//------------------------------// // Chapter XVI: Return To Castle Canterlot // Story: Equestria: The BEN Chronicles // by HylianJuggalo //------------------------------// 10:00 AM My companions and I were thrown into a musty cell in the Canterlot castle dungeon. There were a small handful of ponies in the cell with us, of whom were in sick shape. Some I recognized from the show, others, I had never seen before. I noticed that my supplies were gone again, but at least they had the courtesy to let me keep my clothes. The others, with the exclusion of Applejack (fortunately; she wouldn’t have survived much more), had been severely beaten. Our equipment was taken, and the area was damp and moldy. Most of the walls were made out of cobblestone, and the hallway outside of our cell went out only one direction. On each side of the walls here were other cells, each filled with other ponies. On the hallway ceiling hung iron cages, which had full-bodied pony skeletons within them. A rat ran across my shoe. “You guys okay?” The rest, other than Applejack, were awake, and simply nodded. AJ didn’t say anything, and her breathing was struggled. I rushed over to her, propping her up against the wall, as the others in the cell watched my work, Scootaloo coming to my side to offer her medical skills. Applejack managed to speak, though very, very weak. “Nick, ah’m okay, ah... ah’ll be fine.” She said to me, still determinate in not relying on her friends for support. I sighed and gave her a soft hug, checking her breathing, to make sure she was well. “Applejack, listen, we need to get this under con-” “S-sis? Is that you? Thank Celestia ya’re alive...” I stopped to turn to the familiar voice, of which made me shudder in fear. The man’s voice came from the cell across from us. There was next to no lighting down here other than a lone torch out in the hallway, so I could barely see anything until the stallion stuck his head between the bars that held him and various others. “M-mac? Jesus Christ, what are you doing here!?” “Oh, hello again, Jadusable. What in the hay happened to-” “You broke my glasses and destroyed my eye, asshole. I’ve got half a mind to stab you right here, but I know that’s not gonna get us anywhere.” “Look, Jad-” “Nick. My real name is Nick.” I said, a soft hint of anger trailing from my voice. “As ah was sayin’ b’fore ya so rudely inn’erupted, ah don’t remember nothin’. Last thing ah kin’ remember was bein’ drug away from th’ schoolhouse by two soldiers.” Mac continued, a somewhat regretful expression overcoming his face. “Wait... the schoolhouse? What the hell? How long you been here?” “Four months, three days, and countin’.” “So... what the hell happened, dude?” Mac walked to the back of his cell, the others within clearing room for him. He slumped against the wall, sliding down, a sense of shame if you will, overtaking his entire body. He looked at the others in his cell, then to me, then to the others in mine. “Ya honestly wanna know?” I shied back some. Obviously, this REALLY bothered him. I sat against the back wall of my team’s cell. “Not if it bothers ya, man.” “Well, a’course it does, Jad.” Mac said, playing with his forehooves. I knew Mac was a ‘man of few words’; the only time he talked was when something really got under his skin, and he was talking more than I had ever seen him do in one sitting before. In short? This. Was. Bad. He did something awful. “Ah... well...” he began with a sigh. “After ah met ya, ah blacked out that night, rememberin’ nothin’ of it. Next mornin’, ah woke up in mah bed with no recollection, an’ went out to help Applejack a few hours ‘fore ya were even awake. Sweetie Bell an’ Scootaloo came by lookin’ for Applebloom, an’ after talkin’ to them for a few minutes, ah blacked out again. Ah woke up in th’ apple cellar with a wicked headache, an’ a bunch of cuts an’ bruises. There was a bunch’a blood all over the floor, ya glasses, which seemed to be broken, an’ a strange looking thing made out of brass.” “That was a bullet case. It’s a weapon - I tried to defend myself after you attacked me.” “Well, if ah did, ah’m sorry, for what it’s worth.” “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to your sisters and Scootaloo. You raped the poor girls!” “Ah... ah raped them? Applebloom an’ Scoots? Ah don’t remember nothin’...” Mac said, slumping against the wall, a tear running across his face. “Well, ain’t that a muthabuckin’ coincidence... Why ain’t Sweetie Belle with you?” “I don’t want to talk about that.” “M-m-mac, you... you hurt the Crusaders?” Fluttershy asked, tearing up. “Fluttershy, you aren’t helping the situation...” Twilight threw in with a stern look. “Why a ‘coincidence’ man? You hurt anybody else?” “Eeyup...” “What happened brother? You’re in like company here, alright?” I gently asked, trying to bring a friendly atmosphere to this otherwise depressing scene. Mac sat up against the wall like a person, in a fetal position, digging his face down into his knees. I could hear soft cries coming from him, and Mac NEVER cries, except for that one instance in Last Roundup. I hoped it wasn’t what I thought... “Ah woke up, an’ went into town. Now, ah knew, a week b’fore ya showed up, Ponyville was... in less than desirable shape. So, naturally, ah went to go make sure Cheerilee wasn’t in any danger.” Yep. This was going in THAT direction. “Ah showed up in the middle of Cheerilee’s math class, some time round one-ish. Mah sis an’ her friends weren’t there - somepony said they saw ‘em ditchin’ class to go to Sugarcube Corner, and they were travlin’ with some ‘alien’...” Dear god, Sugarcube Corner. Fuck that place. Fuck it six ways from Sunday... "Ah talked to her, gave her a hug, made sure she was safe, and then, last thing ah remember, was hearin’ a laugh, a really creepy laugh. Ah blacked out, an when ah came to, first thing ah saw was Cheerilee, bloody an’ beaten. But that wad’nt th’ worst of it, naw...” “God damn...” “I’d beat AN’ raped her right in th’ middle ‘o’ class. A buncha the kids were hurt too; apparently ah had thrown a buncha them against th’ wall when they ‘tried to stop me from attackin’ miss Cheerilee’. When ah saw what ah did, ah immediately tried to help her, but the only thing that happened...” Mac stopped, starting to bawl his eyes out like an upset child. AJ and Applebloom came to the cell door, looking at their brother in sadness. “...was, she looked up at me, and asked me one thing: ‘Mac, what got into ya head?’ Then... she died on th’ spot, then an’ there. Ah just sat there, waitin’ for th’ guards to come take me away...” Mac fell to the floor and started crying a storm. I stood there for a moment, looking to the others in the various cells. “So... what’d all YOU people get thrown in for?” Some of them gave names and reasons. Most of them got thrown away for breaking curfew, while others, honest thievery. Some got thrown in for bizarre, bullshit reasons, such as the Flower sisters, were jailed for ‘disrupting commerce’, when I’m pretty damn sure there’s no such law - Celestia is abusing her powers. I looked over to Mac, who was still crying his face off, and I slid down against the wall by the door, turning my head to look out at him. “We... we did quite a number on each other, Mac. For what it’s worth, man, I’m sorry.” “An’... ah’m sorry too. Ah’m sorry ‘bout err’thing. Sis, Scootaloo, ah’m sorry... Cheerilee... ah’m so sorry!” “It wasn’t your fault, dude...” Spike said, trying to comfort the candy apple coated stallion. “Yes it was! Ah’m a bucking monster!” he screamed, slamming his head on the wall multiple times. The others in his cell tried to pull him away, to prevent him from hurting himself further. “Mac... would you take a chance at vengeance if you had it? Would the rest of you?” “J-Jadusable, ya have NO idea how much ah’d love to. If only ah could, if only there was a way ah could set things right. “There IS a way, and, by the same token, there’s a way to get out of here.” I said, looking at the ceiling in my cell. If you really want to make sure Cheerilee didn’t die in vain, you will work with me. Are you ready to cast all that shit we did back in the cellar aside?” “Ah... ah will, Jad.” “Please Big Mac, call me Nick.” “Alrighty. So... what do we do?” “When does the guard come to give us food, Mac?” “Next two hours.” “Well, shit... we don’t have a lot of time to waste; the moon is gonna come down on the world if we don’t get out of here...” “The moon!?” various others asked, starting to panic and shake, others holding onto each other for dear life. 11:00 AM “Go three-point-seven miles, and turn left to: Highway K-7 North.” “Nick, I hope you’re okay like you say, because things certainly aren’t good here, honey. I can’t see anything through this rain...” “Turn left.” “I hope this is the turn... I can’t see...” More rain, followed by speeding flicks of the wipers. “HOLY...!” "Rest in peace, Mrs. Brownford..." --- As I sit here, with a pencil and my journal (fortunately, the guards let me keep it, they don’t see it as a threat), I can’t do much else other than write while I wait for the guard to come and give us food. While I’m here, let me share something with you, to whomever may read this in the future. I”m not normal. I’m not a normal human in the slightest. You’re probably wondering, ‘what makes you abnormal?’. Well, I’ll tell you. I can see and communicate with spirits. Think I’m crazy? Good, that’s normal. But let me prove to you, that I’m not. Here we go. Perhaps you’ve already seen it in the words I write - I hear voices, I see flashing images of ponies that have been long dead, such as Sweetie Belle. I’ve openly recorded the conversation I had with my father, who you already know, died in a car crash eight months ago. So what other explanation is there other than I’m talking to his ghost? None, I see. It’s either that, or I’m going insane. Then, there’s BEN. None of my friends noticed a change in the temperature or air in my dorm room back then, nor any sense of a vile presence - I was the only one. I was the only one that could talk with him. I still have no answers about him, or anything in between. There’s a bunch of questions I have, but only a few I have an answer for, which are just guesses. How does Equestria exist? Not a clue. How did BEN get here? No idea. What does he want? To kill me, of course. Why couldn’t he do that in the human world? Beats me. Why did he choose Equestria over any other ‘world’ out there? Have no answer for that. HOW did he get all the deadly powers he has? My guess, Equestria is a more ‘spirit friendly’ world, thanks to its magical properties, allowing him to get away with more physical action than he would in the human world.. How are ghosts formed? Couldn’t answer that for you. Again, these are just theories, and I”m taking a wild guess here. I’m just making up answers at this point, simply because I have none, and it sucks. I just wanna leave. So, back on track. How do I see spirits? It probably started with BEN. My roommate Tyler simply passed the whole thing off as the game being broken or hacked. People said my video evidence was done with an emulator. The conversations with Cleverbot were nothing more than that - conversations with a bot. Bullshit. When you feel a vile presence start to enclose around your dorm room two days after making contact with a ‘spirit’, I can openly say, with a straight face, that it’s some serious shit. When you truly feel that whatever is fucking with you is a threat to your life, it’s real, no questions asked. At first, I thought this was all my mind playing sick games with me, but as time went on, I began to see more. Sweetie Belle, Carrot, Flim, Lyra, and all the ponies at the boutique I killed. I see them walk the streets in their ‘final’ forms, how they appeared before they died. I hide this though, so as not to get drug off to an Equestrian looney bin. It started back in the hospital, when I would have night terrors about my ruthless murdering of Carrot Cake. I’d come out of the bathroom, or go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat, and see the faint, sky-blue outline of Mr. Cake, beaten and bloody, walking with me, or towards me, hearing his cries and screams for mercy. I’d see Soarin and Applejack’s uncle fall backwards as a barrage of nine millimeter bullets go flying through their bodies, screaming in anguish. Let me level with you here. Basically, what I see on a daily basis is comparable to the ‘spirit walk’ from Metal Gear Solid 3, when you face The Sorrow. It’s a fucking curse, having to watch vile deaths again and again, play out in front of my face. And I can’t tell anybody without sounding like a nutjob. The worst part of it all, is I’m forced to see my sick acts again and again. I regret it all, and if I could take it back, I most certainly would. I just fight to survive, nothing more. I’m sorry, to every person I’ve killed. I know you can hear me, I know you can see me. Please... find it in your hearts to forgive what I’ve done. If I could do things over again... if I could go back in time... I would. “Sugarcube, ya okay?” “Nope. Not at all, Applejack.” 12:00 PM I looked back up to the top of my cell, noting the half-rotted wooden support beams that ran along the ceiling. The walls here were made of aged cobblestone, cracked and chipped in various places. Some were poorly placed, or were shifting position from the years of stress, allowing a handful to protrude outwards and create a viable surface for climbing. If I could get up there... “Dash, give me a boost.” The cyan pegasus walked up to the wall, and bent down some. I climbed onto her back, then brought my second foot up onto a loose stone. I then gripped a second chunk of wall with my hand, pulling myself up further. With both of my shoes on sure footing, I turned myself around, my back now against the wall. Rarity looked at me, panicked. “Do be careful, darling.” “Rarity, I’ll be fine. Climbing is a human specialty. It’s a bonus that comes with hands.” I jumped off the wall, grabbing hold of the rafter. I then swung my legs forwards, pulling the lower half of my body up and wrapping my legs around the beam. Now to wait. “Nick, what are you doing, dude?” “Dad, that’s not safe...” “Hey scumbags! Time for lunch!” I heard a few hoofsteps and a voice from farther down the hallway. Considering what he said, this must have been the guard. A few more steps, then a few bowls of swill were thrown into our cage, followed by the voice again. “W-what? Where did the human go!?” The guard, though I couldn’t see him from where I was, sounded like he was fumbling with a set of keys. A few seconds later, the gate unlocked, and in stepped the soldier, who drew a broadsword. All the others backed away into the corners of the room, and I took a look down below me - the guard was right underneath me. “HA!” “What the- UGH!” I let go and jumped down onto the soldier that had walked in, my knee connecting with his skull. He passed out immediately, and I stood, taking the weapon off the body. Rarity picked up the keys, and a bunch of the prisoners gasped and swooned over me in awe. “What? It’s nothing special, it’s just millions of years of evolution.” “Ponies could never imagine flexibility like that.” Twilight added, her mouth agape in shock. “Really, it’s not that hard for us.” I sheathed the blade, and slung it over my back. Rarity unlocked the cell, allowing the eleven of us, plus a good twenty more (seriously, it was fucking cramped in there) to come piling out. She went over to Mac’s cell, and opened it, allowing him and the rest confined with him to come loose. “Alright: the team I arrived with, which includes the Elements, Derpy, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Dinky, you’re with me. The rest of you, we need you to occupy the guards while my team and I go after the princess.” I looked over to Mac, who gave a solemn nod. I walked over to him, and put his hoof into my hand, looking into his eyes. “Mac, you may not remember, but we didn’t get off on the right foot; we kicked the living shit out of each other. But if you are willing to look past that moment, as am I, you WILL get the vengeance you need to ensure Cheerilee's death was not in vain. I just need your word that you’ll be willing to fight with us, brother. Will you give me that?” “Eeyup.” “Good. Let’s get all of the wrongfully accused out of here - Equestria is going to war, and we need an army. Let’s roll out, people!” Our squad, which came to around fifty individuals, myself included, began our trek through the lower levels of Canterlot castle. The area was aged and poorly maintained, falling apart at the very foundation. It was truly amazing how the castle even managed to stay up, considering the piss-poor infrastructure down here. I just chalked it up to magic, and left it at that. We left the holding cells, and came to a five-way fork. One led to what appeared to be a guard break room, and the others forked off into other structures. If there was any way we would survive, we had to hit the break room. More likely than not, it was where our equipment was being held, and it probably had spare weapons to boot, so the others could properly arm themselves. It was worth a shot. “Everyone, hold your positions. Mac, come with me.” Sneaking down the corridor, I drew my newly procured blade, hugging the wall. Mac followed behind me, and we came to the archway which led into the break room. I crouched down, and took a quick peek around the corner, to only catch a short glimpse of what was in there - I only looked for a split second. Looked like two guards, talking. On the left side of the room sat a weapon rack, with about twenty blades, and ten bows. The two conversing soldiers were sitting at a table, which had my friends’ saddlebags, as well as my weapons and other belongings sprawled out among the face of the table. I ducked back behind the wall and looked over to Macintosh. “Do you think, if I kill one with the sword, you could take the other down?” “K-kill? Can’t ya just, ah dunno, knock him out?” “Oh... shit. Good idea...” “Eeyup.” I came around the corner, jumping the first guard, and pile-drove him into the floor. He fell face first on the cobblestone, then the other guard stood to confront me, pulling out a short blade. He swiped at me, but I jumped back, and at that moment, Mac rushed through the archway and tackled him to the ground, knocking the man unconscious. I stood, dropping the body I had hold of, and collected my weapons, then walked out into the main corridor to meet with all the other prisoners. “Men, women, time to stock up for war. Get in here and grab a weapon, because we’re busting out.” My friends grabbed their saddlebags full of equipment, and each took a weapon from the racks. The others armed themselves as well, and we stepped back into the main hallway. Time to face Celestia. “Big Macintosh, you’re with my team - we’re going to confront the Princess to get her out of her crazy power spree. The rest of you, look out for eachother and get the hell out of here. You have weapons, and there’s a good thirty-x of you, so you should be able to handle yourself. Take care, and I hope to see you on the other side.” Carrot Top, a member of the group, approached me, putting her crossbow into a safe direction, as did Aloe and Lotus, and Vinyl, who were just SOME of the recognizable individuals that were held with us. “Thanks for getting us out, human. This whole mess with the statue has done a number on Equestria. For what it’s worth, I’d like to apologize about that day when we tried to chase you out of town.” Top said, extending a hoof. I took her with my arm, giving her a quick and firm shake. “Welcome to the resistance.” “Stay safe, human.” “You do the same. Nightmare Moon is gonna bring the moon down on earth soon, and we need all the help we can get.” Octavia gulped as she unsheathed her sword. “N-nightmare Moon? But... isn’t she...” “I wish I could be making that up. She’s back with a vengeance. Discord is attacking my world as we speak, and BEN, I have no idea what he’s up to.” “We have your back, buddy. I always thought humans were evil, but here... I can’t help but ignore such a notion when I see what you’ve done for us.” Green Grapes exclaimed, drawing two knives. “Look out for eachother, alright?” “Will do. Watch yourself out there, human.” “Please, call me Nick.” “Best of luck to you.” The spa sisters said in unison as they drew their bows. I watched as the others ran off, and the twelve of us, Mac included, prepped for our journey to the throne room. The trip itself wasn’t too terrible - a lot of guards were absent from duty, meaning most of the task forces were out in the city, fighting with the dead. I still couldn't believe that, but I had seen it with my own eye that very night. BEN obviously caused it, but what allowed him to? That’s what I wanna know. I still had so many questions. Why is Celestia being the way she is? What allowed BEN to come here? Is Discord really attacking earth, or was it BEN fucking with my head? Is my mother okay? How do I get home? How did BEN TRULY get his power? Where did the zombies come from? What was in Twilight’s drink way back when? How were we going to stop BEN? How were we going to stop Nightmare Moon in time? The all important one, though... When will this nightmare end? When will I escape from this hell? Why can’t I wake up? And one last one... Why did I touch that game? Why on any god’s green earth did I ever touch that motherfucking game? “Nick, are you feeling okay?” Pinkie Pie asked, moving and shifting position instantaneously in her classic physics-defying fashion as we continued to trek through Canterlot. “Just got a lot on my mind. I wish this was over...” I said, heaving a sigh as I readied my weapon to head up a flight of stairs. “W-we uh... we all do, Nick.” “Eeyup.” We came out into a gaudy looking hallway, the ceilings lined with gold and crystal chandeliers, and the floor covered in a long and fine persian carpet. This must have led to the throne room. Guards patrolled the hallway here, keeping a vigilant eye. Now, with my equipment, I could easily pick guards off. I still had the water bottle silencer attached to my pistol, so we could have a stealthy approach. I snuck out into the hallway, and hid behind a pillar as two troops passed by. I gave a nod to the others, who joined me when the path was clear. Peering out of our cover, I drew a bead on one of the - oh shit. I pulled everyone back into the small enclosure as the princess herself came out into the hallway. She was saluted by two guards in front of the doorway she had just left, and walked past us without a second glance. If there was anything off about her, it would have to have been her eyes. Red. Blood red. And that meant one thing. BEN was controlling Celestia. BEN instituted the martial law. BEN let Equestrian society fall apart. Like all the others, he was using Celestia like a puppet. “Prin-” Rainbow Dash put a hoof to Twilight’s mouth, narrowly averting Twi blowing our cover. The princess went to the end of the hallway, only to stop in front of two other guards, who saluted her. “Your highness!” “At ease, sargeant. I assume the civil defense is going well?” “Not at all, ma’am! We don’t have the weapons necessary to take on the living dead! We’ve lost ten squads since last night!” “What of Ponyville?” “Absolutely BUBAR, ma’am. Whoever’s left down there is going to die unless we evacuate the town!” The princess stood there for a moment, then opened her mouth to speak. “I declare the area forsaken. Nopony is to know of the events that transpired there. We shall not send anymore units, nor shall we pull out the ones currently in the region. I want the area quarantined within the hour.” The soldier opened his eyes wide in shock. “M-ma’am, you can’t possibly be serious... we have hundreds of good men trapped in the town, including captain Armor! Not only that, but there’s upwards of three-hundred confirmed survivors, and you’re just going to abandon them!? The troops down there don’t have the equipment necessary to hold off-” “That’s an order!” “Y-yes ma’am.” “Now, I hear the soldiers have captured the human?” “Yes ma’am, him, and his friends.” “Good.” “Ma’am... if I may... what of your sister? The moon is getting awfully close to the planet. Is that her doing? Maybe, with all due respect, your highness, banishing her again wasn’t the best decision...” Celestia stood there for a moment, then her eyes changed color. She gripped her head in pain, then her eyes went back to a red tone. I stared in interest. So, BEN really had hold of her. “Leave her be.” “But ma-” “That’ll be all, sargeant. Dismissed.” Yes ma’am!” Celestia turned around and walked back through the gigantic double doors, back to her throne room. Twilight grabbed hold of me, borderlining hysterics. “My brother is down there!? My brother is trapped in Ponyville, and Celestia won’t do anything to save them!?” I nearly hit Twilight across the face, but Rarity held me back with some magic. This bitch spazzes out way too much... “Twilight, shut up, you’re gonna blow our cover. If you just relax...” “How can I relax!?” “Who’s there!?” The two guards patrolling the hallway heard us, shooting a glance in our direction. We were well hidden, but we had nowhere to run to - everywhere else was open and lit. It came down to one option: take them out. Thanks, Twilight, you made me have to do this again... “Just like the factory. You guys ready?” “Ready.” As both guards came around the pillar, boxing us in from both angles, Rarity and Twilight drug them into the crevice with some magic. Applejack, Mac, and Dash punched one in the face, knocking him out cold. I grabbed the other by the neck and choked him out, covering his mouth with one spare hand as he attempted to scream. “Shhh... go to sleep...” I dropped the limp body to the ground, and stepped out of our hiding spot. We needed to stop Celestia. She was going to leave Ponyville to rot in the flames of the apocalypse, and I wanted to know why. I was GOING to get those answers. I'd like to share something with you first, though. A guide of what NOT to do. Stupid idea #1: Kick down the door and draw attention to yourself Looking back on the moment, perhaps I was thinking a bit too rashly, as I kicked the door open with all my might, tearing one of them halfway off its hinges. As soon as I did that though, I knew I was in for it. Celestia turned to the crashing noise, coming face to face with my team and I, and immediately focused energy in her horn. This was a really dumb decision, and I was gonna pay for it. “HOLY FU-” “Sugarcube!” I was immediately shot with a white blast of magical energy, which sent me barreling through the second door that was still standing, knocking my companions over in the process. I blew through the gigantic door, and landed on my side as I felt my right shoulder fracture. I groggily stood up as my handgun came flying out of my hand. “So, I see you’ve managed to escape the dungeon.” The princess said, a serpentine lisp accompanying her voice. “Princess, what in tarnation are ya doin, leaving Ponyville to die!?” Applejack asked, standing up weakly and trying to reason with the goddess, which I knew at this point, there was no sense in doing. “Why haven’t you been replying to any of my letters? How could you possibly let the world get into such horrible shape!? Why do you have the martial law in place!?” Twilight asked, anger overtaking her, before Celestia shot some magic at the lavender mare, sending her flying at me, knocking me to the floor just as I had stood up. Spike and Fluttershy rushed to our aid, and Mac tried to attack her directly, but was only thrown aside like a toy. I grabbed my weapon, and kept the device aimed at her, but I knew going up against Celestia was suicide. We needed the Elements if we were going to stop her, so hopefully Discord hadn’t taken them this time around. Celestia summoned some more magic, erecting a personal shield around her body, then began to speak. “Why, Twilight? Why?” Look around you - I AM PRINCESS CELESTIA!” The regal equine boomed in her Canterlot voice, something I would never expect HER to do. I fell to my knees, dropping my gun and covering my ears, the others doing the same. “Don’t you see? Living as a ruler is hard work. Yet, at the same time, it’s amazing - having all the power in the world at your disposal... having the ability to control the lives of millions - it’s such a rush!” “Why haven’t you arrested me? Why did you let me roam free? Why would you let me get away with all the stuff I’ve done until now?” I asked the alicorn, gripping my right arm in pain, crouched by the door. The princess turned away, looking at one of the stained glass windows. Without turning her gaze to any of us, she spoke as AJ and Applebloom helped get Mac on his hooves. “I’ve ruled this kingdom for a thousand years, as you probably already know, human. I’ve always been a kind monarch, attempting to put my subjects’ well being before myself. However...” I swallowed in fear as Celestia turned to face me, her energy field still encasing her. “...I’ve been in power for one thousand years. I decided it was time to have some fun - get loose, be a tad selfish. I’ve been letting them take care of themselves for a while...” Stupid idea #2: Mouth off to a royal being with magical powers and immortality “A TAD!? Look at all the lives that have been lost simply from your refusal to fund social services! Add in the bullshit martial la-” “SCILENCE!” Celestia roared, forcing me to cover my ears again in blinding pain. “Do you have ANY idea how wonderful it is to be in control of millions of lives, which you could squish like ants at any second!? No! You’re likely nothing more than plebeian scum where you hail!” “Yeah, I’m just a college kid, so... not too far off mark.” I repled in a wiseass manner. She didn’t talke kindly to the insult, and broke one of my robotic fingers off with some magic, sparks and oil flying every which way. I should really learn to shut my mouth sometimes. “Why? Why do this, Celestia?” “Nothing more than the power trip.” She said, approaching us slowly. I banished my sister to the moon a second time around simply because I FELT like it! Same with the martial rule!” “This is not how a leader should- JESUS!” Celestia picked me up with magic, throwing me against the wall. My ribs broke again, and I fell to the floor, clutching my side. “I DID IT BECAUSE I COULD!” Celestia bellowed. “I get more money by lowering the taxes for the wealther income cities, and swamping the middle class in debt!” “So you’re a Democrat?” “SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” Celestia shot yet another blast of magic at me. This time around, though, I was prepared, and jumped out of the way. Scootaloo took to the air, and quickly swooped behind the goddess, grabbing the chest sitting beside her throne, which any brony would recognize as the element case. “Dash! Catch!” The orange filly tossed the case into the air, which was the intercepted by Dash. Unfortunately, Celestia summoned some spare magic, which successfully made contact with the airborne pegasus, and disabled Rainbow’s wings, causing her to fall to the ground. I stood up and tried to run to her aid, but was pinned to the floor by Celestia’s hoof (which I couldn’t see coming due to my missing eye). “GUARDS!” Stupid idea #3: Try and shoot at a creature covered with a shield My team scattered, some going for the element case, others trying to attack Celestia. I looked around wildly, trying to find something that could help us. I tried shooting a round at the princess, but the bullet simply deflected off her energy shield, and went flying through the back of my leg. “FUCK ME!” Celstia herself, was only a foot taller than I, and perhaps fifty pounds larger. If she were just stripped of her power, or were she not magical to begin with, Mac and I would have already bested her in a test of strength. Fluttershy rushed over to tend to my wound, and Rarity thrust open the element case as Dash, Mac and everyone else went after princess to try and quell her psychotic rage. The only problem... “THEY’RE GONE AGAIN!” Oh... you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me... “Enough of this!” Celestia boomed, summoning yet a final burst of magical energy, picking us all up, as she took her hoof off me. She held us all there for a moment, suspended in midair, then threw us all against the wall, still gripping us with her magic. The crazed godess drew closer, focusing more energy in her horn. We were SO gonna die, and we had just confronted her not two minutes ago... shit. What do we do? Scootaloo looked over to me, the others cowering in fear. “Sugarcube, if’n we don’t make it out of this, know ah love ya, alright?” “Dad, you can’t give up now, there has to be something we can do!” I looked to the others, who gave me sorrow-filled glances. “Say goodnight, you worthless pesants!” “Dad, do you think we could...” “No way... do you think that would work?” “It... it’s worth a shot. At least we can all die saying we tried.” “Mom, I don’t wanna die!” Dinky began, starting to tear up and looking over to Derpy.” “Don’t ya dare hurt mah family, princess.” Mac blurted, rage crossing his face, spitting at the alicorn. “You ready, Scoots?” “Ready!” I drew a breath, taking one last look around the room. A small team of guards had come in, ready to assist Celestia, but I don’t see why - she’s more than capable of taking care of herself. As Celestia was about to ice us all in cold blood, the soothing melody of the song of healing filled the Canterlot throne room. Scootaloo and I began the melody, and a few of the others in my posse who knew the song by now, slowly joined in. “Day to night, dark to light” “Fall the sands of time.” “Let the years like the gears” “Of a clock unwind.” “In your mind, walk through time “ “Back to better days.” “Memories, like a dream,” “Wash tears away.” “Like a star in the sky,” “Darkness can’t reach you.” “Light the night, joy is light,” “Till the new dawn.” “Cast away your old face,” “Let go your spite.” “With this mask I’ll ask” “To borrow your light.” The soothing melody and our voices worked its way around the throne room, a sweet, sugary aroma filling the area. As we sang, the princess’s eyes grew heavy, as did those of the guards who came in to assist her. I started to become sleepy again, and as the last words left our lips, I slowly fell to the floor, as did this others, and carefully dozed off. 1:00 PM I groggily woke, noting that the others were up, along with the princess. They were talking, staring at the empty element case. The guards were gone, and it was just down to the twelve of us. I stood, limping in pain from the bullet that had hit me in the leg, and came out the top of my foot. Hobbling over to the princess and the others, I crouched down, inspecting the element case. Celestia was back to her normal self it seemed - her eyes were their normal violet. All I know is, that damn song saved us all from death yet again. What I wanted to know was, what made it work? Magic? “So... somepony stole the elements again?” Applebloom asked, holding tightly to her big sister, fear spreading across the filly’s face. I turned my attention to the regal alicorn to my left. “Look, princess, with all due respect, we have a really deadly situation on our hands. Do you realize what you’ve been doing for the past four months?” I asked the alicorn, picking up my handgun and other equipment that was scattered all over the floor. “We’ve got the living dead to contend with, Discord is attacking the human world, and BEN, the statue? He could be up to anything. I’m sorry to barge in, but it looks like we’re gonna need something other than the fucking Elements of Harmony to help us this time around.” “And with all due respect to you, human, I don’t think we need your species’ darkness to keep corrupting my kingdom!” Celestia yelled in retaliation. “While you were unconscious, Twilight and her friends told me of your ‘adventures’ together. While you may have helped my little ponies since you came here, the methods you have employed thus far have been far less than desirable. The foal’s tales were right: you are nothing more than a violent race.” “…” Foal’s tales, foal’s tales, foal’s tales. It’s all I’ve been fucking hearing about since I came here. I wanted answers, and I wanted them now. I reloaded my gun, and holstered the weapon. There was something I needed to confront her about, and now. How DARE you insult the race that gave birth to me, Celestia. We’re not perfect, but shit, you act like we’re a plague on the universe. “What ARE the foal’s tales? I’ve been hearing about them all the motherfucking time. I’m sick of not getting answers. I want to know what this is about. Why are humans evil to you? What did we do!?” I blurted at the princess. Derpy covered her daugher’s ears at my foul vocabulary, and Twilight shot me a stern look. “Nick! This is the princess of Equ-” “I FUCKING KNOW THAT! I. WANT. ANSWERS!” “Nick darling... honestly, calm down.” “FUCK YOU! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS HELL!” I screamed, drawing my weapons in anger. I REALLY wanted to cap someone. Why couldn’t I just go home? “Nick, put the weapon away, NOW!” came a young voice, the ‘now’ leaving with a high pitched crack. I froze in shock, and turned around to the source. Nothing was there, but that soon changed. In front of me, slowly faded the light-blue image of a pony. it was a filly, a unicorn filly, torn open at the stomach. “Nick, put the weapon away. Don’t let your anger make you do something you’ll regret.” The image gently spoke, looking at me with sad, soul-crushing eyes, before fading away again. “I... I mean... look, your highness, I said, kneeling at her hooves and bowing my head. “I’ve been stuck here for four months thanks to BEN. I’ve been through a living nightmare, nearly dying at every turn. All I want is to go home, and every day I spend here, I get no answers as to why any of this is happening - from Equestria’s existence, to the evil corruption that plagues your citizens. I don’t know what BEN wants, other than to kill me, and this kid has been torturing me for two years straight. As we speak, Discord is attacking my world, and zombies run rampant through Ponyville, thanks to the statue. I’ve lost an eye, an arm, nearly two quarts of blood, been stabbed, cut, beaten up, shot, chased through town by angry mobs, nearly turned into a demented science experiment, almost cut up and turned into baked goods, been possessed, watched a child die in front of my face, AND unknowingly ate her remains! I’ve been captured and held against my will on various occasions, suffered a heart attack, broken tens of bones in my body, and all I have to show for it is not a single answer as to why! I want to go home, and forget all of this, do you understand!? I don’t want to be here anymore!” “Well, at least you apologized for your outburst, human. Please, follow me, and I shall show you... the... foal’s tales.” The regal pony said, opening the throne room doors with some magic, and leading us down the hallway. Multiple guards lined it, each we passed by saluting Celestia. We came to the Canterlot archives. Celestia pointed a hoof to the back of the room, showing what seemed like a labyrinth of bookcases. “Against the back wall, two meters behind this first shelf, under the section ‘myths’.” Twilight said, almost as if she were here yesterday, even though she hadn’t touched the Canterlot library in months to my knowledge. We made our way through the twisting and winding bookcases, the area growing dark. Rarity summoned a spell, illuminating the way. A few minutes later, we came to the ‘M’ section. Magic, Monsters... Myths. There we go, just around the corner here. “Nick, I could tell you what they say... they’re practically...” unforgettable. Fluttershy said, shying back in her standard fashion. “No thanks, Fluttershy, I need to check this out for myself.” I said, a bit hesitant. This whole thing with humans was a very frightening concept to Equestria, but why? What did these things say? We came to a small cubby, a bit decrepit looking. The books here were aged beyond all recognition. They must have been as old as Celestia herself. The area was chillingly cold, not a single light source, aside from Rarity’s horn in this part of the library. It must have been an abandoned religion that nobody visited anymore, and according to the widespread fear of these stories, I guess I couldn’t blame them. Were they really that bad? “I don’t wanna read these again. I always had to force myself to read one to Pound and Pumpkin when they were bad...” Pinkie said, shivering. Spike hid behind Twilight, and Applebloom, behind her siblings. Dinky clung to her mother’s hooves, an intense sense of dread overtaking the filly. Even Dash was on edge, flying a few feet behind us - odd for the bravest of the group. It must have really bothered her. If something like a fairy tale bothered Dash... these were bad. “Okay... so where are... Oof!” I walked into a bookcase, falling flat on my ass. As I looked up, I noticed the shelf here was lined with books of all ages. From the top left started the most ruined and used titles. As they went downwards, the condition of the writings became cleaner and much more well-maintained. I looked at the bookcase from my untimely procured seat, and noticed a giant label, made of balsa wood, just hanging by one hinge. The banner was quite dusty and aged, starting to fall apart from wood rot, hanging loosely by one bolt, tilted to the side. I read the label, then gulped. 'Humans'. A flash of light appeared on a blank spot of the bookshelf, and as it subsided, a fresh book replaced it. I reached out to touch the hardcover-bound writing, noting it was fresh and warm, as if it had just come off a printing press. I let go of the book, and instead, started with the top one, standing up to reach it. I blew some dust off the cover, and took a seat at the small desk that sat to the left side of the small hovel that was formed from other shelves. Slowly opening the collection of papers, I carefully began to read. Seemed simple and basic, starting with the first known civilization, the Sumerians. It told of of their slightly darker side, about their sacrificial rituals and the like, and it seemed that this was all the title focused on. It was short and sweet, and a wee bit chilling. I set the book down, and moved onto the next. 2:00 PM I continued through each collection of writings, and with each, my eyes widened in fear. Each title went on and on, focusing on the darker side of man, like I expected. What was so chilling? The actual writing. It covered everything from the rise of the Roman empire, to the crusades in the Holy Land, all the way to the Salem witch trials of New England, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Native American massacres, the Manhattan Project and the following nuclear attacks on Japan, the Jewish holocaust of WWII, the genocide in 1990 Rwanda, and on, as well as next to everything in between. It’s not like I didn’t know of this stuff, but... seeing it from the eyes of a culture that knew nothing of humans made it doubly haunting. It covered events in disturbing detail, giving names, locations, and descriptions (though they were slightly off) of what the incidents were like. I was about to vomit. I set the second to last book down, noting the freshly printed-looking one that had appeared about fifty minutes ago. I hesitantly opened the book, and my heart sank back into my stomach. Kony. The Syrian conflict that just happened a few months ago, coupled with the global economic collapse, which was blamed on large business, according to the book. How did this get here so quickly? Firstly, how did they get access to our history? Though it was a bit off in places, it was pretty spot-on. Each of these books, made short and condensed to the size of a children’s storybook, always ended with a similar message, such as ‘behave, or the humans will come for you’. You never know what a culture is truly like until you see it through the eyes of another - each writing, that covered wars especially, didn’t take sides like human history books do. It painted all parties that were involved as sick and cruel. “I think I’m gonna be sick...” 3:00 PM “Princess, I think I’ve seen enough...” “I take it you now understand our fear of the human race? Do you now see why I am not so quick to trust you?” The princess asked me, examining my body with concern. I looked at myself as I took note of the fact that she was eyeballing me - my skin had gone from a golden tan, to pale, and I mean PALE white. That shit was some creepy reading, let me tell you. “Yeah... I think... I understand. But would you be willing to let me redeem my species?” I questioned, drawing my pistol and checking that the weapon was clean, as I set it to safety and tore off the water bottle. “For starters, what about the infestation of living dead everyone seems to be talking about? Apparently, your military is falling apart at the seams because they can’t handle it. But... if I, a human came in...” “What exactly do you expect to do, human?” Celestia interrupted, raising an eyebrow in intrigue. “Zombies, in my world, even though they don’t exist, are a large part of popular culture. I can use my knowledge of them to help you. From what I saw of the place last night, it looks like you need all the support you can get.” Celestia thought on the proposal for a moment, before speaking again. “Do I have your word you shall not harm any more of my little ponies in the process? My citizens have lost so much...” “You have my word, your highness. The only deaths that will be occurring tonight are those of the zombies.” I said, kneeling before her. “Well then, I give you leave to go. I must search for the Elements of Harmony while you -” The mask salesman suddenly laughed as the room fell bone-chillingly cold. The song of unhealing picked up, playing in the air. The room went unnaturally dark, and the guards that were with us drew their weapons. I prepared mine, and as I did, the statue materialized right in front of us. Scootaloo hid behind me. “Do you mean these?” that vile, serpentine voice I recognized began, as next to the statue appeared a white flash, and once the brightness cleared, sat the six elements in suspended animation. “Aw, god no...” The statue did nothing more than stand there, but the purple-colored magic mist slowly spun the elements around playfully, as if they were a set of keys on my finger. “These worthless things? Interesting power they have, I can’t deny, but nothing threatening...” “Guards!” “Princess! No! You don’t know what you’re up agai-” The guards blindly charged in at the statue, giving violent war cries. The statue stood there, while on the other side of it appeared another dark-purple mist, which then split into several, and came firing at the various soldiers with the force of a torpedo. “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” As the magical bolts hit the troops, their bodies instantaneously exploded, sending chunks of gore in random directions, and doused us all in gallons upon gallons of fresh, warm blood. We all screamed. “And these little things?” BEN asked, throwing the elements into the air with the magical mist on his right side, performing a juggling act with them. “Nothing more than children’s toys!” Dash, with all of her raw confidence, tried to attack the statue, flying straight at him. As the blue pegasus closed the gap, however, a dark purple energy barrier erected around the grinning idol, and as Dash connected with it, she was immediately sent flying into the wall. “If you think the Elements of Harmony are going to save you, Jadusable...” A piece of the magical mist slowly folded around the golden relics, followed by loud crunching sounds. The mist dissipated, and out fell small crumbles of gold and various gemstones. “...you better have a backup plan, kid.” “Oh. My. God.” “NO! THE ELEMENTS!” “As for now...” BEN summoned another magical mist, which quickly grabbed Applejack. The farming pony screamed, struggling to break free of the magical aura. All that came next though was a bright flash of light, and all that remained once it faded away was the echo of her final scream for ‘help’. “...how about I take this cute little piece of ass off your hands?” “SIS!” “APPLEJACK!” “YOU SICK MOTHERFUCKER!” I fell to my knees, dropping my weapons to the ground and collapsing to the floor. Twilight and Scootaloo approached me, putting a hoof to my one hand that was outstretched along the tile. “Nick... there wasn’t anything you could do. Tears began to flood my eyes. I slammed my robotic arm on the floor, cracking the porcelain beneath me. “Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, BULLSHIT! I COULD HAVE STOPPED HIM!” “With all respect, hum- um, Nick...” Celestia began, correcting herself, which practically forced me to draw attention to her, turning around and weakly sitting up. Applejack... the first guiding force... and friend I had here... was gone. “...I think we should be focusing on this infestation? If you hope to even get Applejack back...” The princess continued, as Applebloom and Mac helped me stand, sadness beginning to take hold of their faces. “...Then you need to help my citizens.” “R-right. So, you’ll be teleporting us to Ponyville, right in the middle of it all?” I asked, wiping away some remaining tears. “That’s correct. Are you ready to go?” "Princess, what about your sister and the moon?" Twilight asked, the thought sending the studious mare into a frenzied panic. "I'll confront her while you're away. Nicholas, are you ready to go with the rest?" “What other fucking choice do I have?” I asked, rolling my eye as I strapped myself up for combat. And at that, Celestia summoned some magic from her horn, and I felt myself traversing through a small wormhole, which only lasted about five seconds. Applejack? I’ll get you back, I promise. I’m gonna set things right. Mom? I’m coming home. And damn it, what I wouldn’t give for a big ass cup of coffee. Or Absolut vodka.