//------------------------------// // Integrating with S0ciety // Story: Zer0 H0ur // by Vorizmordu //------------------------------// After a long sleepless night, Zero was greeted by the morning sun with only a few hours of rest. He did not really mind, however. He was used to little sleep in his previous occupation. Being a political assassin and local hitman left him with very little free time and that free time was usually spent preparing for a future job. As he began to stretch his limbs, he was hit by a very strong smell. Unlike the various sickening odors one could find on Pandora, this one smelt...sweet. He could not remember a time he had smelled something as divine as this new scent. Before he could begin taking guesses as to what could be producing the smell, the familiar voice of Spike rose up. "Pancakes are done!" The lizard piped up, as if the smell wasn't enough to inform the residents of the home. Zero had heard of pancakes, but due to their absence on Pandora, he had never actually had them before. The smell alone brought him to the realization that he was missing out on something quite wonderful indeed. He immediately raised himself and trotted towards the source of the heavenly scent, taking a seat at a table near the kitchen as he awaited his meal. As the pancakes were served to him on a plate, he was joined at the table by the lavender mare from yesterday. "Good Morning, Zero!" She said cheerfully. Zero responded with a simple nod before looking at his plate, a sense of dread filling him. He was unable to use a fork let alone a knife to cut the delectable meal before him. Not willing to skip out on the meal, he did the only thing he could do and began eating face first, ignoring the bewildered look of his companions. The meal was as delicious as it smelled and sure beat eating skag meat back on Pandora. Twilight laughed nervously after watching her guest viciously scarf down the food with only his face. "Sooo Zero, why don't you tell us where you came from?" She asked, hoping to remove his attention from the pancakes so she could ask more followup questions. Zero ceased his eating frenzy and pondered the question. Should he really tell them he came from what appeared to be a completely different universe? That would definantly draw alot of unwanted attention, but he did not know any of the local geography to make up a place of origin. Luckily, he came up with a solution "I am a traveler and therefore do not call any one specific place home" he answered confidently, hoping that would be the end of being questioned. It wasn't. "I see, so what is that strange device you brought with you?" She asked as she pointed a hoof to his Gh0st module. "It is an invention of mine that I have been working on" He lied "So your special talent is Inventing?" She continued with her questions. "My special talent? Can I not have multiple talents?" He asked quizzically "Of course you can, but everypony has one specific talent that they are extra good at. Its usually defined by their cutie mark." explained Twilight, not sure how this stallion did not know what a cutie mark was. "For instance, my cutie mark designates my talent as magic." she stated with a hint of pride. So magic was real and he had come to one of the best ponies to explain it to him, he thought. He then noticed the mare staring at his own mark. "A zero? What could that possibly represent?" She said as she scratched her head with a hoof. "Could mean zero as in he's a loser" Spike had teased. "Or it could mean I have zero tolerance for fools like you" Zero shot back with a glare, not one for receiving insults. Twilight quickly defused the situation "Anyways, since your new here we thought we could give you a quick tour of the village." "I'd rather no-" Zero was cut off as the voice in his head spoke up. "Take her offer and you will find an object which I believe belongs to you" The voice advised. Deciding to take the voice's advice, he changed his mind "Actually, knowing my surroundings could prove beneficial. I accept." "Great!" The mare exclaimed "We'll begin after we finish up breakfast." "I'll have to pass on the tour, I promised I'd help Rarity with some gem hunting" stated Spike. "That's fine but you'll miss Pinkie's party" Twilight responded "You know about it?" Zero simply asked. Twilight giggled lighty "Pinkie always throws a party when a stranger comes into town. Its basically tradition at this point" "Great" Zero sighed heavily. Eventually breakfast concluded, much to the disappointment of Zero, and the two ponies began their tour. Before they left, however, Zero had asked for some sort of pack in order for him to carry the Gh0st with him, not wanting to allow it to leave his sight. Twilight happily obliged, giving him one of the many packs she uses for carrying books. She then showed Zero many of the more important buildings in the village, including Sugarcube Corner, which according to Twilight is where his party would be located at. The tour continued for about another half hour until the two came across three fillies who seemed to be having a heated arguement. "I found it first!" Shouted an orange filly who appeared to have small wings on her back. Zero quickly dismissed this, deciding to question it later as his gaze shifted to the object she was holding. It was a hilt. A hilt he was all too familiar with. As he stared in disbelief, the arguement continued as a yellow, apparently normal, filly spoke up in the same volume. "Nuh uh!" "Yea huh" A third voice broke in, this one belonging to a unicorn filly "You're both wrong, I saw it first." Finally, Twilight stepped in to settle the debate "Girls, Girls! What is with all this commotion?" In unison, all three broke into a story of how they had found this strange object while questing for their cutie marks and they couldn't agree to who had the right to keep it. As Twilight attempted to make sense of the situation, she was surprised to hear Zero break up the arguement "You are all wrong. That device belongs to me." He stated, giving them a stare that caused the three fillies to back away slowly out of fear. "We're sorry mister! We didn't know!" The orange one exclaimed. "How did you lose it, Zero?" Twilight asked with a hint of suspicion Zero quickly constructed yet another lie to cover himself "I must have dropped it when I was confronted by Pinkie" Twilight grinned "She can be a bit overwhelming at times" She agreed. She then levitated the hilt from the three fillies and placed it within his pack for him. Zero raised an eyebrow at this, never before seeing unicorn magic first hand. He could see it being a useful addition to his skills if he learned to control it. The three fillies wasted no time departing from the presence of the strange unicorn they had just met, as they were gone once Zero looked back to where they once were. Twilight looked up towards the sky and noticed that a good deal of time had passed "It's just about time for your party! Aren't you excited?" She teased. "I wish to simply get this over with" Zero responded with a hint of pain. He could tell he was not going to enjoy his night. A few minutes later, the two arrived at Sugarcube Corner. With a slight nudge from Twilight, Zero approached the door and opened it slowly only to be greeted by complete darkness inside. Fearing the worst, Zero cautiously made his way inside. As soon as his whole body entered the structure, the lights flicked on to reveal a plethora of ponies and, of course, Pinkie herself. "Surprise!" The congregation shouted. "Oooohh I'm so glad you could make it!" The pink mare shouted as she gave Zero a hug, earning a flinch from the stallion. Zero put on the best fake smile he could manage "I am equally glad to be here." He responded. To his relief the congregation ceased paying attention to him and began mingling amongst themselves. He noticed that he was not safe yet as three ponies separated themselves from the party and approached him. "Lemme introduce you to my friends, Z!" Pinkie exclaimed, already having designated him a nickname. "This here is Applejack!" "Howdy." Greeted an orange mare with a blond mane wrapped up in a ponytail. What stuck out most was her dialect, one he found sickeningly familiar to that moron Scooter back on Pandora who owned the Catch-a-Ride systems. He was quite confident that man was the product of incest. He decided not to judge this newcomer so early, however. "And this is Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie continued. "What's up?" Zero had to look up slighty as the voice belonged to a mare who seemed to be hovering slightly off the ground in front of him. She was a cyan mare with, unsurprisingly, a rainbow colored mane and tail. He again noted the wings she possessed, saving his questions about it for later. "And finally theres....hey wheres Fluttershy at?" Pinkie asked. The mare in question was cowering behind the one called Applejack. She peeked out slightly but upon meeting the gaze of Zero, retreated once more. Maybe he was more intimidating than he though, Zero joked. Applejack move over slightly in order to reveal Fluttershy. She was yellow with a long, pink mane as well as a set of wings. He immediately noticed that, like him, she was not one for being in the spotlight. In an act of mercy toward the visibly shaking mare, he drew the attention back to himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you all." He stated with a slight nod. "Well theres no point wasting time sitting around, It's time to Party!!!" Pinkie shouted with glee and she grabbed hold of Zero and dragged him into the partying mass to his dismay After about an hour of meeting just about every pony at the party, feasting on some admittedly delicious cake, and being forced to suffer through the various party activities, the party was interrupted as the door to Sugarcube Corner was thrown open to reveal an out of breath Spike. A concerned Twilight immediately appeared before him "Is everything alright Spike?" She asked slightly worried. Spike continued catching his breath before finally speaking "No...Rarity... trouble" he managed between a few breaths. "What do you mean trouble?" inquire Twilight. "Kidnapped" Spike simply stated. A gasp rose from the party goers "Kidnapped? By who, Spike?" Twilight pressed on. "Diamond Dogs" He responded. Another simultaneous gasp arose and then fell into a deep silence. Surprisingly, Zero was the one to break the silence "What are Diamond Dogs?" he asked curiously. "They are a group of primitive, bipedal beings who have an obsession with gems. They must of taken Rarity due to her ability to locate gems."Twilight informed. "Are they dangerous?" Zero continued. Twilight gave him a puzzled look before responding "Why yes, explaining why we are concerned." Zero gave a nod before turning to Spike "Lead me to them" He commanded. Everpony gave him a look of disbelief before Pinkie spoke up "Are you loco in the coco!? We're talking about some of the biggest meanies in all of Equestria!" she shouted. Twilight nodded in agreement. "Pinkie's right, we should call the guard in Canterlot." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. Realizing they would not simply let him face the "Diamond Dogs" alone, he made up yet another lie. "I only wish to scout ahead. I am not foolish enough to face these savages alone." He assured. Zero's skills at lying were quite magnificient, as the mare spoke up with a sigh, unable to comprehend why she was saying what she was about to say "Fine, I'll trust you and I'm sure Spike will stop you if you try to do anything stupid" She shot a look at Spike who nodded furiously. Before setting off, Twilight had made Spike send a letter to a certain "Princess Celestia". And sending the letter, according to Zero, actually meant igniting the letter through the aid of a flame that Spike was able to conjure up. More questions he would ask later, though they seemed to be piling up at this rate. As Zero and Spike set off, the voice once again spoke to Zero. " I know what you plan on doing and I implore that you do not carry on with your foolish quest. Wait until help arrives." She commanded. For once, Zero ignored the voice. As the duo approached the lair of the Diamond Dogs, which consisted of a field of dirt desecrated by what seemed to be an infinite number of holes, Spike led his companion to a particular hole "This is the one they dragged her down into." Zero nodded and began descending into the tunnel at the dismay of Spike "Whoa buddy! You said you weren't going to do anything stupid!" He shouted "I lied" Zero simply stated as he disappeared into the tunnel, leaving behind a bewildered Spike Zero immediately noticed that he was not inside a singular tunnel. Instead, it seemed this tunnel was part of a network of tunnels all interconnected seemingly at random. He had no clue where to even begin looking until he heard something in a distance. Upon focusing on it, he realized that it was...whimpering? Somewhere in the distance, someone was crying. After taking a couple of minutes to decide on which tunnel the noise had originated from, he began heading towards it. A few more minutes of traversing various tunnels, the sound was much more audible. "He called me UGLY-Y-Y!" Shouted a voice. Zero could distinctly make the voice out in the darkness. The voice belonged to a female, most likely the victim of the kidnapping, though the context of her sorrow was confusing. As he rounded the corner, he caught sight of the perpetrators who were inside what appeared to be larger tunnel, allowing for more room for movement. There were about 5 of them, large brutes who easily doubled Zero's size. Three of them were adorned in various gems and other shiny trinkets where as the rest wore a primitive form of plate armor. He sat at a distance in order to remain hidden so he could examine the scene. He noticed that the three "Dogs" adorned in gems, whom Zero assume lead the group, were conversing with the one called Rarity. Before he could further study the scenario, he heard movement behind him. He easily jumped forward to avoid an attempted grab by the being behind him. He turned and saw it was yet another Diamond Dog, one of the grunts with the body armor. He prepared himself for combat, assuming a combat stance that was familiar to him. However, it was not familiar with his new equine body, and as he stood of two hooves, he immediately fell on his backside. "Hahahahaha!" His adversary had broke out laughing at Zero's attempt at standing on two hooves. "Stupid horsey" He remarked. The dog's laughter was cut short, however, as he was struck by a hoof across his face. Zero was now slighty more accustomed to balance on two hooves being the quick learner he is. The blow would have normally knocked a man out cold, but considering his target was clearly not human and he was still not fully comfortable with his stance, all his attack accomplished was making his foe very, very angry. Zero could not react fast enough as the dog countered, sending him sprawling on the floor as he was hit directly in his stomach. Zero quickly recovered only to notice that the rest of the Diamond Dogs now caught sight of him and were approaching him slowly. A wave of panic ran through Zero as he recognized that he was in a dire situation. He would be lucky if he was able to take on just one of these beasts, but there was no way he would be able to take on all six. And then his mind clicked as he realized this is the type of situation he purposely searched for. A wicked smile crept across his face as he slowly reached into the bag retrieving both his Gh0st and the hilt of his blade, surprised he was now able to grip them. Apparently, his bodily instincts had taken over as the true nature of this situation dawned on him. "A challenge" And with those two words, he disappeared, leaving six confused Diamond Dogs and one irate pony. Rarity was watching this whole conflict unfold before her, a spark of hope rising inside her as she saw her "savior" land of blow on one of her captors. This quickly faded however as the blow was returned to her savior. She understood that his situation looked grim, but what she did not expect was for him to simply disappear, leaving her once again to these brutes. "Did he seriously just leave me here?" She spoke aloud. "Of all the inconsider-..." Her sentence was cut off by the agonizing howl of one of her captors. She looked to the source of the scream to see a Diamond Dog with a freshly opened wound carved into his side, causing him to crumple over in pain. Before any of his companions could react, they all received wounds of a similiar fashion one by one, whether it be a large tear across their calves, crippling their movement, or a deep gash tearing open their shoulders. A realization dawned on her, thanks to her eye for detail, that none of these wounds were sufficient to end a life. Each blow was constructed to cripple, not kill. Her savior was toying with them. Before she could continue her thoughts, the strange stallion reappeared in the midst of the bloodshed, a look of dissatisfaction upon his face. He approached of the downed dogs, who reeled away from him in fear but did not get very far due to a wound in his leg. "Please! Please! Don't kill me! We'll leave the ponies alone! Yes! Yes!" The Diamond Dog swore, begging for mercy. Zero however, dismissed his statement. " You are pathetic/ Arise and fight me once more/ I want a challenge" Zero noticed he still had a firm grip on his blade, which had digistructed while he was unseen. It was a pleasant sight to see the long, single edged blade again. The way it had a cereulean glow mesmerized him. He refocused his attention to his helpless foe, edging the blade dangerously close to his neck. "I said rise" He repeated coldly, only getting a whimper as a response from the dog. As Zero's patience finally ran out and he was preparing to end his adversary's life, he was interrupted by the mare Rarity. "Stop!" She shouted. "There's no reason to kill them! Though I'm flattered you would go to such an extent for little old me." Zero shot her a quizzical look "Why not, did they not cause you suffering? One would normally enjoy seeing their captors suffer." "That's true but they did not cause me that much suffering" She noticed her attempts at convincing him to spare the poor, broken creatures on the ground were failing. Her attention for detail kicked in again as she remembered something the stallion had said earlier. "Besides, killing them wouldn't provide any challenge" she added innocently. Zero considered Rarity's words, sitting there in silence for a few minutes as his victims stared at him, unsure of their fates. Finally, Zero sighed, allowing his blade to deconstruct back into its hilt. "You are right." he simply replied. He returned his tools back into his pack, turned to the tunnel he had come in from, and began walking back to the surface. Again, he was interrupted by the mare. "Wait! Are you going to just leave me here?!" She shouted, slightly annoyed "I could use some help getting out of this thing." She pointed to the cart of gems she was still attached to. Zero sighed once again as he trotted over to her in order to remove her from her constraints. "Thank you." Zero took this time to examine the mare he had just saved. She was snow white in color with a azure mane which Zero noticed was style quite carefully. Even though it was slightly disturbed due the ordeal she had just been through, it was still evident alot of time went into the mane. The point of this was beyond him, though he had to admit she did look quite good. Once she was completely removed from the harness, the two began making their way back to the surface. They traveled in silence for quite some time until Rarity had spoken up. "Now that we're a safe distance away, I wish to formally thank you for your timely rescue, Mister...?" "Zero" "Why, what interesting name. If you hadn't come along,I not sure what those uncouth brutes would have done with me!" The thought alone gave her shivers, causing her to move closer to the stallion for protection. Sure, lets go with that. As the two finally reached the surface, they were greeted by a mass of ponies, a good portion of which Zero assume were guards due to their flashy armor sets. Before the Zero could approach the crowd, a single scream arose in a voice he recognized. "You idiot!!" Twilight shouted. Before he could turn to face the furious mare, he received what he believed to be a slap across the face, causing him to grunt in pain. That actually stung. "Why would you endanger yourself like that! I specifically told you to ont do anything stupid!..." Twilight ranted. Luckily for Zero, Rarity intervened. "Twilight, dear. There's no need to fret. We're both safe and sound. If it weren't for Zero here I might have been taken too far away for even the Royal Canterlot Guards to come rescue me." She informed. Rarity's words caused Twilight to visibly calm down. "Fine, but we already have somepony who's known for reckless stunts, we don't need another." She said with a brief look to a now arriving Rainbow Dash. "Did you really take on all the Diamond Dogs? By yourself!?" Dash questioned Zero excitably. "That he did" Rarity answered for Zero, snuggling up against him, causing him to wince as if it caused him pain. Zero soon noticed the entire congregation of ponies was looking at him. An awkward silence permeated the air until a familiar pink party pony broke it. "Way to go Z!" she shouted and with that the rest of the crowd cheered with her. Now this was something completely new to Zero. Never before had he been so openly commended on his successes. Normally finishing a job would earn him the money designated and nothing more. This however, was much different, and even though he did not show it, deep down he enjoyed the recognition. As he stared at the cheering crowd and at the grateful mare at his side he couldn't help but give a smile. A real smile.