Whatever is inside of my subconscious is trying to get out and it's showing that by making all of the powers I have go insane. I try to pull something over from a distance, the object rockets out of the window. I try and get rid of a pink cloud with a gust of fabricated wind and the thing blows up. My suit from the party is now nothing more than ashes after I try and straighten it out. This funny buildup is beginning to frustrate me.
"Not yet," I say to myself, "You'll get your chance."
I walk outside to the balcony and see Ponyville, fires rage on several buildings and Guardians fly around and block off the bridges that enter the town. I can just see Discord in the town center sitting on some sort of throne, I fabricate a telescope and see him batting something that's attached to a stick, I look closer and see it's the mayor of the town. Discord stops batting the mayor, looks towards me and waves. The smile on his face generates more rage but I hold it back. Discord may be mean, but he can't be that bad. Can he?
"No, I think he'll be over it by tomorrow." I think.
But the thought doesn't bring me comfort. Nothing does. It's eating at me, the guilt that I betrayed an entire nation for my life. I mean it's great to not be dead but at what cost was it? Was this all worth it? During that party some ponies tried to help me but they all failed. More horrible thoughts enter my mind: The six ponies who were once my friends...being tortured, innocent and peaceful ponies beaten and attacked, who knows what it's going to be like for the young colts and fillies who'll have to grow up in such a cruel and unforgiving world. How are the Cakes getting on now that Discord is in town? Hopefully Discord won't touch them but there isn't a guarantee of it happening. I can't get anything out of my head, even as I bash my head against the wall the screams of the six haunt me. But as the horrible memory sticks with me, something else clicks in my mind something that almost brings me comfort: A song. I look up to the sky and remember it entirely, I heard it once when we first moved and it stuck with me. It was an epic piece and as I remember the lyrics, rather fitting to what's going on. I remember the night where I sung for the Crusaders and managed to get them asleep. Right now in the state my mind is in I don't feel like singing to myself but I'll end up jumping off this balcony if I don't. It'll probably be futile and I'll end up next to a very angry Discord. After all, singing might make me feel a little better.
"Okay," I say between deep breaths, "Here goes. Come on Scott, you can do this."
I start off weak, but as I get into the song I start to feel much better and much mentally stronger. I have no idea how but I can tell that the six are looking out of their cell window and listening to me. Same goes for the citizens of Canterlot, I feel them in a way, I can tell that they are listening. So much energy, so much power... It's like I'm being taken away to a place where I can escape this terrible, terrible place. I know what I did and I'm going to resolve this, whatever it takes. Just as I finish singing my bedroom door opens and a Guardian enters, I turn around and see the Guardian looking at me in a questioning way.
"You're here for a reason, spit it out," I say.
"Uh yeahhhhh," the Guardian said, he then straitens himself out, "We found a few intruders in the courtyard, thought you might want to see them so you can decide on what to do with them."
"Lead the way."
The Guardian leads me through hallways and doors until we come to a room next to the dungeons, a few screams escape the wooden door but I shut them out and follow the Guardian. What I see I cannot believe, the intruders are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. All three of them have chains around their necks and forelegs which is being held by a buff Guardian, they keep their heads down until I approach them.
"Scott!" Apple Bloom yells in what I can tell is happiness. She tries to grab hold of me but the Guardian holding her chain yanks back and she ends up next to the other two.
"Hey!" Scootaloo yells at the Guardian, "Leave her alone."
The Guardian lift the chain up and the three are dangling off the floor and being choked by the chains. I'm not putting up with this.
"Put them down, now!" I say sternly. The Guardian drops the Crusaders and goes back to holding the chain, the Crusaders are on the ground coughing and gasping for breath. I sit down in front of them and help them up.
"You girls okay?" I ask.
"No," Apple Bloom said.
"My neck hurts," Sweetie Belle moans.
"What are you doing here?"
"We were trying to see what was going on, Scott," Scootaloo said, "We didn't know that Discord had taken over."
"How did he?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Why are you wearing that armor?" Sweetie Belle asked me. Before I can reply a Guardian smacks Sweetie Belle.
"Don't speak unless you're told to!" he bellows at her, Sweetie cowers next to Apple Bloom and starts crying.
"That's enough out of you," I say to the Guardian, something has made them aggressive. The Guardian backs away and another speaks up.
"What do you want done with them, sir?"
"I say we toss them in the Hole," another Guardian said. A few nod their heads and agree.
"No, they are intruders." another pipes up, "We should give them the same treatment as that Blueblood. See how they like it."
Some stomping and evil sounding chants burst out from the Guardians. I don't want to know what they are thinking of but I have to get the girls away from them, I can see that they are terrified.
"I'll take care of them, make them my slaves."
"Nice idea, sir," one Guardian said.
"Gah! Why didn't I think of that?" another asks.
"Probably because you're thinking of sick ideas on how to torture these kids," I think as I take the chain leash from the Guardian.
The Crusaders still lie frozen in the same spot on the floor and even though I have them, the girls refuse to move.
"I don't wanna be a slave," Scootaloo whines.
"Let us go, Scott," Apple Bloom begs me.
"This is for the best," I say. I give them a "I'm going to help you" look and the three shakily get up and follow me. a few of the Guardians give them a kick and walk off laughing. The fact that I didn't do anything makes my blood boil but I keep a grip on the chain and give it a tight pull whenever I pass a few Guardians just to make it look like I'm in charge of them. We reach my room and the Crusaders, clearly afraid, dig their hooves in the floor and stop dead. I can't tell them that I'm going to find a way to help them or the Guardians might suspect something and tell Discord.
"Need help?" one of my room guards ask.
"Give them a bit of a nudge," I say. The two Guardians go behind the Crusaders and point their spears at them, the girls then dive into my room and hide under the bed, the end of the chain being the only evidence of them being there. I shut the bedroom door and then enchant the walls and door so that no sound can escape.
"Girls?" I say softly, "Girls, are you coming out from under there?"
"No!" a frightened Sweetie Belle answers. This discourages me a little but I brought them here to keep them safe.
"Come on, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you."
"Prove it," Scootaloo says.
"If I wasn't going to help you then I wouldn't have brought here," I say. Apple Bloom's face is the first to peek out from under the bed.
"Why did you bring us here?" she asks.
"I want to keep you safe," I reply. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle then follow.
"You-you sure?" Sweetie Belle asks me.
"I saved you kids once, pays to do it again."
"You really care about us that much?" Apple Bloom asks.
"I cannot leave you to the wrath of the Guardians," I reply.
"I'm still scared," Scootaloo said.
I sigh and usher the girls out from under my bed and I hold them in a tight hug. The chains on their necks and forelegs are cold against me. The only thing I can do for them is to take the neck chains off, which is exactly what I do. As the shackles fall to the floor the Crusaders rub their necks and hug me harder.
"Thanks, Scott," Apple Bloom said. I smile and make them look at me.
"You said that you were trying to figure out what was going on, correct?"
The girls nod but look nervous.
"I can tell that you're lying, there's something else behind it."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both look at Apple Bloom, who blushes and rubs the back of her head.
"We were kinda lookin' for you, Scott," she said, "We had heard that you and Pinkie made a huge cake and we wanted some. Ah came up with the idea to hide in the back of the machine until the coast was clear and then we would try and take some. We knew that we weren't allowed in the party but we really wanted some of the cake."
"So you sneak into a party that was turned into Discord's takeover?" I ask, then a tear drops from my cheek, "You really shouldn't have come. It's all my fault."
"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asks. Oh God, why didn't I keep my mouth shut? I huff and decide to tell the Crusaders what I told the six down in the dungeon.
"There's something about me that you don't know. Something that might scare you."
The Crusaders eye's widen in curiosity.
"What do you mean, Scott?" Scootaloo asks.
"I'm not what I look," I say, "I'm something completely different."
"You mean you're not a pony?" Apple Bloom asks. Good, she's figured it out. Now all I have to do is show them.
"Do you want to see something?" I ask them, "See a secret that I've been keeping ever since I arrived?"
The girls sit up and inch closer to me, I back away thinking that there might be some sort of energy field that could hurt the girls if they got too close.
"You might want to shield you eyes," I say. The Crusaders look away as I change my form once more for them. I check to see if there was a glitch in the changing process and once I confirm that I'm okay, I tell the Crusaders it's okay to look. They instantly dive back under the bed, I'm sure that the sudden sight of me scared them but I coax them out from under the bed and sooth their fears.
"So, you're not gonna hurt us?" Apple Bloom asks fearfully.
"No, I could never do such a thing."
"So is this want you used to look like?" Scootaloo asks.
"Yes, until Discord ripped me from my homeworld and dumped me here," I say with irritation but then hide, "Good thing he did otherwise I'd be dead."
"Dead?" Sweetie Belle asks, "How?"
"My world has been destroyed. I can no longer go back to it, everything that I ever cared about is now nothing but ashes and bones."
"Everypony you knew is now dead?" Scootaloo asks. I kneel in front of them and nod, Sweetie Belle nuzzles my arm and I slowly pull her closer to me, she feels bad for me and it brings me comfort. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo then end up hugging me and the connection that I had with Twilight flares up inside of me again and I hold the Crusaders closer to me. It does feel weird, being a human and interacting with the fillies. I hold them for another few minutes until some banging comes from my door.
"Oh Scoooott," Discord's voice sings through the door, "I've got another surprise for you."
Jesus, another one? Well I did help him take over the place, makes sense that he rewards me. Wonder what it is this time? I switch my form back to pony and leave the room, telling the Crusaders to stay put. Discord however tells me that they have to come because he wants them in a separate room. The fillies follow close behind me, their chains rattling as they run to keep up. We eventually reach the courtyard where the plan to overthrow the Royal Canterlot Family took place. The courtyard still looks the same even after two days after it all happened, crushed cups, bits of stale food, the tables, even entire cakes sit where they were on that fateful night. What is different is the Interceptor, actually more like what has been done to it. Now instead of it just being black with all the lights hidden, Discord has added more on the roof and given it a nice new paint job. On the side of it reads, "Chaos Enforcer". Discord also goes on to tell me that the engine has been improved and that the fuel supply is now infinite.
"Well, what do you think?" Discord asks me.
"You've really fixed it up," I say, "You've outdone it this time."
"Excellent," Discord says with a sinister grin, he then leans down over me and points to the Crusaders, "Now, about them."
"Leave them. I've got them as my own personal slaves, if that's okay with you."
"It's fine, Scott. I just want you to put them in another room so that they don't try anything." Discord said. I have no choice but to agree and find another room for the three, it's for their safety. I don't want them getting hurt.
"Come on, girls. Let's see if there's a nice bedroom for you to stay in."