//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Blank Slate // by The Fateweaver //------------------------------// Hopefully she was gullible enough to believe my enigmatic lie. If not, my extensive training in several martial arts, even the ancient fighting styles of the Order Empire, and firearms should be able to aid me against such a foe. Maybe the Mark would work in my favour, too, if I knew how to properly control it. “Lost? But thou art in Canterlot Castle, not out in the wilderness. Surely thou would knoweth thy way around Canterlot?” “Not in the local sense of the word, I’m afraid. I’m saying that I was thrown through a portal in my world and into yours. I’m not native to this place, kapiche?” I gestured wildly, trying to get the point through her thick skull. “Well, that certainly is bothersome. We may be able to help with thy dilemna. Just let us get our -” By the time she turned back around, I was gone. I had bolted back through the door I came through, making sure not to alert the guards I passed by earlier. They were gone when I checked, probably off to warn another pony. I wouldn’t give them that chance. Yes, enough with the first encounters. Just get to my statue already. Discord piped up from the back of my mind as I sprinted through the garden, passing by several statues of important-looking ponies on the way. “You’d think a Frankenstein-esque person like you would stick out like a sore thumb…” I muttered, aimed at Discord. “Running around looking for a dead ringer statue of you is proving to be a misuse of my energy.” Oh, stop complaining. You’re almost there, anyway. Also, what’s with these rather rude remarks about my appearance. Do I mock you about how you look? “No, I just happen to be an asshole that insults people whenever I get the chance. You’ve should’ve read the fine print before making a deal with the devil, buddy.” I chuckled morbidly. “You there, halt!” A familiar voice shouted, causing me to huff out of irritation. “In the name of Celestia, stop right there!” “Can’t these people take a fucking hint that I want to be left alone in peace while I free this God of Chaos from his stone prison?” I questioned, only I had said it to myself instead of out loud in fear of blowing my cover. Now you see why I needed your help. Everyone is opposed to the idea of spontaneousness and chaos, seeing it as taboo. As if your ego was inflated enough, you’re basically my human counterpart, only significantly less powerful. Doesn’t mean we have to be all buddy-buddy around each other, I reasoned. I spun on my heel and saw five more of those guards, now armed with spears, not far from my position. It looked like they were looking for a fight more than anything right now. “This is a waste of my time and a misuse of my energy. What do you want?” I asked coldly, stopping just a few feet away from the lead guard. “And this time, try not to break down into a mental fit like your comrades and actually say something instead of gawking at me like an idiot.” I heard mutterings from some of the guards in the rear along the lines of ‘it can talk?’. I ignored them and looked at the leader expectantly, his bright blue eyes matching my bloodshot gaze. It felt like hours passed during this pointless staring contest. Then, as if to break the intense staredown, he shuddered briefly. It wasn’t cold, so he must’ve dug deep enough for him to work out the hatred, malice and the lack of remorse hidden behind my eyes. I smiled evilly, reminiscing the helpless screams of my victims over and over to the point that it almost drove me to produce a maniacal laugh. Almost being the keyword. “You are to stand down and relinquish your devices so that we may escort you back to Princess Luna. If you do not comply, I will use lethal force.” He said threateningly, quickly regaining his stoic posture. Instead of responding, I focused on something and the Mark of Chaos began to glow once more until several items flashed into existence on my person. A spear in my hand, a Greek hoplon strapped to my arm, a blood-red cape on my back fluttered in the breeze and a Spearton helmet appeared on my head. I was pretty sure I looked menacing enough, but I had the combat prowess to prove myself worthy of my new attire. It was once said that Ares, the Greek God of War, personally trained the Speartons and taught them the art of war, making them unstoppable machines of death. “You obviously have no idea who I am, or what I am capable of,” I growled at them with renewed anger and pride, as if I was directly channelling one of the Speartons from ancient times just by having his equipment. “You see, I was born to die, but not before my enemies. And now you shall know a world of pain and suffering beyond your petty imaginations.” Whoa, going a little overboard with the cosplay, aren’t we? You’re not actually one of these ‘Spearton’ guys, just a lunatic pretending to be one. I ignored Discord’s comment and charged forward with my spear and shield raised. The gold-clad guards reacted quickly, assuming defensive stances. The heads of their spears barely scratched my shield as I got within lunging distance. Quarrels embedded themselves into my shield as some of the other guards sprung skyward, firing off shots from their crossbows. They were cowards for resorting to such underhanded tactics. Real warriors, human or not, fought with blades and shields, not crossbows and magic. No matter, all would fall to my spear sooner or later. Assuming the Princesses don’t come out and hand you your ass on a platter by that time. And they most likely will. Once again ignoring the Chaos God’s snide comment, I narrowly evaded a swipe from the leader’s spear. I raised my shield once more and threw my shoulder into it as I charged right into the unsuspecting guard, effectively sending him sprawling across the grass. I ran over before he could recuperate and plunged my spear into his exposed stomach. A gush of blood spurted from the wound and painted his pale fur with a shade of red as it trickled down. I seized the guard’s own spear and pitched it like a javelin at one of the airborne guards, who was loading another quarrel into his crossbow. The spear streaked through the open air and skewered the unaware Pegasus like a pig. He dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks and flopped over in his death spasms. I retrieved my own spear from the guard underneath me and fended off another flurry of quarrels from the airborne guards. My shield was getting noticeably heavy from the abundance of bolts protruding from its surface. Soon it would be too cumbersome to properly use in a stand-up fight. One of the archers managed to get behind me and put a quarrel through my shin. I dropped to a knee and cried out in pain, dropping my bolt-ridden shield and my blood-soaked spear with it. Agony shot through my leg -- it was much worse than a gunshot -- and the remaining guards dropped to the ground to subdue me. I refused to let them shackle me, but the risk of losing too much blood and the fact that my leg’s condition could get worse stopped me from picking my spear back up and slaughtering them all. “Quickly, get the cuffs on it,” Said one of the archers, warily keeping his distance with his crossbow trained on me. Once again I felt sapped of my energy and my Spearton equipment dissolved into nothing, leaving me with only the bleeding quarrel wound in my shin. With a quick glance towards my hand, my Mark of Chaos was duller in colour than before. Instead of white, it was now a dark grey. My vision blurred and was lost completely when I felt something blunt smash against my skull, rendering me unconscious. “But sister, the creature may merely be threatened. If thou were thrown from Equestria, would thou not be scared and intimidated toward what is not thy own land?” The voice belonging to that blue pony from before pleaded, with desperation in her voice. “Why do you insist on defending this creature, Luna? It killed two of my guardsmen before falling to a single quarrel in its leg. What Outsider immediately resorts to killing when faced with authority? Riddle me that,” Another voice, sounding slightly older and angrier, retorted with what I assumed to be tranquil fury. “And the scholars in the Magi Tower found that mark on its foreleg to be one of a chaotic nature. Must I go on, dear sister?” “That proves nothing! For all we know, it could be simply brainwashed by Discord to do his evil bidding!” Said Luna, fiery passion in her voice. It sounded like she was sticking to her guns with the whole ‘strange creature is misunderstood’ theory. “Discord could’ve taken this poor soul and twisted its mind unto oblivion where it only knew pain and suffering. Are we to condemn it for what it did not possibly want to do?” “Luna, there is no known procedure to simply remove a Mark of Chaos. Twisted mind or not, it is still a threat to you, me and my little ponies.” “And we are to believe that thy word is final? That we are to simply dispose of an innocent and deliver an unfulfilled soul unto Death just because you say so? Just give us time with the Outsider, and let us see if we cannot return it to its unaltered state of mind. That is all we ask, sister.” Luna’s sister sighed in exasperation, then replied with, “Fine. Do what you think is best. But if I see it lash out again, I will not hesitate to do what I must to protect Equestria from a possible threat.” Luna’s voice became level, but I detected giddiness in her tone. “Very well. I shall start immediately. Guardsman, open the cell door.” The clopping of hooves moving further away told me that Luna’s sister was departing. Good, she sounded like a Grade A bitch. My eyes were heavy, but they failed to open at this exact moment. Something in front of me clicked and the door creaked open, followed by the light clopping of what I assumed to be Luna’s hooves getting closer. “This Outsider’s appearance is very strange. Almost as if a foal drew a crude stick-like creature and suddenly was given a three-dimensional form,” I felt something cold lightly jab me in the stomach, causing me to shiver involuntarily. “There is no possible way of fitting the required amount of internal organs into such a thin frame. Perhaps it is the norm of its culture. And its head is so perfectly spherical, it’s almost unnerving.” Her voice dropped to a mutter, but I could still hear her talking to herself. “No Luna, you must’ve go judging how Outsiders look. Not all of them may be ponies. What if you were to end up on a realm that wasn’t your own. Everypony else would have the same amount of caution when dealing with something they don’t know about.” My eyes creaked open, spotting Luna gazing solemnly off to the side. I cleared my throat and spoke up. “If you keep talking to yourself, love, people are going to think you’re a nutcase.” Her gaze slowly rotated back to me, her deep blue eyes meeting my own bloodshot eyes. “Or at least, that’s the theory. The real problem is when you have an argument with yourself and lose.” Then her face gained confusion. “How does one lose an argument with themselves?” “With great difficulty if you’re sane, I assure you.” I replied, looking down at my hands. “Though if you’re a real psycho, it’s pretty easy.” Like I had expected, I was handcuffed, not with regular cuffs but with purple glowing ones. It looked like a Lantern’s doing, but I doubted a Purple Lantern existed. I looked back up at Luna, who looked at me with intense curiosity. “I assume thou knoweth of thy act in the Royal Gardens?” I shook my head, feigning innocence. If I was to free Discord, I needed to gain the trust of the good guys and stab them in the back when I’ve achieved my goal. “Really? Did Discord give you amnesia as well as force you to commit horrendous crimes?” “What’s a Discord? Crimes? I didn’t kill anyone, did I?” I asked frantically, testing my luck to see if she was gullible enough to believe me yet again. She sighed, possibly out of pity. “Discord is a ‘who’, not a ‘what’. He is the resident God of Chaos, a trickster-turned-villain by the hoof of fate. While it seems you were ripped from your own realm, Discord entered your mind and made you kill a guardsman and grievously injure another. All the while equipped with a Spartan Stallion’s weaponry and armour.” I mentally kicked myself. I only injured the guard I stabbed in the gut, and I didn’t even double-tap to make sure he was dead. A sloppy job if there ever was one. “Well, I remember some kind of creature grabbing me by the arm and dragging me through a portal of some sort. Then I puked because of motion sickness, and it’s all blank from there,” I lied. “Yes, that would be the case. I am Princess Luna of Equestria, Outsider. What is your name?” “Michael Holiday. Just call me Michael.” I lifted my shackled hands up, offering my hand out to Luna.