//------------------------------// // The Less0n // Story: Zer0 H0ur // by Vorizmordu //------------------------------// Zero awoke the next morning utterly exhausted. He had not felt it last night due to the adrenaline pumping through him, but he had pushed his body to its limit. This equine body was not conditioned like his normal body. So with a combination of his combat yesterday along with use of the Gh0st, which uses his own stamina as an energy source, he had completely drained himself. Despite Twilight's being pissed at him, she still allowed him to stay at her home under much heavier surveillance. It was understandable, considering it was unheard of a pony taking on several Diamond Dogs by himself without breaking a sweat, well atleast a visible sweat considering the state of his body at the moment. As he brought himself to a stand, he was greeted by Twilight, who was in a much better mood he noticed. "Well its about time you woke up! You slept all the way into the afternoon." She informed him. Zero only responded with a grunt as he looked out the window to notice a small crowd gathered outside the door. He noticed several cameras with them as well. Twilight noticed him gazing outside and decided to explain. "You see, after your little adventure last night, you kinda became a local hero" She said with a sheepish grin. "And at this rate, those reporters don't seem like they're leaving anytime soon." Zero sighed deeply, seeing that the rest of his day would most likely be spent inside the library. He then realized it would be a perfect opportunity to further research the strange world he's in, especially wanting to focus on unicorn magic. With the help of Twilight, who was excited that her guest had an interest in reading, Zero managed to find a number of books that should cover some of the various questions he had about the world around him. He picked one out labeled "A Brief History of Equestria" and began his learning adventure. Bored. Zero was completely bored. After about two hours of reading, he came to the realization that he hated it. He was a hands hoofs on learner, not a scholar. The only book that held any immediate value to him was one that dealt with the basics of unicorn magic. It more resembled a training manual than a book, and Zero was quite familiar with training manuals. He acquired a basic knowledge of the geography of the land and even stumbled across a section in a history text that involved something called the "Elements of Harmony". Besides that, he felt his time had been utterly wasted. With a sigh he returned to the book labeled "Unicorn Magic 101", hoping he could learn to properly utilize his horn. From the complexity of the first page alone he could tell this was going to take a bit. After giving the section involving levitation in the book a thorough reading, Zero felt ready to try his hoof at it. He focused on the book in front of him and began to concentrate, eventually even physically clenching his face together. To his amazement, it actually began to work, a cerulean glow, identical to his blade's, enveloped his horn and his target. He managed to lift it a few feet off the ground before dropping it, slightly exhausted. Satisfied with his progress for the day, he allowed himself to rest. It occured to him that the voice in his mind hadn't spoken since she had told him to stay away from the Diamond Dogs. He just assumed she was also pissed at him and that it would blow over. As he began to shut his eyes in order to enter a well deserved nap, a knock at the door caused him to sit up alert. He settled himself, sure that Twilight or Spike would get it. After a minute of waiting and another knock, Zero came to the conclusion that Twilight and Spike must have left during his extensive research. With a sigh he picked himself and approached the door, opening it slowly to see who was there at first. He was surprised to see Rarity outside the door. "Oh why hello there, dear. I wasn't aware you were staying with Twilight. Speaking of which, is she here by chance?" She asked with a polite smile. "No" he said, half returning the smile with hopes of not sounding rude. He should really work on his social skills, he noted. "Oh thats a shame. I had hopes of returning a few books I had borrowed. Im sure she'll be okay with me just leaving them here... do you mind, dear?" Zero moved to the side to allow the mare to go about her business, taking a seat on the couch. As she placed the books down in a pile on the front desk, she turned to face Zero again "I cannot thank you enough for what you did for me yesterday" she began "And I want you to know that if you ever need anything, feel free to ask. It's the least I can do for my hero" she finished with a wink. Zero raised an eyebrow "Do you really have to refer to me as that?" "Why of course! You did save me after all and I am forever in your debt" She replied as she bowed her head slightly, a smirk on her face. Zero simply closed his eyes as he leaned back "As you wish" Rarity did not take the hint that Zero was done talking and continued to speak "So Zero darling...what ARE you exactly?" Zero opened his eyes and hesitated for a moment "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously. "I mean, what you did to those ruffians yesterday, it was quite amazing, and a little bit disturbing, but mostly amazing!" she exclaimed "No normal pony could do such a thing, so I assume you have experience, hmm?" she asked, eagerly awaiting an answer. Zero sighed. He saw no use in hiding his past occupation anymore, his prowess in combat is quite well known at this point. " My skills are product of my former occupation" He simply stated. "And what occupation, do say, is that?" She pressed further. "An assassin" He grinned at her surprised face. She had expected him to say a guard or mercenary, but certaintly not assassin. As far as she knew, assassins were cold, emotionless kilers, though now that she thought about it he was quite ruthless to those Diamond Dogs yesterday, but he certaintly did have emotions, she reasoned. "But I thought assassins were ruthless scoundrels! You seem like a gentlecolt to me." "Like I said, former occupation" Zero smiled assuringly "You don't have to worry about me, I don't have plans on killing anyone yet." "That's good to hear" She replied nervously " Well it was certaintly nice getting to know you better, Zero" She gave him a quick smile before turning to walk out the door. " The pleasure is mine/ to meet a beautiful mare/ like you Rarity" He delievered his haiku with a smile as he noticed the mare blush as she left. The ladies loved the mysterious assassin types. This was true even before his transformation, but he had never really acknowledged it before. Despite his short stay in this new world, he noticed he has changed quite a bit. He was unsure as to whether this should worry him or not. He decided not to dwell on it as he once again tried to get some rest. Unfortunately, he was once again interrupted as Twilight and Spike decided to return home. "We're home!" Twilight needlessly announced. "I noticed" responded an irritated Zero "Hey Zero, did Rarity happen to visit by any chance? We had seen her coming from this direction and she seemed a bit flustered. Did you do anything to her?" Twilight eyed him suspiciously. "Me? No." He smiled innocently. Twilight stared at him for quite a bit before continuing "Riiight...anyways it seems your little adventure yesterday made it to Canterlot! The Princess herself has requested an audience with my friends and I and she specifically requested that we bring you as well. You've made quite a name for yourself." "Great" Zero sighed. Princess. He assumed she meant Princess Celestia. He had seen her name used quite frequently in one of the books he skimmed through, apparently she was some sort of god-ruler. Hopefully she's more bearable than Handsome Jack was. "When are we leaving?" He inquired. "We'll be leaving tommorow in the early afternoon, so make sure you get to bed early." She answered. "You said your friends are accompanying us. Why?" Twilight wasn't fully sure of this herself, but she answered anyways "Well I guess she didn't think it would be fair to bring me and not them along, I guess." "I see" Zero stated, though he really didn't. As far as he was concerned, the only one who had significance in the events yesterday was Rarity and all she did was play the victim. What did the other mares have to do with it? He dropped the question, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer for it. "Oh and one last thing" Twilight continued " I got you this" She held up what appeared to be a belt, or maybe a harness. He wasn't quite sure if horses could even wear belts. As he took it from her grasp he examined it, noting that there was a ring in which he would be able to easily keep his blade accessible at all times as well as a pack for any other objects he might need to carry. "I figured you could use something with a bit more... accessibility" She said with a smile. Zero nodded "Thank you. It shall prove quite useful." As night approached and the residents of the tree house went to their respective sleeping areas, Zero thought he was finally going to get the rest he desired. Wrong. This time he was disturbed by none other than the voice inside his head. "You ignored me. How am I supposed to help you return to where you belong if you don't listen to me?" The voice asked. Zero listened intently. The voice was trying to return him to Pandora? He certaintly wasn't in a rush to return to that hell hole. "You don't belong here. You know that, so I'm trying to return you to where you came from so you don't cause any problems" The voice continued. At this point Zero was attempting to block out the voice, not in the mood to listen to it ranting about how he doesn't belong in this world. "Fine. Ignore me now. I'll just deal with you tommorow"And with that the voice died down. Zero let out a sigh of relief as he was now able to finally get some rest. However, something the voice said clicked. I'll just deal with you tommorow What did she mean by that. It then dawned on him. He knew the owner of the voice.