//------------------------------// // Dawn is the Separation of Light and Darkness // Story: This ugly yet beautiful world // by finesthour //------------------------------// It is said that no less than 4 million species of animals and plants currently exist on Earth. However it is estimated that somewhere between 5 and 50 billion species have lived here at some point since the planet came into being. In other words, 99.9% of species have not escaped the fate of extinction. Organisms on Earth had undergone 6 mass extinctions. But the reason behind all of them, remains unclear... “Say, I’ve been thinking... Even if I don’t do anything, the world will progress on its own. A war is going on somewhere far away... No one tries to stop it, as usual. There will always be crimes... There are unpleasant men everywhere you go. No matter what I do, this world won’t get any better or worse.” The boy in the chair slowly said this into the recording device he had brought with me to the pool for my summer job. He had chosen to take this job thinking it would be easy cash, and he could actually check out some hot girls if he had the chance. But alas... all there is to do is work. He was a nice enough looking boy with brown hair and brown eyes, so why did girls not go for him... “Is that why you’re lying down? Because you said you can’t do anything?” He opened his closed eyes to see two girls standing at the door to the shack I was hiding in. The one on the left was a brunette named Ashleigh, the other a green haired girl named Saki. Ashleigh and Saki were in white T-shirts and bikini bottoms, which made him laugh. Both girls were from his high school, and both had a strong dislike for him, even though they still hanged out with him. Whenever he found out that he would be working with them for the summer, he almost turned it down. They were both flat chested, and that was a major turn off for him. “Is that why you’re neglecting your work?” Saki said while she walked over to where he sat. “Hey, get up!” Ashleigh said, pushing him out of his chair. He fell to the floor, banging his head on the wall as he went. Grabbing the spot that he had bonked on the wall he said, “What the hell did you do that for?” This was all he could muster out of his pain filled head, feeling foolish for such a simple saying. “Things like society don’t matter, Gary.” Ashleigh said to him, handing him the brush that was used to clean the pool. “Your current responsibility is to clean the pool.” “I know, I’ll do it when I get around to it!” Gary said, still holding his head. “Damn right, you’ll do it. We aren’t going to be screwed because you decided to skip out on your job.” Both Ashleigh and Saki laughed as they said this, their girlish laughter forcing a small amount of blood to rush to his cheeks. “Fine, I’ll go clean that sanitizer sink there...” Gary said this non-chalantly, looking at the woman's dressing room, a devious smile wanting to show. “That’s the changing room...” Saki said, mocking him. “You’re just looking for a way out of your job, you lazy asshole!” Ashleigh said, the anger growing in her voice. Sticking his tongue out, he mocked her voice in a ignorant tone. As he did this, a boy with jet black hair and light blue eyes walked up behind him and looked at the girls. “I’ll do Gary’s share if he wants.” He said this in his usual friendly tone, making Gary’s smile stretch across his face. Both girls said in a fangirlish tone, “Ryou... you’re here!” Ryou smiled at both of them and said, “Since it was me who originally asked him to help out, because there weren’t enough members, it just seems fair for him to take the job off.” Ashleigh seemed to not to hear a word he said, getting close to his face, her arms wrapped around her wait. She said in a dreamy tone once more, “Ryou... you’re so kind! So different from Gary” She said Gary’s name with disgust, and it made Gary laugh. “But it’s strange. You two are always together.” Saki said this with obvious jealousy in her voice, wanting to be in Gary’s place. “That’s it! I thought it was strange too!” Ashleigh agreed with Saki, turning her evil glare towards Gary. The glare made Gary’s spine tingle, the passion in her eyes disturbing him. “That’s because I like Gary.” Ryou said, his voice still as kind as could be. “What!?” Both girls screamed, their hopes of being the future wife of Ryou fading away. “Of course, you and Saki as well!” The kindness in his voice blanketed the words he was saying, yet Gary knew that they were thinking he was gay. “Really!?” Both of their faces turned bright red, their fantasies with Ryou igniting with a fiery passion. “Then there is everyone in the swimming club...” Ryou whispered, naming down the people who were his friends. Obviously taking it the wrong way, Ashleigh and Saki turned around and started to giggle towards each other. “Did you hear that, Saki? Ryou said that he likes me!” She held her face while she said this, the blood rushing to her face. “Of course there is everyone in the soccer club... Keibu and Tama too...” The two girls were no longer listening to Ryou, their girly fantasies running wild in their minds. “Though it’s too bad that he’s of the same league as someone like Gary.” Saki said, saying Gary’s name with disguest like Ashleigh did. “That’s too bad.” Gary said, putting his arm around his best friend Ryou. “Ryou isn’t discriminatory in who he likes. Ryou, turned his face toward Gary,confusion shown on his face, not knowing what he had done to make the girls go wild. “What? Is that so?” He said confusingly. “To say something like that when someones feeling good...” Saki said, staring at Gary with evil eyes. “You idiot!” Ashleigh screamed at Gary, kicking him on the waist,causing him to fumble backwords. Catching himself, he grabbed the nearby water hose that was placed on the wall of the pool. Turning on the faucet, he said, “All right! Want to play like that? Let’s get wet then.” The water hose nozzle began to spray water at an alarming speed hitting both of the girls. They began to scream, their white T-shirts becoming soaked. Gary started to laugh, closing his eyes as he did so. Both of the girls stopped screaming at yelled at Gary. “Why, you! You just keep on coming back!” Saki said, trying to cover her wet T-shirt. Ashleigh ran over to the wall and grabbed a water hose that was placed near them, and started to spray Gary as well. The woman who ran the workers was in the pool helping the teenagers with their jobs, and looked up at the ruckus that was happening outside the pool. The brunette woman said, “Ashleigh, Saki, and Gary! Stop screwing around!” Everyone outside the pool started to laugh, and Gary looked over at Ryou. He was staring up at the sky, with a look of awe on his face. Gary turned his gaze towards the sky, and saw something he did not expect to see. The water vapor that came from the hose was shining in the sky, making a beautiful rainbow. out in the distance of the sky, Gary thought he said a star falling, but before he could make out what it was, the owner of the pool picked up a waterhose of her own and sprayed Gary with the biggest water hose they had. The force of the water sent Gary flying back, landing a few feet away from where he was sitting. Chapter 1- Dawn is the Seperation of Light and Darkness “I’m home.” Gary said out loud as he walked up to his aunt who was gardening her flowers at the front of the house. She was a small woman, not much taller than Gary’s 5’’11 stature. She had short brown hair, always curled at the ends. “Welcome home, Gary.” She said turning her smile to him. “Oh, you brought Ryou as well. That is wonderful! I’ll be sure to make your favorite meal Ryou!” Ryou laughed and rubbed the back of his head out of embarrassment. “That won’t be necessary ma’am. I already ate!” Before she could answer, Gary’s Uncle opened the glass sliding door and smiled at Gary. He was a very muscular man, a veteran in the old wars. He always had a smile on his face, and kept his hair as spikey as he could. “Oh, you’re back already? It’s hardly closing time now, don’t you think?” He said this while laughing, the smell of alcohol emitting from his body. “Uncle... have you been drinking again?” Gary said, now embarrassed for his friend to see his family like this. “It’s alright son... One drink in the afternoon is my happiness!” He stuck his fist in the air as he said this, fumbling around by the door. “Jeez... That’s why the shop doesn't prosper.” Gary said, looking back at the Delivery bike they owned. “Would you like a drink as well?” He said,ignoring Gary’s last statement. “Darling...” Gary’s Aunt said with annoyance, grabbing his ear and dragging him into the house as he screamed like a small child. Ryou laughed heartily and looked over at Gary. “I love your family so much. They are so weird!” Gary looked away from him, trying not to laugh himself. He guessed that his family could be considered weird, but he did not know if it was a good thing. “I’m going to go get my laundry, so go on to my room, I’ll catch up in a second.” Gary said this to Ryou,and began to walk down the hallway. “Ok, thank you.” Ryou said kindly. Gary opened the door to the laundry room, and his mouth opened up to an O shape. In the laundry room was his little cousin, a small 14 year old girl with Green hair and a perfect body, putting her bra on in the mirror. She stared back at him, her hands still trying to latch on to the bra. Her faced turned completely red, and she screamed. “Mari, I’m sorry!” Gary screamed. Gary’s Aunt called out to where Gary walked and said, “Oh, in case you want to go get your laundry, Mari is taking a bath right now!” “Too late.” Gary’s Uncle bluntly said, sitting at the table. *** Mari screamed at Gary’s door as both he and Ryou sat on the floor. “This is why I don’t like house guests! They are so freaking insensitive!” She screamed. “I didn't know you were in there!” He replied, trying to get her to go away. She slammed her arms on the door and gritted her teeth. “Of course I would be taking a shower when it’s this hot!” She screamed again. Gary sat on the floor beside Ryou, a large red mark where Mari had slapped him stood out on his face. “You shouldn’t change your clothes there.” He replied while Ryou softly chuckled. “Idiot!” She screamed while hitting the door again. “More importantly... Ashleigh and Saki called you earlier.” “What?” He said with confusion in his voice. Why had they called him? He thought they hated him! “You were supposed to help clean the pool, but you played around with the water.” Gary laid down on the ground and said, “That’s because... cleaning is boring.” “You’re desperately trying to do useless things! Use that energy to do something actually productive! Since your my cousin, complaints come to me, too! Ryou, you should tell him too!” Ryou jumped up out of his chair and said,, “Yes, I forgot!” Mari started to walk away from the door and said, “I’m leaving your laundry outside,okay?” She then walked away,her footsteps trailing away from the door. “The storm has finally passed...” Gary said, laughing at his own joke. “You should be glad she did your laundry for you.” Ryou softly said, grabbing the laundry that Mari placed outside his door. “It’s a big loss for me! I got slapped just for seeing her undressed!” “I wonder if that was it?” Ryou said, a clever smile on his lips. Gary seemed to ignore what Ryou was implying, and looked up at his ceiling. Gary soon seemed melancholy as he said, “Desperately doing useless things, huh?” “What?” Ryou replied, sitting down beside him. “Everything ends up like that... I have a feeling I should be doing something, but...” Ryou interrupted him saying, “You don’t know where those feelings are being directed?” Gary laughed and said, “Oh, you’re talking about the same thing again?” “You’re really... a serious guy, Gary.” Taking this as an amusing joke, Gary said sarcastically, “I am?” Mari suddenly appeared at the door of my room and said, “Gary! Your bag is in the hallway! Hurry up and take care of it!” Opening up the window in his room, Gary fell back against the railing of the window and let the breeze go through his hair, ignoring Mari. “All the girls around me are just loud and annoying.” He said, looking down at Ryou. “Really?” He replied, laughing. “They’re all good girls.” “Is that so?” Gary replied, now taking interest in our conversation. “Then, what kind of girl do you like Gary?” Riyu said. “Where did that question come from Ryou?” Gary said. “Me?” He replied questionably. “Idiot!” Gary said, laughing again. “For example, someone with silkier hair than Saki... And who has bigger breasts than Ashleigh... Not someone annoying like Mari...” “That kind of girl would be difficult to come by.” Ryou said, without a joke in his voice. “What are you doing?” Gary asked, seeing what was in Ryou’s hands. “Drawing.” He replied, sketching away at his notebook. Gary peeked down at what he was drawing, and blood rushed to his face. Ryou was drawing a pony version of the girl of Gary’s dreams! Gary quickly ran from the window and snatched away the sketchbook and said, “Stop it! It’s embarrassing!” “How is it?” Ryou asked, knowing it was good. Gary stared at it for a moment, and started to laugh. “You’re really good at drawing, man.” Suddenly, Gary’s Aunt called from the garden below the window. “Gary! Can you come down for a minute?” Gary looked outside the window and saw his Aunt, and he said, “Sure, I’ll be down in a second.” *** “From Hayakawa-san of Susiki University to Yamada Print shop by 5pm, okay? The voucher is in the bag. I’m sorry about this, Gary.” Gary nodded his head and smiled. “I do get paid for my job, so this is a good thing for me. If I do my best, and the store becomes much better, it’s something to look forward to!” Gary’s Uncle smiled and said, “Even if you say that, don’t speed. We can’t afford another ticket.” “Speed, you say... I still haven’t... not on this old thing at least.” Gary said this while laughing, showing that this bike was as old as could be. “That’s why I said don’t speed. I don’t think this piece of crap can handle anything over 80!” Gary’s Uncle began to laugh as hard as he could, his laughter making Gary smile. Ryou walked out of the house with his helmet on, and got on the back of the motorcycle with me. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He said. Gary looked back at him, feeling extremely uncomfortable. His best friend was on the back of the bike, so it must of looked weird to anyone who would see them. But why did he get on the bike in the first place? “You’re going to Kyuudou, right? Give me a ride on your way back.” “You are such a burden man...” I said while laughing, and I started up the bike. Mari looked at Gary and smiled while saying, “Gary, please be careful.” Gary smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. “Of course!” Leaving his family, Gary pressed the pedal down on the bike, and they started their drive. *** Gary stopped at the Print Shop he was taking the package to. Gary walked inside, while Ryou stayed near the bike to make sure no one would steal it. Inside the shop, Gary gave the package to the store owner. “Yes, you always seem to get here on time Gary. That’s pretty weird, considering your reputation.” “Well, I’ll take that as a complement. See you later.” Gary said this while he opened the door, walking back to Ryou and the bike. *** The sun was beginning to set over our little town of Tokyo, so I sped my bike up faster so we could reach Ryou’s house before dark. Gary and Ryou started to have small conversations. “Really...” Ryou said as I was explaining my family. “Uncle dosen’t have any ambitions.” Gary said, laughing as he did so. “If everything’s good enough now, then there’s no need to strive hard, is there?” He said, looking out at the forest that was zipping past us. “I think it’s fine.” “I don’t know... If he really wanted to, he could do it...” My sentence trailed off as I thought I could see the same star falling from the sky, like the one by the pool. “Simplly trying to improve every day isn’t always the right answer. But that is what I like about you, Gary.” Ryou’s voice seemed to slip right past my ears as he stared at the star that was falling from the sky. Gary was sure that he was seeing this, and that he was not crazy. “Hey, look! That light...” He said, looking up at the sky. The star that seemed to be falling suddenly jerked swiftly to the right, and jerked to the left. As if it was heading straight for Ryou and Gary, it did a nosedive towards the road. The strange light now was a burning ball of fire, heading straight towards both of them! Before it could hit them, it curved up, heading back towards the sky. Gary started to swerve on the bike, trying to keep his balance. “What the hell was that?” Gary said as the light now trailed off the road beside them. “It’s coming back.” Ryou said calmy, which recked my nerves more than if he was not scared. The ball of fire seemed to have life of it’s own, being ale to choose it’s own course. It started to trail beside us again, going the same speed we were. “I wonder if it’s a shooting star?” Ryou softly said. Out of his panic, I replied, “What a fucking shooting star chase us like this?” The moment he said this, the ball of fire changed directions again, and was now above their bike. “Damnit!” Gary called out as he started to swerve the bike again to avoid the ball of fire. Once again, it retracted away from us, shrinking backwards, like it was going in reverse. “What on Earth is that thing?” Gary called out. “But... it’s pretty...” Ryou softly said. The ball of fire shot even faster now, heading for away from them. For a split second, Gary hoped that it was gone. Realizing how wrong he was, the ball of fire appeared again and struck the road, light shining around it. The entire mass around them was surrounded in white light, both of them staring at it. As they stared, they both saw the small rainbow that was made from the vapor from the pool again, which confused Gary greatly. Why was such a large light creating rainbows? Once again shooting into the sky, the ball of light disappeared, leaving behind a trail into the sky. The trails of smoke seemed to intersect, creating a loop. The two lights then broke away, going into two different directions across the forest, leaving Gary and Ryou alone on the road. *** It was now night in Tokyo, but Gary and Ryou still stood where the ball of light left them. They were both shocked from the incident that had just occured. “Ryou... you saw those lights too... right?” Gary said, making sure he was not insane. “Yeah, it was incredible!” Ryou said happily. Gary picked up the visor of his helmet and looked out into the forest. “It felt like it moved something inside of my head...” He said, when suddenly the burst of light was back again. Gary fought the urge to scream as the light came shooting down in front of them, landing in a clearing of trees. Ryou slowly took off his helmet, and stared into the forest, a long with Gary. Both stood in silence for a moment, until Ryou broke with, “Should... should we check it out?” “Y-Yeah.” Gary said, not sure of what he was getting himself into. *** They could not believe what they are looking at. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. In front of where they stood, the flash of light that hit the ground was now inside a split tree, and it seemed like it was pulsating with something inside of it. Gary and Ryou had their eyes locked on the light, not being able to move. The light seemed to grow brighter as time passed, pulsating faster and faster. The light made a sound like a bell as Gary took a step closer. “This... this is the light from earlier?” Gary said this slowly, not believing his eyes. As soon as he said these words, a figure appeared inside of the light. Gary jumped back as far as he could, while Ryou continued to stare. Inside of the light seemed to be... “It’s... a pony!” Ryou said, awe sounded in his voice for the first time we were out here. Without thinking, Gary started to run towards the split tree that had the light within it. Ryou called out Gary’s name as he ran, but Gary did not care to listen. He had to see if what he was looking at was what he thought it was. With every step Gary took, the sound of bells started to ring louder. Ryou stared on as this was happening, now knowing what to do. Hearing a sound, Ryou turned around, seeing what had followed them. As Gary began to walk closer to the light, smaller lights started to trail off of it, and they each had the look of feathers. The scenery was beautiful, but Gary did not care for it. He had to make sure what he was looking at was real. Taking a few steps, Gary crept closer and closer to the pony inside the light. The pony seemed to be asleep inside of the light, resting. Gary jumped back when he heard a quiet voice whisper, “Pinkie... I am... Pinkie...” The ponie’s eyes opened, and stared blankly at Gary. She seemed to look confused, and Gary almost feel to the ground in complete shock. This pony... was the pony that Ryou had drawn in his sketchbook! Pink curly hair and all! The second these thoughts came to mind, the light around the pony began to fade, and she fell out of the tree into Gary’s arms. Ryou walked up behind Gary and said, “It’s... a pony!” As he said these words, a loud sound rang throughout the forest. Cutting staight through a tree in front of them, something that resembled a scorpions tail went straight towrds Gary. Gary held on to the Pink pony as he jumped out of the way of the tail, falling to the ground. The tail wrapped around the tree that the Pink pony had appeared from, crushing the base to splinters. The tree slowly fell down, revealing the monster that had come out of the forest. It seemed to be as tall as the monster Godzilla from the movies Gary used to watch when he was a kid, towering over them. It resembled a scorpion, which explained the tail that had attacked them. The monster had large red eyes that seemed to glow, it’s head moving constantly. Gary stared up at the monster with the pink pony in his arms and said, “What the hell is that thing?” The monster lowered it’s head to the ground, and started to dash toward Gary and the pink pony, it’s pincers snapping. It shot it’s tail out at them, and Gary jumped out of the way with the pink pony in his arms, leaving a hole in the ground where they stood. Gary started to run deeper into the forest with the pony in his arms, trying to get away from the monster. Out of the forest, Gary heard his motorycle’s engine rev, and saw Ryou riding on it, screaming what sounded like a battle cry. Driving straight towards the monster, Gary screamed after him. The monster turned it’s large head towards Ryou, and he jumped off the bike. The bike continued to speed towards the monster, hitting in directly on the temple. The monster screamed in what they hoped was agony, falling backwards from the speeding motorcycle. Gary stood on the ground with the pony in his arms, amazed at what Ryou had just done. He had just risked his life to save us! “That chased it away... somehow.” Ryou said, panting on the ground. Gary looked at him and said, “When something needs to be done, you do it...” His sentence trailed away as the pony moved her cheek closer to Gary’s touching them. Gary jumped back, and remembered he was carrying the pony the entire time. *** Ryou looked at the destroyed bike and said, “Uncle is going to be upset about this...” Ignoring Ryou, Gary took off his jacket and put it over the pony. “You seem cold... Wait, did I just put a coat on a pony?” The pink pony looked up at me and back at the jacket I put on it. She seemed to make a quiet nose as she looked at what it was wearing. Ryou looked at me with a blank face and said, “You do realize you just clothed a pony, right?” Gary laughed at looked down at her. “It happened so suddenly, I guess I can’t help myself.” The pink pony started to smell the jacket, and sneezed. “Don’t smell it!” Gary said to her with annoyance. “We don’t know if that thing from earlier will come again. Let’s hurry up and get away.” Ryou looked down at the pony and said, “Speaking of which, what are we going to do with this... pony?” Gary looked down at the pink pony, and the pony smiled up at me with the cutest smile I had ever seen. He was taken back for a second and said, “I was thinking about it... this pony... isn’t she like the one you drew?” “You mean my joke picture? No... she’s different.” Ryou said. “How so?” Gary said. “Yes, she’s different. I drew it according to what you said. Your ideal girl.” He replied. *** “Is your name Pinkie Pie?” Ryou asked the pony that was riding on my back. Pinkie Pie shook her head up and down and said, “Yes! I am Pinkie Pie!” Gary almost dropped the pony as he heard it speak. While Gary freaked out, Ryou was as calm as ever. “Earlier, we saw a light on the road and I wondered if it was you.” Ryou spoke without panic at all,and it was scaring Gary. “You sure can talk naturally like that, after everything that just happened. A pony came from the sky, it can talk, and a monster attacked us. Is that all a normal day for you?” He said this sarcastically, but was afraid of the answer. “Don’t you want to know about Pinkie Pie?” He said, ignoring my statement. Gary was close to saying how do you talk to a pony, but could only stutter out, “W-Well...” “You were the one who gave Pinkie Pie her name. When you said it back there.” Gary stared at him and said, “I didn't say anything out there... I just heard a voice in my head...” “Really? It’s a nice name. You have to be prepared, Gary.” “Prepared, you say? What do you mean?” “Who knows? It depends on you to find the answer to that. That monster from earlier is undoubtedly after this pony. If you don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble, it’s not like there’s any other choice but to make preparations...” While he spoke, something scattered around in the forest, and Pinkie Pie screamed. She grabbed on tighter to Gary’s neck, and nuzzled her nose on his shoulder. Pinkie started to shiver out of fear, and his heart started to melt. He softly said, “It’s all right... There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Pinkie Pie was trembling on him, and it started to tug at the cords of his heart. “Pinkie... Pinkie... I am Gary. Gary Takemoko.” Gary softly said this, smiling at the Pink Pony. “Ga... Gary?” Pinkie managed to say. “Don’t worry. I will definitely protect you.” Gary smiled at her as he said this, and she smiled at him with her eyes gleaming. Gary looked back at her, and he began to blush. Turning his head back to the road, he continued to walk. As quick as an arrow being realsed from the bow, his entire body felt light. Gary dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. “Gary...?” Pinkie said quietly. Gary started to hold his hear, like he was having a heart attack. “What’s wrong, Gary?” Ryou said worryingly. Gary started to cough out a small amount of blood, sweat puring out from his glands. His eyes started to close, and he whispered, “What is this... My heart feels like it’s going to jump out!” Ryou looked out into the forest and said, “The sound on the insects has disappeared.” As if that saying was cursed, the tail of the monster crashed out of the forest. The tail slammed itself on the ground in front of Ryou, causing him to fly backwards. Gary jumped off the ground, ignoring the pain in his heart, and yelled for his friend. What he did not notice was that a small portion of the tail was curling around Pinkie Pie’s leg, and without a scream, the monster lifted her up. Gary turned around in time to see her fly up, and Pinkie Pie scream, “Gary!” Gary felt a wave of addrenaline pass through him, and he jumped up to grab onto the tail. Trying to pry it open he said, “Let go of Pinkie Pie!” This was to no avail, and the monster lifted both of them up to it’s massive head. The monster started to flail it’s tail, trying to fling the small human that had grabed on to it. Gary screamed out, “You! Let go of her!” The monster swung out it’s tail and slammed both Pinkie and Gary into a tree, causing both Gary and Pinkie to fall. As Gary lay on the ground in pain, Pinkie said with worry, “Gary! Gary!” Gary slowly looked up at Pinkie Pie, who looked like she was about to cry. She quietly said again, “Gary...” and the monster screamed out in annoyance, looking for it’s prey that it had found. Gary lay on the ground in pain and said, “Run away, Pinkie!” Pinkie put her hoof under Gary’s neck, and lifted his head up. Gary said, “I can’t move my body. If only you...” Pinkie Pie shook her head quickly, shaking her mane. “No! Gary!” “Idiot! Hurry up and escape!” “No!” Pinkie Pie was on the verge of tears, shaking her head furiously. The tail of the monster found Pinkie however, and started to drag her away. The monster started to squeeze Pinkie with all of it’s force, forcing Pinkie to cough up blood and scream. Gary tried to move his body, but it would not respond. Gary screamed out, “Damn it!” . ..I told her that I would protect her... Is there nothing I can do? Damn it! DAMN IT! Gary’s face shot out with pain again, his heart feeling the pain it had earlier. He began to gasp for breath once more, sweating profusely on the ground. The blood that Pinkie coughed up shot towards him like a projectile, hitting him on the face. The blood began to spread around his body, causing him to scream louder. The blood reached his hair, shooting spikes out of his head. His arms turned into demon arms, stretching out a few feet. His voice was now being transformed, screaming out Pinkie’s name. His shirt shredded to pieces, and his new body emerged. A large P appeared on his chest, and it began to glow. The life was now being squeezed out of Pinkie, her breaths becoming short and raspy. She tried to scream for Gary again, but could not find the breath. Suddenly, a figure popped out of the forest and sped towards the monster, ripping off one the tail that held Pinkie. Gary held Pinkie as he was in the sky, his formal self now deep within him. Pinkie looked up at Gary, and Gary said, “Pinkie...” And they landed on the ground, creating a crater. Gary put her down in the crater and said, “Wait for me.” Pinkie quietly said, “Gary...” But Gary jumped off into the sky, ready to fight the monster. *** What on earth has happened to me... It feels as if I am about to burst out of my body... What is this power? Gary stuck out his leg, hitting the monster directly on the middle of the forehead. Reacting quickly, Gary spun around and kicked it on the head again, the monster flying backwards. The tail grabbed Gary as he was in the air, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. “So that’s how it’s supposed to be...” Gary said while smiling. Without force, Gary used his arms to shred straight through it’s tail, causing the monster to scream in agony. Grabbing the part of the tail that was still attached to the monster, Gary pulled it closer to him. Gary let go of the tail as the monster came flying at him, and punched it on the forehead, going straight through the skull. Jumping up towards the head again, Gary punched down directly the top of the head, sraight into it’s brain, splashing blue blood in every direction. The monster fell to the ground, and let out a small whimper of pain. Enjoying himself, Gary began to mercilessly beat the life out of the monster, tearing it apart. Laughing as he did so, he cut away at every limb of the monster. The monster began to whimper again, it’s eyes looking straight into Gary’s. Gary stumbled back for a moment, looking at what he had done. Around him was a crater of the fight that had happened, and he felt sick to his stomach. What on earth have I done... Gary looked into the eye of the monster, and saw the reflection of what Gary looked like now.I became this figure... I used this power... I did horrible things... This is enough... This is enough... The figure of Gary turned to normal within a second, leaving him on the ground. *** The monsters body fell over the edge of the mountain, landing in the crater Pinkie Pie was in. Once the dust from the fall disappeared, Pinkie looked at the sad creature. Pinkie Pie started to laugh very silently, standing up on her two legs. Her hair began to turn straight, losing it’s poofy stature. “You like this smell, don’t you? Yes. You will die.” Pinkie’s face now looked extremely serious, her hair now straight as a board. She started to giggle slowly, looking the creature in the eyes. *** “Pinkie! Ryou!” Gary stood near a tree, panting. “Damn it...” Gary looked up suddenly, hearing a sound. “Ryou!” He said. “Takeru.” Ryou responded. *** “Pinkie...Pinkie...” Pinkie Pie’s eyes slowly opened, showing her beautiful eyes. Her hair was in a poof around her, and she said, “Gary?” “Pinkie... I’m so glad-” He could not finish his sentence, as Pinkie screamed his name and embraced him in a hug, crying. “I was so... scared.” she started to tremble in his arms, and his heart exploded. “It’s all right... I will protect you.” Gary looked at what had happened in the crater. The monster that he had left close to death was now spread everywhere. Blue guts were across the ground and the walls. Pieces of the monster were in random places, massive holes inside some. “But... What on earth happened here?” Ryou said. Gary and Pinkie held on to each other as they looked at the guts of the monster across the ground of the crater. I defended the light from the monster on that day. I was able to Protect Pinkie... On the night of the full moon. Everything... began.