//------------------------------// // Chapter 24- Calm Before The Storm pt. 1 [CO] // Story: Equestrian Psycho // by BlakeCorman //------------------------------// Chapter 24- Calm Before the Storm pt. 1 Chris stood in his lab, standing over his most advanced project yet. He chuckled as he thought it might possibly be his life’s work. He shook his head and focused on his task, beginning to hum a happy little tune. Three weeks had come and gone since the rescue of the sirens and the death of Spike, bookmarking the first time the Resistance had actually gained members instead of losing them during a battle. Chris’ grin grew at that thought. Things really are starting to look up, he thought to himself before a sharp, electrical pop drew his attention back to his project. So enthralled with his work that the engineer didn’t hear the door behind him open up behind him. Sweetie Belle stuck her head inside, taking a quick look around before she spotted her boyfriend. A mischievous smirk spread over the mare’s features as she watched his back. She opened the door slowly, quietly entering the lab space and closing the door behind her. With practiced grace, the unicorn crept up behind the young man, stopping just short of her target and waiting. After a few moments, Chris let out a sigh that visibly moved him, putting down the tool in his hand before resting both against his hips. Then the pony struck. “...CHRIS!” “SCHEISSE!” The man yelled out, jumping so high his head slammed into the ceiling with a bang. Sweetie winced, jumping back as the blond crashed back to the floor. Letting out a sympathetic hiss of pain, the mare stepped forward to help him as he sat up, rubbing his head. “Sorry,” she apologized as he took the hand she offered him. “I didn’t think you’d react that badly.” “Yes, because sneaking up on and scaring the Scheiße out of a soldier is a good idea,” Chris replied in sarcastic pain as he got to his feet. This only drew a frown from his marefriend. “Hey,” she chastised, pointing a finger at him. “I said I was sorry, no need to get nasty.” She huffed a bit as Chris’ annoyed face morphed into confusion. She looked away from him, eyes landing briefly on the jumble of parts behind the man. “What are you working on in here, anyway?” “Huh?” He questioned still rubbing the back of his head before he followed his gaze with his own. His eyes widened and body stiffened before he tried to put himself between the table and the mare. “I-It’s nothing! Just a side project, that’s all!” Sweetie raised an eyebrow at that as she stepped back. “Oookay…” she muttered before cocked a hip and put her knuckles to her side. “You know I don’t believe you, right?” Sweat visibly appeared on the man’s forehead as he gave a strained smile. The mare just grinned and rolled her eyes. With the speed of a serpent, her hand shot out and grabbed the front of his red shirt. In a flash, the couple appeared on the other side of the lab. “Wha- Wait! Sweetie, don’t-” The youth was too late as his marefriend released him and disappeared with a cocky grin. Chris whipped around where he stood just in time to see the pony’s body stiffen in front of the table. “...Chris….” The man winced before he took several steps forward. “Sweetie, I swear I can explain-” “What in Tartarus!” The mare began to yell as she whirled around to face him and shoved the faceplate of a cog up into his face. “Could possibly explain this!” Gray eyes searched the metallic mask before shifting to the angry expression on the unicorn’s face and the terror in her eyes. Chris hesitated for several moments before he gave a deep, shuddering sigh, reaching up to take the faceplate. “I’ve been working on it for a little while now,” he finally murmured, stepping forward to stand beside her as he looked down at the complete inner workings of what looked like a massively over-complicated cog minus the head. “It’s supposed to be a sort of… prosthetic….” The mare’s expression shifted into confusion at that, glancing briefly at the partially assembled machine before returning her gaze to Chris’ frown. “What kind of injury could warrant a prosthetic like this?” She questioned, her voice terse. “Not an injury,” Chris replied, bringing a hand up to rest on the skeleton’s arm. “A complete lack of an operational body….” The mare’s uncertainty only grew for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. “You mean,” she began, turning away from him to look over the body again. “All of this… is for Sam?” The only reply the man gave her at first was a nod. “Sam needs to feel free,” Chris started, letting out a breath. “But I can’t keep lying to him the way I have been. You guys were right about that much.” He lifted his hand and gestured over the machine. “With this… I won’t have to lie, and Sam… Sam can have all the freedom he could ever want. ...I wanted to surprise him with it for Hearth’s Warming.” The mare once again turned her eyes on the man, her gaze softening as a small smile snuck its way onto her face. “You’re a big old softy, you know that?” The mare joked, pushing against his side and hugging his arm. Her smile widened as she got the desired effect from her actions when the blond let his frown change to a small smile and a chuckle escaped him. He looked away from his work and put his unoccupied hand on her shoulder as one of her hands found his other and their fingers intertwined. Both of them gave soft sighs, Sweetie moving her head to lay against his arm, a comfortable silence falling between them for several moments. “...Speaking of Samson, where is he?” “And under Article Three, Paragraph Thirteen,” Trixie droned on, her expression as bored as any normal mare would be reading Written Law’s Review of the Iron Wing Accords, Ninth Edition. “Any being, regardless of species, gender, or diplomatic status who maims, tortures, and/or torments any other sentient being during a time of war with the express purpose of killing thorough cruel or unusual means shall be presented to a court of law. Upon being found guilty, the individual may be sentenced to public execu- Come on, Sam. This is the single most boring thing Trixie has ever read in her life.” “How could you think this is boring?” Samson questioned as he hovered over her shoulder, excitement clear in his voice. “You get history and law all in one!” The blue mare let out a sigh as she sat back in her chair, turning to look at the floating black orb. “Trixie swears you are the only one she knows that takes pleasure in this,” she said as she held a finger between the book’s pages and closed it. “It’s also a bit unnerving. Just sitting down here, reading law, and being so close to… him.” The unicorn pursed her lips and nodded towards the stasis chamber in which Discord slept. “It’s not that bad,” the orb argued, floating back a bit. “And besides, I heard it was good to read to comatose patients while they slept. Supposed to help them recover or something.” “Can you even be sure he can hear us?” Trixie asked, a look of uncertainty crossing her face as she looked past Sam and towards the tank. Samson fell silent at that, remaining that way for a long moment before he seemed to turn and hover towards the front of the chamber. “...I’d like to think so,” he finally murmured. “I’d like to think we can help everybody….” The magician behind him watched the orb with sad eyes before she let out a morose sigh. “Oh, Sam…” she whispered under her breath as she looked down at the floor. The mare didn’t look up again until a flash of light caught the corner of her eye. Her head shot back up and her eyes narrowed, searching the room as she began to pull on her magic and that of the Alicorn Amulet around her neck. “Did you see that?” “See what?” Sam asked, the sphere of spiritual energy turning towards her before another spark of energy arced between him and the stasis chamber. “Sam!” Trixie’s warning came all too late as a portal opened up between the ball of spiritual being and the spirit of chaos. The dark mass swallowed the former whole, closing just as quickly as it had as it had opened. The blue mare jumped to her feet, eyes jerking from one side to the other. “Sam?” She called quietly, hand clenching up as she drew it towards the cold feeling in her chest. “Samson?” The blood pounded in the mare’s ears, pupils shrinking before she turned tail and sprinted out of the room. “Artemus!” “Not really sure,” Chris answered, his smile still warming his face. “But I’m sure he couldn’t be getting up to too much trouble.” With no further warning, a portal swirled into life behind the pair, each flinching and widening their eyes in response before light glowed around the young man. He stole one last look at his mare friend before he condensed into a ball and shot into the doorway. The swirling breach blinked out of existence, leaving the off-white mare to herself as equipment rattled to a halt and papers fluttered down towards the ground. After a few moments, the mare frowned in annoyance and sighed as she crossed her arms. “Damn it.” The True Me Perspective: Lightningman “Dude, don't be a (Beep), this'll be fun. Whos going first?” “Who went first in the show, they should probably go first.” “Good idea Karen.” "I believe Applejack went first." I try to remember when suddenly there's a loud noise from outside that obviously wasn't the storm. "That definitely wasn't the storm. Karen?" "On it sir. There appears to be a human outside." Said, Karen, as the Warmachine armor flew to & formed around Thomas. Outside, the rain poured down on a young man that seemed to be in his early twenties. His reddish-brown hair clung to his head and fell into his eyes as he began to stand to his feet, a portal closing behind him. His blue and white vest covered a red t-shirt, matching bracers adorning his forearms. His lower half was covered in slightly baggy, black cargo pants and combat boots. "(Beep) it no more- Did I just (Beep)ing beep?" He questioned, hazel eyes widening as he put a hand on his head. I walked outside. "Seriously? I'm still dealing with Thomas. Why are you here?" I help him up. "Nevermind. Are you ok? Need healing or anything like that? Twilight's inside, she can help you out." "Thanks, but I'm not hurt... this time," the redhead answered before his brow furrowed. "Wait, what do you mean, 'why am I here'? Didn't you activate my Token?" "I'm not a displaced." I deadpan. "And Thomas never got any token. So you must have fallen through the weak barrier that is my world." I hold out my hand. "My name is Lightningman. Human Ambassador to Equestria, and as of defeating Blueblood tomorrow, Prince of Equestria." I smile. I then point at Thomas over my shoulder. "And that's Thomas Quill, he got here the same way you did, he just decided to stick around to see me kick the (Beep) out of Blueblood." "You know our names-" Thomas was saying. "Ahem." "And that's Karen, now as I was saying, you know our names, what's yours?" The young man straightened up. "Samson Jaeger, Psycho Ranger." Immediately I put up my arms and charged them full of electricity when I heard the word "Psycho." "You better explain that name before he electrocutes you," Thomas said through his armor with the slightest hint of a smile heard in his voice somehow. "Yeah, I'm the more reasonable than my other half." I narrow my eyes. "He's more likely to kill you before hearing you out with that name." Samson dropped into a fighting stance, blue-green and yellow electricity dancing over his body in kind. "Chill," he answered in a stern voice. "It's just the name of my powers. Nothing more, nothing less." "Your powers are named psycho? What do they do?" I lowered the voltage on my arms. "Psycho powers, your a Power Ranger Displaced aren't you? Only you got the powers of an evil ranger instead of a good one." "You're right on the money," Samson replied, pointing towards Thomas for a moment as he straightened up and canceled out the multi-colored electricity. "Only Chris was actually dressed as Psycho Yellow when we got displaced. As for what they do, there's a myriad of things. Elemental manipulation and magic, physical enhancements, weapon creation, flight, and all that's even before I have a chance to morph properly." "Chris?" I asked. "Who's that?" "That is an excellent question Lightningman, who is Chris?" Asked Karen. "Chris suffered from multiple personality disorder back on Earth,” Samson began to explain. “I was the second personality. When he was sent to Equestria, the disorder evolved until..." He lifted his arms a bit. "Here I am...." "So your a personality separate from the physical body you originated from?" I smiled. "Darkning's gonna like you." "Wanna come inside Samson?" Said Thomas pointing over his shoulder at the TreeBrary. "Um, yeah, sure," he answered, a confused look flashing over his face at the name "Darkning". "It has to beat standing out here in the rain." I opened the door for you two to come inside. "We're on the 'Look Before You Sleep' episode." "Did you like this episode Samson? ‘Cause I didn't." The Ranger shook his head. "Not in particular," he answered. "Then again the whole 'brony' thing was Chris' gig. I just have a penchant for hitting stuff." "Yeah, Dark is definitely gonna like you." I smiled as I took my mask off. "This is gonna be fun to explain," said Thomas as we walked into the TreeBrary and stepped out of his suit. "I kinda wish you guys would," Sam said as he entered behind them, a flash of red lightning traveling over his body and drying him of rain. "You guys keep mentioning this 'Darkning' guy and how much I'm gonna like him but I've got no idea what you mean." "He's all of my anger and sadness manifested into a corporeal being. He's like you." "Implying Samson is an emotion or emotions manifested into a physical being," Thomas said getting Twilight's attention during the pillow fight. Samson stopped in the middle of the room. "He's... he's an emotional construct...?" He breathed hesitantly, his voice quieting at the information. "Yeah." I nodded. "I'm surprised there's more like him." "Well, since no one else is gonna do it... Samson, Twilight, Twilight, Samson." The young man hesitated for a few seconds as he looked at the purple unicorn. "...Sorry," he finally muttered, taking his gaze off her and looking at the floor. "Just...." "Whats wrong?" I asked a bit concerned. "You're my guest here. You can tell." "It's just...," the redhead rubbed the back of his neck nervously before he let out a breath. "I never met my Twilight. The closest I've ever come is... well when she was trying to kill me and my friends...." "Ah, so your an alt universe." I nodded. "Let me guess, the myasma or whatever its called is somehow involved?" "The myasma?" Asked Thomas. "You know, that thing Luna created to be Nightmare Moon. It’s either miasma or myasma. One of those." "Oh, that thing... I always just called it Nightmare." "Actually, Nightmare Moon is my commanding officer," the ranger explained, with a small shrug. "In a roundabout sort of way, anyway. My Twilight went bad of her own free will." "Oh? Huh." I stay silent for a second. "That's... kinda weird. But, you don't question alts." I shrugged. I then pull out Sam in wand form and say. "Sam, could you make three beds for us?" "I'd hold off on that, remember what the storm does later in the episode," Thomas suggested. "That's why I'm making it downstairs." "Fair enough." He shrugged. "So," Samson said, setting himself down on the ground. "You mentioned something about becoming a prince of Equestria. What exactly did you mean by that?" "I mean once I defeat BlueBlood I take his place," Lightningman explained. "Speaking of that,” Thomas spoke up. “I know this guy named Nathan & he'd love to see you beat Blueblood. Is it OK if I summon him here?" "Fine." I roll my eyes. "Might as well since we already have three." "I'll summon him tomorrow... mainly because he won't fit in the TreeBrary." "Ok." I look outside. "It's getting late." I put down my wand and there were three beds. "Go ahead and pick one." "Wow," Sam said, raising an eyebrow. "You guys are really on about beating Blueblood...." "You were in Chris's head when he watched the show and read fanfictions... you must know why we hate Blueblood." "Yeah. He's one of the biggest (Beep)holes in the show,” Lightningman added. “And, considering his involvement in it is minimal, I'm free to hurt him." "He only had an important role in the season 1 finale if my memory is right." "Sooo, because you don't like him," Samson started, his eyebrow dropping back down. "You're going to hurt him?" "And because he treats Rarity like crap” Lightning added. “He's spoiled, and he doesn't deserve the title of prince. I'm not much better, but I would be better than him." "Anyone would be better than him," Thomas agreed. Samson was quiet for a few moments before he gave a little sigh. "I guess... I guess you're not wrong...," he said slowly and quietly, closing his eyes and leaning back a little. "Just... don't hurt him too badly, yeah?" "No promises." I shrug. "I haven't gone full out ever in my life since I got these powers. This is my chance." "Let me rephrase what Samson said; just don't kill him, ‘cause then you'd be worse than him." "Honestly, it doesn't look good either way," Samson iterated, keeping his eyes closed. "Is Blueblood a douchebag that needs to be taken down a peg? Probably. But at the same time, you're superhuman with extremely powerful abilities and he's... well, just an average unicorn." "Fine." I rolled my eyes. "Blue probably will want a deathmatch anyway." "He probably will, but I don't think Celestia will be ok with that," Thomas said as Samson only frowned at what he heard and fell silent. "Anyway." I suddenly got an idea. "Thomas, tomorrow you want to fight?" "My super advanced tech versus your lightning... sounds like fun." "Lightning, aura, and my cards," I corrected. "Right... those too." "Now that sounds like something to watch," Sam said in a low, calm voice as he cracked an eye open. "Yeah. Maybe I can face you after I face him. It would be a good test of my abilities." I smiled and hopped on the balls of my feet a bit excitedly. "Your gonna be fighting 3 people tomorrow if you challenge him to... isn't that gonna be exhausting?" I gave him a deadpan look. "I've stayed conscious through at least 3 or 4 days of no food. And I was only beginning to feel the hunger when I ate those s'mores. So give me some credit for my stamina." "That's... a very fair point." The redhead gave a little chuckle. "Reminds me of Chris," he said. "But yeah sure, why not? It's actually been a while since I got my own hands dirty in a fight." "Alright. Then rest and get ready for tomorrow." I jumped onto one of the beds and instantly fell asleep. "One does not simply fall asleep on demand," Thomas said as he looked at me. Samson looked hesitantly at one of the beds before he got to his feet. "That's... discouraging...," he muttered at Thomas' comment as he crawled into the bed. He spent several moments staring up at the ceiling. "So your really gonna fight him, even though you're a Psycho Ranger... I hope you realize your gonna kick his ass. ‘Cause if your anything like the Power Rangers Displaced fics I've read, you have the powers of all five Power Rangers, Psycho Rangers in this case, not just the one you were Displaced as." Sam shrugged in his bed. "We won't know that until we fight," he said. "Who wins comes down to more than just powers. You have to consider armor, equipment, experience, hundreds of tiny variables that could change the flow of battle." "I guess that's true," said Thomas getting into the final bed. "We should at least try to get to bed, night Samson." "G'night," Samson muttered in response, still staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes before finally closing his eyes. The next morning, I woke up. I grabbed my cards and checked what multiplier I would get. "Hmm... 254x attack. and 198x defense. Will probably hurt though." I shrugged. "Ehh, it'll be fine." I got them prepared for deployment"The (Beep) are you doing up so early?" Asked Thomas getting out of bed. "Better question; how the (Beep) did we sleep through what happened last night?" “You guys? No clue. Me? Heavy sleeper. And I'm getting ready for our fight." "How do you guys sleep at all?" Sam questioned as he caught out of bed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well; when your a teenage superhero trying to balance life, school & superheroing, you get tired... a lot." "I have no life, so its easier for me." I shrugged. "When and where are we meeting Blueblood so you can kick his ass?" Asked Thomas. "At the castle in...," I look outside, "2 or 3 hours." "Got it. Anyway, I'm gonna go summon that friend I mentioned, feel free to join me," said Thomas heading outside. Samson glanced towards Lightningman before giving a little shrug. "Might as well," he said before leaving the library to follow Thomas outside. "OK Karen, summon Nathan." Said Thomas, now in his suit, as a portal opened in front of him and a blue Mustang Saleen came charging out of it hitting Thomas, sending him back into the TreeBrary. "Thomas, that you? Sorry, Bro" said the car as it turned into a cop car then a giant robot. "That was totally wicked! Let's do it again!" Said Thomas coming back outside. "Dude, are you trying to make Twilight mad?" I walked out with my mask on. "Hey, Nathan. " I waved. "So Thomas told you about me,” the transformer said. “Speaking of, Thomas, why am I here?" "Lightningman challenged Blueblood for the title of prince of Equestria, he gets to kick the (Beep) out of him." "You summoned me to watch this man beat up Blueblood... good, I hope it teaches him a lesson & did you beep?" "Yes, yes I did." "What the actual (beep)?" Samson questioned, glaring up at the sky for a moment at the censorship. "Don't question the beeps. It was like that for me as well," said a voice issuing from the walls. I barely flinched. "Sweet baby Jesus, what is that?" Asked Nathan. "The Author." Samson's eye twitched for a moment before he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You'd think I'd be used to things like this...." "Not really." I shook my head. "The author is the future version of myself." "I'm sorry, how the (Beep) does- oh great I beep as well." Said Nathan. "We all beep." Said Thomas. "Well scrap... haha, my transformer alternative swears still work!" Said Nathan. "That's actually not the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Samson said, pointing towards Nathan for a split second. "Yo, author?" I call-up."Yeah?" He asked. "Canterlot castle please." Suddenly we appear right in the middle of a busy ongoing day court. "Well, that's useful." Said Nathan. "I know right." Said Thomas. "I think I'm gonna hurl," Sam muttered in a strained voice as he doubled over and put his hands on his knees. "Not here dude." I rolled my eyes and looked at Celestia, who, to say the very least, was shocked. "Hi, Celest. I'm here for the test." "And we brought some friends, this is Samson and Nathan," said Thomas, pointing to each Displaced. Samson looked up from his bent over position and, seeing Celestia, turned his eyes away as an unreadable expression passed over his face. "Hey...," he muttered quietly. "Don't mind him, princess. He's from an alternate universe where Twilight is evil and Nightmare Moon is good." This shocked a lot of ponies but Celestia regained her composure first. "Very well. we just have to wait for Blueblood and the Element Bearers and we can begin." "I like this world, they aren't freaking out too badly about the giant alien robot," said Nathan. "Yeah, this world’s weird like that," said, Thomas, as the doors opened and the Mane Six and Spike walked in."Hey, girls." I waved. "I don't believe we've been introduced, my names Barricade but you can call me Nathan." "Now all we're missing is Blueblood," said Thomas, as the doors opened again. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Thomas and Nathan said at the same time. "Don't insult the devil by comparing him to BlueBlood." I joked. "You right," said Nathan. "OK, we ready to start this?" "Yeah," I recall what I remembered about equestrian history. "OK, then let's get this test over with," said Thomas. "Test? I thought you said he got to kick the (Beep) out of Blueblood," said Nathan. "He does, he has to take a test first," said Thomas. "Oh... OK, that... makes sense," said Nathan. I summoned some paper and Celestia started to write down the questions. "How many questions are there?" Asked Nathan. "Probably a lot," said Thomas. "Aye, poke me when they're done," Samson mumbled, folding his legs under himself as a darkish aura flared around him, lifting him into the air slightly. I blinked a few times and then shrugged. "Well, let’s get this over with," said Nathan as him and Thomas sat down. Celestia brought us into a room and closed the door behind us. Once I was done, I left the room and handed the paper to Celestia. I smiled and poked Samson to get him to pay attention. "Well that was faster then I thought it would be." Said Nathan. "Agreed." Said Thomas. "Must've not been that hard of a test, huh?" Samson added, his aura flaring to lift him up and place him on his feet. "Not really for me." I shrugged. "Blueblood probably doesn't know at least 2 of the questions." "At least we can finally get to your fight." Said Thomas. "I'm gonna love this." Said Nathan. "Just remember to not go too hard on him," Sam said, patting Lightningman on the shoulder. "Other than that, good luck." I nod and head for the battlefield. Once there, I make sure my dark stone armor is secured beneath my costume. "Shall we begin?" Asked Nathan. "That joke is extremely overused." Said Thomas getting a rude gesture in return. "(Beep) you to." "Anybody got some popcorn?" Samson questioned as he followed along. "Learned from a friend that these things are always best enjoyed with some nice, buttery snacks." I then got an idea. "Thomas? Send Karen down here will ya?" "OK..." said Thomas as he got out of his suit and gave Karen control. "Here she comes." "What do you need Lightningman?" Asked Karen. "I'm gonna work on some of your wirings quickly." I open up the armor and begin to add some things. "Tell me when you gain internet access. My lightning somehow works as memory banks for the internet when I left. So, when I give you a bit of my power, you should have permanent Internet access." I finally figured out a way to give her my electricity without frying her. I slowly charged up the circuits. "You're turning her into a computer?" Asked Thomas. "A SUPER computer." Corrected Karen. "Dude your A.I.'s got some serious sass." Said Nathan. "No. Computers need access to the internet from external sources. She won't." I close up the armor. " I put in a music preset. “I’ll speak the passphrase when the battle starts." "So what, she is the internet now?" Asked Nathan. "OK, that's (Beep)ing awesome!" Exclaimed Thomas. "Technically yes, but technically no. She's basically a highly advanced internet server. She works the internet, but she is not the actual internet." "Still awesome dude." Said both Thomas and Nathan. "True." I shrugged. "Karen, you still working fine or did my utter disregard for normal physics with my imprinted lightning break you?" "All systems operating at full compacity." Said Karen."Well, that's good to hear." Said Thomas."Can we just start this fight already?" Asked Nathan. "Oh, yeah. Blueblood should be here soon." I sighed. "Usually my standalone adventures are longer than this." "Finally," muttered Thomas. "Let's get this show on the road." Said Nathan. "You guys can create an internet link in a foreign dimension and we still don't have any popcorn?" Samson questioned jokingly. "Man, really gonna have to tell Chris to get on that portable snack machine." I laughed. "Maybe I should get one as well for trips." I face the opponent's side and sighed. I then thought, "Sam?" "Yeah, dad?" Sam asked in my mind. "It's time for a new transformation for you." I took out the wand and held it in my hands like I was about to pull a sword out of a sheath. The wand started to glow and grow until I felt a firm leather grip in my hand. I slowly pulled the sword out, the Magical Steel forming as it left my hand. Once fully formed, I began to practice with it a bit. I wasn't that good. But I could hold my own in a fight. I started to practice some counter moves and such. "Why the (Beep) is Blueblood so late? He can teleport for (Beep)s sake," said Thomas annoyed that the fight still hadn't started yet. "Dude, you need to chill," said Nathan. "Yeah. His test is probably too hard for him." At that moment Blueblood walked in with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Why the (Beep) are you smirking?" Asked Thomas. "Yeah, you're about to get your (Beep) kicked... why would you be looking forward to that?" Asked Nathan. "He could be a masochist," said Karen. I narrowed my eyes. "Or he has something planned. How long it took wasn't because of the test, was it? KAREN! THERMALS! CHECK FOR UNKNOWN PONIES!" "Scanning... scanning... not counting the crowd there are 4 unknown ponies in the area," said Karen. "Tase them," said Thomas. "Little (Beep) boy was about to cheat," said Nathan as Karen tased the hidden ponies. Samson narrowed his eyes. "Hey, Lightningman? Remember what I said about not going to hard on him?" The man said, a frown forming on his face. "(Beep) that, go as far as you can without killing him." "I thought going hard on him was killing him?" I put my head to one side and smiled. Suddenly there was a loud charging up sound as Blueblood sent a powerful burst of magic my way. I merely smiled and didn’t move. "Why isn't he moving?" Asked Nathan. "’Cause he's got a plan," said Thomas. "This is gonna be fun," Samson said, crossing his legs and using his aura to float. The magic spell hit me and I slipped back a few meters, but it dissipated instantly. Almost everybody widened their eyes and their jaws dropped. I smiled and rolled up my sleeve showing a black glint of metal."You recognize this Blueblood?" I smiled. "No? Well, maybe Celestia and Twilight can tell you?" I looked at them and they were horrified and surprised. "Technically you can't punish me for wearing this since I'm the human ambassador. Diplomatic Immunity and all that." I smiled even wider. "Told ya." Said Thomas. "You knew?" Asked Nathan. "Watched him make it dude." Said Thomas. "What I don't get is why he'd be punished for wearing it...," Samson muttered as he watched the match closely. "Because it negates all magic, but it pushes you back. I don't know why, but its illegal." "Dude, armor that negates all magic would come so in handy in my universe." Said Thomas. "That does sound useful." Said Nathan. "Yeah, think I'll pass this time around," Samson said, casting a careful eye over the armor. I smiled and disappeared, appearing behind Blueblood. I swung my sword and managed to cut a bit off his hoof. "Finally some action!" Exclaimed Thomas. "Now we're getting to the good stuff." Said Nathan. Samson winced. "Ooo, that's going to sting." Blueblood jumped back and looked at the cut on his hoof. He frowned and then his horn started to glow again. It looked like he was going to heal his hoof so I rushed forward, then I noticed that the injury wasn't healing. I looked around and spotted some debris flying towards me. "Uh oh." I got slammed by it and it sent me flying about 5 or 6 feet. I shook my head and got back up. "So you're smarter than I gave you credit for? You used your hoof as a distraction." I smiled. "This is fun. Karen! I think it's time for some music!" This phrase activated Karen and got her to play some music. "Good choice of music." Said Thomas. "The originals better." Said Nathan. I smiled as the music started. I began to run forward, trying to dodge any and all debris that was sent flying at me. A few things got me, though. There was even one that managed to cut through an unprotected place on my suit. It actually cut me. I winced and continued to run at him. Once close enough I slide as if going to get into cover and kicked his legs out from under him. I did a forward dodge roll to avoid another unaimed piece of debris and jumped backward and pinned him down. I stuck the point of the sword at the base of Blueblood's horn. If I applied a bit more pressure, it would start to carve a small hole into it. Thus every time he used magic, some of it would seep out and affect others nearby. But if I cut it off entirely, he wouldn't be able to use magic at all without pain. "Yield," I said loudly. "Well, that was fast." Said Thomas. "You're surprised?" Asked Nathan. "Statistically, the only way Blueblood was going to win is if he killed Lightningman. But he wouldn't do that because he's too scared of his auntie, and I don't mean Celestia." Said Karen, as Nathan and Thomas started laughing. "Definitely impressive," Samson said, hand rubbing his chin. "And I do mean both of them. Never expected Blueblood to have those kinds of moves. Makes me wish he'd actually made it out of Canterlot...." Samson trailed off. I got off Blueblood and he glared at me while walking away. I then turned to Thomas. "Your turn now." "Oh, this is gonna be fun." Said Thomas. "Good luck guys." Said Nathan. "Thank you, Sir Nathan." Said Karen, as Thomas jumped into the ring. Samson put his legs under him, taking a proper seat in the stands. "Now this I can't miss a beat on," he muttered to himself as his eyes glued to the combatants. I get ready and raise 3 fingers. "Fight in 3...2...1... NOW!!" I turned and disappeared with a crack. "Can you still see him on the scanners, Karen?" Asked Thomas. "That I can not Sir," said Karen. "Great... fighting blind," said Thomas. "There are things that technology will never be able to do." Said my voice as I hid. I did my best to make sure that my voice echoed off the walls so that Karen would have a hard time pinpointing where I was. "And one of those things is beating people. People created machines. And we can destroy machines. Become to reliant on them. You will become one yourself." "OK, you want to stay in the shadows?" Asked Thomas sarcastically as he popped up laser shooters on his wrist and hand spun in a 360 before landing on his knee. I managed to dodge the lasers, but the light that the lasers made revealed my location. I knew that this would be a good match. A supercomputer with high knowledge and a human with intuition versus a teenager with superpowers and almost little to no regard for his own life. I smiled. I ran forwards and pull out my cards. Suddenly it sounded like a lot of voices were issuing from my mouth saying different things as the entire pack glowed and shot into my body. I groaned and yelled as hundreds of voices issued into my head. I struggled to get my mind back as suddenly I heard Sam yell in my mind for silence. Everyone shut up."Listen, everyone. My Dad is out there. He was the one who created all of you. If you want to continue to live, you will let him use you. Or else I will personally make sure that you are burned. Do you understand?" I was just kneeling there in wide open range. I looked inside my mind and saw hundreds of creatures in it. At last, they all nodded and the console opened up around them. They all put their hands on it. I opened my eyes. And smiled. I got up and stretched. This was a major strain on my body. Too much power in something that was barely able to contain it. I would be able to do this for an hour at most every week. "Now." Hundreds of voices were in unison. Some coming in late, some coming in early. But it was all obvious that they wanted to help and save their own bodies and souls. I point my finger at Thomas and Karen. "Give me all you got." "Alright," said Thomas as his shoulder gun popped up and he fired it. I smiled and put my arm in front of my face. The bullets began to hit me. But... 'clink clink clink' went the bullets as they were stopped by both my armor and the aura that surrounded me, slowing them down considerably. "Bulletproof too, huh?" Asked Thomas sarcastically again. "I think I got a remedy for that." He said as he charged up his repulsor cannons. "Block this." He said firing his repulsors. “Repulsors use electricity." I deadpan as I absorb it. "I am electricity." "Shit... You got any ideas, Karen?" Asked Thomas. "That I do, sir," said Karen as the Warmachine suit turned invisible. "The suit can do that?" Asked Thomas surprised. "Its a new function." Said Karen. "I recommend this function as well." "OK, now I'm just stealing tech." Said, Thomas, as he activated this surprise function and seemingly nothing happened. I raise an eyebrow. "Its a trap." I instantly said. I raise my arms and send a short burst of electricity at him to see what would happen. "First of all; nice Star Wars reference, even if it's overused." Said Thomas, Nathan nodding in agreement. "Second of all; I'm down here," he said as I looked over my shoulder in time to see an ant-sized Warmachine punching me in the face. "And last of all; I love Ant-Man's tech." I winced as I felt the punch connect. I remember the Ant-man movie and his weaknesses. I surrounded myself with high voltage electricity and sat down. I began to vibrate my electricity at such a frequency it made sound waves. It was a shock and a sonic wave. It was emanating from me. "OK, do you just have a counter for everything?" Asked Thomas as he became normal size. "He said to the dude who corrected his supercomputer." I point out with a smirk on my face. "Oh, it’s on." Said, Thomas, as he became visible and grew in size and went to step on me. "Oh, you have the Giant-Man setting too." Said Nathan. "You have seen Civil War, yes?" I jumped out of the way and make my sword into a length of rope. I grabbed onto the ankle and tied it around the feet. I got off and used the attack multiplier of x254 to convert it to strength and pull. "OK, no we've made a reference to a reference." Said, Thomas, as he fell to the ground and shrunk back to normal size. "Scrap, that (Beep)ing hurt." "I told you. I'm a nerd. Hell, I'm a super nerd. Try beating me at brawn? You lose. Brains? That's my challenge." I smiled as the rope returned to a wand that I put in my pocket. "Brains huh... Karen, take over." Said Thomas as he stepped out of his armour and had Nathan pull him back into the stands. "It appears to be just me and you now." Said Karen. I then began to explain the intricacies of time travel and multiple universe theory as well as slipping in random tidbits of information about the Earth as fast as I could talk so I could overclock her processors. "Well... shit." Said Thomas as Karen fell forward. "Guess you win." I burst out laughing as the cards left my body. I go and pick Karen up. I looked at Celestia. "Announce my title as the prince at the grand galloping gala. Let blueblood stay until then." I then shouted. "Author! Ponyville."