorted before taking my hands and lifted them up along with her dress. Doing as instructed, I pulled off her pure white dress then tossed it aside, when I turned my attention back to Celestia, I was now face to face with her bare chest. "W-Whoa, just... whoa" I said in awe, Celestia giggled at my reaction and quickly removed my shirt in less than ten seconds.

  "You're not so bad yourself Mr. Castle" Celestia said in a flirty tone, brushing her fingers across my well earned body that she molded for me. "I'll be honest Jackson, I've wanted to have you since the moment I met you, now that I have a chance... I won't let you go" she said, whispering that last part to me while pressing her extremely soft breasts against me, I couldn't stop staring at them. "Interested in my breasts I see, wanna know the size?"

  "That would be... very useful information," I answered nervously. 

  "Last time I checked, I believe it clocked in around forty four double D's" Celestia said proudly while my jaw was officially nonexistent hearing that answer. I wanted to say something witty, but all that came out was small cracks in my voice, Celestia smiled seductively and leaned over to my ear. "And the best part... they're all your's" she said.

  Hearing that statement finally triggered something inside of me. I don't know where I gained the strength to do what I did, but I quickly pulled Celestia down to replace me at the bottom while I stood above her and immediately attacked her left breast with my mouth and then her right breast with my left hand. The sun princess gave out a muffled moan as I played with her chest, Celestia bit her finger to trap the moans that were trying to slip past her lip, her chest heaved as I continued to play with her and for some reason I smelt something fill my senses. After a few minutes of playing with her tits, I pulled back and panted heavily in an attempt to catch my breath.

  "I-I guess asking if you like my breast's is no longer necessary," Celestia said with a heavy blush going across her face, but at this moment I couldn't hear nothing other than my own racing heart thumping in my ears. "Is something wrong Jackso-eep!" I cut her off by gently nipping her neck, "J-Jackson!" She gasped.

  "You said if you had the chance you wouldn't let me go... the same goes for you, your majesty" I said, pulling my mouth off her neck, I smiled seeing the little teeth marks I left. "If I am yours... then you are mine" I said with a lustful grin, this made Celestia's blush darken even more.



Medical Wing, 8:53 a.m., P.o.v- Jay




  "So tell me what occurred again so I can fully understand how this happened" Violet said as she healed my arm with her magic, I myself don't really understand what happened either. 

  "I'm telling you that while I was practicing my swordplay, I heard Thomas call my name, so being excited to hear my bestfriends voice again after so many months, I turned my body a little too quickly and didn't see the blade get close to my arm" I said, which admittedly made me sound like a nut job. I know I heard that voice as clear as day, it was definitely Thomas' voice, no doubt about it... but why did I hear it. "I swear to you that I heard him"

  "Jay, I'm telling you this because I love you, but you sound bat shit insane" Violet said bluntly getting a look from me. "I think you need a little break from these long training sessions, yes they make you stronger but if you dont listen to your body then you'll collapse from exhaustion"

  "But I-"

  "Nope, either you take a break, or I make you" Violet threatened, her glare boring holes into my head. I knew better than to argue with Violet, mainly because she would quite literally kill me, but I also knew that she was right. Ever since Shining left for the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance, I've trained twice as hard to keep myself from slacking.

  "*Sigh*... Okay... maybe you're right, in all honesty I could definitely use a break from training" I said and Violet gave a sigh of relief hearing this. "Thanks for looking out for me hun"

"It not a problem, it's been my job to take care of and look after you since day one" Violet said, kissing my cheek. "Now I need you to take off your shirt, I want to check if there are any bruises or other injuries that I missed" Violet ordered and I followed said orders. I stood up from the stool I was sitting on and took off my shirt, being careful not to strain my tender arm. Once my shirt was off I tossed it aside and turned towards Violet, her face was emitted a bright pink blush across her cheeks and her eyes stayed glued to me. I chuckled seeing her reaction, I knew exactly why she was blushing and looking so intently.

  "Guess you like the results huh, better thank Shining for helping me slim down a bit, honestly I look a lot better than before" I said to my girlfriend, but she was too entranced by my well hardened body to respond. "Love, you okay?" I asked, snapping my fingers to get her back to the real world.

  "Huh? O-Oh, right uh... w-what were we doing?" Violet asked in a daze, I held down my laughter and pointed to my arm to remind her. "Yes! That's right, checking your body for injuries... I uh, better take my time and feel around.... f-for a more thorough analysis" Vie said, swallowing hard before reaching forward and placed her hands on my abdomen, shuddering and blushing like crazy now.

  "Hello? I'm here to see Nurse Violet for a physi- oh..." We heard someone say, we snapped our heads towards the voice and immediately saw Princess Emerald standing at the doors staring directly at us, we both felt like a couple deers in headlights. "Should I uh.... come back later or...?" She suggested and we quickly remembered what type of position we were in and we fumbled to make ourselves presentable.

  "I-I apologize Princess, I uh, forgot you were stopping by today... please come in" Violet said as I finally put my shirt back on, I turned back with a nervous smile and chuckled softly. "Excuse us for what you saw, I was just making sure Mr. Adonis  didnt sustain anymore injuries like the one on his arm" Vie said, trying to sound professional about the whole thing, but the bright pink blush killed all professionalism.

  "Please calm yourselves you two, I'm a thousand and twenty for goddess sakes" Princess Emerald said, walking over and sitting on the bed across from us. "It's gonna take more than walking in on a couple being intimate to bother me, it also seemed like you were enjoying yourself quite a lot Ms. Violet" The Princess said, and I swear I could boil water on Violets head with how heated she was getting.

  "P-Please dont tease me Princess, I'm embarrassed enough as is" Violet admitted, her true reaction cracking through, she even tried to hide her face with her hands.

  "Well now, I have more teasing material, but anyways, you said were here for a physical Princess?" I asked and the woman nodded before summoning a scroll addressed to her. I took the parchment and looked it over, seems Celestia is starting to see Emerald as a sister now rather than a villainess which is good since the girls at Ponyville became friends with her after a month or two, some even took little sessions with her to help with some issues they've had after the invasion. "Alrighty then, I leave you to it Violet, I'm gonna go shower and get us some food" I said, handing the scroll back to Emerald and headed for the door. 

  "Oh, before I forget... do you think you can ask Sunnybun if she would be interested to talk later, I just want to thank her for giving me a chance after what my Nightmare form did" Emerald requested, fiddling with her thumbs and looking away shyly. I was happy to oblige this request, plus I owe her for how we met last time.

  "Of course, mine and Violets room is a little way's down from her room so I'll stop by there and tell her on the way" I said and I was quickly wrapped in a hug by the woman.

  "Thank you so much, this means the world to me" Emerald thanked and kissed my cheek before letting go. "It was nice meeting you again Jay"

  "Uh... yeah...... likewise" I said in a state of shock, I understood that it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, but it felt oddly different than just a quick peck on the cheek. I looked to Violet and she didn't seem to mind the gesture I was given which struck me as odd. "I should probably uh... head out now" I said, going for the door, the two waved me out and I started my way towards Celestia's room. On my way to her room I touch my cheek and tried to figure out why it felt so strange, it felt sensual in a way but also loving as well, it was like a kiss you give to your boyfriend or girlfriend. 

   "Im surprised Violet didn't say anything when Emerald kissed me, of course she could've just seen it as a friendly gesture of thanks, but the way she looked after was calm and knowing... is there something Violets not telling me, or am I just over thinking a little peck on the cheek?" I asked myself then groaned a little. "I think I really do need to cut back on the training, I can't think straight when I'm this exhausted. I'll go to Celestia's room, pop in an out then take a shower, easy" I muttered to myself, quickly planning ahead.

  After a good ten minutes of walking through the corridors of the giant castle , I finally reached Celestia's room. I now stood in front of the massive door that held two suns painted on either sides as well as a gold trim that gave it that look of elegance, it wasn't as fancy as Luna's, but it was still pretty fancy in its own way. 

  "Hey princess, Emerald wanted to see if you would like to talk with her after her physi-" I cut myself off as I opened the door and stepped inside, I don't know what I was expecting really, but I do know I wasn't expecting to see my best friend ass naked going to town with an all powerful being who can control the sun. I was too shocked to move or even speak, I was totally frozen, I mean... who do you even respond to catching someone in the act.

  "OH GODDESS ABOVE, YES!" Celestia screaming out as Jackson rutted her as hard he as could, and by the moans that Celestia was crying out, she was enjoying every second of it. "It's so deep... please... harder... fuck me harder!" Celestia begged as Jackson continued pistoning himself inside her. "T-That's an order- ah!- a-an order from your princess!"

  "If that's what the princess want's-" He stopped and plunged himself inside of her as hard as could, causing Celestia to scream out in ecstasy with each thrust he rammed inside of her. "Then I'll happily oblige!" He finished saying and continued fucking Celestia, all while I was still behind them completely mortified. I had to get out of here somehow without them knowing, I have to be as quiet as I possibly can.

  "Holy shit!" I shouted before running out of the room and slamming the door shut. Once the door had slammed closed I heard Jackson curse and a lot of shuffling followed suit, I stood there for a good few minutes until I saw both doors slowly open revealing a disheveled Celestia and Jackson. 

  "H-Hey Jay, w-what brings you by this early in the morning?" Jackson asked with a nervous smile.

  "Y-Yes, shouldn't you be with Ms. V-Violet right now?" Celestia questioned, tugging at her dress a bit, especially in the lower area. They both had bright red blushes on their faces and small beads of sweat dripping down their brow as well, if this situation had anyone other than me, they would've been more embarrassed than they are now.

  "I saw nothing, I heard nothing" I stated, they didn't show it, but they both looked beyond relieved hearing me say that. "I do however want me and Violet to have a week off from work starting next Monday, with pay of course" I said, making Celestia's jaw hang a little at the bold request.

  "You're an evil man Jay Adonis" Jackson said, holding out his hand to which I shook. 

  "Oh what a mother can teach her son, now blackmail aside, Emerald wants to speak with you after she finishes her physical" I said and Celestia cocked a brow up.

  "What does she want to talk about?" Celestia asked, curiosity coating her words heavily. 

  "She wants to thank you for giving her a chance is all, she looked so happy knowing this, so please consider talking with her" I said, the look on Celestia's face told me she was happy her younger sister wanted to talk. I guess she might've thought Emerald wouldn't want to speak with her after not trusting the girl for this whole time.

  "I'll be happy to talk with Emerald, I was going to do so after sending a letter to Twilight regarding the Crystal Empire" Celestia said which piqued mine and Jackson's interest. "Sorry for not telling you sooner Jackson, I was going to tell you but uh... well... y-you know" Celestia said, cupping her cheeks in an attempt to hide her blush, Jackson chuckled a little at her reaction while I rolled my eye's.

  "Tell us more about this letter" I said, just as Celestia rubbed her blush away from her cheeks.

  "It's a summonce actually" Celestia corrected, snapping her fingers and summoned the scroll in her hands. "The reason why Im summoning Twilight is because I believe Cadance and Shining are in need of help right now" she said, poofing the scroll away to Twilight.

  "Is something wrong at the Crystal Empire?" Jackson asked and Celestia nodded.

  "I've been having strange dreams as of late and it always ends the same way" Celestia said, curiosity now gripping. "It always-"

  "It always ends with a man surrounded by black fire holding a blue heart in the center of the Crystal Empire" We heard someone say from behind, we looked to see Luna walking towards us with Blazing and Silver next to her. "Unfortunately you always wake up before I can get a good look at him, but from what I've seen, he can be someone who've we met a very long time ago... someone very dangerous" Luna said, gently rubbing her puffy eyes then cleared her throat.

  "L-Luna, I didn't expect to see you up an about so soon" Celestia said, she sounded almost hesitant to speak with Luna. "I would like to apologize for earlier, I should've considered how you were feeling at the moment and... I'm sorry"

  "Now is not the time for crying or apologies sister, if the man you see in your dreams is who I think it is, then we must send Twilight and those girls to the Crystal Empire immediately" Luna said urgently. 

  "Who is it that can make even you get cold feet" I asked and Luna sighed. 

  "It is a very long story, a story we dont have time to tell, you two will accompany Twilight and her friends to aid them in any way you can" Luna stated firmly, we nodded to her request.

  "Can you please at least tell us who it is we're up against if the guy shows up?" I asked and Luna groaned, her mood was already sour so it's probably best not to annoy her as much. "Just the name, so we can tell Twilight and the girl's"

  "His original name was Crystal Miner, he was the former Emperor of the Crystal Empire" Luna said and hearing 'original name' struck myself an Jackson as a little odd.

  "His 'original name'?" Jackson queried and looked to Celestia who now looked as pale as a ghost. "What's his new name?" He asked the scared woman.

  "King Sombra"



On A Train Halfway Toward's The Crystal Empire, 3:45 p.m., Third P.o.v




  "Okay to get the story straight, Twilight and all of us have to help Princess Cadance bring love back to a Kingdom that was just brought back after a thousand years of it being gone" Rainbow said as she lazily hovered in the air. "And to put more fuel in the fire, the Princess' believe that this King Sombra guy returned as well to exact revenge... should be easy" The dare devil said sarcastically, plopping herself back on the seat next to Twilight and Jay. Jay, Jackson and Twilight were all given a rough run down on what their objective should be, which was just what Rainbow had said.

  "We understand that it'll be difficult Rainbow, but Cadance and Shining need our help so the least we can do is try" Jackson said but the girl slumped in her seat, the man heard from Applejack that Rainbow was a little moody leaving Snow behind for a week. "From what Celestia told us, it seems that myself and Jay are supposed to be helping Cadance keep a look out for Sombra since theirs a chance he could've actually returned... honestly I would be surprised if he did, when Celestia showed us that black magic shit... it felt like it didn't obey any laws of the universe" Jackson finished, scaring Fluttershy and Rarity a bit.

  "It'll be fine you two, the thing to be afraid of is the cold nipping at your neck so be ready to dress warm when we get there... speaking of dressing up, Rarity... might I ask, why did you bring so much useless stuff?" Jay asked the fashonista who brought ten suitcases full of nothing but clothes. "We're only gonna be here for a week or so, didn't need to bring your whole wardrobe" he said which made the girl huff at this.

  "A lady must always be prepared for anything... and all my winter outfits are so cute so I just had to bring them!" Rarity said defensively, Jay rolled his eyes at the girl and looked out the window of the train. 

  "Something on your mind man?" Jackson asked the man.

  "Yeah... it's a little farfetched but something in the back of my mind is telling we're gonna meet up with someone" Jay said, this caught everyone's attention. "I don't know when, I don't know how, and I dont know who, but I know they are in that kingdom... waiting for us" He said confidently, looking at everyone.

  "The only people we know that are in the Crystal Empire is Cadance and Shining, beyond that we know absolutely no one" Twilight said and everyone started murmuring to one another until Applejack said something.

  "What if it's Thomas?" 

  The train car the group was in froze hearing her words and the tension was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. Almost every one present hasn't openly talked about their friend since he's vanished five month's ago, two particular people looked a bit down hearing the name. 

  "He's gone Aj... a hard pill to swallow, but unfortunately that's the truth... we gotta accept it no matter how much we dont want too" Jackson said suddenly, ripping the band-aid off to get the pain over with. "I highly doubt he's here so please don't get our hope's up"

  "Sorry y'all... it slipped out before ah could stop myself" Applejack apologized and looked at the ground. "If by some slim chance it is Tommy yer talkin about then... ah don't know what ah'd feel honestly"

  "I dont think any of us would know how we'd feel seeing a literal dead man walking" Jay said, trying to imagine bumping into Thomas in the Crystal Empire. "I think I'd be overjoyed at first, then it would turn to anger for leaving us like he did" the man said, though a small smile spread across his face at the thought of just talking to Thomas again.

  "I would most definitely give him a piece of my mind if I ever saw him again... but I don't think I could stay mad at him for too long, he would probably apologize profusely and try to make it up to me" Rarity said, her own smile crossing her lips as she imagined Thomas being his usual shy self.

  "I could never be mad at Thomas, he was the one other person to make my family laugh and smile, I'd probably just hug him with everything I had" Pinkie said, surprising the group by how calm she sounded. 

  "I'd be too happy to even be mad, Thomas was such a sweet person, I don't think anyone could hate him" Fluttershy said with a sigh. 

  "I'd hate him a little" Rainbow threw in, getting a few confused looks from the others.

  "I thought you of all people would be ecstatic to see Thomas again" Jackson said and Rainbow rolled her eyes at this comment.

  "Well if I saw him again I'd kick his ass for one, making me worried, and two, leaving me to take care of a child, granted not by myself, but taking care of a child no less" Rainbow said and this made Jackson go quiet at that moment. "But after kicking his ass... I don't know how I'd feel"

  "Same here, though I have to agree with being pissed at him for making me worried" Twilight said and the two ladies gave off menacing auras as they sat in their seats and the other's shuddered feeling the anger from the two. "First thing I'd do is slap him as hard as I can"

  "I was gonna bury my fist in his stomach" Rainbow said.

  "Alright you two let's simmer down now, don't need ta make plans on killin the poor man" Applejack joked. "Plus ah don't think either of y'all would hurt a hair on his cute little head, prolly cry yer eyes out just seeing him" she teased, this made the girl's blush a little at this. As the girl's continued talking about Thomas, Jackson tapped Jay's shoulder and gestured him to follow him. Getting up quietly, the two boys walked into a different train and they sighed a bit.

  "Tell them that Thomas is dead and they're talk about him like he was still alive" Jackson said and Jay laughed heartily. "Seem's like your mom was right when she said no was truly dead" the man said with a content sigh.

  "If you saw Thomas again... how would you feel?" Jay asked and Jackson blew a raspberry then thought leaned back in his seat.

  "Angry... happy... confused mostly" Jackson said, making the two chuckle a bit. "But I think I'd feel overjoyed to see that bastard walking around with that goofy smile he's got" he said and Jay felt the same way.

  "Same here man, same here" Jay said, the two went silent for a moment, but not out of sadness, but of nostalgia thinking of their friend. "Remember what he wore for picture day freshman year?"

  "You mean that monkey suite his old man made him wear?" Jackson queried and Jay nodded. "Man we kept calling him Mr. Angelo for month's, though him and his mom kept calling us Vito and Joe every time we came over"

  "I think we dressed up as those guys for Halloween once, man did Thomas' dad have a fit when he found out Thomas took the suit" Jay said and the two laughed, remembering the days that seem so far away now. "God man... those were the good ol' day's"

  "It's felt like it's been a lifetime since that day rather than just four years ago, I wonder how everyone back home is doing" Jackson said.

  "I'm sure they're doing just fine, hurt, but fine" Jay said, this answer gave Jackson a little relief hearing it. "Anyways, enough reminiscing like a couple of old men, we should be getting close to the Crystal Empire so let's get ready" Jay said with a sigh before getting up and headed to the door connecting to the one.

  "You said you had a feeling that we'd meet someone in the Crystal Empire... do you... do you think it could actually be Thomas?" Jackson asked and Jay stayed silent, he stood facing the door. A long sigh suddenly came from Jay and he rested his head against the door.

  "... I don't know" 



Crystal Empire Train Station, P.o.v- Twilight




  "Alright everyone, be sure to wear something warm before we get out, Celestia said that this region is part of one of the coldest regions in Equestria" Jackson informed us and we all sported heavy jackets and snow gear. From what I was able to find out about this place, it seems that the surrounding area is covered entirely by snow due to the temperature being lowered due to old magic that was left here during the first great equestrian war. "Before we left, Celestia also told that Shining would be coming to greet us and take us to the kingdom, so be on the look out"

  "How can anyone see in this blizzard?" Spike asked, already carrying Rarity's suitcases.

  "I have no idea, but keep those eyes peeled" Jackson instructed, I sighed and looked out the window to keep a look just as Jackson said, but a looming thought kept nipping at the back of my head. The way Jay said we'd meet someone we knew was driving me crazy, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I've had this bad feeling for a while now and I don't know why.

  "I see something!" Jay announced and Jackson pulled the door open letting in the sharp cold air and suddenly the person Jay saw dove inside.

  "Shut the door!" He said and Jackson quickly did as he was told before going over to the man and helped him up. "God's above, you have no idea how fuckin cold it is out their, I swear if I was out their another minute I would've frozen over" he said.

  "That you under all that heavy gear Shinin'?" Applejack asked and the man removed his scarf and goggles revealing my brother. 

  "Sorry for my rudeness everyone, but you can literally feel your bones freeze out their" Shining said, he spotted me and quickly gave me a hug. "So good to see you out of the dumps Twily, I know losing Thomas took a big toll on you, hell, it took a toll on all of us" he said, releasing me and gripped the middle of his jacket.

  "Do you want a minute to rest or should we get going?" Rarity asked while handing him some water she got from her bag.

  "Short break then we head out, it's not wise to stay out too late, trust me... there are things you don't wanna see at nighttime" Shining said, gulping down the water and plopping himself down on a nearby seat. "Hope you brought something heavier than what you're wearing, cause' you won't make it more than five feet"

  "Thanks for the heads up, by the way, what's the situation at the Empire that needed all of us?" Jackson asked and Shining immediately grew a gloomy look on his face.

  "It's hard to explain, but it looks like everyone had their hope literally sucked out of them... they look like dull hollow shell's just lazily going about their day" Shining said, though his explanation was kinda vague but still informative. "Cadance and I have been trying everything to raise their spirits back up but nothing we do is working, I asked around and it seems like they're scared of something coming back"

  "Or someone" Rainbow said and everyone but Shining knew what she meant.

  "Looks like Luna was right, the people know that if they returned, that means Sombra has as well" Jay said, the heavy atmosphere returned as everyone stayed silent, already knowing what they must do. "How far is it from here to the Crystal Empire?"

  "About a couple miles, had to guess, maybe four" Shining said and Jackson hummed hearing this.

  "If we go now we can make it before nightfall, did everyone pack a heavy jacket?" Jackson asked, everyone but Jay and Jackson looked in our bags to pull out a heavier jacket. Once everyone was wearing something warmer, Jackson shoved the door open, he had to grab onto the side because the wind almost knocked him back. "Okay, move fast everyone"

  With that said, we all braced ourselves and walked off into the cold waste land. Shining was leading us towards the Empire, but he looked on edge, he said that when nighttime hits it gets worse, but that doesn't mean there isn't any danger right now. The further we walked, the colder it became, it honestly felt like I was becoming frozen from the inside out. We still had another two miles till we reached the Empire and I was starting to get tired and sore from the cold, I have to just tough it out for just a little while longer.

  "Stop walking" a voice whispered to me, it sounded so commanding that I did as it said without realizing it. "Duck!" The voice exclaimed and I dove right, just barely dodging something that was about to pounce on me. I got back up and saw a giant pitch black monster-like wolf snarling at me, I was frozen in place, too scared to move. "Run"

  That voice was enough to make my nerves become still and I took off running with everything I had, apparently, Shining and the others were calling out to me while also running. I didn't even hear them, I didn't have time to understand why because I currently have a giant eight foot shadow monster chasing me. My legs were burning and my lungs felt like they could freeze over at any second, but my flight or fight instincts kept telling me to run no matter what.

   "Jump!" The voice exclaimed again and I did as I was told narrowly dodging a swipe from the shadow monster, but the force from the attack was so strong that it made me fly forward and tumble across the snow a couple feet away from it. I somehow managed to stop, but as I began climbing back up to my feet, I felt my knee's buckle and I dropped to my knees.

  "Twilight!" I heard my brother shout, I didn't have to guess what he was calling my name out for. I snapped my head towards the monster and saw it already going to pounce for me. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, my heart was racing and my body shook in fear as I watched the shadow beast jump for me, ready to rip me apart to satisfy its hunger, time felt as though it slowed down to a halt. The others were too far to help me, my magic was being nullified by this magic blizzard, and I knew no way to defend myself from any sort of attack so I was completely helpless. Never thought I'd see my death with my own eyes, I always assumed I'd die in my sleep in my late nineties, being mauled to death was way down on the list I didn't even consider it.

  'I guess this is it for me, I never got to finish my schooling, I haven't read every book in the world, I never even fell in lo-
… I never got to say I was in love' I thought, all my regrets felt meaningless as I noticed time beginning to revert back and the beast started getting nearer. 'I don't wanna die' I thought and gritted my teeth, I felt around for something and found a sharp rock to which I picked up, at that moment I made a decision. It was kill or be killed.

  "I'm not going to die here, so come at me you son of a bitch!" I screamed and time resumed, I reeled my arm back to get myself ready to strike. I gave out a loud cry before hurling my arm right at the beast, but before I could connect with it, a sudden black shadow speared right against the beast. The shadow tackled it a few feet away after making contact and the impact was strong enough to throw me back again, when I fell back to the ground I quickly recovered and snapped my eyes towards whatever that thing was.

  Standing in front of the now dead shadow beast was a tall man with long jet black hair tied into a bun wearing a heavy looking green jacket with a sheathed sword that resembled Emeralds on his back, he also wore heavy black pants that were tucked into his black snow boots. He even wore a mask that covered half his face, red tinted goggles and gloves. He turned his head back to me and for some reason I felt a strange familiarity with this person, almost like I've met him before.

  "T… Thomas?" I called out the man shook his head lightly then pulled his mask down.

  "You couldn't be any further love" The man said while giving me a smile, that smile made my heart sink and my blood run colder than the snow itself. Something inside me was screaming for me to run but I was paralyzed with fear. "I'll see you soon, Twilight" the man said and tossed over a sharp rock, when I picked it up I realized it was the same rock I was holding just a few seconds ago.

  "W-Who are-" I stopped when I saw that he was no longer in front of me, he vanished. "Who was that?"

  "Twilight, c'mon we gotta go!" Jackson exclaimed, finally reaching me and dragged me back to the group before I could even say a word. "Who was that guy!?"

  "I-I don't know" I said, shaking from the adrenaline coursing through my body. "I've never been so terrified"

  "I can understand, I felt just like you when I saw one of those things for the first-"

  "That man… that man was far more terrifying than that pup will ever be" I said, though my words had confused everyone.

  "What are ya talkin about sugarcube?" Applejack asked, I didn't know what I was saying either, I feel every nerve inside of me shocking me to my very core. I felt faint at that moment and my knees buckled underneath me, luckily Jackson caught me before I could hit the ground. 

  "I think the cold and fading adrenaline is finally starting to get to you, it's such a good idea for you to move anymore so one of us needs to carry you the rest of the way" Jackson said.

  "I can carry her" Fluttershy said, this response got a couple looks from everyone including me. "Uhm… if that's alright with you"

  "Sure.. but I thought you couldn't carry anything more than a bunny or two?" I said, all Fluttershy did was walk over and put me on her back with one hand with little to no effort. "H-How…. I-I don't-"

  "I didn't just take care of my animals Twilight, I did other things to make myself stronger these past few months, now I can carry a juvenile dragon pretty easily" Fluttershy said and quickly showed off the well hardened abs and muscles she gained. "I'm gonna have to thank Zecora for giving me a small boosting potion to get me started, now lets get going before something else comes after-" Fluttershy stopped as a loud roar rang through our ears and echoed through the open field of snow.

  "What… was that?" Rainbow asked and that horrific roar bellowed out again and a wave of shadows appeared out of nowhere and was now rushing towards us at a fast pace. 

  "RUN!" The voice shouted.

  "Hurry, we have to run, don't look back!" Shining exclaimed and started sprinting, everyone began chasing after not even attempting to look at the impending doom that was behind us. 

  "Wait!" We heard Spike cry out as he ran and waddled with all of Rarity's stuff.

  "Lose the stupid clothes!" Jay shouted at the boy.

  "But their Rarity's!" Spike said and I heard Jackson groan before he skidded to a stop and raced over to my love blinded assistant. Once he reached him, I smacked him upside the head causing him to drop the bags then he picked him and began sprinting back to us.

  "Buddy, we really need to have a chat about the difference between doing something nice for the person you like and doing something stupid!" Jackson said to the boy who was rubbing the back of his head. "Also sorry"

  "We're almost there!" Shining shouted, "Everyone head to that big dome, you'll be safe inside!"

  "You heard the man, keep moving till you're inside that dome!" Jay instructed, this caused everyone to go into overtime, giving it everything they had as we ran from the sea of shadows coming toward us. One after another, we each made it inside of the dome and everyone immediately collapsed once inside. 

  "I've … never ran so fast…. in my life" Pinkie said, panting up a storm along with everyone else. The only people who weren't that tired was me, Rainbow and Spike. 

  "Is… is everyone alright?" Applejack asked.

  "I'm good" Pinkie said.

  "Same here" Jay said
 
  "Here" Jackson and Rainbow said.

  "Here darling, if it wasn't for your brother telling us to run we would've been dead" Rarity said and I looked amongst everyone, only one person wasn't accounted for.

  "Wait… where's Shining!?" I asked in a panic, that question was answered when we saw my brother come flying inside the dome landing in front of us. "Oh dear gods, please tell me you're okay!" I exclaimed, rushing over to him and trying to wake him.

  "What was he thinking, what was he hoping to do!?" Jackson mumbled and kneeled down next to him and began checking his pulse. "He's alive, she knocked out is all, but those black crystals look a little serious"

  "Black crystals?" I queried and looked to his horn, on it was a jumble of jagged black crystals protruding outward. "This looks like… dark magic"

  "Shit, we know very little about it so I don't know what to do" Jackson said, his fist clenched and had an annoyed look. "Should've asked Tia for more information about this stuff, but for now it looks like he's fine"

  "He better be, I didn't just risk my neck to save this idiot from that shadow wave" Someone said, his voice catching everyone's attention. We snapped our heads to where the voice was and we saw two people walking inside the dome wearing worn armor that was covered with either a black or brown cloak and both of them wore a makeshift mask out of torn up cloth. "I don't know what this moron was thinking, but he sure was lucky we showed up when we did" the man on the right said.

  "T… Thomas?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, the man looked at her with a tilted head.

  "How do you know my name?" The man asked and took off his mask, I wasn't the only one shaking right now. It was Thomas, alive, breathing, walking! 

  "Jesus Christ" Jay muttered under his breath, Thomas looked at all of us confused and a little creeped out. 

 "Thomas… you're… alive" I said completely in shock.

  "Of course I'm alive, I'm standin right here aren't I and can you please tell me who you people are?" Thomas asked, "Have we met before, do I owe you money or something?" He asked much to our surprise, how could he not remember his own friends. How could he not remember me.

  "Perhaps you do know of them Thomas, remember, your memory is not as clear as you think it is" The man next to him said, his voice was smooth and deep, it was like honey to the ears. "Apologies for my friend here, unfortunately, no matter what you say or do, he wont be able to remember you"

  "What are you talking about?" Jackson asked and the man sighed with regret. "Why can't he remember who we are!?" He exclaimed, getting angrier by the second.

  "Because Thomas has amnesia"
> Chapter 14: Welcome To The Crystal Empire! Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Outskirts of the Crystal Empire, P.o.v- Jackson




"Tell us again" I requested for the seventh time, the man sighed.

  "No matter how many times you want me to repeat myself, it won't change the outcome" The man said and I sighed in annoyance. "Thomas has a form of amnesia that can be cured, but as of right now, he only remembers his time with me through these months" he said and Thomas looked annoyed being talked about like he was some broken thing.

  "If we can cure his amnesia, what's a good way ta get him on track to rememberin us?" Applejack asked the man.

  "Well, I believe a sudden shock or triggering a fond memory may prove useful to getting him back to normal" The man said, this made everyone start wondering something. "But who knows for sure"

  "We don't know anything of his past except his mother, Jackson and Jay, and his bullies" Twilight said which got the girls to agree with this.

  "But we've been with Thompson since we were kids, we know everything about this guy and then some" Jay said as he walked over and wrapped an arm around Thomas' shoulders. "From his favorite books to his past flings, hell we even know his favorite tea, we can easily turn Tommy here back to his old self"

  "Soooo who are you again?" Thomas asked Jay who chuckled.

  "I'm Jay Adonis, that big bastard over there is Jackson Castle Jr." Jay introduced us. "We're your best friends, hell we're basically childhood friends"

  "Really?" Thomas asked with a slight smile on his face. "I've never had anyone other than Miner here"

  "Yeah man, we laughed, we cried, we argued and we helped each other through everything our old home threw at us" I jumped in, walking to his right side. "Your own mom thought of us two as your brothers"

  "My mom… what was she like?" Thomas asked, even more intrigued and Jay chuckled. 

  "We will be glad to tell you more, but how about we all head to the castle and get settled before doing so" I suggested and Thomas was eager to agree.

  "Perhaps that will be most beneficial for all of us, we also need to take a look at that man's horn as soon as possible and I need to recover the magic I used to save him" Miner said and removed his cloth mask. What we saw was far from what we expected, Miner was a downright handsome man with skin that resembled ash and on his face he held a short but noticeable black beard and the color of his iris resembled that of polished ruby's, his onyx black hair was medium length and combed back to show off his face more, and finally, he had a grey horn atop his head. He was possibly the definition of what a good looking man would look like. "Is something wrong, do I have something on my face?" Miner asked.

  "Uh no, no you're good we were just expecting someone a little older rather than someone who looks no more than twenty-five" I said and Miner chuckled, it was crazy how smooth and deep his voice was. 

  "Not to mention how good looking he is" Rarity whispered to Fluttershy who was blushing profusely and hadn't taken her eyes off the man. "Are you alright darling?" She asked, slightly touching the shy girl's shoulder.

  "YES I'M FINE!" Fluttershy exclaimed, surprising all of us due to how loud she got. "I-I mean….. I'm okay, was just, uhm..."

  "Perhaps we should head to the castle, your friend seems to look a little flushed" Miner said and we all agreed.

  "Alright everyone, we gotta get Twilight's brother to Cadance, gotta make sure he isn't permanently damaged" I said and walked over to the man before I picked him up. "Alright, let's get goin'" I announced and we began heading off towards the castle.
 
  "I-I'm very sorry for yelling" Fluttershy apologized running up next to Miner, but he just chuckled.

  "My dear there is no need to apologize, you were simply startled" Miner said dismissively. "But if it puts your mind at ease, then I accept your apology"

  "So Miner darling, I don't know how to ask this without sounding rude, but how in the name of Faust did you come across Thomas?" Rarity asked and Miner hummed at the question.

  "Well as I said I've been with him for six months, but on the first day I met him, he was practically on the brink of death with nothing on his body" Miner said, and he noticed no one was fazed by this. "Excuse me for being blunt, but why are you all so calm about your friend almost dying while naked?" He asked.

  "You're new to this aren't you?" Rainbow asked and we chuckled at the face Miner was making. "Let's just say that we're use to this guy being half dead and naked, that's kinda his go to fighting outfit"

  "Wait, so… all of you have seen me naked?" Thomas asked and everyone nodded.

  "An Ah will say, that's a mighty impressive piece of equipment ya got their sugarcube" Applejack teased, causing the man to turn bright red and stutter trying to make a response. "Still as cute as ever"

  "So even with his memories wiped, his personality is basically the exact same" Jay said.

  "In a sense, that's correct, his body remembers how it used to behave so it subconsciously reminded itself how Thomas used to act… however, the issues of memories still remain" Miner stated all while chuckling at the blushing man. "Seem's this is a new side I have yet seen from him, it's rather amusing"

  "Should see him when he's flirting with those two" I said, jabbing a thumb at Rainbow and Twilight. The two blushed at the comment while Thomas looked over at them, he didn't seem to look it, but he was definitely finding them alluring.

  "Say Tommy, what do you think about those two?" Jay asked and Thomas didn't even miss a beat.

  "They're beautiful," He said confidently, looking right at the two who were now as red as apples.

  "Guess y'all still got that silver tongue of yers" Applejack joked.

  "Huh… o-oh, I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to say that-I mean I did but- I only wanted to think of it, not say it.. I-I think I'm going to be quiet now" Thomas stuttered, lifting half his mask up to cover his face.

  "I can't tell if he actually has amnesia or he's fucking with us" I said all while laughing. "I think it's gonna be easier than I thought"



Town Square, 4:45 p.m.




  "Whoa… this place looks so… bleak" Rainbow said, her tone made her sound sorrowful towards the residents. Everyone was slumping along, going on about their day while looking like they were being drained of their own hope. It was everything Tia said it was. "What happened here?"

  "A man named King Sombra happened, apparently before he made this place vanish, he vowed to come back to reclaim what was 'rightfully' his. He then stole and hid the one thing that can defeat him, but it's been so long since then that not even Luna or Celestia can remember about the object in question" I explained, getting the others to mutter between themselves. "I hate to think what these people have been through so many years ago"

  "It was cold… dark… hope just seemed to be whisked away with every fleeting second of our lives, we just wanted one thing… death" Miner said, his eyes glazing over as he spoke and he stared off into nothing. Completely engulfed in his thoughts. "I despise his very being"

  "Why do you hate him so much?" Spike asked and Miner snapped out of his mind hearing the question.

  "My family was… he did something that a boy your age shouldn't be hearing, anyway, we should be heading off" Miner said, changing the subject, although we can all guess what happened. 

  "He's right, our first priority is to get to the castle" Twilight said much to Spikes disappointment.

  "But I wanna know what happened," Spike whined.

  "Sorry kid, but if he told you, you'd be having nightmares for weeks" Jay said, we all knew what Sombra might've done to earn his place on Miner's kill list, but we weren't gonna tell a kid that a family was killed. "C'mon, we're almost to the castle"

  "When we get there, will you tell me more about my life?" Thomas, he seemed as excited as a kid on christmas. "I wanna know what my family was like or how I know you all"

 "All in due time my friend, for now, why don't you get to know those two next to you" I said, lightly shoving Thomas towards Rainbow and Twilight.

  "U-Uh… uhm… h-hi" he timidly mumbled out, I don't know why, but it completely slipped my mind that this guy was as shy as Fluttershy before he met us.

  "Well now, there ain't nothin to be shy for Tommy, though it does make ya look cute as a puppy" Applejack said, coming up on his left with Rarity and Pinkie following suit. 

  "Darling you have no idea how refreshing it is to see this shy side of you again after you were gone for so long" Rarity said, suddenly clinging to the man's right making his face beet red.

  "You have no idea how sad my family was when they heard that you vanished, now they'll be beaming with joy seeing you again!" Pinkie said, hopping in front of the man. He looked a little overwhelmed by having five women surrounding him, I don't think I've ever seen anyone turn as red as him.

  "Simmer down girls, you're gonna make the man pass out with how much blood is rushing to his head" I joked, the five looked at him and giggled seeing his embarrassed face turning as red as an apple. "Damn, that castle's huge!"

  "It's bigger than the one at Canterlot, why did Sombra build something of this magnitude?" Twilight asked, craning her neck up to get the whole castle in view. "I wonder what's at the top?" She muttered.

  "No one but the Emperors and Empresses knew what was up there, it is said to hold treasures that are beyond one's wildest dreams" Miner said which peaked everyone's interest. "My mother even told me that the 'Heart of the Crystal Empire' resides there"

  "The Heart of the Crystal Empire…" Thomas said breathlessly, staring intently at the distant peak of the castle. "Is it true?"

  "Pardon?" Miner asked with a chuckle.

  "Is the heart actually up at the peak of the castle?" Thomas asked, Miner said nothing at first, but then suddenly gave a hearty laugh much to everyone's surprise.

  "My dear friend, it's nothing more than a child's bedtime story, how silly of you to think it true" Miner explained to him, by the face that Thomas was making. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. 

  "How do you know?" Thomas questioned, his tone becoming more serious. "In this land, fantasy is a reality, so that means even a child's bedtime story can be true"

  "Whoa, what's gotten ya so riled up for Tommy?" Applejack asked, gently placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Ah'm sure Miner didn't mean ta make fun of ya, so please calm down"

  "But that doesn't-"

  "*Ahem*… Thomas… forgive me my dear friend, I'm sad to say that I crossed a line by talking to you in such a manner, it was not my intention to have you become angry towards me. If I may, allow me to rephrase what I meant. Yes, it is something told to children, but… there is a chance the story might be true" Miner said.

  "Let's say it is real, what does this 'heart' even do?" I asked, but before I could get an answer, we heard Shining start to wake up. "Looks like someone finally decided to be apart of the group, pretty idiotic of you to stay behind to guard us against something we know literally nothing about"

  "Ugh… what happened while I was out?" Shining asked.

  "Well one, we saved you from being killed and now we are currently heading to this big ass castle" Thomas said, revealing himself to the man. A look of absolute shock reached the man's face after doing three double takes and blinking who knows how many times. "Hmm, maybe that wave hit you harder than I thought"

  "B-But… I-I thought you were dead!?" Shining blurted out only to regret it soon after when he gripped his head. "Ah… my head feels like it's splitting in two"

  "A side effect from most likely those crystals on your horn" Miner said and Shining touched his horn then winced. "Dark magic is a fickle thing, it's also unpredictable so try not to use any magic"

  "Right… a-and, who are you?"

  "Oh yeah, you never really introduced yourself to us, although granted we already know your name" I said and Miner chuckled.

  "Apologies everyone, I don't usually tend to use my full name so I hope you can understand my request to only call me Miner" He said and this struck both myself and Twilight as a little odd. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr.?" Miner asked with his hand held out.

  "Armor, Emperor Shining Armor" Shining introduced himself, shaking Miner's hand. "Still new to the title, but I'm hoping to do my best to be a great leader"

  "I'm sure a young man such as yourself is what this kingdom needs right now, a spark of youthful charm always brought a smile to everyone's face, even if it was during dark times" Miner told Shining, for some reason… it kinda sounded like he was passing on the torch. "Come, your wife must be worried about you "

  "You're right about that, ugh, let's get inside" Shining said. "Once inside, we can discuss what to do next, and you still have to explain how you're still alive" he continued, pointing at Thomas.

  "Aside from him, I actually never met a princess before, so I hope she's what I imagined her to be" Thomas said and we continued heading toward the castle. It didn't take long for us to get to the entrance, but on the way there, it just felt like we were walking in a gray tunnel with how miserable everyone looked. It was starting to make me kinda depressed really.

  The others felt it too, I know Tia told me that we'll know the problem when we see it, but I didn't think it was this bad. Before we made it to the entrance we passed through a large opening that had a strange pillar coming from above pointing straight down towards a heart that was imprinted on the floor, it kinda made it look less bleak than before, it had this strange vibe to it that just made me feel… happy.

  "Open the doors, and tell my wife I've brought back our guests!" Shining ordered, a few seconds passed before the tall crystal doors opened and two soldiers from Canterlot led us in and was now taking us to where Cadance is. "Sorry about staying behind, I thought some of y'all wouldn't make it so I tried holding it off for as long as possible"

  "He lasted about four seconds then nearly got swept away" Thomas threw in, while he laughed, Shining was eyeing him with suspicion.

  "Before we see Cadance, I want to know how you even survived and I want to know where you've been for the past six months!?" Shining angrily demanded, abruptly stopping in front of Thomas. 

  "... How and why I'm alive is none of your concern, how about a thank you instead?" Thomas blunty requested, surprising all of us with his sudden attitude change, even the look in his eyes shifted changed to an unfamiliar one. "If I don't hear a thank you, I don't want to hear nothing coming out of your mouth when you talk to me"

  "My friend… you're doing it again" Miner said, nudging the man. "Please don't intimidate your friend's Thomas, it's unbecoming"

  "Oh… my bad" Thomas said with a soft chuckle.

  "You are not Thomas" Shining hissed, raising his hand and the soldiers that were guiding us pointed their spears at Thomas. "Get out of my castle you fake"

  "Shining! What the hell are-!?"

  "It's alright Twilight… I know when I'm not wanted" Thomas calmly said to the girl in a familiar tone, a tone we hadn't heard in six months. "Miner, you go ahead with the other's, I'm gonna walk around"

  "Thomas wait-"

  "Nah man it's all good, I'll just wait for you guys afterwards, but I do want that thank you later" Thomas said, giving a small laugh and began walking off. "See you 'round you guys, sorry that I couldn't stay longer" he said while waving us goodbye as he walked away. 

  "Now, now, we can't have someone such as yourself leave us again after we finally got you back" A voice spoke out then the sounds of clicking heels echoed through the halls. We looked and immediately saw Cadance walking over to us, she tried to make it look like she was fine, but the bags under her eyes and the disheveled hair told us everything. "Please, allow me to apologize and thank you on behalf of my husband, he is very quick to pass distrust amongst others he sees as a threat" Cadance continued, she waved her hand towards the guards who immediately lowered their spears then threw a sharp glare at her husband.

  "Cadance, how do we know if that's even-"

  "I married you because I loved you and how you would care for others as well as think of your own friends as family, yet you would draw spears and become suspicious of the man who saved our lives, all our lives?" Cadance asked, a subtle bit of coldness coming off those words. We took a step back. "And do you think something as meager as spears would stop him… remember your scar, or shall I remind you of the person who gave it to you"

  "*sigh*... Alright, alright… you made your point" Shining said in defeat, he then walked over to Thomas and held out his hand. "Even though my wife said it, I would like to apologize for my rudeness as well as thank you for saving my life" 

  Thomas looked behind him and stared at Shinings hand, he looked like he was contemplating about his next move. After a few minutes of nothing, Thomas turned around fully and grasped Shinings hand.

  "Don't mention, by the way, your wife was right," Thomas said, confusing the man. "Those spears would only piss me off" he said with a smile, though the comment was slightly discomforting.

  "Is he serious?" Fluttershy asked Miner in a whisper.

  "Let's just say, you caught him on a good day" Miner replied and this sent a shiver down the group's spine. Though honestly speaking, we shouldn't be that surprised, there was no way that he would've just sat on his ass and done nothing, that's not the Thomas I know. "Thomas, show'em" Miner simply said and Thomas smiled brightly before letting Shinings hand go. He walked over to one of the guards and swiped the spear he was holding. 

  "Watch this," Thomas instructed and closed his eyes, a few seconds past before we all saw a terrifyingly familiar power. An inky black coat covered both his arms completely, but instead of keeping it as is, the black inky coat began sinking into his skin which in turn, turned his skin a pale grey color, and turned his new sharpened nails black. 

  "H-How…" I trailed off, astonished at what I just witnessed.

  "That's not even the best part" Thomas said then easily tore off the metal end of the spear then crushed it between both his palms. "Learned about this little trick about a few months ago while me and Miner were traveling back to our camp" Thomas explained, dropping the hunk of metal on the ground, it was nothing more than a disc at this point.

  "Incredible!" Twilight exclaimed and rushed over to get a better look. "It looks like the black substance that you cover around your arm's has injected itself into the thin layer of skin above the muscle and hardened itself to make it almost impenetrable, and your nails look absolutely stunning... you know I always wanted to wear black nail polish but I thought it would look great on me but seeing your black nails makes me wanna try and-"

  "Twilight, I've told you plenty of times you'd look great with black nails, that's why I bought you the nail polish when I went to Rarity's" Thomas said suddenly without missing a beat shocking all of us except for himself and Cadance. "What? Am I the only one who likes black nails?" He asked, confused as to why we're all staring at him.

  "We had that conversation months ago… h-how do you remember that?" Twilight asked breathlessly, Rarity even looked a bit spooked by this. "D-Do you remember anything else!?" She asked hastily, Thomas was taken aback by this.

  "Whoa, calm down Twilight… to be frank with you… I don't know why that came out of my mouth just now" Thomas said, reverting his arm's back to normal and looked a bit embarrassed but also disturbed. "But… you really would look pretty with black nails" he said hesitantly, this made the bookworm blush a slight pink.

  "Alright I've seen enough" Shining stated, promptly separating the two. 

  "Thomas, how did you remember all that?" I asked and Thomas shrugged.

  "Like I said… it just came outta my mouth"

  "I see… let me try something," I said and faced him. "I've been considering dating Celestia rather than Feather for a few days now, I feel like me and Tia have more of a connection and understand each other more than Feather and I could ever achieve if I continue this dangerous lifestyle, I don't know what to do so I thought I'd come to ask you for some advice... what do you think Thomas?" I asked out of the blue, hoping that my theory would be correct.

  "You're considering what!?" Cadance excitedly asked, ditching her fatigue in almost an instant, though Twilight along with everyone except Jay was both confused and shocked to hear this.

   "Honestly I don't know how to respond to that, if you believe you'll be happier being with Celestia than Feather, then I believe you should be with the person who will give you that happiness, I'm sure Feather will understand" Thomas answered, again without missing a beat, I couldn't help but smile hearing his response. "But good luck with that uh… you're Jay, right?" He asked, immediately making my smile vanish.

  "What's going on here, why does he remember conversations but not anything else?" Pinkie asked and she did have a point, but it seemed more complicated than that.

  "Do you remember anything else to that conversation, or even who Celestia and Feather was?" I asked the man, he held his head in slight confusion, but in the end he shook his head.

  "I'm sorry… this is all so confusing, it's actually giving me a headache" Thomas said with a small groan. 

  "I think I understand how your amnesia works, well, partly anyways. Thomas only remembers the conversations because I think his brain registers it as a familiar topic and it seems to fill in the cracks by a small margin in order to respond to the conversation at hand. However, because his brain doesn't completely fill in the cracks, he doesn't actually remember how, when or even where the conversation took place which leaves him in a state of confusion until it recedes back into his mind" I explained to the best of my ability, Twilight and Miner kinda seem to understand what I'm saying, but it looks like the others were still trying to wrap their heads around it. "In a sense, his brain is only reacting to a familiar action, so if we continue to remind him about certain events and conversations, he should be able to get his memories back… though right now, that's only a theory"

  "Ah get it now, it's kinda like what Miner said earlier about fond memories" Applejack said.

  "Bingo, only this time, we tell him his story from the time we got here to now" I stated and Thomas looked utterly befuddled.

  "My story?" He asked.

  "That's right, don't worry darling we'll have you in tip-top shape by the end of this mission… speaking of, what are we even supposed to be doing?" Rarity asked what everyone was thinking, Celestia and Luna really didn't go into specifics, they just said look out for Sombra but they didn't even give us a description of the guy, they only told us his old name.

  'Damn it, I wish they could've described him instead of just telling us his name, maybe I can go over the archives and see if they have something in their that'll help me a little more' I thought, but was suddenly brought out of my thoughts when we heard Cadance groan for a second before almost fainting on the spot. Luckily, Shining caught her before she could hit the floor. "Whoa, that fatigue is no joke"

  "How many days has she been like this?" Fluttershy asked Shining as she walked over to Cadance and began looking her over. "Her face looks sickly and these bags are horrendous, it's like she hasn't got an ounce of sleep in days" She said.

  "She hasn't, I've tried everything to make her take a break but she keeps telling me that if she lets up, then Sombra could invade at any moment and retake this kingdom" Shining said, a look of worry covered his face as he tried to hold up his wife. "Please Cadance, you need to take a break, you won't last much longer"

  "C-Can't… stop… I-I can't let Auntie down" Cadance said, she could barely stand and her eye's were starting to glaze. It was hard looking at Cadance in such a state, but it seems that no matter what we say, she wont stop until the threat is gone. This was probably the other reason Celestia sent us.

  "I don't know who your Aunt is, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to see you running yourself ragged and looking like shit" Thomas said, suddenly appearing next to the royal couple. Before Shining or anyone can say or do anything, Thomas shoved Shining causing the man to hit the wall hard, then he grabbed Cadance and knocked her out with a simple pinch where the neck and the shoulder meet. "Now get some rest"

  "You dare harm the princess" One of the guards said, she and the rest raised their spears again and closed in on Thomas. "Unhand her majesty"

  "Sure, not like I was gonna kidnap her'' Thomas said with a chuckle, tossing Cadance the guard woman. "Take her to her room and make sure she actually gets some sleep, any more time awake will seriously hurt her and the other's around her," Thomas instructed and, hesitantly, the guards surrounding Thomas retreated back slowly and once they were far enough, then raced off with Cadance.

  "A little aggressive there don't you think?" Twilight asked but Thomas just shrugged.

  "Y'all wanted her to take a break, so I did the only thing that would make her, we all knew she wasn't going to willingly take a nap. But back to the point at hand, which is… hell if I know"

  "SHE WAS GONNA TELL YOU!" Shining shouted in pure anger, Thomas gave off three expressions hearing that. He first showed confusion, then realization which immediately was followed by regret. "And I'm the idiot, you're definitely Thomas" Shining grumbled in annoyance.

  "So we're going in blind… it never gets easier does it?" Jay asked no one, groaning at Thomas' stupidity. "Look, clearly, we don't know what we're supposed to be looking for nor can we find someone who will tell us because everyone is afraid-"

  "They also don't remember much either, we chalked it up to being Sombra's doing so no one could try to stop him again" Shining threw in.

  "To make everyone have slight amnesia basically tells us how powerful this guy is" I stated.

  "Knowing all that basically fills in the cracks a tad bit, the mission is hazy, but it's their… which just leaves with the question of, 'how do we fix everyone'" Twilight summed up and we all thought in silence to pinpoint our next step.

  "How about we look in that library over there?" Thomas suggested, pointing out a nearby window, outside was a tall white marble and purple crystal building with this strange roman like aesthetic. "I bet a hundred bit's we can easily find something there that can help us, maybe even figure out a way to get everyone's memories back" Thomas said and Twilight gasped in excitement and quickly rushed over to the window Thomas was at.

  "Thomas you're a genius!" Twilight exclaimed and kissed him on the cheek. "Alright everyone, let's get over there and start looking for anything that might help," she said and the other's hummed in agreement before heading off toward the library. Jay, Miner and myself were about to head off with them, but it felt like something was wrong.

  "Uh, guy's… I think my sister broke our friend" Shining stated as he poked a frozen Thomas, the man chuckled seeing Thomas like this but was amazed at how red he turned again. "Seriously, how in the name of the god's did this guy beat two of the strongest people we've faced?"

  "He did what?" Miner asked in confusion.

  "Oh right, you weren't around when Discord attacked and the invasion on Canterlot, long story short, Thomas single handedly took them on" Jay explained and Miner's eyes grew a tad bit hearing this then looked at Thomas.

  "Incredible, I had no idea he was that powerful," Miner stated and hummed to himself. "Truly incredible"

  "Putting those stories aside, you guys should hurry and catch up with the others to help them look," Shining said.

  "What about you, you not coming?" I asked and a look of worry crossed his face. "*sigh* Alright, but make sure to stay here and keep Cadance safe, we'll be back as soon as we find what we're looking for" I stated, Shining nodded and raced off to be with Cadance. 

  "Alright bud, enough fantasizing, time to wake up!" Jay announced then slapped Thomas across the face.

  "Fuck! Son of a bitch man that hurt!" Thomas shouted in annoyance, but it was immediately squashed once Jay grabbed him and began running toward the exit with Miner and I in tow. 

  "C'mon you lovesick puppy, we gotta help the other's" Jay said and we all raced out of the castle.



The Crystal Castles Throne Room, P.o.v- ???




  "Well now… this is beautiful" I said aloud, planting myself on the throne. "Cant say about the rest of the kingdom, it's all grey and gloomy, but, since the old likes it here I'll get him a souvenir" I said as I observed the large breath-taking room.

  "Excuse me… do you know if I work here or not?" A woman asked as she walked up to me, her color was nowhere to be seen, leaving herself and her maid outfit a light grey color. A look of confusion crossed her face the more she looked around the area. 

  "Uh… yes, your one of the maid's of this castle aren't you, you're even wearing the uniform" I said while going to sit up straight, though my explanation only seemed to confuse her more.

  "Really… that would explain why I was cleaning this place for some reason… are you our Emperor?" The maid asked and I chuckled.

  "Unfortunately no, I'm just a regular human passing by, saw this quaint little place and decided to rest here for a few days, my uh… old man loved this place, so I wanted to see for myself before continuing my journey" I said and the maid grew fascinated hearing this. "I take it you're not familiar with my race correct?"

  "Actually, it was said that the first Queen of the Crystal Empire actually spoke to a group of humans who were stranded here and was even stated she married one of them… how do I remember that but not my own job?" The woman asked herself but decided not to dwell on it.

  You said 'Queen', I was led to believe that it was 'Empress' or 'Emperor'?" I questioned.

  "That title of 'King and Queen' was changed when a sudden and unforeseen event happened that… t-that uh… it was changed because something… terrible that happened, but I can't quite put my finger on it" The maid said and tried to think harder about it.

  "Well I'm not that interesting so you don't have to think too hard right now, but maybe you can tell me where to find some place with some food?" I asked, getting up from the chair, the maid said the dining hall was down a few more rooms before she excused herself so she could think more. As I walked through the halls, I decided to strip my goggles and my mask off of my head as well as my heavy coat, surprisingly it was really warm in this castle so equipment meant for the snow wasn't needed. 

  Just as I got my sword tied to my hip, I was now standing in front of the dining room. I had to admit, this place looked beautiful, the walls and the floors were a mixture of black marble and magenta crystals that complimented the large purple dining table in the middle. The decor had walls of flowers hanging from the ceiling and large stained glass windows to bring even more color into the room.

  "Well son of a bitch, I owe that old son of a bitch ten bit's" I muttered under my breath, but my amazement was short-lived when a bolt of magic flew past me. "Well damn, there goes lunch" I said with a small chuckle then turned to face who shot that bolt at me.

  "Who are you and what do you think you're doing in my castle!?" The attacker exclaimed, I believe his name was Shining Armor, honestly he looked exactly like how the old man described him. A little quick to the trigger though.

  "I'm just a simple wanderer, your highness, was looking for a place to get some food then quickly be on my way, you see I'm looking for a man named-" I was forced to stop talking in order to dodge another bolt of magic. "Geez, didn't mother ever tell you it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking?" I asked, placing a hand on my scabbard.

  "Didn't mother tell you it's wrong to break into somebody's home?" Shining shot back, I chuckled and shrugged.

  "Hmmm… good point," I said. "How about we talk about this like adults, you don't blast me, I won't cut you, sound fair your highness?" I suggested, removing the hand that was on my scabbard then stretched it out for a handshake.

  Shining stayed silent for a moment, weighing his options, I guess he could see the outcome of what's to come if we go toe to toe… or that's what I thought until I saw his eye's shift to an almost undetectable glare. If it was anyone other than me, that person would've been injured severely with how big that bolt of magic was. Fortunately for me, I was faster than the average person.

  I quickly unsheathed my sword and swung it upwards, cutting the large bolt of magic in half with ease, but as I focused back to Shining I quickly had to slice and dodge more bolts of magic that were rushing at me with speeds no normal man would be at to see. Thankfully I wasn't a normal man. As I continued swiftly dodging and dicing the attacks Shining was sending, I began inching my way toward him to try and close the distance between us, but the volley of magic he was throwing at me made it a little more difficult than it should be.

  Each time I cut through his magic, I was forced to spin around the next shot he sent then repeat the process. Honestly it was getting kinda annoying, long distance wasn't always my specialty, but if I could just get a little closer I can put an end to this ridiculous fight before it gets outta hand. 

  "Why don't you just give up and save some face!" Shining shouted in a cocky tone.

  "Why don't you fight me like man, is it because magic is all you're good at?" I shot back, side stepping out of his blast zone then lunged at him with my left arm stretched back. "Let's see how your swordsmanship holds up 'Captain'" I mocked as I swung my arm forward, my blade ready to cut him in two.

  Surprisingly the man was able to dodge my attack and was even smart enough to jump back to gain some ground to regain his composure. He looked shocked and surprised that he himself was able to dodge it, but another look crossed his face as he summoned a weapon in his hand. 

  "Something the matter Cap'n, your face became a lot darker, afraid of a little sword fight?" I teased, idly twirling my sword katana in my fingers while Shining was making his knuckles turn with how much he was gripping that sword. 

  "I-I can beat you without my magic, I wasn't the Captain of the Royal Guards just because they liked me, I'll show you how I earned that title!" Shining exclaimed and charged at me with the intent to kill, I smiled and pulled out my phone. "Better pay attention!" Shining shouted, jumping up in the air slightly and suddenly coming down with a spinning attack.

  "Oh trust me, I haven't lost focus for even an instant" I assured the man, swinging upward toward him and blocked the full force of his attack using only one hand. The look of absolute bewilderment flashed across his face before it met the side of my boot, launching him across the room and through a few chairs, he finally came to a halt when his body smacked against the wall and bounced off of it. "Ah! Found it, can't have a good fight without music" I said as the new ruler of the Crystal Empire face planted on the floor.

  "That kick… felt so heavy… but I couldn't even see it" Shining muttered to himself, shakily rising to his feet, spitting out some blood on his way up. "Looks like I'm gonna have to get serious" he panted out then readied himself again.

  "That's the spirit, give it your all!" I exclaimed before pressing play.



The moment the song began playing I gripped my sword and started towards the man. When it picked up, I ran at Shining with my sword dragging behind me, when I drew closer to the man, I jumped up and planted a foot on the wall using it to elevate myself higher, I pushed off the wall and swung downward causing it to give out a loud ring once our blades crossed. The moment the blades touched, I flipped my sword to the blunt end and smacked it across Shinings face, this made the man violently jerk against the wall with a  harsh thud. He hissed at the pain then immediately tried to do a vertical downward slash, but I ducked under his swing and spun around him and backhanded him with my fist from behind.

  The man teetered a bit in place before catching himself on the wall. Shining shook his head to try and regain his bearings, but once he did he quickly spun around an just barely parried another swing. Swing after swing, parry after parry, punch after punch, we continued to try and get the upper hand on one another and it looked like neither of us were letting up. Every swing we took was matched with another, resonating a loud 'ting' each time the bodies of steel met, our fists met one another every time we went for a quick jab. 

  "You ain't half bad old man, a lot better than my-I mean… you're a lot better than I thought

 I could tell that Shinings hands were starting to hurt from how much they shook trying to grip his sword. He lunged forward, his sword pointed at my chest, but I parried and sidestepped out of the way and went to kick his side. To my surprise, Shining quickly stabbed the ground to halt himself from flying to the wall, he grunted feeling my foot connect to his side but he pushed past the pain and took a firm grip of my leg then ripped his sword out the ground and raised it up.

  Seeing him swing his sword back towards my leg, I flipped my katana downward and blocked it just as it made it halfway. I sighed in relief, but that was quickly ripped out of me feeling a fist plant itself in the middle of my chest.

  "That… was payback for that back hand" Shining said with a chuckle, catching my breath, I smirked and threw a straight jab against his face with my free hand. 

  "Guess I still owe you a free punch" I said with a chuckle, we pushed off each other and butted blades again. "How're you doin old man, hands starting to hurt?" I joked, striking his sword with a hard vertical swing.

  "I'm just getting star- argh!"

  Shining grunted when my blade struck the flat part of his sword, I saw the man wince as the vibration violently stung the hand he was using. I smirked seeing the man start growing weary and hissing at the pain.

  "Ready to give up!?" Shining blurted out, thrusting his sword. I spun around the thrust and threw a hard kick to his side, the impact caused him to drop his sword and that's when I decided to end it.

  I jumped back and rushed toward the man and slammed my fist across his face  to get him even more dazed, when I knew he couldn't see straight anymore, I grabbed him by his shoulders then knee'd his side three times before reeling my fist back and sent it smashing against Shinings gut, eliciting a grueling sound that came from his mouth followed by a bit of blood spilling out and dripped down his chin. Shining finally went unconscious, dangling limply from arm.

  "I'll hand it to you, your highness, you sure did surprise me with how sturdy you were, it usually takes me about one solid kick to knock out a regular person… however, you took every hit I threw at you… color me impressed... thanks for the fight, I needed some exercise" I thanked, throwing the man over my shoulder then quickly laid him down on the table. "Don't worry, I was holding back quite a bit so you shouldn't really die from these minor injuries, but to be honest with you, you will be sore as hell when you wake up... oh yeah, I was also the one who saved your sister earlier, so your welcome" I added then turned around to go and grab my sword. Unfortunately, the spear pointed at my face stopped me in my tracks.

  "Move, and I shove this spear in your eye socket" A guardswoman growled and I took notice of the other guard's behind her, each of them holding a spear or a sword pointing at me. I snorted softly and chuckled softly seeing all them with such serious looks. "What's so funny, you're surrounded by ten guard's and you're unarmed"

  "Oh I'm not laughing at my situation, I'm laughing at this serious tension around us, I find it hilarious" I said, though I think that just made them even more angry. "I'm guessing kicking the crap outta Shining wasn't such a good idea, right?" I asked to which the guardswoman answered with a harsh glare.

  "Gee mister, what do you think?" She asked in a mocking tone, I rolled my eyes and groaned as I raised my hands up.

  "I'm too hungry to deal with this shit, if I come quietly, can I get SOMETHING to eat?" I asked.

  "You'll be lucky enough to even see the light of day again" The lady said, I snorted softly hearing this. 

  "Well I can't have that, so unfortunately for you, we got a problem" I said, putting my hands down and staring down at the woman in front of me, before I could try anything, I heard a small shuffle from behind. "I know you're awake your highness… how's about we bury the hatchet?"

  "I… I ….. I don't think... you know… what holding back actually means" Shining grunted out, gasping softly then rolled on his side, facing us. "Stand down….. he's n-not… evil"

  "But… he harmed royalty, by the law of Equis we have to-"

  "A-Are you talking back… to me… who is that royalty you're speaking of?" Shining asked, slowly getting into a sitting position. "If he wanted to kill me, he would've already done it, didn't help that I was the one who started it when he tried to handle it peacefully" he admitted, which made the guards slightly lower their weapons.

  "B-But sir-"

  "You're dismissed" Shining said, cutting his guard off, she opened her mouth to protest but just gave out a heavy sigh and lowered her weapon which made the others put their weapons down. "Good… now… tell the chef to prepare some food for our… guest" he ordered and the guardswoman gave a salute before the group walked off. Once they were out of sight, I gave out a small laugh.

  "Looks like I was wrong about you being an ass… why'd you have my back, was pretty sure you were tryin to kill me during our little tussle" I said and Shining stayed silent for a moment before straining himself up on his feet. "Don't move too much man, I did rock your shit a few minutes ago, I'm honestly surprised you're even awake old man"

  "Ha ha, ugh, the reason why I helped you is because you said you saved my sister… I'm assuming it was you who took that giant shadow beast down, right?" Shining asked, going to pull out a chair, I stopped him and pulled it out for him. "Thanks, anyways, I owed you for that so uh... call us even in a sense" he stated as he plopped himself in the chair.

  "And the food you ordered for me?"

  "That's a bonus" Shining said, I snorted at that comment then sheathed my katana. "I've never seen a blade with a black edge before"

  "Not surprising you haven't seen one before, weapons like mine are extremely rare, it's damn near considered a myth" I said, patting the blade hanging off my hip. "Back home, black blades were considered the strongest in the world, it can cut through any object with little to no effort… or so the old man said"

  "How'd you get it?" Shining asked.

  "No idea… just showed up in my hands one day and… it's been with me ever since" I answered, then it suddenly became quiet for a moment, it wasn't until we heard the doors open did we break the awkward silence, as we watched the maids come toward us and placed down a couple plates of food and utensils, I decided to speak. "Let me ask you a question, your highness… why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

  "What do you mean?" Shining asked as the maids finished setting up everything then left one by one.

  "Back home, if a man or woman is suddenly kind to you after trying to kill you, they either believe they are strong enough to make you do their bidding… or they realized they're not strong enough to kill you" I said, walking over to the table and sat down in front of my meal.

  "Is there anything else we can get you sir?" The maid asked me, it was the maid I was talking to earlier. 

  "Thank you love, but I think we're okay for now" I answered and she bowed before leaving Shining and I to ourselves. "So tell me, why are you being nice to me?" I asked again, eating the meal they prepared for me. Shining sighed and stared down at the food in front of him, he was silent for a moment, I could see he was trying to carefully choose his words and he looked more uneasy the longer he thought to himself. It was like he was trying to swallow his pride.

  ".... I… would like to ask for a favor" He suddenly said, catching my attention. "I know I shouldn't after I, well, tried to kill you… but I think we seriously need the help right now"

  ".... Depending on what the favor is, you're highness, so, what do you need from me?" I asked, putting my fork down.

  "There's something-"

  "Someone" I correct, he sighed and looked me in the eye.

  "There's someone... I need dead"




  The Crystal Empire's Public Library
P.o.v- Thomas 




  I stood near the entrance as I watched the group look for any inkling on how to help everyone in the kingdom. So far they haven't found anything yet, but I did find a book that had some information about the Crystal Heart called 'The History of the Crystal Empire', supposedly it was used in some sort of festival the first Queen arranged many years ago. It was said that the heart stood at the entrance of the castle, being powered by the joy and love the residents gave off during this festival. The picture illustrated a couple people surrounding a giant Crystal Heart being held between a spike from the ceiling and the ground.

  "Find something man?" Jackson asked, walking up and sat himself down on the edge of a table near me. 

  "Just a book about the Crystal Heart, turns out it was used for some sort of festival the first ruler implemented long before any of us were around" I said, handing him the book. "It also has the history of the kingdom as well"


  "Really?" He asked as he flipped through the book, skimming through it until he reached the picture. "Thomas, I think you found what we've been looking for, where'd you find this?"

  "It was under 'T'" I answered.

  "SON OF A BITCH!" 

  "... The hell was that?" I asked, but before Jackson could answer, a purple blur flew past us ripping the book out of Jackson's hands. When we realized what had happened, we saw Twilight sitting at the table Jackson was sitting on, she didn't even budge when the other's came over.  "Guess that answers my question"

  "Trust me man, this has happened so much that she literally went insane once… that was a weird day" Jay said, I chuckled at this then walked over to the bookworm. 

  "I can't believe you found this so easily Thomas, this will help us tremendously and it looks like this festival they're talking about in the book might actually help the people in the kingdom remember some of their memories and personalities" Twilight said, her eyes still glued to the book, she looked somewhat cute the more focused she got. It's hard to believe I'm actually friends with her, Jackson told me I was really close to her before I apparently vanished, but I never thought in a million years a girl like her would ever look in my direction. 

  "Ya look a lil' more interested in somethin' other than that there book Tommy '' Applejack teased, breaking me out of my thoughts and making my face burn slightly. 

  "Come now Applejack, this is no time for teasing" Rarity said, or, I believe her name was Rarity.

  "Thank you, uh, Rarity" I thanked, rubbing my blush off my cheeks. 

 "Still a little fuzzy Thomas?" Asked who I believe was Rainbow.

  "Yeah, I'm still trying to remember your names, it's a lot more difficult than what you'd think" I admitted.

  "Well don't worry Thomas, once this issue has been sorted out, we'll immediately start helping you get your memory back" Twilight said, with her face still in the book.

  "Thanks, still hard to believe I'm actually friends with all of you" I said and looked at myself for a minute. "I don't know how I was before, but I hope I'm not too different from how I used to be"

  "You're pretty much the same, 'cept your a lot less nerdy, got that lone wanderer look goin" Jackson said and the others around agreed.

  "I'm surprised you haven't grown an inch of hair on your face though, I think you would've looked nice with a beard" Rainbow said, poking my smooth cheek.

  "Out of everything I could've remembered, I do remember a nurse saying she bought an expensive hair removal cream and put it all over my body except for my eyebrows and hair" I explained, leading the girls to look downward with curiosity, I turned a little red and crossed my legs. "Yes… even their, she also said it was permanent"

  "Well… a tiny look wouldn't hurt now would it?" Applejack asked with a small pink hue going across her face, Rarity and Pinkie were on board with it but I refused to indulge that request.

  "I-I will not just pull my pants down so you can 'see' if the cream worked!" I exclaimed and before the three could try anything, the doors slammed open and the soldiers from the castle stormed in.

  "Miss Twilight and co., we were sent to retrieve" The guardswoman exclaimed and we all got to our feet. 

  "But, we just got here?" Twilight questioned, closing the book. "Why were you sent to retrieve us, has something happened?"

  "Well, partly, aside from a stranger appearing inside the castle, his highness would like to discuss plans on how to deal with Sombra" The woman said, catching all of our attention. 

  "A stranger appeared inside the castle!?" Twilight exclaimed, snatching the book up and raced off toward the castle.

  "What do you mean a stranger appeared?" Jackson asked. "Does this person work with sombra?"

  "We… don't know" One guardswoman said hesitantly. "We only discovered him after he beat his highness to a pul-"

  "That's enough Cinder," The Captain snapped.

  "Shining lost a fight with this guy?" Jay asked, to which the captain nodded.

  "Did he say his name, where he came from, anything?" Pinkie asked.

  "I would assume he's already gone by now, I mean he did just break into the castle and ruffed up their ruler, not like they're gonna treat him like a guest after that" I said, but the silence and the aversion of their gaze from the guards was enough to tell us everything. "You gotta be kidding me"




  After we took a couple more books about the festival from the library, we Immediately came back to the castle and honestly… I wasn't really expecting to see another person like myself or Jay, or Jackson. The man was sitting at the center of the table eating to his heart's content while Twilight's brother sat next to him.

  "Oh! Hey howsh it goin', mush be 'trange to-"

  "Uh, I don't think they can understand you" Shining said, the man 'oh'd' and swallowed his food.

  "Sorry, I said, it must be strange to see another human that isn't those three" The man said pointing at me, Jackson and Jay, before leaning back with a piece of bread in hand. 

  "That is strange to know another human came here, but the bigger question is, who are you?" Jackson asked rather sternly, the man chuckled at the question. "Something funny?"

  "Nah, it's just, you're a little too serious about this is all, loosen up a little man" The man said then looked Jackson up and down for a second. "How can a man who just had sex be this stiff?" He questioned, causing Jackson to reel back in shock.

  "E-Excuse me?"

  "How, now follow me, can a man who just had sex be this uptight right now?" The man asked again, slowly this time. Jackson narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, the man saw this and snorted softly. "Struck a nerve kid?"

  "Yeah, a very sensitive nerve"

  "Like I said, you're too uptight, but the question is… who did you bang?" He asked and Jackson was slowly forming a bolt of lightning in his hand. "... Always liked me a sunny side up"

  "You motherfuck-!"

  "Calm down, he's just trying to get a rise out of you, see what pushes your buttons" Jay said, stepping in between the two.
 
  "Just fuckin you with you man, jesus, the temper on this guy" The man said, leaning back into his chair now with a drink in hand. "You know the old man had a saying for people with hot blood, 'You'll burn from the inside if you let other's spark the fire', in other words, take a fuckin joke" 

  "Enough, I want to know who you are, why you broke into the castle and why you beat my brother to a pulp!" Twilight demanded, rightfully angry at the man sitting nonchalantly in front of us.

  "I was just passing by looking for food, I'm what you call a wanderer" he said and then jabbed a thumb to Shining. "He started the fight even when I offered an olive branch, as you can see it was a little one sided, and as for my name, well... thats the big question isn't it" The man said with a chuckle, but Twilight yanked a spear from one of the guards and went to thrust it toward the man, however, the tip was gone before it even got close to his body. 

  "How in the-"

  Is that any way to treat your savior?" He said, twirling the broken half of the spear in his hands. "Not very friendly Twilight, a princes- oops, almost ruined the surprise"

  "Twilight please, calm down" Shining said only to get a harsh glare from his sister.

  "Calm down!?" Twilight exclaimed suddenly causing me to immediately step back.

  'Why'd I do that?' I thought.

  "You think I'll be calm after finding out some stranger broke into the castle, beat my own brother to a pulp, then be treated as some kinda guest!" Twilight yelled at her brother, then set her sights to the man. "And you, why would you think finding food in a literal castle would be a good idea, and why do you keep saying you saved me"

  "Admittedly you have a point about breaking in here, and the reason why I keep saying I saved you is because I killed that shadow hound that was about to tear you limb from limb… look me in the eye Twilight, tell me if they remind you of anything" The man said, Twilight rolled her eyes before focusing them on the man's eyes. A minute or so had passed and the anger radiating off of Twilight had completely dissipated, in turn, it was replaced by fear. "Their we go"

  "W-Who are you?" Twilight asked breathlessly with a shaky voice.

  "Twilight, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked the girl but got no response.

  "What did you do to her!?" Applejack exclaimed, but the man just shrugged.

  "Nothing" 

  "Nothing?" Jay repeated.

  "Yup, just looked her in the eye, nothing more" He said then rose from his chair. "Anyways, I think I can fulfill your requests cap'n, so thanks for the grub"

  "Wait… please… tell us your name before you leave" Twilight managed to ask him. He hummed to himself softly, tying his sword to his hip, the way he moved felt unsettling and even looked a bit arrogant. Almost like he saw himself in a higher position.

  "Well I guess I can tell you my name, it's nothing special really" He said then cleared his throat. "Allow me to properly introduce myself, my name is Thompson Lilith Light, age twenty-two, born on earth and equestrian raised at the age of five" Thompson introduced. "Im sure you have millions of questions right now, but we'll save those later"

  "What did my brother ask you to do?" Twilight asked, growing more confident but still treading carefully. I dont get why she's so scared of him, but I guess I shouldn't let my guard down around him. Thompson looked at Shining then gave a subtle nod before turning back to us with a smile.

  "He asked me to look after all of you, if this Sombra guy shows up then I'll  personally take care of him without any of you getting so much as a scratch" Thompson stated confidently as he hoped over the table, once he stood in front of us at his full height, I could plainly see he was a good few inches taller than me. But something struck me as odd seeing Thompson.

"Have we met Thompson?" I asked the man, eyeing him up and down. "I feel as though I recall seeing you somewhere, but, I really don't know why?" I questioned, my mind may have been fuzzy on who I was, but I know that I've seen this man before at some point in time.

  "Well that goes for one of us, I unfortunately have never met any of you, I've only heard small stories about you and your friends, I must say that you are one tough son of a bitch if you lived this long after all the shit you've gone through" Thompson said with a short laugh. "Oh, I see y'all found the history book of the empire" 

  "How did you-?" Rarity stopped once she suddenly felt her arms become lighter, she looked down, only to notice that the book she was holding onto was no longer in her hands. 

  "Where do you think I went to first miss generosity?" Thompson asked, flipping through the book Rarity was holding, this caused us to jump a little. "Apologies, but we really haven't the time, Sombra has already made it inside the city and is quickly taking action as we speak"

  "WHAT!?" We all shouted.

  "H-He's here, like here here!?" Jay asked Thompson who nodded then shut the book he was reading.

  "The book that tells you about the festival, let me see it" Thompson demanded, holding out his hand to us, waiting for someone to put a book in his hand.

  "How do we know we can trust you?" Rainbow skeptically asked Thompson.

  "If I was gonna betray you, I would've done it already, besides, you need all the help you can get" Thompson answered, his hand still held out toward us. No one moved for a moments, it felt as though someone had hit the pause button, but that feel was finally swept away once we watched Miner walk over to Thompson and hand him the book he was holding. "Alright, let's get to work"



Hours Later, Outside In front Of The Castle




  "Alright people, I needed this festival up an running yesterday, no time for breaks so get your ass's moving or I'll get it moving!" Thompson shouted as he watched guards and random citizens help set up everything the book told us to do. We watched in awe at how extremely well Thompson was leading these people with no effort, it looked almost second nature to him. "Apple's, Pinkie, I need you girls to round up the chefs and make more food than you've ever made before, you got me?"

  "On it!" Pinkie exclaimed before leaving a dust cloud after-image.

  "We'll get'er done in no time flat sugarcube, ah guarantee it" Applejack said, popping her knuckles then ran off after Pinkie.

  "Jackson, Jay, says here in this book we need entertainment so I want you two to come up with something that'll catch the people's attention" Thompson said.

  "Got it, I'm sure we can figure something out," Jackson said then ran off with Jay.

  "Rarity, how good are you at carving and/or sculpting?" Thompson asked the girl.

  "Depends on what you're thinking darling" She said.

  "Can you make a crystal heart?" He asked and Rarity hummed for a moment.

  "Given enough time, I believe I can put something together" Rarity answered, getting a small smile from Thompson. 

 "Alright, you got three to four hours to make the main attraction, that enough time?" Thompson asked.

  "I'll get it done in two" Rarity said confidently then raced off, before Thompson could give out more orders, he stopped as he saw Rainbow, Miner and Fluttershy walking back toward us.

  "Just in time you three, I knew those costumes would look good on yall" Thompson praised, as me and Twilight looked at three wearing old gladiator outfits.  "Lovin the helmets too, makes it look even more authentic" he said, the helmets were also gladiator based but instead of the red mohawk on top, it was their own hair sticking out through it, which admittedly looked cool.

  "Uhm… Thompson?" Fluttershy called out, getting out attention, only to go wide-eyed. "I-I think the chest piece is a-a little small, even the skirt is a bit short" Fluttershy pointed out, we looked and she was right, her chest piece was holding on for dear life trying to push her cleavage back and her skirt was a little too short, reaching only a little passed the thighs. Myself and Thompson couldn't help but stare. "U-Uhm… guy's?"

  "Huh?... oh! Right, sorry" I quickly blurted out, averting my eyes from Fluttershy. When I did, I suddenly felt two sets of eyes burning holes into me.

  "Well I did kinda just find them last minute, besides, your boyfriend over there doesn't seem to mind" Thompson teased, pointing at Miner who was still staring intently at Fluttershy, this made the shy girl blush. "Alright man pick up your jaw cause I need you three to be the main attraction"

  "And what would that be?" Miner asked, ripping his gaze off of the shy girl.

  "You three will be our jousters!" Thompson exclaimed excitedly, Rainbow pumped her fist to this while Miner looked confused and Fluttershy looked terrified. "First round will be the girls and the one who wins will face Miner in the final, don't worry Fluttershy, I told Rainbow to go easy on you so you won't feel no more than a small thud"

  "But doesn't she have, like, a six pack and can pick up a whole person with one hand?" Twilight questioned, getting Thompson to cock a brow at this.

  "That doesn't sound…. *ahem* well, then I guess you two will give it your best, no holding back so put on a great show!" Thompson exclaimed excitedly. 

  "So… where you getting the horse's?" I asked and Twilight gestured to me to come closer.

  "Jousting is an old sport only air-users are able to actually compete in since they can float in the air. The point of the game is to knock either or to the floor with a long blunt weapon called a lance, last one still in the air wins" Twilight explained and it seemed to make a little sense, but the question still came to mind.

  "What about Miner, he's a magic-user, so how will he-?"

  "Oh, the winner will actually fight Miner in hand to hand, first to get pinned wins" Thompson said and the three seemed to look at one another hearing this. "Oh it'll be fine, not like y'all haven't fought anyone before"

  "U-Uhm… I haven't"

  "Ooooh… right... well… dodge and find an opening you can strike, remember to go for the jaw" Thompson instructed, though it seemed like Fluttershy didn't catch all that. "In simple terms, don't get hit"

  "I… can try to do that," she said and the other's began walking off.

  "Don't worry Fluttershy, just do you best!" Thompson called out to the girl as they began talking amongst themselves. "... Alright, time for the real work" he said with a serious tone, closing the book he had in his hand.

  "Real work?" Twilight questioned. "What do you mean by that?"

  "What I mean is that I gave everyone easy job's… and I bought us some time," Thompson said, tossing Twilight the book and began walking back toward the castle. 

  "Bought us some time?" I queried.

  "Our enemy is much, much, closer than you are led to believe. If my hunch is correct… then Miner is King Sombra" Thompson stated, quickly whipping around to put a hand over both mine and Twilight's mouth. "Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances reveal this to others including Shining Armor, if they find out that their foe has been right beside them this whole time, they will all go into a panic and kick off Sombra's plan. So we keep this to ourselves, do I make myself clear?" He sternly asked us, we nodded our heads and he uncovered our mouths.

  "How do you know Miner is who you say he is?" I asked the man as we walked back inside the castle. "Miner has been my friend for six month's, he's been helping me with my amnesia, he nursed me back to health when I was literally dying… I'm going to need more than just a hunch about the man who saved my life… who I consider a dear friend"

  "I know it's a tough pill to swallow Thomas, but I actually have two theories about our guy" Thompson said, turning a corner and slid his hand against the wall while we walked. "My first theory is that he's just like you, when the Empire came back, that also brought Sombra back or in this case, the person he was before"

  "Wait, wait, wait, wait… are you suggesting he has a split personality?" Twilight asked.

  "No, not even close, I read that the previous King was playing around with dark magic, even used his earth-user son as a lab rat in order to change his genetic code to bring out his magic-user side. With the constant abuse from his father, and neglect from his mother as well as his siblings, the dark magic rooted itself inside of him and took control of the King's son, it even forced a part of his skull to morph into a horn in order for him to use magic. The boy was barely fifteen before he completely lost himself, the dark magic inside of him knew a boy his age couldn't handle that much power, so it accelerated both his growth and age to the ripe age of twenty-" Thompson said then cut himself off, stopping in the middle of the hall, he felt around for bit before his eyes widen slightly as he pushed against the wall, causing a piece of it to sink in.

  There were a few minutes of cranking and clicking before a door slowly burst out slightly, this made Twilight jump and cling to me, I would've been blushing like an idiot right about now but the door slowly opening had my full attention.

  "Then he killed his entire family" Thompson finished, walking over to the door and slowly ripped it open. It was a door made of what looked like ten inches of marble and it made Thompson grunt a little as he opened it. "Through here, is a where we'll find the Crystal Heart"

  "Wait, what do you mean?" Twilight asked. 

  "The Heart of The Crystal Empire resides at the top of this castle, and the way we get to the top is if we go through the throne room" Thompson said, gesturing us to go through the opening in the wall. 

  "The heart of the empire… so it's actually true, the heart is real?" I asked and Thompson nodded.

  "It is very real, the one Rarity is making will just be a decoy until we retrieve the actual heart" Thompson said and I looked deep into the doorway. "Are you ready, because once you go through this door, all hell will break loose and everything you think you know will be flipped, so… you ready?"

  "... I am"