//------------------------------//
// Midnight Sonata 
// Story: From Order to Chaos 
// by Neoandermcd 
//------------------------------//

Drake PoV:

“…There’s nothing to talk about” she said after a few moments her gaze still fixated on the burning flame.

“There isn’t?” I asked mockingly. “Oh I’m sorry is it that time of the month” I don’t know if she was embarrassed, pist or both as her muzzle turned a shade of red “Is that why you had that little…episode back there because if so then yes you are right we totally don’t have anything to discuss”.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine” she stated the blushes on her cheeks dissipating quickly.

“You know that could be interpreted to ‘I’m not fine. Everything is wrong’” I stated back.

“And that can be interpreted too ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about’” she retorted annoyed “Now please leave”.

“Nope” I stated as I leaned in towards her “Now you forced my hand Silver” I said my voice taking on a serious tone as the shadows covered my face giving me a more menacing look. “Now it’s time to…play a game” I said the shadows leaving my face to show me with a huge crazed grin.

“…” she just stared flatly at me and got up to leave though before she could take off I brought her into a hug and held her by my side.

Though she squirmed about she wasn’t able to get out of my grip “Oh don’t be such a spoiler sport. It’s a game where you don’t have to do anything anyways” I stated though she continued to squirm regardless.  “Now where to begin?” I asked out loud all the while carrying the, if I don’t say this she’d kill me, light mare while pacing back and forth. “You’re upset about something, no not upset though it plays a part I’d say you're angry about something, but about what?” I mused remembering the only thing she said during the whole episode. 

“You got ‘upset’ about how Mutt was following orders and stated he had a choice, but what could be the connection with you? Though let’s take a step back for a moment” I said literally taking a step back and once more resumed my pacing. “Something tragic must have happened though not to you, but to somebody close” I said though adopting a smug grin when I felt her visibly flinch. “Father? No could explain why you join the guards though, but not enough to explain your behavior. Mother? Again no would show signs of unease around Derpy or any other motherly figure. A sibling perhaps-” I stopped my train of thought after I noticed her becoming stiff as a plank. “Ah a sibling, but what could have happened to cause this?” I mused out loud.

“Please stop” Silver said barely above a whisper.

“A horrific injury?” I asked waiting for her to involuntarily flinch though never received one. “A miscarriage?” again no flinch. “Slavery?” she flinched. “Okay taken by slavers and you’ve been searching for her ever since?” no flinch. “You found her, but she was dramatically traumatized?” I felt a slight reaction to the first part of my statement. “You found her, but she was...killed?” she flinched. I mulled over what I learned so far making sure to tread carefully with my future questions...or interrogation...yeah that sounds cooler.

“Please stop” she said once more as she began to lightly shake though I didn’t hear her and pressed on.

“So when you found her she was dead though that raises the question why is this affecting you so much?” I mused out loud once more hoping, more like I figure since this is a cartoon world full of ponies and that this was one of those sad scenes going where she would eventually break down crying and explain to me what happened though so far nada, to get a response from her though all she was doing was shaking. “Now let’s bring back the piece of resistance the bit with you speaking to Mutt. You were angry that he was following order, but for a guard to say that is a bit hypocritical. I mean sure I bet they want you to question some stuff, but other than that they want you to follow orders passed down by your superiors. So with that in mind, and I’m just pulling this out of the top of my head, but they ordered you not to go after the slavers” flinch. “And that you knew where they were located” flinch. “Probably some political bullshit that was preventing you from going” flinch.

“Though this still doesn’t really answer the question” I stated as I shifted her to my other arm while stroking my imaginary beard. “Untold rage? No you’d snap at every living thing for just existing. Profound sadness? No you’d be more of an anti-social than you already are. Regret? Possibly. Guilt-” before I could finish my sentence I felt something smack me hard in the gut. 

Releasing Silver from my grasp I bent over in pain while she made her way towards her blade. Continuing with the momentum she shot towards a rock and then back towards me her mouth on the grip of her blade ready to cut me to pieces. Recovering from the blow instead of dodging I went towards her my hand reaching out to stop her from unsheathing her weapon. Though my plan of stopping her worked she didn’t deter in the slightest as she pushed off with her legs causing me to lose my footing. As we both began our descent she tried to unsheathe her blade once more, but I didn’t let her as I defied gravity by constricting around and pushing down on her blade once more.

She responded by kicking, biting and using her wings to slap me across the face surprisingly wings hurt...either that or I’m a cry baby. Anyways we struggled for a bit as we tossed and tussled over one another to see who’d come out on top, Derange.Not.One.Word. During the tussle I decided that it would be best if we took this somewhere else rather than getting the others involved. Charging my magic I focused on teleporting a few feet away from, thinking of the place that I wanted to go, and snapped my fingers. 

 Derange’s Pov:

It was a cold winter’s eve as I strolled down the desolate streets of Boston. The only company to call my own were the hollow steps of my own two feet along with the low roaring winds as trees would sway to and fro. Turning down through the park my feet stepped on the cold pure white snow that fell not too long ago littering the park in a beautiful white blanket. In the distance I could see the hypnotic flashes of red and blue go by followed by a low siren echoing out for all to hear.

Then a huge gust of wind bellowed down on me causing the snow on the trees to fall from their perch and towards the ground with a loud thump. Bringing my dark brown coat closer to protect me from the forbidding gust of wind I pushed forward determined to reach my destination.

A few moments later I had arrived  at my destination, yellow caution tapes placed all about while royal guards stood around in a perimeter keeping the public and news reporters out of the crime scene. ‘Vultures’ I sneered as I pushed my way towards the head of the pack much to the complaints I received.

Just as I was about to enter a generic guard stood in front of me“Sorry no civilians allowed” he cried out blocking my entryway.

Before I could retort a familiar voice cried out “At easy rookie” a white pony with sapphire blue hair, moderate cerulean eyes and a cutie mark of a shield walked up placing a hoof on his shoulder. “He’s with me”. The guard nodded and lifted the tape to allow me entry “Sorry about that” Shining said as we walked towards the apartment. “Everypony is just a bit on edge considering the...situation” he said with an easy going smile.

“So what seems to be the problem that the great and mighty Prince Shining can’t solve?” I asked venomously still not forgetting what he had done to me.

“...I can see you’re still...upset about what happened, but like I keep telling yo-” he tried to say but I didn’t let him as I pushed my head against his and glared down at him.

“Partner. Don’t. Betray one another” I roared in anger and then left him outside as I went indoors. The interior of the apartment was rather plain and dull as yellow and lime green wallpaper passed me by an occasional flower pot placed to add life to the rather dull entry way. Turning a corner I began my ascension up the stairs each sound of my step echoing off the walls though it wasn’t the only noise as another pair of hoof steps accompanied me.

“What was I suppose to do!?” he cried back as he came up beside me matching my steps the further we went up. “It was either you or my wife, my wife and future family! I was left with no choice!” he cried out justifying what he did to me.

I turned to him ready to yell at him once more glaring down at him with the untold rage of a thousand suns, but I couldn’t as he stood there with a sad, mad yet apologetic look on his face. Huffing in annoyance I turned down another corridor and said “I’m done having this conversation. Now why did you call me?”

“You’ll see shortly” he said grimly and then we both became silent as he led me towards the crime scene. 

Guards were placed all about standing still and unmoving as they kept the inhabitants inside their homes and away from the crime. Just as we were about to enter the one person I never wanted to meet or speak to again walked out “Oh hey guys *snort* what’s up?” Drake said. He was wearing a pair of light blue overalls with a checkered button shirt with a pocket protector full of pens and note paper. His black mane was curly like that of cotton candy and was wearing a pair of red glasses that made his eyes bigger than what they truly were.

“Drake” I stated my voice matching the weather outside.

Sensing my displeasure he jumped back in surprise and said in a shaky voice “Ha ha well it was uh nice seeing you again, but I need to get back to the uh lab” and as quickly as I saw him he left.

“Remind me again why you don’t like him?” Shining asked jokingly adding a jab to lighten the mood.

I shrugged him off and entered the room “Reasons” I simply stated. The apartment room was small consisting of a poorly cleaned kitchen/bedroom combo and a bathroom in the back that was also probably in bad condition as well. The room was vacant except for me, Shining, two ponies with a stretcher and the dead unlucky bastard face first into his cereal. 

Scanning the room I noticed a few interesting things: One that the door hinges were busted meaning a force entry, two the poor sand colored pony had a hole in his head going through the other side leaving a dent in the wall where the bullet stopped, three the window was opened leading me to believe the assailant shot the poor bastard and escaped down the fire escape. Though there was something still bugging me “This seems like a closed case” I said fixing Shining with an even look “Now for the third time. Why. Am. I. Here?” I asked punctuating each word to get my point across.

He fixed me with an even look as he reached into his coat pocket and threw an evidence bag on the table “This is why” he said and pushed it towards me.

Reaching for the bag I brought it up to eye level and froze as I looked at the offending item. “No...that’s not possible” I said with disbelief as the bag slipped from my hand and landed on the table. Shifting my gaze towards Shining hoping that this was some sick twisted joke he responded with a shake of his head confirming that it wasn’t.

Looking at the item once more in hopes of it being a mistake or a mirage a sense of dread came over me as my legs began to buckle from underneath me. Using the table as a support I looked long and hard at the object taking in every detail I could. The item was a slightly bloody joker card, set joker wearing a predatory smile while holding a sickle in one hand and the head of a pony in another, specifically created by the perp themself though at the bottom written in a black quill ink it read ‘Ante up’.

“...”

“...”

“...this is impossible” I said in a low voice turning to look at Shining once more “WE were there when it died!” I cried out.

“...It looks like it didn’t stay dead” he responded in a low voice and continued “And he’s back for us” throwing another evidence bag on the table next to the playing card. It held a picture of us back in the day when I could call him a friend. I was holding him in a choker hold while rubbing his mane vigorously while he tried to get out of it though big grins were plastered on our faces. In the background Cadance was rolling her eyes with a playful smile while Drake was jumping out of his seat as Shining and my prank unfolded as his drink spilled all over his shirt. 

Their was writing down below in the same writing style as before reading ‘Bets are placed and bets are won. Bets are placed and bets are lost. The game goes on and on though never ending, time to put up or shut up. I’m all in what say you? Time to ante up boys or all held dear shall be lost’ signed the-

*THUMP!*

“What was that?” Minuette asked as her ears swerved about trying to locate the source of the noise though more importantly interrupting my story.

Derpy was the first one to act as she took to the skies scouring the area. “I don’t see anythin...Hey where did Drake and Silver go?” she asked landing down near the children just in case something was amiss.

“Oh they just went off to go make out” I said offhandedly “Now where was I ah yes-” I said about to tell my story once more only for it to be interrupted.

“What no way...wait do they?” Minuette asked looking towards Derpy for confirmation.

“I don’t think they have that kind of relationship” she responded back with a shrug.

Before I could totally mess with them Dinky muttered though not low enough “I hope she doesn’t come back”.

Derpy turned towards her daughter with a shock expression “Dinky! You shouldn’t say things like that” she yelled like only a caring mother would.

“But mom-” Dinky protested, but Derpy wasn’t going to have any of that as she held her hoof up to silence her daughter.

“No buts young filly” she said in her ‘mom’ voice. “Now when Silver gets back I want you to apologiz-”

“no...” she said quietly her small frame lightly shaking while her face was turned towards the ground.

“What was that young lady?” Derpy said with a scowl as she glared down at her daughter ready to punish her only for Dinky to match her mother with a fierce gaze tears streaming down her muzzle.

“I SAID NO” she screamed her breathing becoming rampant. Everyone in the camp site cringed in surprise to her sudden outburst as we all fell silent the only noise were the sounds of heavy breathing and the crackling of the fire. “YOU WEREN’T THERE...you weren’t there...” she cried out once more though lost the intensity in her voice as memories of a few hours ago sprang back up causing her to bawl her little eyes out. Derpy brought her daughter into a hug though Dinky resisted at first she eventually caved in as tears began to soak up Derpy’s gray coat causing them to turn into a dark shade. Minuette soon joined in on the hug comforting the young filly by gently stroking her mane. “I hate her” she mumbled in between breaths.

“Oh Dinky...” Derpy tried to say but I decided to throw in my two bits.

“Then you should tell her properly” I said making myself comfortable as I leaned back into the wall. Derpy and Minuette looked at me aghast while Dinky and Wild looked at me oddly “What? Something on my face?” I asked removing my face and pasting it on the wall next to me. “Beep beep I’m a rock” I cried out in a silly voice getting a couple of giggles from the kids and more confused looks from the adults though I think it was the fact that the rock was flying rather than the previous comment.

“What do you mean tell her properly” party pooper Minuette asked Derpy nodding in agreement though had a slight smirk on her face.

*sigh* Returning the rock to its original place I then removed my face and placed it back on my face, yeah I’m getting tired of noting that joke so moving on, though it was placed upside down. “I think it is quite obvious what my statement means” I said like a sir “Also you appear to be upside down”.

“That’d be you genius” she said flatly though I was sadden by not getting any giggles this time.

“Ah yes well...whatever” I replied back with a shrug and righted my face. “And what I mean is that she should tell her instead of holding it in” I answered.

“And why in all of Equestria would you want her to say something so horrible to her” Minuette cried out. “I admit I don’t agree or condone with what she did, but to say something so harsh for doing her job of protecting us. It just doesn’t seem right”.

“What!?” Derpy turned on Minuette and continued “It doesn’t matter if it’s her job or not she did something terrible...no something devastating in front of two foals that could leave ever lasting scars”. It was slightly interesting to see two very close friends get into a heated debate like they were right now. I sat on the sidelines for a few minutes before I decided enough was enough. Snapping my fingers I summoned  two water balloons above their heads and let gravity do its job.

Before they could both gang up on me I snapped my fingers again and summoned two blow dryers that quickly dried them off. “Now I want both of ya to keep your mouth shut for the next five minutes okay” I said throwing the blow dryers into the fire to keep it going. Directing my attention to Dinky I looked her in the eyes and said “And you are going to listen to my tale attentively”.

They tried to protest, but became silent as I looked them over with a serious expression which must be rather effective since I suppose I’m hardly ever serious. Satisfied that they weren’t going to interrupt I started my tale “So a long time ago back in our, aka Drake’s, college days we were just about to go into the real world when we hit a lucky break. Long story short I saved a teacher, who was awesome and on friendly terms with, and offered to talk to his friend to get us a sweet job which we did. Excited about the news I gathered up my friends and family and told them the news. They were all excited for me wishing me the best of luck and what not and congratulated me” I said taking a moment to reminisce them. Shaking my head I continued to tell my tale “Anyway about near the end of the party, which means happy hour (and you kids will understand what I mean when you’re older), I got into an argument with my stepfather and yes my family divorced save your question till the end please” I said glaring at Minuette who smiled sheepishly and put her hoof back down.

“So yeah we got into an argument, which I don’t remember what it was about but probably something stupid. Anyway my stepfather was to sum him up a respectable ass. I admired him since he was there for me most of my life stepping in as a father figure when my real dad couldn’t be there for me, though he did visit whenever he could and was always there for me when I needed him, but he was also a huge asshole that could drive anyone up a freaking mountain. We both said some things that shouldn't have been said, we got into a brawl and then I left never looking back” I said solemnly though continued “About half a year passed and we came back onto neutral grounds at least greeting one another instead of ignoring one another's existence. Another half a year passed when I got a call from my mother telling me he was in the hospital something about failing heart condition or something, but didn’t really know at the time. As quickly as I could I got onto the next flight home” I said my tone turning sadder and sadder by the second the girls slightly getting teary eye and huddling together while Hunt was trying to play off his sadness for me.

“I arrive  back home and immediately make my way towards the hospital he’s staying at. Wasting no time I ask the nurse for the room, make my way up a flight up stairs and arrive to see my family in tears comforting one another. Before I could ask what was wrong or what happened I look past them to see a white sheet over a prone body. Slowly making my way towards it I lift the sheet up to see a tired old man with a peaceful smile on his face. The worst part of it all was that I never did get to talk to him before he left...so many things left unsaid” I said with a sad smile on my face the others had tears in their eyes, the occasional sniffle here and there.

Minuette was the first to recover and asked “So *sniff* what you’re trying to say is that you regret what you said to him all those years ago and never got the chance to apologize?”

“What? Buck no I never once regretted giving him a piece of my mind” I said they looked at me aghast once more, but before they could say anything I added on “But I do regret not letting him also know that even though he was a completely asshat that I always did and would respect him and love him like a real father”. I then turned towards Dinky with a sad yet serious expression “I will always be haunted by that day always knowing that he never really knew how I felt about him, but you...you still have a chance don’t let it go by like I did”.

She gave me a sad smile and nodded “Okay”.

Before anything else could be said I clapped my hands together and said “Enough of this emotional garbage and let’s get back to the story” though Derpy and Minuette wanted to talk to me about what was said I pleaded with them to just let it go for now and they complied, but I assume it was because of the two little foals getting excited for me to finish my tale. “Now where was I-Oh now I remember *ahem* signed the-

Drake’s PoV:

There are many point in one life where they make an honest mistake. When someone makes a mess, when someone files the wrong report or when someone sends out an email that wasn’t suppose to be sent to their boss and coincidentally gets them fired. Simple yet honest mistakes that tend to not have huge ramifications...though in my current situation I could not say such a thing as I royally fucked up. Pushing the mad, and I do mean in both meaning of the word, mare off of me I rolled away from her and into a kneeling position only to not see hide nor hair of her. Taking in my surrounding I recognized the area that we were at since we passed through here only a few hours ago. The land was scarce of anything noteworthy, the occasional rock as big as my head placed about, and in the distance I could see the jagged sea of spikes were are previous battle took place. Turning towards the skies in hope of locating the pist off mare I was mildly disappointed of not discovering her up there though the view was breathtaking. 

Back home during my college years such a sight was common place, but after so many years of being in cities/high populated areas I had forgotten what the night sky truly looked like. Stars as bright as the sun itself illuminated against the endless black sea of space each and everyone taking on familiar shapes like that of Leo while other took on shapes that I did not recognize though could still see their connection with one another. The moon was a beautiful orb of light that brighten the sky as well as the land on which I stood. Though I was brought out of my hypnotic gaze by the sound of hoof steps followed by the sound of a blade being drawn.

Reacting on instinct I jumped out of the way and once more rolled back into a kneeling position. It was a good thing too as I saw Silver slice down where I was at moments ago. She tsked in annoyance and sunk into the shadows completely erasing her presence ‘Okay I have a pissed off night guard who’s an expert in swordsmanship, it is currently night time meaning she has the field advantage, and she is extremely pissed off...not looking good so far’ I thought grimly. I tried to ascertain where she was at once more though this time I decided to use my sense of hearing rather than sight to locate her. My ears turned to and fro reacting on even the slightest of sounds though she was very crafty or quick since every time I thought I knew where she was she’d somehow end up right behind me. “So I can assume that we can’t just sit down and talk about this?” I asked my ears flickering back and forth and side to side, honestly I was surprised that they weren’t twisted up like a pretzel given the fact at how fast they were moving.

Her response was “Mucronibus Ventus” followed by the slash of her blade, the blade reflecting off the moon’s light, and three blades of winds soaring towards me at high speeds. As they tore through the ground I rolled out of harms way once more and watched the destructive path they took as they passed me by.

“So I’ll assume that's a no” I stated warily once more trying to locate her, but to no avail. After a few moments of silence, except the occasional shuffling of hoof steps, I sighed “Though I except that this is my fault and wish to apologize I don’t think you are in the right state of mind” I said calmly hoping to get some sort of reasonable response, but again to no avail. “So I suppose you leave me no choice, but to force you to listen” honestly I really wanted to avoid confrontation at this level, but if she was going to follow the ‘Kill first ask question never’ way of things than this...partnership was going to end rather quickly.

She laughed at my choice of words and finally responded back with “You expect me to believe You of all things to even have a chance of coming even close to touching me”. I just kept silent as she continued to laugh, once more playing with my senses and misleading me, and continued “Besides who says I’m just going to let you walk away” her tone turning deadly serious.

“So you’d just betray your leader’s trust by getting rid of me for no reason?” I asked though I had to once more jump out of harms way as her blade came crashing down.

“HA” she laughed sarcastically “ME betray them? They BETRAYED me first” she cried out and disappeared into the shadows once more. 

“And this justifies what you’re thinking about doing?” I cried out into the darkness. “Haven’t you heard of ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’ or ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’?”

“Yes I have heard those sayings” she spat out and continued “They are the ones who preached out love and harmony, when they don’t even know the meaning of the words pain and suffering. They are the ones that pretend nothing is wrong with the world and only cry out for justice, but when the ultimate decision is in their hoof’s they turn away and let those who deserve to suffer walk free because ‘they have a chance to change’. They are the ones who never had to be by someone’s side and sit there while they suffered a slow and agonizing death while you could do nothing to relieve them of their pain” she said though it seemed to struck close to home as she cried out sadly at the last part.

“And what of your sibling?” I asked, low blow I know but I’d was hoping not to have to resort to using them, and continued “What would they think about this is they were sti-”

“DON’T YOU DARE BRING HER IN!” she screamed and release a torrent of five blades of wind towards me. Rolling to the side I quickly found myself rolling out of harms way again as her blade pierced the ground I was at moments ago. “She has nothing to do with this!” she cried out tears streaming down her face as she glared at me, the moon perfectly in-sync as it stood behind her giving her a radiant glow.

“THIS HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HER!” I cried back and tried to continue but she was done talking as she pointed her blade at me.

“ENOUGH” she said and slowly sank back into the darkness. “I’m done talking. You have one minute to draw a weapon or else this will be over quickly” she said and completely erased her presence.

Trying to locate her I found that I couldn’t even hear her anymore as the only sound that I could hear was the fast pacing bumps of my own heart beat. ‘Okay calm down’ I thought to myself and slowed my heart beat down by taking a couple of deep yet steady breaths of air. ‘She has to be here somewhere, but the question is wher-’ I thought though I was soon brought out of it as I was then surrounded in complete and utter darkness. Looking up towards the sky I soon realized why she gave me a minute to get a weapon as a massive cloud covered most of the sky and all of the moon.

‘But that’s impossible! There’s not way she could have gathered enough cloud to cover the sky unless...she was doing it from the very start’ I realized and tsked at my own carelessness. “Of course she’d have tried to bring the area into complete darkness rather than having some light since not only does her blade reflect from the moonlight, but so do her wings” I berated quietly to myself.

“Thirty seconds” she called out from the side of me.

“Well two can play at that game” I said with a devious smile. Clapping my hands together, resulting in a loud echo, I brought my hands towards the ground and was happy to get the results that I wanted. The moment my hands made contact with the ground yellow sparks of energy raced out from my hands and all around the surrounding area. Small yellow transmutation circles began to form about, each one similar to the next, and slowly began to reshape the land around us. Thin beams of rock began to rise from the ground below and eventually reached their full height, which was about six feet tall and three feet wide, though there was now a lingering scent of lantern oil in the air.

Reaching into hammer space I brought out a white glove, which also had a lingering scent of oil on it, and placed it on my left hand though I noticed that there was a red transmutation circle on it. After the glove was secured I prepped my finger to snap and I half sang “Let there be light!” followed by the sound of my finger snapping. An arch of red energy sprang out from my fingers and towards the dozen of small rocky spikes. *Fwoosh* Came the sound as the newly made spike torches lit ablaze each one dancing with a small fire, but more importantly lighting up the area enough to see a few feet away. “There was light” I sang though I had a mad grin plastered on my face.

Clapping my hands once more I touched the ground again and watched in amazement as the very earth below me began to mold around my right arm and left leg. Though the very earth began to sink back in on itself I watched as a metal protector slowly formed around both of my limbs. A few moments later both my arm and leg were covered in a light, though rather strong, steel like sheathe the fire giving them a nice gleam in the darkness.

Standing to my full height I prepped my fingers once more and got into a defensive stance, using my arm as a shield. Putting on the biggest cockyest grin that I could muster I continued my song “Let there be sound~” a familiar rock song began to echo out from nowhere “And there was sound. Let there be roc-” only for the song to make a 180 and began to play this. Midly dissapointed that it wasn’t rock I did have to admit it sound much cooler given the context. “Eh that’ll work” I shrugged and looked out into the field of torches “Shall we begin?” I said still wearing that same cocky smile.

Silver Pov:

He had the biggest cockiest grin plastered on his bucking face as he continued to stand there unmoving. Quickly yet silently I circled around him towards his left side making sure to hide where the light from the torches couldn’t reach. I gripped the handle of my blade in my mouth and got into a running stance, my legs tensing up, while my wings were ready for take off. 

Though I was ready to go I couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Looking around the area he was still standing at I looked for any kind of trap that he might have placed, but couldn’t find anything. Changing my gaze towards his ‘new’ equipment I once more looked for anything out of the ordinary, but again came up empty. ‘What the hell is wrong with me’ I berated myself. ‘I’ve seen what he’s capable of, which isn’t much, and the only thing I need to look out for is his magic’ I thought and steeled myself for what I was about to do.

Tightening up my muscles even more I then released the tension in my body and shot off towards Drake from the side. My blade was halfway drawn out, ready to slice him cleanly in two when at the last second he ducked out of harms way and brought his left leg towards my left side. Twisting my body, with the aid of my wings, I was able to turn my body just enough to use my sword to deflect the blow though the force of the impact sent me off course. Recovering quickly I sank back into the shadows and made my way over towards his right side though all the while he stared at the place I was last seen.

‘What the buck!? How did he do that!?’ I screamed in my head in frustration. I took a moment to replay the events quickly in my mind, but the more I thought about the more I became enraged from it. ‘It must have been a fluke’ I said taking a deep breath to calm myself down. ‘Yeah that’s it a bucking fluke’ I reasoned with myself and got into a sprinting position one more. 

With my next move planned out I sprang into action once more though this time I quickly sprinted towards him from behind. Just as I was about to unsheathe my blade once more he turned again and used his right arm as a shield. Sparks danced in front of our eyes as he deflected my attack and he followed up his counter with a roundhouse kick. Quickly ducking out of the way I then followed up with a vertical slash,but he simply side stepped out of the way. Cocking his arm back he then took a swing at my exposed back though he wasn’t quick enough as I backpedaled out of there and into the shadows once more although he did leave a nice crater in his wake.

He pulled his arm out from the ground, gave it a light shake and resumed his battle stance while looking into the shadows for any sign of me. ‘No.No.No.No this isn’t right’ I thought in frustration. ‘There has to be some sort of trick’ scouring the battlefield again I came up with the same results as before. ‘Buck it then’ I screamed as I gathered the wind around my blade, set blade ready to slice down towards him and release the payload. 

‘Let’s see how you handl-’ though I didn’t get to finish my thought as I realized that A) he was staring right at me and B) he had his fingers prepped to snap. A loud audible snap echoed out followed by a small red electric like current heading towards me. Using the wind I gathered I speed off and out of harms way just in time as an explosion rang out where I was at moments ago. Though the explosion wasn’t enough to kill, more like cause some bruises or possibly break some bones, I was beyond furious to even notice at the time.

‘This is fucking impossible! If he had this kind of skill then why was he holding back!?’ I roared in my head my blood boiling with rage. ‘Unless...he wanted to play the hero’ I thought and continued on with that train of thought all the while clenching my teeth ‘He was probably waiting for the right moment to show off and come off as the ‘big’ hero earning himself respect and recognition for his hard work’. 

Unacceptable. Unacceptable. Unacceptable. Unacceptable. Unacceptable! Without even a second thought I charged at him with blind recklessness my blade already unsheathed as the wind danced around the tip of the blade. Caught off guard he barely jumped back in time to dodge my strike though he wasn’t able to dodge the small blades that I released towards him. Small blades of winds nicked and sliced his entire body covering him head to toe with small gashes though they weren’t deep enough to hinder his movement blood still poured out of his wounds.

He winced in pain, but soon recovered has he charged towards me. Closing the distance between us he kicked at my left side with his metal encased leg. Ducking underneath the blow once more I then slashed at him from a lower angle though he proved to be rather flexible as he bent his body back barely dodging my attack as it left another gash on his body. Tsking in annoyance he backpedaled out of range, but I wasn’t going to let him off so easy as I gathered the winds around me once more.

Seeing this as an opportunity he snapped his fingers again, a red spark heading towards me once more, while I continued to gather more and more of the wind causing the torches to waver. Getting ready to dodge the explosion again I was surprised to see the spark reach about half way before it shot back to its master. “Oh buck me sides way!” he exclaimed as he quickly tore the glove off and tossed it away from him while jumping out of harms way. As the spark reached towards the object a loud explosion roared out as dust and debris scattered all over the area.

Though he dodged most of the explosion he was still disoriented by the blast as he slowly got back up. I didn’t waste anytime as I began a slow run towards him, the wind picking up with each step I took, which eventually changed into a full on sprint. The winds roared to life as I became a small tornado of wind, the ground breaking apart with each step of my hooves, as I nearly closed the distance between us. 

He went bugged eyed as I merely came upon him though for his credit he reacted rather fast as he clapped his hands together and touched his right encased arm. A yellow light shined out in the darkness as his arm began to glow momentarily blinding me. The once encased arm was now only attached around his mid arm forming a casing around it. Sticking out was a simple rounded shield big enough to cover half of his body. Just as I was about to crash into him he brought his shield up to bare and planted his feet firmly into the ground.

Unable to change my course I charged head first into the shield, a loud and audible thud echoing out, as the wind exploded towards him. The shield bent inwards thanks to the blow, but it did its job well as it didn’t break though thanks to the force he skidded a few feet away as a trail was left in his and my wake. 

I growled feraly as I watched him stand to his full height the wind dancing around my very body once more. I noticed his wounds slowly patching themselves up as he tossed his now ruined shield to the ground. He then reached down, unhooked his leg protector and tossed it near the shield as well. “I see that you really aren’t holding back anymore and it would be an insult to do the same” he said stoically. Clapping his hands once more he brought them down on his creations, the items shining a brilliant yellow, and placed his right hand above them. 

The items began to reshape once more as a long column of light extended out from the center. As if answering his call it reached out towards him the column following his hand as he slowly stood back up to his full height. Just as he stood to the epiphany of his height the yellow column of light dulled down revealing a pole. The pole stood easily as tall as Drake, maybe a few inches shorter, with a beautiful silver metal body and black lines weaving around from the very tip of the pole to the bottom. With a quick twirl he got into a low position, one end aimed towards me, and said “Last chance Silver don’t make me get serious”.

I didn’t say anything as his words confirmed my suspicions. My left eye involuntarily twitched as I stood there, the wind gradually picking up even more, as my body lightly shuddered. My blood began to boil in rage as I gradually lost what little control I had as my body took on a bipedal position, my wings spread out to help me balance, as I held my blade towards the heavens. Thunder and lightning began to dance across the skies as the already dark cloud seemed to take on an even darker shade. As if answering my call a loud and thunderous boom echoed out followed by a streak of lightning heading towards it. My blade already deadly became even more so as it was now coated with a purplish streak of electricity sparks occasionally flickering off of it.

Honestly I was never very good at wielding lightning, even though it was natural for a Pegasi, I just could never get the hang of it. Sure I understood the concept of it and could shoot a streak out from a thundercloud, but I always had trouble when it came to more complex stuff. Though it is also the strongest element of magic that I have in my arsenal and at the moment I really didn’t care as I wanted to completely and utterly evaporate him from the face of Equis. Pushing off with my rear hooves, while using my wings to give me a boost, I closed the distance within seconds and brought my sword down upon him.

But before I made it even half way a gut wrenching pain shot through me as something struck me. The sparks from my blade dispersed as I lost concentration on it and instinctively reached down to console my pain only to feel something long and cold. Looking down I was surprised to see the very same pole sticking out of the earth...no it wasn’t sticking out from the earth but a portal as I noticed a rather small and distinct blue outlined circle in the ground.

Pulling his weapon out, the portal disappearing a few seconds later, he gave it a quick spin and brought one end down on top of my back. Getting slightly over the gut wrenching pain I turned my body in time to block the attack, though thanks to still being in the air, I was then sent to the ground hard. Shaking off the blow I tried to bring my weapon to bare but felt a sharp jab forcing me to let go. He then jabbed at my blade forcing it to be out of hoof reach as it landed blade down into the earth. Rolling onto my gut I tried to get away but fell back to the ground as a massive amount of weight forced me to the ground. I tried to wiggle and kick my way out from underneath the weight, but to no avail as I was now stuck in place. 

As I continued my attempt to escape I felt my hoof brush against the back edge of my blade. Desperately reaching out for it I almost had it until “Ah ah ah” came the voice of the most annoying bastard of a whore as my blade was lifted away from my grasp also he was the fat ass that was sitting on top of  me. “You’ll get this back once you don’t want to dismember me” he said while, I could only assume, wagging his finger towards me.

I roared in rage as I thrashed about “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

Though he didn’t even budge or flinch as he responded back “Yeah saying things like that doesn’t help your case out” and there we were me underneath him while he sat there with what I could imagine was a bored expression. There were many things going through my mind at the moment but one of them stood out the most ‘I swear when we get back I’m aski-No demanding for a raise’.

Drake PoV:

A few hours passed as I stared up at the night sky, the clouds making themselves scarce many hours ago, as I held Silver’s blade in one hand and my pole in the other. I sat on my rather comfy spot and admired Luna’s beautiful work once more though was brought out of it as Silver smacked my side again. “For the...hundredth time I’m not getting up until we talk about it” I stated firmly though she ignored me as she continued to smack my side in a rhythmic pattern. After the tenth executive hit I decided that retaliation was in order. Shifting my body to look at the back of her head I prepped my finger and began flicking her ear matching her pace with every blow.

She flickered her ears after the sixth time and growled out “Quit it” follow by another blow to the side.

“You first” I retorted.

“No you”

“No you” I said during our childish little bout also each time we responded back to one another our blows seemed to have increased in strength.

“You started this”

“Nuh uh”

“Yeah huh”

“Nuh uh”

“Yeah huh”

“Nuh uh you started hitting me on the side” 

“You’re the one who brought us out here to begin with!” she cried back.

“And you’re the one who just won’t talk about what happened” I retorted though was surprised that she didn’t smack my side like before. She just layed there with, what I could only imagine, an angry pout huffing in annoyance every so often. 

Bored once more I brought her blade up and decided to examine it. It looked like any other kind of katana a simple black handle with yellow like diamonds pattern going down the middle of it with a yellow/goldish like hilt and a steel like material though I wasn't sure about that. Though something felt off about it. Examining the hilt more closely I could feel a strange magical like energy gathering towards it. ‘Peculiar’ I thought as I continued to look at the hilt. ‘This could be the reason why she can use her magic which explains why she hasn’t escaped and beat the shit out of me yet...damn and I honestly thought that we were making progress’.

“You know I was always a fan of wind magic” I said absent mindedly and continued “Care to know why?”

“No, not really” she stated back flatly.

“Well it’s simple my dear” I said completely ignoring her comment. “One reason is because its the most versatile of magic out there, granted I don’t know all of the school of magics but let’s make it simple. Water: take at the oxygen and poof it’s gone, Fire: same thing plus if you put too much air into it it’ll put itself out and Earth: You could either cleave the pieces of earth being thrown at you into dozen of little pieces or use the wind to force it away from you” I said while holding her blade up towards the sky the moonlight reflecting off of it.

“Really don’t care” she responded though was ignored once more.

“But I also like Wind magic because it can be viewed as a metaphor for freedom” I said sadly reaching towards the heaven with my other hand. “Absolute freedom. Nothing to hold you down nor hold you back as you go wherever you please. But at the same time being anywhere and everywhere when you are needed. Subtly helping those that you care for and making sure they’re safe” I said finishing off my little monologue.

After another moment of silence Silver spoke up “How’d you do it?” Sensing my confusion she clarified her question “How were you able to know/keep up with my speed?”

“Oh well it’s quite simple really once you think about it” I responded.

“...And?” she asked.

“Well where's the fun in me telling you” I answered with a sly grin “Besides you’re smart you’ll get it...or we could do a trade” I mused and continued “You tell me your secret and I’ll tell you mine”.

“Or I’ll tell the others about your actually secret” she threatened. I raised an eyebrow towards her and thought about what she could be talking about. Then it hit me like a pie to the face...speaking of which that sounds delightful right about now. 

Snapping my finger I summoned a slice of pie and slowly began eating it. While in between bites I said feigning ignorance “And what secret might that be?”

“Don’t play dumb...well dumber in your case” she said with a cruel smirk and continued “About how you're not from this world and are currently in the middle of some massive game”.

Finishing off my pie I licked my lips remembering the sweet flavor of it, it was jelly bean flavored, and responded “So either you were listening in on one of our conversations, the princesses informed you or all of thee above”.

“Doesn’t matter” she responded back and pressed on “So either you get off me right now and never speak of this again or I’ll not only tell the others, but inform any other ‘chess piece’ about who you really are”. 

“No you won’t” I said half heartedly while lazily twirling my pole in the air using one finger to balance it while I flicked it with my tail.

“Wanna bet” she growled.

“No because it’ll be a losing bet on your part” I replied back and continued “It’s also the fact that deep down you wouldn’t do that because it’ll inadvertently bring harm towards the others, but mostly you don’t want to cause any physical or mental harm towards Dinky”. I paused for a moment to think of any other reasons and finished up with “Also it’s not really a secret and honestly do you really think that’d change their opinion about me hell if anything it’d explain my very reasoning/logic”.

“Fine then!” she cried. “Then how about the fact that you were holding back during the fight!” she said her voice becoming desperate as she continued “In the end who do you think they’ll side with then!” I had to admit it was a valid point. In the end I was the cause for everything that could have and did happen.

“You’re right I am at fault just as much as you are” I said somberly. “And I could only hope that they would except my reason why...”

“Oh how I’d love to hear this” she said venomously.

“You really don’t get the burden that I have do you” I asked though it sounded more like a statement.

“Burden? Pfft Please” she responded back. “Do you know how many ponies would kill for the powers you have?”

“My point exactly” I agreed with her and continued “Think about it for a moment the power to essentially alter, change and will reality to do whatever you want though I admit that with my level of power it is quite limited, but nonetheless it’s very...tempting to miss use.” I won’t deny that I’ve haven’t been tempted to just leave Equestria far out of reach from not only the princess, but the EoH bearers as well to live my life as I see fit. With my power I could probably rule an empire, start a harem and many other of things that would be too long to list out. But something kept me here something driving me to stay. Responsibility, loyalty, honoring a deal again the list could go on, but the fact remains that my power could easily be misused in the wrong hands.

I chuckled hollowly as a thought occurred to me. Sensing her confusion I elaborated “Back home we had this device called a gun. It was rather simple really point it at the man you want dead, pull the trigger and bam falls over dead. But there were always...issues revolving around it. Anyways there was this quote and again it was rather simple ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people’. Now you can imagine there were two sides to the argument, but I always felt that the previous quote was true. Guns, swords, bows, magic or hell a rock all have one thing in common...they have no will. They do not have a will to decide what to do or how to act, but merely go with the flow of things. In the end they are merely tools and how they are used is up to the individuals. Now where was I going with this?” I thought out loud, but then remembered. “Oh right, anyways in the end I not only fear the raw power that I wield, but fear what could happen if I lose myself”.

Silence came quick as we sat there processing what we had said to one another. “Why...why is it so important for you to know? Why can’t you just let it go?” she asked me though I couldn’t see I could tell she was starting to tear up as memories from long ago sprang back up.

I thought about the question carefully. Why did it really matter? People are entitled to their own dirty secrets yet why am I persisting on forcing her to talk to me about it. I’m no shrink or have any really experience with comforting other yet here I am sitting next to, well technically on top of, her in the hopes of comforting her. In all honesty there was only one real reason why I persisted though it was also the most cliche one. I calmly stood up, much to the voice in the back of my mind telling me otherwise, and stood in front of her hand held out to help her up “Because you're my friend” I said with a small smile.

We stared at one another for what felt like minutes, me holding out my hand to her while she continued to stare at me. Until she suddenly snorted though caught herself as she began to lightly chuckle. A few seconds later I was joining her in laughing because in all honest that was probably the lamest/cheesiest thing I’ve ever said. “That...that was so lame” she said getting over her laughing fit.

“Well technically you're the first friend I’ve made since the past fives years or so, but yes it was a completely lame statement” I agreed with her still holding out my hand to her. She tentatively accepted my offer as I helped her back onto her hooves. With a quick flourish she sheathed her blade and put it back in its rightful place. Following along with her idea I gave my pole a quick flourish as well and then placed it into the recess of hammerspace for later use.

When I turned to look at her I noticed she had a contemplative look across her muzzle. I opted to stand there and wait for her to think though it didn’t last long as she sat down “Back when I was first starting my military career I was already way ahead of everypony else” she began her somber tale. Taking a seat in front of her I listened attentively “Passing my test with flying colors, whipping my fellow recruits into shape and getting recommendations to the best of the best. Hell there was even talk of putting me on the list of candidates to one day replace Captain Barricade of the Pegasus Guard” she said with a sad yet reminiscing smile. 

“Though that quickly changed” she said and elaborated “Back then the borders and laws involving the D-dogs coming into Equestria and taking slaves were non-existent. Sure we stopped them as best as we could, but it wasn’t enough. Anyways I was away on business, patrolling the western borders, when one of my CEO inform me that my sister was taken” sadder and sadder her tone was going as she continued though the occasional tone of rage would seep its way in. 

“I head back and rally up as many ponies that I could, but was ultimately shut down because there was a ‘chance’ that a D-dog embassador was lodging where my sister was taken. So then I turn towards my grandfather for help, being an influential stallion, it’d be easy for him to gather a small task force to help out, but no he was too busy using his power to send a message to a group of thugs rather than helping his own granddaughters!” at this point she was screaming an angry glare now spread across her face. 

She took a moment to compose herself, though it didn’t do much, and continued “So with no one to rely on I opted to go on my own and headed there as fast as I could. When I arrived it wasn’t difficult to sneak my way in, but then...then I...I found her...” tears streaking down her muzzle as her voice began to waver. “She was in the center of some sort of arena surrounded by all the other captives...just...just lying there...and” it was obvious at this point that she wouldn’t be able to continue without going back into some sort of relapse.

 Scooting over towards her side I brought her into a comforting hug and said as comforting as possible “That enough for now.”

She didn’t return the hug nor did she resist as we sat there a few minutes in silence. A few moments later she composed herself “Thanks” she said and got up. Taking a few steps away she stared intently at the moon for a moment, the light giving her a radiant glow, and turned back to me with a smile “Shall we head back?”

“Of course” I replied back as I joined her by her side opting to walk on all four instead of bipedal because I do what I want. “But first you’ll have to tell me what you did with the real Silver since she doesn’t look so adorable when she smiles” I cooed jokingly. 

She responded with a quick smack to my face and said in a sweet yet threatening voice “And if you ever tell anyone about this I’ll not only beat the shit out of you but shove your manhood so far up your ass you’d wish you were a mare”.

I saluted mockingly and said in a french accent “Message received Capitan”.

A few hours passed as we arrived back to our campsite. The girls were all snuggling together while the colt was in his own sleeping bag though we were greeted with a wave from Derange as he stroked the fire “Took ya two long enough” he said quietly gesturing for us to take a load off. Silver sat across from the others while I sat next to my other half “So Silver must like it rough since during my story I had to stop from all the cuts and bruises that covered my body” he said while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively towards Silver. 

She just gave him a flat look and asked jokingly, or I hoped so, “Can I please kill him?”

“Sadly no” I said with a shake of my head and continued “We, and I hate saying this, need him”. Derange started to make funny faces at her in attempts of provoking her though she kept her composure well and just ignored him “But you can beat the shit out of him later” I said with smug grin. He instantly stopped his attempts to provoke her and slightly leaned towards me in hopes of using me as a meat shield.

Silver just gave a creepy smile aimed towards Derange and said “Can’t wait” though she immediately let out a loud yawn. 

Deciding it was way past bedtime we opted to take shifts keeping an eye out “I’ll take the first watch” came a voice from my right side that sounded similar to Derange.

“Thanks Derange. Wake me up in a few and night Silver” I said as I leaned back into a comfortable position.

“Night” Silver said already laying down.

“Don’t know why you’re thanking/asking me about taking the first shift, but night” Derange said as he copied my laying posture to the left of me.

“Well technically it’s morning, but that's neither here nor there. Have a nice rest” came Derange’s voice again.

As I slowly began to drift off into sleep I shot back up and looked at Derange. My other half and Silver copying me a few moments later as we looked at one another in confusion “But I thought you were going to take the first shift” Derange and I asked one another at the same time. “Me! No you said it” we continued. “Stop copying me!” we both cried out at the same time. “...Nick nack patty wack give a dog a bone~!” we sang in unison.

“Ahem don’t mean to interrupt but singing could possibly wake up the others” came a voice from my right. Turning to look at the individual I gawked in surprise at him.

“Oh Celestia, Luna and Faust not another one” Silver said as she flopped back down to the ground followed by a facehoof.

The creature sitting next to me was Derange’s mirror image; so his wings, hands, legs and horns were on the opposite side; though unlike Derange he gave off a rather calm yet peaceful aura. “I assure you Miss Silver I’m nothing like my alter ego” he said in Derange’s voice those it was more refined now that I listened carefully.

“And who the buck are you suppose to be?” Derange asked though made sure to keep his voice down.

The copy gave him a once over and continued “I’m like you who is a part of everything Drake is or isn’t in your case” he said summoning a teacup full of tea, taking a quick sip and continued “I’m every aspect of order and harmony within his very mind and soul you may call me Jyggalag” finishing his introduction with a slight bow.

“So you're the pansy side of us” Derange said with a nod.

Jyggalag just looked at him with little to no interest and said “I assure you I’m not a ‘pansy’ by any means”.

“Also you stole that name from Elder Scrolls” Derange pointed out which explained why I was familiar with that name.

“And you stole your name from Discord’s son by using a synonym of disarray” he responded back evenly.

“Yeah well...Drake’s name is unoriginal” he said trying to weasel out of...actually I wasn’t sure what he was trying to weasel out of.

“That may be true, but we’re talking about us not him” he said taking another sip from his cup and added on “Granted ignoring the fact that he is us as much as we are of him”.

“Yeah well...Shutup Mr. I think I know everything pants” Derange quietly cried out.

“Not everything just more than your infinitesimal brain can handle” he replied back as he then took a quick sip of his drink. Derange just looked at him dumbly, which wasn’t hard, and scratched his head in confusion. Jyggalag just sighed in annoyance and answered him while shaking his head in disappointment “It means small”.

“I knew that I was just testing you” he lied through his teeth.

“No you didn’t”

“Yes I did”

“No you did-” Jyggalag tried to say, but I interrupted.

“Children please stop before I have to separate the both of you” I said too tired to listen to them argue.

“Very well” Jyggalag said with a nod.

“Kiss ass-OW that hurt jackass!-OW why the buck did you hit me!?” Derange said as I hit him first followed by Silver.

She shrugged in response as she returned to her seat and said “It looked like fun”.

“Look we need to get some sleep and I’m rather tired right now” I explained the past few hours catching up to me. “And no offense Jyggalag, but I don’t trust you...also no Derange I don’t trust you that much either which is why I want you to stay up with him” I clarified to my copies since Derange was giving him the bird during my explanation.

“Of course, perfectly reasonable for you to be suspicious of me” Jyggalag responded back knowingly. “And you will have my full cooperation”.

“Brown nosing kiss ass” Derange quickly coughed out.

Before I could tell Derange to shut it “Speaking of which I should point out that he” Jyggalag said while pointing at Derange “Has been lying to you...Well not lying, but not telling you everything”.

I just raised an eyebrow towards Derange who was wearing a nervous smile and said “Please do tell” gesturing for him to continue.

“For starters did he tell you that we are currently fighting for con-” he started but didn’t finish has Derange clamped his mouth shut.

“HA HA HA GOOD one buddy” Derange laughed nervously while patting him on the back “This guy right here is such a kidder” he continued. He then leaned in closely to Jyggalag and whispered though not low enough “Shut your pie hole you idiot”.

“We heard that” Silver said while I nodded.

“Eh well uh you see” Derange said trying to think of a way out of it. Eventually he gave up and crossed his arms in annoyance “Fine whatever go ahead and tell him, but I only didn’t tell him for his own good” he clarified as he sat to his other...other half?....yeah let’s go with that...I think.

“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted” he said give Derange a quick glare before continuing “That we are all currently fighting for, and I say this loosely, head control of your body”.

I mused over what he told me while Silver looked between the three of us. “So far I’m rooting for you Drake if not then Jyggalag is the runner up”.

“Oh I see how I rank on your list” Derange said acting disheartened towards Silver. “Well at least I’m above dirt and bugs” he continued.

“No that’d be insulting towards the bugs and dirt” Silver said with a sly smile.

Before another comment could be made I threw in my two bits “Technically wouldn’t it just be between you and me since this moron over here lost a bet to me?” I asked.

“No and I believe I should have been more clear with what I said” Jyggalag replied and continue “Have you notice anything different the past few days?”

“Besides being and gaining magic here not really ” I answered.

“Really?” he asked me dubiously and continued “What about different thought patterns, moods, expressions and interactions with other being?”

“...Well recently my thoughts have been more...spontaneous” I answered truthfully then it hit me. Looking  at him he nodded his head subtly letting me know that I had the right train of thought.

“From the way you look you understand now what I meant” he said though decided to explain it anyways “There are many different variety of fighting, but the kind we” he said gesturing to me, Derange and himself “are doing is within the mind” he said while tapping lightly against his noggin.

“And how exactly does that make sense?” Silver asked half-heartedly.

“It doesn’t” we all answered at the same time.

Though Jyggalag continued “But a famous man once said ‘When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’. Besides it’s more along the lines of...dominance. Whoever has the most control in the end wins and therefore gets main control of the body in which we reside in”.

“...Yeah I’m done” she said as she made herself comfortable and closed her eyes.

“Yeah I agree” I said while pinching my eyes with my index fingers. Today has just been too long with what had happen that all I wanted to do was sleep the night or day technically away. “Derange and Jyggalag take the first watch and wake me up in a few hours” I said while getting into a relaxing position.

“Right sweet dreams” Jyggalag said as he threw in a bundle of firewood into the fire.

“Yeah whatever” Derange said with annoyed pout. I would have said something to him, but I was just done with the night/day that I decided to apologize later. And then sleep came to me quickly.


I awoke to the sound of sizzling deliciousness as the aroma filled the area we were in. I groggily leaned up and looked at the fire where Minuette was cooking. “Mmmm bacon” I said my mouth drooling up thanks to the smell of the food.

“Technically hay bacon, but all the same it taste very similar to the bacon from home” Jyggalag said not even bothering to look at me as he continued to read his newly acquired book.

“Doesn’t matter still bacon” Derange said through a mouthful of bacon.

“Morning” Minuette said finally acknowledging my presence. Flipping the bacon over she then turned to me and said “So when were you going to mention him?” while gesturing to my new double or is it triple.

“Well in my defense you guys were asleep and I know how much you girls need your beauty rest” I said jokingly while platting up some food. “Though I’m surprised you’re taking this rather well” I admitted.

“At first I was a little hesitant” she admitted with an awkward smile. “But after talking with him I realized he’s way different then Derange is and I enjoy his company”.

“As do I Miss Minuette” Jyggalag responded back.

“Though do let us know if there’s going to be another one running around” she said sternly towards me which didn’t make much sense since I didn’t have any control over the situation to begin with.

“I can assure you Mi-”

“Just Minuette, Jyggalag” she said.

“Ah yes of course ‘old habits die hard’ as they say” he said apologetically and continued “But I can assure you that I’ll be the last one popping out of his head”.

“Oh, Why’s that?” she asked while plating the last of the hay bacon on the plate and setting the cooking utensils down so that she could join in on this meal.

“Really?” Derange said surprised though it came out more offensive than he intended it to be. “I thought you of all ponies would connect the dots” he said and chugged a bottle of mouthwash...or I’m hoping it was some sort of drink in a mouthwash container.

Before Minuette could respond Jyggalag beat her to it “Derange what one level of intelligence is has nothing to do with this” he berated his double and continued “It could be simply that Mis- I mean Minuette was not fully informed of the situation revolving around us”.

“Yeah jerk” Minuette said as she finished dishing up her own plate.

“Yes with that in mind where shall I begin” Jyggalag said going into deep thought on how to explain the past events.

“Basically Derange is chaos me, Jyggalag is order me and I’m neutral me. We are currently duking it out to see who'll have head control over my body with me being the winner so far and with that being said there’s no more of me to split up” I clarified.

“Oh yeah cause that totally explains it” Minuette said sarcastically.

“Well it’s more of an abridged summary, but essentially that is the case” Jyggalag said with a nod of approval.

Just as I sat down and began to dig into my meal a chocolate chip muffin was placed in the center of my plate “Morning also don’t forget your muffin” Derpy said causing me to jump since she kind of appeared out of nowhere.

“Gah” I cried out almost losing my breakfast, but luckily caught it. She just smiled happily at me oblivious to what she nearly made me do while Dinky shook her head at her mother’s antics “Morning Ditzy, Dinky” I said returning back to my seat though I did make sure give them a quick hug because I do what I want. Taking a bite into my breakfast of hay bacon, hay hashbrowns, a muffin and eggs; though if they were artificial or not was something I didn’t want to go into; I notice Silver and Hunt were not present. “Where Silver and Hunt?” I asked in between bites though I notice Dinky didn’t flinch when I mentioned her name.

“Scouting” Minuette answered around a mouthful of eggs.

“Ah” I replied taking another bite into my breakfast. “Did she say why?” I asked in between bites once more.

“Make sure the path is clear and free of any bandits or slavers” Silver said from right behind me causing me to jump once more.

“GAH!” I cried out almost losing my meal again. “What day is it today ‘Surprise Drake from behind day’!” I cried out annoyed.

“Don’t be so easy to sneak up on” Silver said with a shrug as she leaned down allowing Hunt to jump off of her back.

“From where?” Derange asked while holding back his giggling fit.

“Oh for the love of” Jyggalag said while facepalming knowing exactly where his double was going with this.

“From behind?” Hunt said confused not understanding Derange’s question.

“Derange don’t-” though I didn’t get to finish my sentence.

“That’s what she said” Derange said and then started to laugh though he was the only one laughing.

“I don’t get it” Dinky said adorably doing that head tilting thing that dogs do.

“Pray that you never do” I told Dinky as I finished my plate off.

After the breakfast we packed up the camp, filled up our canteens and grabbed anything else useful nearby before we began to leave. Though we didn’t make it far as Dinky abruptly cut Silver off and stood in front of her with a determined look in her eye. “Silver...there’s something I need to say” she said making sure to keep eye contact with her though faltered at random times.

Silver for her part stood there stoically with a, bet you didn’t see this coming, stoic expression and said “Yes?” though I could tell she was rather uncomfortable with this.

“I-I don’t like what you did” she said in a low voice though it gradually picked up to her normal level of volume. “At first I hated you for it” she admitted her ears splayed back against her head. Silver stood there unmoving though deep down this was hurting her. “But after hearing what everypony had to say I realized that you were only doing your job of keeping us safe” she said and continued “And after really thinking about it that’s not the reason why I was mad at you”.

This caught most of us off guard because honestly for a little filly to be okay with death and murder just sounded...wrong. I mean sure I admit she rather smart for her age, but to be okay with the concept of death and killing is just...dafuq man. “Wait hold up back up for a second here” Derange said what we were all thinking. “Then why did you hate being near her to begin with?” he asked.

“I didn’t realized it either till I really thought about it, but it was the way she looked” she admitted sheepishly.

“The way I looked?” Silver said confused.

“Uh huh” she nodded. “You looked so sad, hurt and angry that it made me realize that you were hiding something from us...that and you didn’t look like the Silver I looked up to.” she said as tears started to well up in her eyes. Sniffling a bit she rubbed her snout and pressed on “Cool and strong with an air of knightly justice that makes sure those who deserve punishment would get what was coming to them...I-I didn’t see that, that day. All I saw was...a monster.”

Silver didn’t say anything as she took interest towards the ground with a downcasted look. Dinky shuffled her way towards Silver and continued to look her in the eye. She then surprised everyone by giving Silver a hug around her neck “Please don’t go. I’ll do anything, but please...please don’t go” she whispered as tear streamed down her muzzle.

Silver returned the hug in full force as tears threatened to reveal themselves to the world “Okay” was her reply.

Soon the girls joined in on the hug while Jyggalag, me and Hunt looked at the scene warmly. “Gag” Derange said effectively ruining this heart warming scene. Annoyed by his remark he still had a point as we needed to get moving. Separating themselves from the group hug we began our long march towards Hunt’s home. Silver, Dinky and I took the lead though Dinky was riding on Silver’s back with a happy expression while Minuette, Derpy and Hunt were in the center of the group leaving Derange and Jyggalag to take the rear.

About a few minute into our journey Dinky asked hesitantly “Um Silver can I ask you something?”

“Sure” was her one worded response though it came out much more gentler than usual.

She started to make little circles in the air like how a child would make little circles in the dirt when they were confessing their feeling for their teacher “Can...can I call you sister?” she asked

“She usually does that with ponies that she really likes or respects” Minuette chirped in “For example sometimes she calls me Auntie”.

Silver looked rather conflicted as she thought about it. Before I could inturpt and steer the conversation elsewhere she said solemnly “I’m...I’m sorry Dinky, but i’m not ready for that title yet”. Dinky was upset to say the least, but before she could say it was fine “But I do promise that when i’m ready you’ll be the first one to know” Silver said as she, somehow, reached behind her back and gave Dinky a quick nuggie.

Dinky giggled at the affection and responded with an ‘Okay’. After that the journey went rather smoothly and uninterrupted, taking us only a day and half to reach our destination.

Hunt bolted as he ran up the steep hill and stood there waiting for us to catch up. Catching up with the energetic colt the sight was rather something. There was nothing as far as the eye could see as a flat plain of nothing extended out however there was one thing in the sea of nothingness. A mountain that looked very close to a volcano sitting  there as if mocking the world by saying ‘buck you I do what I want’. Near the mountain was a small village from the looks of it, but it was too far away to tell. The colt made a dramatic sweep of his hooves and said “Welcome to La Montaña Solitaria or in Equestrian the-” he didn’t get to finish as I translated it.

“The lonely mountain” everypony looked at me oddly. “What? I’m just a natural translator” I said while shrugging. Shrugging it off as a Draconequus thing we then made our way down to the town the sun hanging dead center in the sky. ‘Gentleman be prepared for anything’ I told my other halfs.

‘Roger squad leader’ Derange responded.

‘Affirmative’ Jyggalag said.

A few days ago:

Deep within the confines of La Montaña Solitaria the D-dogs pack known simple as Basanite made their homes. Caves and tunnels twisting and turning all over the inside, but also deep underneath the mountain as well. In the center of the warren was a great big chamber fit for a king, if the king was a dog that like to live underground. Torches burned brightly against the wall giving the room light while tapestries, painting,  cushions to sit on, and a regal looking chair adorned the room. 

Sitting on the throne was a D-dog about average height with a clean light brown coat and dark brown splotches. His eyes were a deep beautiful shade of blue that were focused on a piece of parchment he was reading. Though he was brought out of his reading as a massive dark gray pit bull walked in. The pit bull kneeled down before the smaller dog and said with an unintelligent yet gruff ascent “Mutt return. No good news”.

The smaller dog sighed in annoyance and waved for him to stand “Send him in” though he spoke with great intelligence which was odd for most of the D-dog species.

The dog gave a small bow and left only to return a few seconds later dragging a familiar yellow colored dog. “A-a-alpha” the dog bowed on all four getting as low as he could to the ground.

“Mutt please have a seat” the Alpha said though the message wasn’t for him as the beta grabbed Mutt by the back of his neck and threw him hard against the wall causing some of the decorations to shake.

The Alpha slowly got up and made his way over towards Mutt’s prone body as he coughed up a streak of blood. Cuts and bruise could be seen covering his body while the remainder of his coat had missing patches of fur revealing skin. The Alpha lifted up Mutt’s head, though rather easy as Mutt showed no resistance whatsoever, and gave him an even look “So am I to believe that three ponies, two foals and two ‘lizards’ were able to take out twenty three of my men”.

“N-no, Yes” he blurted out as the Alpha unceremoniously let his head drop back down.

“Hmm both you say such a shame too and I had high expectations for you” he said dully and stood up. Mutt tried to get back onto all fours to at least make himself look so pathetic that his Alpha might spare him, but the Beta grabbed onto the back of his neck his massive claw completely gripping Mutt’s windpipe and held him up into the air.

“NO wait please!” Mutt choked out and continue “Lizard was not lizard but assortment of things and had strange magic!”

The Alpha made a stooping gesture towards the Beta to ease up a bit allowing Mutt to breath though unable to move. “Strange magic?” he asked curious as to what Mutt was talking about. As if remembering something he walked over to a bookshelf in the room, pulled out a book and began scouring through it.

“Yes yes strange magic” Mutt cried out in hope, hoping to at least get a harsher beating than before, but he’d still be alive rather than dead. “Shot out orange and blue plob that act as eh what word tweleportwer?”

“Teleporter?” the Alpha said.

“Yes, yes that word teleporter. Before he threw bag of stuff called it culminated turkey that exploded”

“...Fulminated Mercury *sigh* I really must speed up the learning process” the Alpha said disheartened as he turned another page in the book he was still holding. “Though that is a rather common chemical to come by so for him to have it is not very unique”.

“But he summoned it out of nowhere”.

“Nowhere? As in he made it from thin air?” the Alpha asked curiosity evident in his voice.

“Yes well maybe not air couldn’t see as he turned around, but still he carried no bags in which to store it”.

“Fascinating...Ah” he said finding the page he was looking for he then brought the book over towards Mutt and held it in front of him to see “Was this the creature per chance?”

The picture was Discord though it showed him as a statue rather than his actual living form while words surrounded the image giving a short description of the once power god. “Yes creature looked similar to him” Mutt cried out as he felt more and more ecstatic that he might have the prospect of living.

“Draconequus a creature that has a head of a pony and a body of all sorts of other creatures. Draconequus are beings imbued with chaos energy by not only feeding off set energy, but using it as their main source of power. Their power allows them to do many things such as summoning items, shaping reality to their will and using the other branches of magic though it is hard to be sure because of their being only one of their kind to exist (that has been noted and document) and he is currently turned to stone. Not much is know about them as again there's only one in existence and is currently being used as a decoration for Canterlot Garden” the Alpha said reading the passage out loud. “Curiouser curiouser” he said almost giddily and continued “And you’re telling me that a Draconequus is heading this way as we speak?”

“Yes exactly!” Mutt said crying out giddily as well only to receive a smack to his face.

“So you're telling me that a creature that no one knows about is going to be coming to my domain and you let it live!” the Alpha roared in his face “A creature as far as I know with limitless power and have control over the universe itself!”.

“Y-yes” he replied back quietly waiting for the other hit to come but it never did.

“*sigh* I see” the Alpha deflated as he returned the book back to its resting place, sat on his throne and rubbed his eyes with his index fingers. “We have much to prepare for our...guest”.

“H-h-h-he also asked me to deliver message” Mutt said. The Alpha gestured for him to continue “He said ‘Don’t fuck with us and we won’t fuck with you’”.

“I see...” he said while contemplating on what to do. After a few seconds the Alpha said towards the Beta “Send out a scout to let me know when they arrive, but to not engage”

“And him?” the Beta said while holding Mutt up towards him ever so slowly crushing his neck.

“Please...Mutt promise to not make mistake again” he said though it was barely heard as the beta continue to choke him.

Making his way towards Mutt he gave the dog a pat on the head and said “I know you won’t”. Before Mutt could register what was said the Beta crushed his neck in two the body limping lifelessly as the Beta continued to hold onto him. “Make sure to let the others know that failure will not be tolerated” he said as he returned to his seat. “You may leave”. The Beta bowed his head in acknowledgment and carried Mutt over his shoulder as he left. “Heh” the Alpha chuckled barely holding in his excitement, but eventually failed as his low chuckles turned into a full blown laugh “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHaha” just as soon as it came it left a sickening smile was splayed across his face “Let the games begin”.

Friendly note from Jane,

Hey folks Jane here just letting you know that we both know Drake is too lazy to remember if new perks/abilities pop up, but that doesn't mean you guys don't deserve to know so I'll be taking the liberty of informing you if anything comes up.

New Perks:

Corrupted data restored!

Pole Mastery (Rank 1): Through self discipline and hard work you are a basic in the use of any pole arm like weapon (Lance, spear and etc.) adding a plus 15 to your melee skill as long as it is equipped.