//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 : A time for everything // Story: The BAD luck of my LIFE // by Spirit Lunar //------------------------------// Horrified, I tried to struggle in all directions, but nothing helped. My body didn't move an inch, as if paralyzed. "I'm sure right now you're trying to move, aren't you? It's adorable but forget it. From now on, you're nothing more than a puppet to me. Besides, I'm noticing that it's best to make a few adjustments." He blew a kind of thick magical mist over me. When it dissipated, I was an adult again. "Perfect! Now put on this armor." Indeed, in one corner of the room, there was now a suit of equestrian armor that seemed to cover the entire body. It resembled the pony version of the war armor from the Fallout games, except for the two terrible cannons that each sat on one side. But I didn't have much time to think about it, as I was already carrying out the given order. Putting on the armor as quickly as I could, I noticed that it was much lighter than it seemed. "Now eliminate Lord Hatred and use my portal to teleport to me!" He said, throwing a sort of purple amulet into my face, now covered by a thick helmet, which I promptly put away. A portal opened and, without further ado, I passed through it, still against my will. The other side of the portal led to the entrance hall of Twilight Castle. However, my body continued stoically on its way through several corridors before arriving at the magic map room. The princess and the rest of the castle's inhabitants didn't seem to be there at the moment. Suddenly, a red streak fell directly on me and struck me with pain. Lord Hatred leaped from the ceiling and landed a few meters away from me, taunting me: "Are you with Lord Fear? It's a shame it's come to such petty maneuvers between him and me." All at once, the two cannons on my flanks fired a single shot that not only pulverized Lord Hatred's net but missed him by mere centimeters. "Not bad at all. I see Lord Fear has been generous with his equipment." But already, my body pivoted like a machine and activated a kind of flame-thrower that spat out a greenish fire. Lord Hatred quickly dodged the destructive blast and ran out of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Littlenight and a stallion resembling Flower Cloud tied up on the floor. They were gagged and looked terrified. Despite this, however, my body remained unresponsive and followed the red lord into the library with heavy steps. "Tell me, I don't know what Lord Fear has offered you, but know that I can offer you double." Came his voice from the distance in the library. My body automatically aimed both cannons at the source of the noise and released two missiles which raced in a straight line, hitting the various shelves as they went, before finally exploding on the back wall. As the wall was made of crystal, it didn't give way. Suddenly, I saw Lord Hatred crawling between the books and the shelves. Despite all my willpower, I almost immediately sprayed the books with fire. However, Lord Hatred had just enough time to dive into the mass of books. Even a magical fire would take time to burn all the books present. "But how can you be so determined to kill me without me feeling any particular rancor?" Said Lord Hatred somewhere under the burning books. No, no, no. Hearing Lord Hatred's voice, my body walked straight toward the burning pile of books. Fortunately, despite the excessive heat, I noticed that the armor prevented me from burning. "I've got you!" Lord Hatred suddenly stepped out from under my hooves and took advantage of my surprise to bring his sword down on my skull. To my great good fortune, the sword didn't pierce the helmet as Lord Hatred had hoped, despite the sheer power of the blow. Nevertheless, the helmet split in two, revealing my face to the red lord. "Anon?" He seemed somewhat surprised. For my part, my body took advantage of Lord Hatred's reach to fire another laser shot, which perforated his chest in two places. A horrible black substance poured out of him, and he was already getting to his feet. "So Lord Fear has turned you against me after all? That's unfortunate." And without another word, he kicked so hard that the whole cupboard I was standing on was thrown a few meters. The landing was so painful that I wanted to scream, but couldn't. My leg was twisted disturbingly. My leg was twisted disturbingly. Despite this, my body got up as if nothing had happened and fired another salvo of missiles. A few dodges later, Lord Hatred threw himself at me with all his might, sword forward. If I didn't dodge this blow, I was going to end up decapitated. But my body refused to move, so at the last second, as I was about to fire another salvo of missiles at him, Lord Hatred dodged and lacerated my hooves in one swift movement. This time, the pain was too intense and I let out a low moan despite my stoic face. "What could he have done to you to make you such a master of yourself? Answer me!" But only the blast of the flamethrower answered him. Now dripping profusely with that substance I mentioned earlier, Lord Hatred rattled back to the friendship table room. I had great difficulty keeping up with him, so much so that he arrived ahead of me. Quickly grabbing Littlenight from the ground, he used her as a pony shield and pressed his sword against her throat. "Choose well, Anon. It's me and the colt that will die if you shoot!" As I reluctantly cocked the final shot, the tears streaming down Littlenight's face blocked my shot just in time. I had managed to regain some control over myself. Lord Hatred's face, if it could be said that he had one, was now nothing more than a mass of mud that continually protruded from his face, deformed by the blows he had received. Only his eyes were still visible. A look of ferocity and cruelty emanated from them. "I prefer it. Now I want you to disarm yourself!" With great difficulty, I removed the fastenings from the two large guns at my side. Every movement, no matter how trivial, required a great deal of willpower on my part. My brain was screaming at me to activate the missile fire to comply with Lord Fear's order, but I refused. "Perfect. Now answer me! Why are you in this state?" "I... Lord Fear... poisoned me." "They must be the famous mushrooms he told me about, I imagine. I thought I'd have more time before he used them on you. Do you know where he is?" "The amulet..." "I see. Nevertheless, I'm rather disappointed Anon. That's why I think you should be punished accordingly." He ostentatiously pressed the blade of his sword against Littlenight's throat to such an extent that a small thread of blood trickled out. "No! I beg you, I'll do anything you want! Don't do this." I shouted. "Despite everything I've shown you, you still think I pity my opponents? Oh no, Anon, I have none. Lord Fear, you, that colt, and the others... I'll kill you, slit your throats as I will..." But before he could kill Littlenight, the stallion behind sent the most masterful back hoof I've ever seen, propelling Lord Hatred against the wall behind me. Littlenight fell to the ground. I grabbed the cannons and pointed them at Lord Hatred before realizing that all that remained of him was a pool of black blood. Pieces of his armor were strewn all over the room. "Lord Hatred is dead?" I stammered at the absurd sight. I'd never thought it was even possible to kill him. Let alone this way. But already, my hooves began to pull out the amulet that would teleport me to Lord Fear, but I stopped myself short of activation. Littlenight isn't saved yet, I told myself, and the deal with Lord Fear is to save Littlenight. So I approached the little colt who was curled up on top of him. Glancing furtively in my direction. There was so much fear and concern in those eyes that I avoided meeting his gaze. It was all my fault. Examining his neck, I noticed that it had a slight gash, but nothing serious. "Littlenight, I..." Lord Fear's control was gradually regaining the upper hand. "I'm not going to hurt you," I said, removing the ties that bound him. "Anon, is that you?" "Yes. I'm so sorry I got you into this. I..." He threw himself on top of me in an embrace and cried his eyes out. "I thought I was going to... That you were going to... And then..." As I returned his embrace, my hoof began to rise once more to activate the talisman. "Listen, I don't have much time left before I lose control again. I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad I had a friend like you." "Anon... No, I don't want you to go. You'll always be my friend and we'll find a solution for the poison." "We don't have time. I'm glad I had a friend like you too." I said, gently pushing him away as I prepared to activate the teleportation amulet despite myself. But Littlenight pounced on me just as I activated the amulet. "Littlenight what have you done?" I exclaimed, realizing that we had both been teleported. "Friends face problems together." He said with a sheepish smile. "I can't leave you alone." "You don't realize how dangerous it is! You almost died already because of me and..." But the little foal put a hoof over my mouth. "I know." He said sadly. "But I also know that I'd hate myself for the rest of my life if anything happened to you." "Littlenight, that's so sweet, but I don't deserve such kindness." "Why would you say that? You kept being there for me all the time when you had your problems. You even protected Dinky and me from Dear Damage and his band of pegasi." "That's true, but..." Suddenly, my hooves started walking again "My hooves, they walk by themselves!" "I'm here!" Littlenight said, running up beside me. There was no point in trying to stop me as my step was so firm. I then noticed that I was walking towards the door at the end of the corridor we were in. Even though it was still early morning, the corridor was shrouded in half-light, obscuring the sun's rays, which could still be glimpsed through the stained-glass windows on the corridor's two walls. Likewise, the white colonnades adorning the corridor seemed almost austere in this light. "Where are we?" Littlenight murmured. "In Canterlot. But it's not as usual." Noticing that I was only a few steps from the door, I beckoned Littlenight to hide. And no sooner had I stepped through the door than Lord Fear's warm voice greeted me: "Anon, I'm glad to see you survived. I take it Lord Hatred is dead?" "Yes." "In that case, come closer. I'd like to show you something." As I approached, a vision of horror seized me. Princesses Celestia and Luna stood exhausted on either side of a large metal alicorn statue in the middle of the room. Their magic continued to pour ineluctably into the statue. Lord Fear's equine shadow was there too. Its hooves were now connected to the statue. Although it was difficult to see with the naked eye, I noticed that as the magic crept into the statue, the shadow gradually took on the shape of the alicorn. "Isn't what you see grand?" "It's horrible, you're going to kill them!" "Alicorns? No, don't worry, I'll still need them for the rest. But tell me, how come you can talk without my permission?" "I don't know." Although he was right, I was nevertheless still compelled to answer the questions he asked. "I see. We'll run another test to make sure everything works. Knock yourself out!" My hoof rose again and struck my face unmercifully. "Weird, but whatever. If all you can do is talk, it's no big deal. I suppose you're wondering what's going on here?" "Yes." "The answer is quite simple. I wish to become an alicorn." " ... " "What is it?" "Nothing. It's just that it's a bit of a strange ambition. Can't you just turn into Lord Hatred?" "Of course, I could, but you see there's just one tiny little problem, I hate being made of flesh! All those continuous unpleasant sensations, which parasitize life, would drive me mad. I'd much rather be a metal creature. What's more, taking the form of an alicorn will allow me to create my magic, just like she does." "Your magic? But isn't it already?" "Unfortunately not. We, Lords, have magic in common. We simply feed off different emotional channels. But it doesn't matter, because in a few moments, my body will come alive again and be gorged with enough magic to create a new one: fear. After which, I and my two loyal alicorn slaves - and you, of course - will enslave Equestria with the remaining mushrooms we've collected together to subjugate the other kings and queens of this world to my worldview." "You're a monster! How can you claim to love this place and yet want to enslave its entire population to your whims?" "How dare you speak to me like that? I guess it's time for you to say goodbye to the use of speech. Cut out your tongue!" "What?" But I soon realized what he was getting at when my hoof came up to my face, ready to rip my tongue, which was doing its best to get out of my mouth. Suddenly, the alicorn statue began to wobble dangerously. Littlenight tried to topple the statue, but Lord Fear immediately noticed: "Anon, kill that colt!" Immediately, I pointed my two terrible cannons straight at Littlenight, but he didn't flinch and continued to topple the statue little by little. Despite the poison coursing through my veins, I managed to hold back my shot. "Shoot Anon, that's an order!" Lord Fear shouted. It seemed that Lord Fear, in his shadowy guise, could do nothing to Littlenight, which was fortunate. The only threat to him was if I gave in. As the statue was sufficiently tilted, it hit the floor, part of which gave way. A cloud of dust and rubble covered the room. "No, no, no, what have you done?" Howled Lord Fear, who had fallen in with the metal alicorn. "White alicorn, come with me and continue the spell! You, blue one, kill the foal!" Immediately, Luna advanced towards Littlenight, her horn charged with magic. Littlenight fell backward to the ground and soon found himself face-to-face with the alicorn. "Anon," she managed to articulate. "Stop me from doing this." She said, seeming to hold back the spell in her horn as best she could. That's when I stepped in between her and Littlenight: "Aunt Luna, you must resist!" "It's so hard!" She said, starting to shed tears as resisting was so hard. But already a series of blue bolts of lightning were shooting out of his horn in a violent surge from all sides. "Aunt Luna, look at me," I say. She then looked at me with those two big teal-colored eyes crying out in distress. I gave her the biggest slap I could with my hoof. She fell to the ground unconscious. "Wow!" Littlenight exclaimed, shocked by the violence of my gesture. "I hope I didn't come on too strong," I murmured, looking at Aunt Luna. Then I turned to Littlenight. "Could you help me down the hole? We've got to stop Lord Fear!" The little colt nodded and got to work straight away. He rose into the air and, flapping his wings vigorously, lowered me into the gaping hole caused by the statue's fall. It was astonishing that no one had heard anything, I thought. Below, I soon noticed that we were in an empty ballroom where, apart from Celestia, Lord Fear, and the now battered statue, there was no one. "Still alive?" Lord Fear wondered. "Ponies don't make good puppets. I guess I'll have to get my hands, or should I say hooves, a little dirty." Said the shadow as it detached itself from the statue to spill into Celestia's. At his touch, Celestia gasped in terror before her face turned into a grimace: "Yuck, I hate all these sensations that flesh beings feel!" She said, clearly disgusted. "Is that you?" I said in a tiny voice. "In the flesh, alas," Celestia said as she stepped towards us, her horn crackling with barely contained magical energy. However, before she could cast her spell, her hooves crossed and she fell face-down onto the ground. "How do these alicorns keep from falling over with legs like that?" she grumbled, contemplating her never-ending hooves. Coming to my senses, I shouted to Littlenight to run away, doing the same as I passed. Galloping with all my might, I nevertheless saw a huge sphere of light brush past me. My mane immediately russeted although it hadn't touched me. It was clear that the slightest contact with it would char us immediately. "Don't run away Anon! That's an order!" Lord Fear shouted from the distance behind me. Lord Fear's orders made me slow my trot despite myself. But I held on. If I ever stopped, I was a charred pony. "Anon, get back here right away!" I was about to slow down further when Littlenight's frightened look came back to mind. There was more at stake here than my own life. "No," I replied. At that moment, the poison seemed to slowly drain from my veins as if it had never existed. "That's impossible!" Howled Lord Fear, who seemed to have realized that the poison's effects were no longer working. "You're mine!" A powerful blast of light filled the room, shattering the windows. The shockwave was so strong that it sent us straight into the wall. Part of my body was embedded in the wall and my muscles ached like hell. Littlenight was unconscious. "It's over." Said Lord Fear, fixing me with a deadly stare as his horn charged once more with blinding light. Then I had an idea. As slowly as possible, I untied one of the straps holding one of my armor's barrels and waited until the spell was about to be cast before throwing it at my Pip-Buck with SATS. Lord Fear didn't have time to deflect his spell before the cannon collided with the alicorn's horn, causing a terrible explosion in the opposite direction, hitting Lord Fear and the statue head-on. When the light faded, Celestia's body lay unconscious on the ground. Her hair was scorched to the point of gray, but she seemed fine. Lord Fear no longer seemed to possess her. As for the statue, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that little more remained of it than a black mark on the floor. The light from Celestia's spell had pulverized it. Only another small black spot on the ground seemed to remain. This one moved, and it wasn't long before I recognized Lord Fear in his shadow form. It crawled desperately towards a body to which it could cling. His form was disintegrating as he remained exposed to the light that was now fully penetrating the castle. His formerly equine appearance was now so riddled with holes that he was frightening to look at. It was now obvious that he wouldn't be able to escape before the sun's rays dissolved him completely, too, he muttered gutturally, more to himself than to me or Littlenight: "How? How can the pawn beat the king at his own game? It's impossible, I hadn't made any mistakes." Then he looked at me hatefully. "It's you." he spat before disappearing completely. Then nothing. Minutes passed, but the vast room remained silent. The birds in the garden even chirped a little tune. Lord Fear had disappeared. Taking a few more minutes to realize what had just happened, I realized that I had regained my filly size. The armor was now too big for me, I was able to extricate myself from the wall in which I was standing. Then I went to check on Littlenight. Like me, he'd been thrown against the wall and was now unconscious on the floor a few meters away. "Littlenight wake up!" I said, shaking him slightly. "Did we win?" He said, rubbing his eyes as if returning from a long sleep. "Yes, we beat Lord Fear." "It's true? That's so cool. And you're not poisoned anymore?" "No." "That's great." He says There was a short silence before he resumed. "Anon, I need to tell you something I've wanted to tell you for a long time." "What is it?" "First promise me you won't react badly." "Littlenight, you're scaring me. What's this about?" "Please promise me." "I promise," I said, smiling at him so he'd feel I wouldn't judge him. What could he possibly want to talk to me about that would make me promise not to react badly? "I'm in love with you!" He said, blushing. "Are you in love with me?" I exclaimed, expecting anything but this. "Yes." "I don't understand. Are you in love with me? Even knowing the truth?" "Yes, I've gotten to know you Anon and I know I love you for the person you are." "For the person I am?" I repeated stupidly, not knowing what to say. "And you, do you love me?" He asked, looking me straight in the eye. "I don't know," I said, immediately looking away. The whole situation terrified me. To be honest, I'd never gone this far in my old life, and now Littlenight was declaring her love for me. On the one hand, I was dying to say yes and see where this relationship could lead, and on the other... Accepting, meant I was staying here. Or that I'd leave here, breaking one more heart on top of those of my pony parents. "I understand," Littlenight said disappointedly. "It's not easy for you, especially if you decide to leave again. But please think about it?" "I promise," I said, meaning it sincerely. Suddenly, the earth shook violently as a monstrous red light rose from Twilight Castle into the heavens. Soon, terrible black clouds began to hover around the spot where the beam touched the sky. Screams rang out everywhere, from Canterlot to the moors below. Whole crowds of ponies were running in all directions. "Lord Hatred," I murmured. "He's not dead?" Littlenight asked me in a white voice. "Not," I said, letting myself fall to the ground. "Anon, we have to save our parents!" Littlenight exclaimed. "How? I'm a filly again and the armor I was wearing is useless. Besides, we're miles from Ponyville!" "We'll figure it out. As for the ride, get on my back!" "But you won't be able to hold out that long! Ponyville is far away." "We have no choice. Now get in!" Still reluctant to fly on Littlenight's back, I nevertheless complied for want of a better idea. He breathed in for several seconds, then unfolded his wings and took to the air. The journey was shorter than I'd expected, so much so that we were already on the outskirts of town. Littlenight crash-landed in one of the town's bushes. Although painful at the time, we weren't badly hurt. "I'll join you in a moment." Said Littlenight panting from the intense journey he'd just taken. "No, take care of our parents!" "But Anon, how are you going to do it all by yourself..." "Your parents must always be looking for you, and my parents too. They need to take cover if it gets worse." "And you..." "I'm going to stop Lord Hatred." "Promise me this isn't the last time we'll see each other!" I looked him directly in the eye. I could see he was already doing his best not to cry and pretend not to be terrorized by the whole situation. "I promise." He immediately took me in a long, comforting embrace. It touched me that he cared so much about me as much as it terrified me if I couldn't keep the promise I'd just made to him. "Thank you." he finally said. With that, we went our separate ways. As I made my way toward the castle, I noticed that it was no longer welcoming. It was now dark and menacing. As I reached the few steps in front of the entrance, I remembered the time I'd unwittingly thrown up on it. The memory made me smile. It seemed like an eternity had passed since then. Entering the castle, I slowly made my way towards the Friendship Hall where the powerful beam seemed to originate. Inwardly, I was thinking at breakneck speed about how to stop Lord Hatred. A small part of my mind still wanted to believe that he was definitely dead and that it wasn't him, but this hope was quickly dashed: "Come in, Anon." Lord Hatred's voice said to me as one might say to a distinguished guest. Taking a second to breathe and analyze the desperate situation in which I found myself, I nevertheless stepped forward. When I entered the room, it was bathed in the overwhelming red light emanating from the beam straight from the friendship table. Right in the middle, embedded in the table, stood the lock to the kingdom so coveted by the lords Hatred and Fear. Suddenly, every exit in the room slammed shut. "You've surprised me a lot Anon," Lord Hatred's voice echoed around the room. "I knew you'd make an excellent diversion, but I didn't know you'd get rid of Fear." "How come you're not dead? I saw your armor come off in pieces!" I exclaimed, increasingly panicked by the turn of events. "I showed you what you wanted to see. Nothing more." "You manipulated me!" "Yes, and it worked more than well. I knew Lord Fear would try something to stop me, so I thought it best to provoke fate. By appearing unintentionally to one of your friends, I suspected it would give me an excellent reason to capture him. Lord Fear being Lord Fear, I knew he'd jump at the chance to turn you against me, although I never imagined he'd control you with his precious mushrooms. After that, all I had to do was fake my death and get the last princess out of the way until my ascension was complete." "You mean you had planned everything that was going to happen up to this moment?" "Again: yes." "But what's the ultimate goal? Besides, I thought Lord Fear was your friend..." I asked, scanning the room for my interlocutor. "Anon, we pretend to be friends. We're not really. We simply like to rub shoulders when our interests are not in conflict. And as far as my goal is concerned, it's quite simple. The beam you see here is a portal that will soon open. When it does, I'll be able to tap into the hatred of the entire multiverse. My strength will then be limitless." "Limitless?" I asked lividly, thinking of the powers he might acquire if I didn't stop him. But too late, the earth shook again and the portal opened. It opened onto an ocean of darkness illuminated by the lights I had seen there so long ago during one of my teleportations with Lord Hatred. Just then, the black blood that had come out of Lord Hatred during our previous confrontation was sucked through the portal, along with the pieces of his armor. On contact with the other pieces, the armor tightened again as the blood flowed into it. The holes in his armor closed again. His two luminous red eyes reappeared in the helmet of his armor. He now looked as good as new. But that was not all: he now seemed to be transforming. His helmet closed in on itself as two long horns pierced the helmet and rose skyward. They looked vaguely like deer antlers. The armor on his torso was no longer thin, but thick as stone, giving him an imposing appearance. A long cape was gradually being woven behind his back. Its material resembled bloody threads of flesh, which intertwined to give an even more macabre result. His metal gloves were now spasming as they grew longer and sharper, like claws. But most impressive of all was its continuous growth. Although slow, it was visible to the naked eye and showed no signs of stopping. "What do you think of my true appearance Anon? Pure hatred." He chuckled as he turned to me and came closer. I'd never felt so small. "The adventure is over Anon!" he replied. "Your time is up." Petrified as I was at this horrifying sight, it easily grabbed me with its horrible metal claws and lifted me off the ground: "But I'm feeling generous. It'll allow you to see your world one last time!" And without another word, Lord Hatred led me into the portal. We were now walking through nothingness. If it hadn't been for those luminous spheres marking the distances, I could have sworn we were treading water, there being no visual landmarks to guide us. He carried me along for a few more minutes, then without warning threw me into one of the portal's luminous spheres. Immediately, I felt myself transported through the astral void before ending up on a wall on which were dozens of photos. Unfortunately for me, the impact was so violent that all the photos fell with me to the floor below. The glass of the various photo frames exploded into a thousand pieces. When I stood up, I immediately understood where I was. I was in my parents' house, where my older brother and I had grown up. The photos now on the floor were of my parents and my brother. I couldn't find a single photo of me in them. "What's that noise?" Said a voice I hadn't heard in years. It was my father's, and it seemed to be getting closer. At that moment, I had only one goal: I wanted to hide. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want him to see me, let alone understand who I was despite my appearance. But the shards of glass surrounded me in such a way that I couldn't escape without impaling myself on some of them. "What the hell?!" Shouted my surprised father as he discovered a big-eyed green filly on the floor among the glass and old family photos. Immediately, I noticed despite myself how much he had changed. For a start, he seemed much older, which was to be expected since I hadn't seen him for years. His hair was now completely grey. He had put on a lot of weight, and the stench of alcohol on his tank top spoke volumes about his alcoholism, which seemed to have worsened. "So, what was that noise?" Said my mother's voice from downstairs. "I... I'm sure you're not going to believe this, but there's a little green horse in our room." "You've had too much to drink again! You know it's not good for what you have!" "No, I didn't drink too much! If that horse didn't exist, he wouldn't have been able to break the picture frames." "You broke the picture frames?" "You listen to me once in a while when I'm talking to you!" Roars my father. "And to prove it to madame, I'm bringing him to you." "Of course." And the big man that was my father grabbed me like a feather by the waist and girded me against his torso. He also locked my jaw under his armpit, which smelled so awful that I struggled to get my head out of it, but nothing helped. Then, without warning, he removed some small pieces of glass that had gotten stuck in my mane, which hurt a little: "Shut up! I'm doing this for your good!" Then, with a triumphant air, he placed me on the kitchen table in front of my astonished mother: "Were you right?" "Of course I'm right. Bottles are still far from having turned my head contrary to what you seem to think!" Looking at my mother, I could see that she too had changed in the same way as my father. The years had passed for them as much as for me. "I'll remind you that you're the one who said you saw a mermaid in the shower drain hole once." She said as she began stroking my back. "How many times are you going to tell me that story? It was a long time ago and I was drunk. Getting back on topic, what breed of horse do you think it is?" "I have no idea, but I'm sure it's another one of those animals made in a lab to be sold to little rich girls." "You think?" Suddenly, Lord Hatred landed nonchalantly beside them, startling them. "I think you're right." He said mockingly. "I think it's a clandestine laboratory that uses the brains of sick children to graft them onto pony bodies. After which, they're sold to rich kids who abuse and exploit them." "Are you the Devil?" Asked my mother, for whom religion was her life. "Get back before I call the police!" Said my father yelling while stepping in front of my mother to protect her. "Just kidding." Says Lord Hatred. "But I'm sure it would make excellent fan fiction. But I digress. So this is where it all began?" Said Lord Hatred, glaring at me while conscientiously ignoring my parents." I nodded, not understanding the nature of his question. "I see. So this is where you were born, where you grew up, and where you've been happy for part of your life?" I nodded again. "What on earth are you talking about?" asked my terrified mother, now holding a cross in her hand. "But one day, you realized that your parents' love for you was conditional on what they expected of you. A love that wasn't motivated by the desire to give their children the best, but rather by the desire to subject them to a role that would allow the masquerade of the perfect family to continue. Am I right?" I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I nodded. "It's pathetic." He concludes. "Let's move on Anon." Said Lord Hatred as he kicked me in the stomach which propelled me into another portal leaving me with the last sight of my parent's terrified faces at what he had just seen. Rolling onto the floor, I realized I was now at my brother's and his wife's house. Fortunately, no one was home this time. "Let's move on to your brother. When you were younger, you thought he'd always be there to protect you. But as soon as he could, your brother abandoned you. He chose his happiness over yours. He was one of the two brothers who could meet your parent's expectations, and yet he decided to let you carry this heavy burden." "Why are you telling me all this?" I managed to gasp despite the excruciating pain in my abdomen. "I told you. I'll show you your world one last time before I finish you off." He said before grabbing me by the hair and propelling me into another dimension. This time, I was sore all over. My torso was burning and my head and neck hurt in ways that are hard to imagine. "Please stop!" I gasped. "We're not done yet." Then I smelled a horrible musty odor. A corpse stood on a chair. He was completely tied up and had a blindfold covering his eyes. However, I immediately recognized the face of my old friend: Jason. He was the same bastard who had revealed my homosexuality to my family by sending them each a photo of me drunk and kissing a guy in a bar. Lord Hatred had made him confess the truth some time ago about why he'd done it. However, I had never really thought he would kill him. "Ah, friendship!" Said Lord Hatred. "A beautiful illusion that leads some to their doom if they get too caught up in believing it. They'll tell you that friendship lifts mountains, but the truth is so different. For your friend Jason, your friendship was worth less than his pride. As for his pride, it outweighed any harm he might do to you." "So you killed him?" "Yes and no, I simply forgot to untie it after I bumped it. However, the fact that no one realized it was missing so long afterward says a lot about people's affection for it. Anyway..." This time he grabbed me without hurting me and took me to a new portal. We were now on a thatched roof. It was raining. "Look!" He said, pressing my head with his foot against the roof of the building, my face turned towards a group of ponies I immediately recognized. Further down, a few yards away, were Littlenight and her parents, as well as Blueblood and Carrot Top. "The last part of your world Anon. Here, as elsewhere, it's all lies and power plays. Do you think ponies are different from humans? What do your pony parents think of you? They think they made a mistake. They wanted a child who would bring them joy, and here you are. A hideous filly who disappears all the time, with psychological problems as well as her looks. What joy does this bring them, Anon tells me? Do you think they're happy?" "You're talking nonsense!" I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I'd love to be wrong Anon. I'd love to, but let's face it. It's all a chocolate-covered lie. For your little foal friend, the answer is obvious. If he said all those nice things I imagine he said to you after he found out who you were, he's not in it for your personality. He's there for something else entirely." "Stop it!" I groaned, cowering in on myself. Every word he spoke was a stab in the heart. "I'm only telling the truth Anon. The real truth. The truth without the lies." I kept crying like that for what seemed like an eternity. "Farewell Anon." Then I felt the horrible boot press against my head. For a second I thought it was all over. That I was about to hear my skull crack when suddenly the roof gave way, dragging us into the house. The thatched roof followed us in our fall. The room that looked like a bedroom was now completely covered in thatch. Although my body ached horribly, I almost instinctively hid under the bed and decided not to think about anything else. "Where are you hiding?!" Roared Lord Hatred furiously. "You think I've got time to play hide-and-seek with you!" I imagined a beautiful meadow with the tallest grasses blown by the wind. I didn't want to think about what would happen to me if Lord Hatred found me. I heard him lift and throw a bunch of objects around the room. Sometimes they smashed against the floor, sometimes against the wall. I even heard his metal claws shredding others. After a while, he stopped. Minutes passed, but eventually, I realized that he must have teleported somewhere else. Waiting a few more minutes to emerge from my hiding place, I crawled over to the window. When I looked up, I found myself face to face with Flower Cloud's male look-alike, who seemed very worried: "Are you okay?" he asked me at once. "Hardly," I said honestly, realizing that I was still aching all over, both physically and mentally. "Get on my back." He said. "By the way, in case you're wondering, I am indeed Flower Cloud." "Flower Cloud?" I said in astonishment. "But aren't you supposed to be a mare?" "Of course I do... Look, it's a long story and I don't want to think about how I look right now. Especially with that huge thing hanging between... Sorry, I shouldn't be talking about this in front of a child. Get on my back, we've got to get out of here before it gets worse!" "Wait, I need to tell you that I'm sorry for not freeing you from Lord Hatred..." But he put his wing over my mouth. "Don't say anything, I know all about it. I met your friend earlier and he told me everything." "Really?" "Yes, he told me that that infamous other lord had bewitched you and that you could only do what he told you." "But how did you free yourself?" "I used a sharp surface to cut my ties. Come on up!" "I can't leave. I have to stop it!" "Anon, it's too dangerous. If he catches you, he'll kill you. It's bad enough he almost succeeded if I hadn't acted." "Were you the one with the collapsing roof?" I said in surprise. "Yes, and I think we're both very lucky, so let's not tempt fate and get on my back!" I shook my head in the negative. "I can't do it. I have to stop it." "It's not necessarily up to you. You're no match for him." "I'm the one who knows him best and the princesses are offside." "But Anon, this is madness. He's going to kill you!" "It's a risk I'm willing to take." "Don't say that! You're not going to sacrifice yourself, are you?!" "I'll try not to have to sacrifice myself, but if I have to, I'll do it. If my life saves you all, then it will have meaning. Besides, it's my fault that all this is happening." "Of course not, it's not all your fault! I have my share of responsibility too. Besides, if it hadn't been you, it could very well have been someone else. Maybe even someone less kind and concerned than you. You're my friend, Anon, even when you say stupid things like that. I would never let you sacrifice yourself!" "Thank you," I said. "Thank you very much!" "That's normal. That's what friends are for. Now tell me, do you have a plan to counter Lord Hatred?" "I may have an idea. Lord Fear explained to me earlier that lords feed on emotions to make magic. If we stop him feeding on hate, Lord Hatred will be out of the way." "Assuming you're right, that's not quite true, even with little hate, he'll still be dangerous!" "You have to take the risk." "Well, and how do we do that?" "By removing the lock from the mortal realm," I said. "With any luck, that will close the portal and everything will be over. The only problem is getting there. Could you transport me from the air?" "Of course." Approaching the gate from the air, I realized along the way what a skilled pony Flower Cloud was in the air. He dodged lightning bolts with such ease and relaxation that you'd almost think it was a simple aerial ballet for him. From the sky, I could see that the earthquakes were getting stronger and stronger, to the point where some houses were on the verge of total collapse. "Ready?" "Ready!" I said as I parachuted into the portal. The impact with the portal was completely painless, contrary to my expectations. The sensation was like diving into the water. I was now floating in the immensity of the void, where thousands of luminous spheres, gateways to countless universes, floated lazily in the void. I began my descent, which seemed to last an eternity as I descended so slowly into the portal. When my hooves finally made contact with the friendship table, I pulled with all my might on the inlaid artifact. After a few seconds, I finally managed to pull it off the table, but the portal didn't disappear. Lord Hatred immediately appeared in the room and pounced on me. Panicking, I pushed myself into the portal. The further I advanced, the more new lights appeared. "Come back!" Shouted Lord Hatred, "Or I'll make sure to kill you so slowly that you'll beg me to kill you." As I turned around, what I saw terrified me. It was enormous. What's more, huge claws of flesh were now protruding from his breastplate, helping him to run faster until he began to run in a bestial manner. Not having looked ahead, I soon collided with a luminous sphere. Immediately, I found myself transported to the roof of a power station chimney. The scenery was as industrial as it gets. Hundreds of thousands of factories covered the landscape endlessly. However, the smoke from these factories was so thick that it was impossible to see the sky. A thick orange fog covered the field of vision. Looking down, I realized that we were so high up that I couldn't see the ground. But I had no time to dwell on this science-fiction landscape. Continuing to run in search of an exit, I picked up the kingdom's lock and tapped it in all directions in search of a way out. Suddenly, Lord Fear burst through the chimney's safety rail at rocket speed, sending him tumbling into the void. Shocked by what I had just seen, I paused in my run. But huge clawing noises were already being heard. It seemed that Lord Hatred was already on his way up the chimney. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Why isn't it working?" I shouted in a panic, pressing the lock in every possible way. Suddenly, a portal opened up and sucked me in. The last thing I had time to see was a huge hand of flesh flattening the spot where I'd been just a few seconds earlier. "Run Anon! Run!" shouted a little voice in my head. Not wasting a moment, I resumed my race towards ever more darkness and light. There was no end to this race. Darkness stretched ever further to the horizon. New lights were appearing all around me. A little further on, the sound of Lord Hatred's multiple claws echoed in the void. Sensing them approaching, I plunged once more into a luminous sphere, which this time took me to a magnificent garden where golden apples were growing. The air was pure, the apples looked delicious and fresh, and clear water flowed gently along a stream. Farther away, on the horizon, majestic white mountains dominated the landscape with a protective gaze. The whole place made me want to take refuge there, to rest and think of nothing else. Even so, I turned my gaze back to the artifact. For the first time, taking the time to look at it, I noticed that there were two ways to use it. To open a portal to another dimension, or the opposite. Prevent portals from opening. The option that came to mind was to lock myself away in this heavenly place by locking this dimension to Lord Hatred. But on the other hand, it meant abandoning all my friends, which was why I had defied the Red Lord in the first place, despite the dangers. Moreover, the ever larger and more frightening monster that was Lord Hatred had just appeared a few meters away. He was easily five meters tall. Three horrible, fleshy hands protruded from his chest. "I hate this game, Anon." He said in a terrified voice. "You can't run from hate forever. Sooner or later, it finds you and pulverizes what's good in you." "You're completely delirious!" I said, making sure to stand back. "You can't run forever. I'm sure your whole body is begging you to stop." He said, striding forward. It was true that my whole body was burning. It almost felt as if my hooves were on fire between the blows I'd received and the running. My breathing was still ragged from the kick he'd given me in the stomach, and the muscles in my back were totally tense. "Why are you doing all this?" I asked. "What do you have so much to gain from this?" "Hate is the only feeling that deserves to exist, Anon. I want to show everyone that it's not a fleeting feeling that can be suppressed as quickly as possible once it's passed. That's not what's making me so strong right now Anon, it's sheer stupidity. The kind that makes living beings think that the color of their skin, their money, their social status, their origins, their sex, their religion... make them superior to others. That's what real hatred is!" "You're crazy!" "No, better. Hateful!" He said, throwing himself forcefully at me. Although I was hit head-on, I still had time to activate the lock and create a portal. The shock had been so violent that I was now struggling to walk in the world of light and darkness. Then, not far from me, I noticed a sphere of dark light. Knowing that I'd only have a short time before Lord Hatred arrived, I stepped inside. Immediately, the scenery changed to a brown desert plain. The earth was dry and the air difficult to breathe. In the distance, an orange sun stood motionless on the horizon. Everything looked so dead here, I thought. "A dead world." Said Lord Hatred quietly, whom I hadn't heard coming up behind me. "A world with no life left to sustain its existence. You chose well. It's a fine place to die, Anon." I stared at him in terror, his blade already brushing my mane. "If I have to die, I'll leave with this," I said, wedging the kingdom lock into the path of the moving sword. A small tear ran down my cheek. "No!" Lord Hatred shouted, but too late. The lock shattered, causing an explosion across worlds I can't describe. I was now upside down in the world of luminous spheres. Above my head, the main portal seemed to be drawing me towards it, but Lord Hatred, only half of whose body had emerged from the dead dimension, was holding me by one of my hind hooves. "What have you done you little fool!" he shouted. "You've broken the very essence of the main portal! We're going to be swallowed up by the world!" "Let go of me!" I yelled. "It's out of the question! Besides, remember I'm your last chance to get your world back! Save me!" "No!" I said firmly. His body began to return little by little to the black sphere, and his face took on a look of panic: "Don't leave me there," he begged. "I'll do anything you want. Tell me your wish and it will come true!" Looking straight into his red eyes: "A world without hate!" And I gave him the hardest kick I could against his face, which worked. He let go and was swallowed up by the dead world. "It's not over Anon," he shouted before disappearing completely. All that was left was me and this fall into darkness that seemed to last an eternity. In reality, the fall probably didn't last more than a minute, so rapid was my fall. Then I saw the great portal through which I had entered begin to close little by little. It was getting smaller by the minute, despite the distance still separating me from it. Nevertheless, I managed to get through it before it disappeared completely. Blinded and disoriented as I came out of it, I unceremoniously fell to the ground. I breathed heavily without bothering to get up right away. I'd done it, I was alive! Even if it meant remaining a pony for the rest of my life. Strangely enough, this thought didn't make me feel bad. On the contrary, in a way, it reassured me. In reality, there was absolutely nothing keeping me there, contrary to what I thought. "Anon!" shouted a voice. Suddenly, I was embraced in a hug. "Flower Cloud?" "That's me." "Please stop, you're hurting me." "Oh, sorry. That wasn't the intention." He said, letting go of me as suddenly as he'd started. "That's all right. It also makes me happy to see you again!" "Thank you!" He said, blushing. "You have to come with me. Your parents are worried sick!" "My parents..." I say. "Is something wrong?" "No, it's just that I never thought until today that they might become my parents." Flower Cloud gave me a small, sympathetic smile: "And would you like to be their child?" "It's just that I'd never thought about it before." "Then let me rephrase the question. Are you happy in their company?" "Yes, of course, they are. They're kind and gentle and loving, but I don't know. What if they don't want me anymore?" "Anon, you said it yourself. They love you." "I know, it's just..." Tears welled up in my eyes. "Am I entitled to it?" "Of course, you have the right to be loved. Everyone deserves to be loved as long as you care about those who love you." "Thank you Flower Cloud," I said as I hugged him back. He returned my embrace and smiled: "Ready for takeoff?" I nodded. As we made our way through the air, I noticed that the black clouds had been replaced by beautiful white clouds, which now hovered absent-mindedly over the city. Far overhead, the sun was once again shining brightly. During our flight, I realized that I loved it here. That there were people here who genuinely loved me for who I was. For the first time since I'd landed in this strange world, I felt light and confident about the future. At last, the clouds seemed to be lifting from my head. On the outskirts of town were all the ponies evacuated from Ponyville. Some had bandages, but they all seemed to be fine. As we landed among them, Blueblood and Carrot Top came running towards us, tears in their eyes. They were both sobbing so loudly that I couldn't understand a word they were saying. "I missed you too," I said, hugging them tightly. This time, all three of us started crying our eyes out. Flower Cloud smiled at me and apologized to us, saying he had other ponies to visit. However, he was only able to leave after promising my parents he'd come home for dinner to thank him for bringing me back. Afterward, my parents inspected every inch of my body and covered me with bandages generously offered by the passing nurse ponies. Further on, I saw Littlenight standing there with his parents. He didn't seem to have seen me and looked worried. I decided to approach him. "Hi." "Anon! You're alive!" He exclaimed happily, hugging me. "But you didn't go back to your world?" "I didn't have a choice. But I don't regret not going back." "Does that mean you're going to stay with us?" I nodded. "Thank you, Celestia! I'm so happy." "Littlenight, I also wanted to tell you about earlier. I've been thinking about it and... you mean a lot to me too." He suddenly began to blush like a tomato. "So she's the little filly who's completely cracking up our little colt?" His father asked mischievously as he approached. "Daddy!" Littlenight exclaimed, even redder than before. "Looks like it!" Dark Light said, stepping forward. Her gaze was just as full of mischief as her partner's. "Mom!" What?" Your father and I are just observing. Right?" "Absolutely." "Have you two made up?" Littlenight asked. "You know, sometimes we fight when we disagree. That doesn't mean we can't love each other." "Big Hug!" Littlenight exclaimed, throwing himself around both her parents' necks, which made me smile. "What's going on here?" Blueblood asked perplexed. "Nothing at all." "It seems to be making an impression on you and Littlenight, this is nothing at all." Carrot Top says, teasing me. "Me? Not at all." "Your mother's right. You're smiling like a filly on Hearth Warming Day." "Can we talk about something else please?" I said, blushing in turn. A few months later "It was super nice of you to invite us, ma'am," Littlenight said to Carrot Top. "Please, it's a pleasure." "My son's right, it's nice of you to invite us to your Hearth Warming party." Dark Light added as Shadow Dash, Littlenight's father, placed the presents at the foot of the tree. "You didn't have to buy so many gifts. The three of you together would have been enough." Said Blueblood as the pile of gifts grew considerably. "It was the least I could do." Shadow Dash retorted. "Besides, it's your daughter's first Hearth Warming and we had to mark the occasion." "In any case, it's very kind of you to have thought of it," Blueblood said with a smile. It was clear that they were made for each other. Suddenly, the doorbell rang again. When Carrot Top opened the door, she hiccupped in surprise. Standing in the doorway were Equestria's three greatest princesses. "Aren't we late?" Asked the white alicorn. "Not at all. Come in, make yourself at home." Said Mom, bowing humbly. "Don't be so formal Carrot Top!" Said Aunt Luna annoyed. "You've been part of the family for some time now." "Sorry." "Watch out for the presents," Twilight said, revealing a huge bag full of presents, which she unloaded onto the existing pile, which was now as big as the tree itself. "Wow," Littlenight said. "I've never seen so many gifts in my life." "We wanted to do things right especially since this is Anon's first Hearth Warming in our family." And the three alicorns entered the house. However, just as they were about to close the door. Dinky and her mother Derpy arrived. "We apologize for the delay. We had trouble finding a sled for Anon." "Mommy!" The little filly exclaimed. "It was a surprise!" "Oops. But I'm sure she's very surprised by now." I nodded my head, far too happy to see them here. "It's warm here." Said Derpy as she took off her coat on her way back into the house. "Do we have everyone?" Blueblood asked Carrot Top discreetly. "No, it's still missing..." But I didn't have time to hear the end of the conversation when Aunt Luna was already putting on a blue knitted sweater against my will. "Eh..." I exclaimed. "It's so you look good in the theme Anon." Littlenight began to mock me gently when suddenly a red knitted sweater fell on him. "And how I never forget anyone. Especially since you're almost part of the Biggestnight family already." "It's Littlenight, princess." "Oops, sorry. By the way, how are you two?" "It's okay." We both answered evasively. Since then, Littlenight and I have been practically inseparable. We loved spending time together, talking and playing all kinds of games. "I see." She said simply before turning her attention back to her sister, who had been glaring at Blueblood ever since he sent her that letter: Dear Aunt Celestia, Do you know the Rich family? If not, I invite you to stay as far away from them as possible. I don't think I've ever seen such discourteous ponies. If I'm writing you this letter, it's because of a small favor I have to ask of you. Well, Anon, your grandniece, whom I'm sure you love dearly, has inadvertently damaged some works of art belonging to the Rich family. I would have gladly reimbursed the damage myself, but I don't have the means, so I'm turning to you, my kind aunt, to compensate them. Address: Rich Manor, Ponyville Amount: 2,250,000 bits Affectionately yours, Blueblood Blueblood, meanwhile, was hiding behind a thick newspaper that he was pretending to read. Drops of sweat trickled down his face. Suddenly, the door opened wide, revealing Flower Cloud, Grape Capsule, and Meteor Breath in the doorway. "Hello everyone!" Says Flower Cloud, back to being a mare, humming. "Flower Cloud..." Said Blueblood happy to escape my aunt's murderous gaze. "You look well." "Indeed." She said. "I quit my job." "Oh." "And I've found one I like." "That's great. What is it?" "Mannequin. I have to admit I wasn't expecting it, but..." Ever since we had arrested Lord Hatred, she had never missed an opportunity to visit my parents and me. She had gradually entered into all our hearts, so much so that we now saw her as a fully-fledged member of the family. She was like an aunt to me. Behind her, further back, stood Meteor Breath and Grape. They had forgiven Flower Cloud and Meteor Breath was no longer under the effect of the love potion. We'd also continued our sessions and now, thanks to them, I was able to pick things up with my hooves, write and eat without adapted tools, but that wasn't all. With Meteor Breath, I had come to accept myself as I was, and that did me a lot of good. So it was only natural that they should be invited to our table, especially as they had put so much time and energy into my recovery. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight pulling out a whole stack of papers from the table. They were detailed reports of what had happened that day. They mentioned everything from the nationwide earthquake to the Ponyville beam, not forgetting what had happened in Canterlot. Soon, the leaves spread across an entire section of the table. However, no one dared disturb her to ask her to tidy things up, as she seemed so preoccupied. I was a little angry at myself for leaving her like that, but I knew in advance that she wouldn't believe me anyway. So I looked out of the window with Littlenight at the snow falling on the ground, which was already covered with a thick white down. Outside, it was already dark and only the howling of the wind could be heard. END...