//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Abby // by KingNyroc15 //------------------------------// Royal Nexus was seen as a typical Canterlot Guard; always serious, always protective, always punctual. However, all of that bored him. He wanted action, he wanted adventure. He didn't want to stand in the same spot for months on end. Sure he managed to earn the rank of Knight, but what was the point if he was still instructed to stand and wait? When he joined the Royal Guard at the age of twenty, Nexus expected excitement. At first, he received his wish. He trained along the other recruits and found himself to be a skilled combatant in sword fighting. After a little more than a year passed, he earned his title of Knight Nexus. Weeks passed before he quit. Nexus managed to leave with anyone knowing for a few days. His regiment was sent to Manehattan to be stationed there. After two days, Nexus went AWOL and left to explore Equestria on his own. He felt that nothing was being done by the Guard. Their practices were being wasted by simply sitting at a post and waiting for something to happen. On more than one occasion, Nexus asked why they couldn't go out and investigate the land; finally he was doing it himself. Nexus roamed Equestria, looking for anypony that needed his help. He aided a few ponies, but nothing was satisfying him. He was reaching an impasse in his life. After five months, he became lost. He didn't know what to do anymore. He wanted excitement...needed excitement. He couldn't go back to the Guard; he would be considered a traitor. What kind of job could he find? His cutie mark didn't tell him anything; he didn't even remember how he got it. Nexus was a white earth pony with a royal purple mane and light purple eyes. His cutie mark was a black fleur de lis with two grey swords forming an X behind it. Everyone tells him that it represents his "royalness" (he rolled his eyes just remembering that) and his combat skills. Nexus thought about many things as he walked down a dirt path leading to Ponyville. He had heard many things about this town, mostly that it seemed to be the epicenter of strange events. This little town? The center of chaos, or so they say? Nexus saw a shadow on the ground. It was a pegasus flying over him. Wait...those wings look different. Looking up, he saw what appeared to be a Lunar Guard mare flying overhead, except she didn't have her armor on. Bat ponies are really cool...and cute. Nexus smiled at that thought and trotted into town. He assumed he wouldn't find that particular mare but you never know~. Any distraction would be welcome at this point. Nexus was known to flirt with any mare that strikes his fancy; sometimes even with mares in a relationship. His advances sometimes ended with fights against angry coltfriends, but they quickly knew not to mess with a Knight. Feeling confident once again, Nexus strolled into town, head held high. That mare had to be somewhere. As he scanned the sky, he quickly noticed something in his peripheral vision. Is that...? It can't be. Nexus' eyes weren't deceiving him; he was looking at an honest-to-goodness alicorn that wasn't a princess. And the bat mare he saw flying earlier was with him! Dang it. That's another mare to check off. And she was the first bat pony I was going to flirt with. He turned around to begin walking into town, but a pony was in his way. Huh, another mare. Nexus examined her everywhere. From her black coat to her dark blue mane to her cutie mark on her nice... The mare's mark seemed to be a rock cut in half, and inside the rock was small black crystals. After examining the mare, Nexus noticed she was looking at him the same way. "Can I help you?" he asked, wanting to break the silence. Unfortunately, the mare decided that silence was worth a thousand words. "What's your name?" More silence at first. "I was hoping you would try something else besides inquiring about my name." "Like what?" "Maybe the same thing you were going to try with that bat mare." His eyes widened a bit. "What do you think I was going to do? It's not everyday you see a bat pony." She gave a small smile. "And was that not enough to flirt with her?" "I wasn't going to flirt! Besides, she's with that alicorn. Who is he anyway?" The mare returned to a neutral expression. He saw the look in her eyes again; they weren't normal. "That is not important. I see that you will not be helpful to me, so I shall take my leave." She turned her back towards him. "I can be plenty helpful. I'm roaming the country to be just that. Helpful." She looked at him again. Were her blue eyes glowing? They're so bright...and pretty. "I still do not think you are useful. It was nice meeting you, Royal Nexus." She didn't say anything else after that. As the mare walked away, Nexus stood there, mouth agape. There is no way in the goddesses' world that she could know my name! Nexus decided to follow the mare for a bit. He stalked her to the plains outside Ponyville; she was heading towards the nearby forest. The Everfree? Why do so many ponies go in there? It's like a common death wish or something. Nexus ran up to stop her, but she teleported away when he got close. He looked in all directions. "Was she a unicorn? I don't remember a horn," he muttered to himself. "No...she was definitely an earth pony. Is there someone else?" "No. Just me," the mare said from behind Nexus. He jumped away from her as a result. She still held a neutral face as she looked upon him once more. "So...you followed me." "A mare who knows my name and acts as strange as you? Why wouldn't I? You're quite the character...and magician apparently." "You would not understand the half of it." "Oh? What's a mare like you have to do in the Everfree?" "Nothing that you should get yourself into. I do not need help. Ponies would just get in my way." "Are you saying you're all-powerful? I think I remember another magician claiming she was great and powerful." "She would be a mere magician, and I would not be exaggerating. I am more powerful than you think." "Can you read minds? You seemed to be doing that to me earlier." "Yes." Nexus actually didn't expect her to answer so easily and with such confidence. Seeing Nexus' stare, the mare continued. "I can read minds, perform magic like a unicorn, and see distant memories...to name a few abilities of mine." "Miss, I highly doubt you can do any of thaaaaaat!" Nexus was lifted into the air mid-sentence. He looked down at the unflinching mare. Does she ever lose that expression?! The mare lowered Nexus to eye level and gently grabbed his head in her hooves. She closed her eyes and entered his mind. She picked a particular memory that seemed far from anypony's knowledge. "As a foal, you looked at blades and swords with great fascination," she explained. "You even learned how to hold them with your hooves instead of your mouth rather quickly. An unnatural yet strangely effective way to fight. By the age of five, you secretly practiced with blades that ranged from hidden daggers to longswords. You were too small to try anything bigger and were lucky enough to not harm yourself with blades much longer than you. "As you were practicing a technique using a steel katana, your parents discovered what you have been doing. Instead of being upset as you predicted, your parents marveled in your skills. They even asked the Guard Captain to take you under his wing, literally due to him being a pegasus. It was then and there that you became a part of the Canterlot Guard." She opened her eyes and looked into Nexus' disbelieving eyes. "How...?" he gaped. The mare perfectly explained one of his past memories that barely anypony knew! "Under strange circumstances, I have unlocked abilities that no normal pony should have. As you have just witnessed, I am not lying." She tilted her head at Nexus. "Now you are considering stopping me or hoofing me over to the Royal Guard. I doubt anypony can save or stop me. If you will excuse me, I have one thing to do before I die." "You're going to die? Is there anyway to save you?" "No. Within the next twenty four hours, my brain will most likely destroy itself." "The princesses can help you. They can transfer some of your knowledge into themselves." "No. That will kill them over time as well. I know they are princesses and should be immortal, but their bodies aren't. What I have inside me is something no other pony should live with." She put Nexus down. "I see everything," she continued. "Every heat wave, sound wave, magnetic wave. Every breath and thought of everypony. The magical energy and circulatory system in every living being. The life in the plants...in the air...underground. I can read and speak every language and decipher any code. My knowledge tells me what is where, where is who, and who is what. Nothing escapes me...nothing." Nexus found this mare to be insane. If she truly did have all of those abilities, what did she need to do? The mare touched Nexus' forehead. "If you want to see my plan, neither of us will be alive in the end. I won't kill an innocent because they are curious." "Won't you?" She gave a small smiled and turned her back to him. "I like you, which is odd considering my emotions are being faded away by my excessive knowledge. I may not like you for long." "You don't have long anyway." "True. If you wish to follow me, that is your choice." She began walking away. Nexus smiled; of course he was going to follow her.