//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: My Own Hell 
// Story: Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- My Own Hell




        Moments after Nicko had arranged his duel with Amy for tomorrow, all eyes were now on him for more than one reason. Mostly, it was because no one knew who this kid was. But when everypony aboard the Friendship express told tales of his heroism, the news about him began to spread like a forest fire. Celestia herself was even intrigued when hearing it herself. It was against what she originally thought since she believed Amy had caused all the trouble aboard the train. But now with the stories of the passengers and the guards onboard saying that the criminals were on before she arrived and that the boy and his friend with the metal arm saving them, the princess had to allow for multiple sides of the story. All that was needed now was the young boy’s story to see if it matched up with all the other passengers.

        The princess of the sun found the teen some time afterwards on a hillside overlooking the town of Ponyville. It looked like he was reading some kind of spell book from a messenger bag he kept with him as he leaned against a tree. He looked up to see Celestia a few feet away from him and put the book back in his bag. Straightening himself, he pushed himself off of the tree and picked up his weapon, putting the greatsword on his back.

        “Hello.” He greeted the princess calmly. “Is it safe to assume that you’re Princess Celestia?”

        That surprised the Alicorn. “Yes I am. Out of curiosity, how do you know who I was even though this is the first time we have met?”

        “It was mostly a guess,” Nicko told her honestly. “I met Artemis earlier and he said that he was the Brother of Celestia and Prince of the Night. Given your attire and the mark of the Sun on your dress, I thought it was you.”

        The Sun Alicorn smirked a little. “You’re pretty observant and smart for figuring that out so quickly.”

        “Honestly, I just notice things. It’s like putting together puzzle pieces.” Now the boy began to sound like Sherlock Hooves from an old mystery novel. “Anyways, is there something you would like to talk with me about, Princess?”

        “Why yes actually.” Celestia then began her explanation on everything she had heard thus far and wanted to hear his recollection of the events that occurred aboard the friendship express. Nicko believed it was to see if the stories somehow matched up. So, he calmly and carefully explained everything in detail. How he found out about everything from Eris, when he woke up, running into Amy and the individual in the last car that killed the two criminals in cold blood.

        “I see… Would you happen to remember the name of the individual you ran into before the train pulled into the station?” She asked the teen. The Princess now noticed that Nicko was stretching out his hands, clenching and unclenching them every few seconds. For a moment, she thought that the boy was trying to signal something or prepare some kind of attack. But instead, she got an answer from him.

        “Names aren't always a strong suit for me, but I remember his first name. He called himself Eric. Sounds too european if you ask me.” The hands remained unclenched, but now this time, it was the boy’s fingers. Curling and uncurling them like he was stretching out each one individually.

        ‘What an odd behavior.’ Celestia thought to herself.

        “Is something wrong, your highness?”

        Celestia snapped out of her little daze when Nicko asked her a question. “No, not at all.”

        “Oh good.” Nicko replied with a heavy sigh like a bunch of weight had been removed from his shoulders. 

        “You seem nervous though,” The Sun Alicorn told him. “Is something bothering you?”

        “Nothings bothering me. I just happen to be a bit nervous every time I talk to someone new that I haven’t met before. Honestly, it’s quite normal for me.” The human explained, clearing up a bit of confusion as best as he could. 

        “I see… Anyways, about the individual on the train, can you remember their description?”

        Nicko nodded his head. “Yeah. I can draw it out for you if that helps.” Celestia herself was surprised by how useful this was when the situation presented itself. The nod of her head was all Nicko needed to see before he took out a sketchpad from his bag and a pencil from his pocket. Unlike how other artists would draw an outline of the figure and the pose that they want to draw. Nicko was different. He would just dive in and work his way from the head down. The only thing that drove him insane at times when working was details. Sometimes, the urge to have the details be spot on had him try to restart different sketches over and over again.

        This time though, there wasn’t a need to start over. His drawing skills were spot on and through the 5 minutes he took in drawing the figure he came across on the train, he didn’t have to worry about a single slip up. Why? It was easier for him to draw things that he remembered as clearly as day. Soon, he had the paper drawing complete and even added a bit of color to it as well, not to show off but to serve as details for finding the attacker. 

        “This was from when he was leaving. He cracked open some kind of rift or some crazy space portal and pulled himself inside.” Nicko now handed the paper of Celestia. Her eyes widened on first glance. She had seen this human before. One thousand years ago to be exact and she made sure that he was turned to stone.



        “Oh my…” Celestia spoke softly. “Well, thank you for this. You have been quite helpful. I got to say, You are a lot different from Ms. Anderson.”

        “Well, thanks. I just try my best. Treat other the way you want to be treated.”

        Celestia raised an eyebrow at the last statement. “Forgive me, but I haven’t heard that term before. What does it mean?”

        “It means that if you want others to treat you some way, then you would have to treat them the same way. Like if you be nice to somepony, then somepony would be nice to you.” The teenager explained.

        “I see…” The princess thought to herself. Maybe it would be a good lesson to teach Prince Blueblood when she had the time. Then, another thought came into her mind that she needed to ask. “Oh I almost forgot. What is your name?”

        “My name? It’s Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” The two shook hands as Nicko went on his way and began to walk around town. For Princess Celestia though, She felt uneasy. For two reasons. One was because an old enemy from the past was back again. Two was because of this Nicko figure. It was the first time they met, but something told her that she had met someone with that last name before. 



Ponyville

        Moments after finishing with Princess Celestia, the Rune Slayer walked back into the small town and into the fray of voices that were talking about him. Now though, he didn’t mind it as much as before. He could just drown out the voices whenever he felt like it. As he continued to make his way across town, he came across a familiar face from earlier. 

        “Yo Nicko, What’s up?” 

        Looking up, Nicko was greeted by the sight of Vinyl Scratch a few feet in front of him. He waved his hand as the mare came over. “Not much. Just trying to look around town a bit. Had a talk with Princess Celestia earlier.”

        “Shut up… You talked with the Princess?”

        “Yeah. She had a few questions for me about what happened on the train so I told her everything that occurred. Honestly, it felt like she was testing me.”

        “Testing you?” Vinyl asked. “How is a conversation suppose to  test you?”

        “Not a physical test, Vinyl.” Nicko explained. “A personality test. Maybe to make sure I’m not like the hotheaded Amy.”

        “Mind enlightening me on how that works? It sounds complex.”

        “Actually it isn’t. You know the feeling you get like when you can tell that somepony is a jerk or if somepony else is very timid. You can tell that through their facial expressions, speech and their actions.”

        “Like how Octavia has high standards?”

        “Whatever works…” Nicko told his friend. As they rounded around a corner, the human could now see some of the children that he saw before on the train. Mainly the three girls. They were at the front of what appeared to be a schoolyard with two other mares. One wore a cowboy hat with a checkered shirt and jeans shorts with a blond colored mane and tail, orange fur and a cutie mark of three apples while the other mare had cyan fur, technicolor mane and tail that resembled a rainbow, a cloud and rainbow thunderbolt cutie mark and wore clothes that reminded him of an Athlete in the X-games. 

        The sight of the human attracted the attention of the one Nicko remembered called Scootaloo. When she noticed him looking at the three of them, the young pegasus almost looked like she was going to faint. The Rune Slayer was seen as a hero through her eyes and left Scootaloo gasping in awe before her friends distracted her briefly. 

        “Well, would you look at that.” Vinyl said. “I think you got yourself a fan.” 

        Nicko just chuckled a little to himself as he sighed. “Well, I’ll see you around town right?”

        “Sure thing.” The DJ told him as she walked off towards the market place. Nicko soon walked on over to where Scootaloo and her friends were, catching the eye of everypony else that was nearby. The young pegasus had her back turned for the time being, until the human came up from behind. 

        “I see you’re all okay after what happened?”

        The Orange mare turned around and almost jumped at the sight of Nicko being right behind her. Her friends also had a brief scare too. Nopony expected their savior on board the train to come see them again. Not even after they told their sisters the stories of what happened and after Applejack almost squished Applebloom because she was so worried for their safety. As Nicko made his statement, the three older mares looked at the boy.

        Red hair. Weird clothes. Holds a two handed sword. Two markings on his shoulder. Either Twilight accidently turned Amy into a boy or this was the “Hero” onboard the train they were on moments ago. “Pardon me, But who are you?”

        “Oh, my apologies.” The Rune Slayer spoke. “My name is Nicko. I met these three onboard the Train here from Applewood.”

        “Yeah and when the criminals decided to take over the train, this guy kicked some serious flank!!”

        “Is that so?” The Cyan mare said. She had a thought in her head regarding the CmC’s story on the events that happened as well as a brief recollection from Amy. A little… Mischievous thought. “You look a little small to be playing hero-.”

        Nicko was resisting the urge to turn around and talk back at the Pegasus. Matter of fact, start a fight. “Need I remind you that if you finish that sentence, you’ll end up like Amy with a bruise on her face.”

        “Oh hay, she was telling’ the truth.” Applejack murmured to herself, realizing the connection with her sister’s story and what Nicko just said.

        “Sorry about that.” Rainbow dash spoke again. “Just wanted to make sure you were the human Scootaloo mentioned and Twilight didn’t do another crazy spell again.”

        Nicko now raised an Eyebrow at the new name she mentioned. “Who?”

        “Twilight… You know… Lavender Alicorn… Egghead… reads a lot of books… knows a lot on magic…”

        “Let me guess… Crazy?” 

        “At times. She’s been following Amy around in order for “Research” like she’s going a win a Hoof-bel Prize or something for finding out about you humans.”

        “I believe I ran into her at the train station. For the record though, she was only listening to both my story and my friend Leo’s.” Nicko replied. “Still though, her just trying to watch my every movement sounds… disturbing.”

        “Ah hear ya.” Applebloom commented.

        “Oh hey look, it’s Rarity!” One of the other kids said. Nicko turned around to see a White Unicorn Mare with a curled Purple mane and tail that wore designer clothes and had a cutie mark of three diamonds. Something went off in Nicko’s mind, thinking that she was somehow in the field of fashion design since she was carrying a few rolls of cloth and some sewing materials in a shopping bag. The lady didn’t even notice Nicko yet and first directed her attention towards Scootaloo and the other fillies, hugging them tightly like she was an overprotective mother who was worried sick about her kids.

        “Sweetie belle! Oh thank Celestia you and your friends are okay!!”

        “Uhh… R-rarity? You're… embarrassing me…” Sweetie spoke, gasping for air a little. Rarity soon loosened the grip on her arms and stopped hugging them shortly afterwards. During the next ten minutes, the fashionista asked her little sister and her fellow friends a series of questions that were similar to the ones that Celestia asked Nicko earlier. The only difference? The newcomer didn’t even notice the humans presence during the whole time.

        “So a young male human boy with a half shirt, red hair, oversized pants and a blunt greatsword saved all of you?”

        “That’s right, Rarity.”

        “Applejack, are they telling the truth?”

        “Ya know, there’s livin’ proof right behind ya, sugarcube.”

        Rarity raised an eyebrow, finally turning around to see the hero her sister was talking about standing behind them with his arms behind his head. The first thing she began to notice was his clothes. In her mind, they were flat out marvelous! Unlike Amy’s, which were a bit “exposing” around the chest area, Nicko’s was unlike anything she was seen before. Her eyes now began to widen as she took in the sight. Nicko though, was a little uncomfortable.

        “Uhh… Hi?”

        “Why hello to you too, darling. You must be this “Nicko” my sister was talking about.”

        “Yes I am… Your name is… Rarity right?” Nicko asked. “Sorry, I wasn’t able to catch anypony's name besides the ones I overheard on the train.”

        “No worries. Behind you to your left is my sister Sweetie belle with her two friends Applebloom and Scootaloo. To your right are two of my friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

        “I’m guessing Applejack is the older sister of Applebloom and Rainbow is Scootaloo’s older sister?”

        “Mostly right,” Rainbow answered. “Scootaloo is my adopted sister.”

        “Oh…” Now that put a halt on Nicko’s thinking. It made him think back to when he was back home and no one had adopted him. How his brother and him became orphans… 

        He snapped out of the trance when Applejack spoke to him “Ya’ okay there, Sugarcube?”

        “Oh sorry… I just had a bad memory. That’s all.”

        “What kind of bad memory?” The Farm girl asked. Nicko’s blank expression and him looking at the ground told her that it was something that he rather not talk about it. Rainbow herself was confused along with Rarity. But somehow, one pony actually knew about what was the issue as she walked over a little bit closer to the Rune Slayer. She didn’t say anything, but knew what the feeling was. She felt the same was during her filly hood. 

        “I rather not talk about it.”

        “Alright. Ah’m sorry for if ah said anything-.”

        “It’s alright. It’s just not a subject I want to discuss with some new ponies I just met.” Nicko replied back. At the corner of his eye now, he saw a familiar pony from the station a few moments ago with Prince Artemis before he went to take a break from everypony talking about him in town. A Lavender Pony with a purple mane and tail wearing a sweater vest with sparkle like logo on the bottom of her clothes. Possibly her cutie mark if the Rune Slayer had to take a good guess. Also had shorts and long socks carrying a journal that looked like a college textbook. She was walking towards them. “Would that mare over there happen to be one of your friends?”

        Turning around, Rarity replied. “Yep. That’s Twilight.”

        “She doesn’t look crazy to me.” Nicko said. “In fact, she just looks like a workaholic that needs to take a break.”

        “Break isn’t one of the words in her Vocabulary.” Rainbow snickered.

        “Hey girls!” Twilight cheerfully greeted her friends. She soon noticed Nicko from the station upon arrival. “Hello there Mr. Nicko.”

        “You know him, Twilight?”

        “I ran into him back at the train station when helping out Celestia and Artemis.” So far, she did not show any signs of crazy. “Still though, it was daring of him to do what he did.”

        “What, save all the ponies on the train?” Rainbow asked.

        “No, what came afterwards after getting off of the train.” Twilight answered her friends question. “He excused himself for a moment and then talked to Amy. If you consider talking being challenging her to a duel tomorrow-.”

        “What!?” All of them said in Unison. “Why?!”

        “Being referred to my height ticks me off. Her fault for calling me a pipsqueak.”

        “She said you froze her in place for a few seconds.”

        “Well, Amy was throwing exploding fireballs at my head. I acted in self defense.”

        “Noted.” Twilight commented, writing some notes in her journal. “Would you come with me please? I wanted to ask you some questions back at my place.”

        Nicko thought it through for a minute, but noticing something on the ground, he thought that it would serve as a good tool to help make sure the “Crazy” side of this mare doesn’t happen. “Sure thing.” 

        Twilight, happy by the response, began to rush back home as Nicko bent over to pick up the plastic card that was on the ground. Turning back around, Rainbow was the first one to get in his face about his decision. “Are you stupid or just downright insane? You know pitching in to help her research is like having a death wish right?” Applejack and Rarity then commented and expressed their personal concerns with Nicko’s choice. All he did was just smile. 

        “Girls, I’ll be fine. I believe I’ll get to compromise with her.”

        “A compromise? Pfft, yeah right.”

        Nicko now chuckled a little, playing around with the card he found on the ground. “Let me ask you something Rainbow… Do you know what blackmail is?”



A few minutes later… 

        “Thank you for coming.” 

        “My pleasure, Miss… Twilight right?”

        “That’s right. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The Lavender mare answered the human’s question as they walked towards their destination. It was a huge tree sized home that made Nicko think that it was the literal version of a “Tree House” and when the two of them walked inside, he was greeted by shelves upon shelves of books. Definitely made the Rune Slayer think that either she was a workaholic or a bookaholic. Upon entering, they were greeted by the purple dragon Nicko recognized earlier from the train ride over to here. When Spike saw the human though, he groaned a little.

        “Oh Twilight… What did you do? ”

        “Nicko, I would you to meet my assistant-.”

        “Spike right? Sweetie Belle mentioned your name on the train yesterday.”

        “Wait…” The dragon spoke. “You heard our conversation?”

        “Duh… You guys were pretty loud when talking to each other. No offense.” Nicko was then offered a chair to sit down in as Twilight was seen walking around her home. The Mare looked like she was searching for supplies. Pads of paper, quills, inkwells and some other things that made Nicko think that this was a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Only, of course, with him being Mr. Hyde.

        “Twilight? May I ask what’s with all the equipment and supplies?”

        “Oh, I’m just getting myself ready.”

        Nicko now raised an eyebrow as he looked at Spike, who was seen shaking his head saying that whatever she was she doing was not good. “Ready for what?”

        “Just to pick your brain a little. Hehe…” She said mischievously. “I’ve been wanting to learn a lot about your kind for quite a while actually. There are only about five of you here in Equestria and no matter what I do or say, Amy isn’t willing to help. There are so many things we can learn about your kind, Nicko. I could probably write a book with the information I have.”

        And now seemed like the best time play Nicko’s trump card. “So, you like to write books as well as read them?”

        “Of course,” Twilight smiled happily, trying to hide her stalker like face from earlier. “In fact, I was going to check out some books soon-.” Now though, the librarian began to freak out a little. Not like a Rarity sized freakout, but like a personal freakout. She now looked directly at Spike like he was hiding something.

        “Spike…”

        “Uhh… Twi? What’s wrong?”

        “What’s wrong? What’s WRONG!?” The Element of Magic rose her voice. “Where is it? I asked you for it earlier before I left the house.”

        “Asked for what?”

        “My Canterlot Library Card!!” 

        Nicko now caught her attention as he held what she was looking for in his two front fingers of his right hand. Her lavender colored Library card that had the alicorns portrait on the card as well as some of her personal information. “Would this happen to be what you were looking for? It does have your name and everything on it.”

        “B-but how-?”

        “You dropped it when you opened your journal. Must’ve been trying to use it as a placeholder so you don’t lose track of… hmm, only 10 pages of notes? Looks like you still have a lot of clean paper in there.”

        Now Spike at this point was surprised, stepping backwards and away from both Twilight and Nicko. If this was a duel of intelligence, then he would want to have himself be a safe distance from both of them. But in all honesty, he also wanted to see how long Nicko would last against Twilight. After all, she was like a living encyclopedia. 

        “Well, now that you found it, could you please give it back?” 

        “I would… but I want to make sure we both come to an understanding first. Have you ever considered the reasons why Amy or her two other companions would want to keep a far away distance from you as possible?” That question brought up a good point inside Twilight’s head. She had tried the same methods from when she tried to find out how Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie Sense” worked, but it only led to her getting spotted on more than one occasion. 

        “I’m not quite sure.” She said.

        “Well, I might have an answer for you. Even you I believe you have the best intentions of trying to help everypony, your actions might be considered as something else to others. To you, watching somepony may be what you call field research. But to others, it’s seen as you stalking them. Plus, where I'm from, stalkers are very bad news.”

        Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “How bad?”

        “Like psychopath bad to the point where their obsession might lead to them killing innocent people. They harass other’s like a former lover, famous individuals and others in a aggressive and often threatening manner that’s illegal by the law.”

        “Oh my…” The response hit Twilight a little bit hard in the stomach. She felt defeated. If her actions did display this somehow, then field research wasn’t going to be the way to get the answers she desperately wanted. “Guess I’ll have to go with plan B.”

        Now Nicko was the one who raised an eyebrow in confusion. Plan B? What the hell would she mean by Plan B? Did it involve him or did it involve the Blazing Heart chick from earlier. “What’s that?”

        “I was going to challenge Amy to a duel.”

        Now the statement made Nicko laugh. Almost rolling on the floor like laughing. “You? Seriously? I don’t doubt your magic abilities but if you heard what I said earlier about the train, she wanted to demolish the damn thing when I punched her-.”

        “You punched her!?”

        “What? It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a damn thing. I didn’t know if she was a criminal trying to kill me or somepony that was lost.”

        “ … He does bring up a good point there, Twilight.”

        “Spike!” The Alicorn retorted. “It’s the only way I’ll be able to get the answers to all the questions I have!! What else am I suppose to do?”

        “Have you considered asking me?” 

        The question from the Rune Slayer had Twilight and Spike stare at him. Twilight was in shock while Spike was thinking that this kid somehow was insane to mention the thought to the Alicorn.  Nicko though, knew what he was doing. 

        “Which brings me to the offer I have. In exchange for having your card back and having me help you with any questions you have, there won’t be a need to do anymore “Field Research” or “tests” with Amy or any of the other humans here, including me. It makes it easier to find the answers you're looking for without all the tiring effort. So, what do you think?”

        Twilight now began to think through Nicko’s offer. She was curious as to why he said no to any tests. Her best guess was maybe because of a breach in his privacy. The Alicorn saw that the offer was a win-win situation, where both sides would get what they asked for. Nicko and the other humans would get a feeling of privacy and Twilight would be able to get the answers she needed for her research without having to go to extreme lengths by just simply asking Nicko (Or bring a bug catchers net). Plus, she really needed her library card back. It was the only way for her to get a few books on the social behavior of different species that were only in the Canterlot Library.

        “I think it’s something I can agree to.” Twilight told the human as the two shook hands. Nicko smiled and handed the card back to it’s owner. 

        “I’m glad you and I were able to agree on this. You’re a good pony Twilight. But sometimes one’s best intentions aren’t always displayed properly. Even though you think something could be helpful, how you act is a different story.”

        “That’s sounds like something Clover the Clever would say.”

        “Who?”

        “A very smart unicorn. She was a scholar and worked alongside Starswirl the Bearded.”

        ‘Why do I get the feeling that Starswirl sounds like this world's version of Gandalf?’ Nicko thought to himself. Soon, he noticed Twilight telling both him and Spike that she would be back in a while since she was off to the library in Canterlot and then told Nicko that he could stay for dinner when she got back. Before the Rune Slayer could even say anything, a bright flash went off and Twilight was gone by using her Teleportation spell. 

        Now, Spike was looking at Nicko as the two of them stood inside the town library. “So… Now what do we do?” The dragon asked.

        “Well, I got a duel with Amy tomorrow so maybe I should take some time to prepare for that.” Nicko said. That’s when he came up with an idea. “Hey Spike, do you know a place where we can train out in the open? I don’t like it when I have to stay indoors all day.”

        “Actually, there’s one not far from here.”

        “Great! Lead the way!!” Nicko told the dragon as he changed the sign on the windowsill of the library from OPEN to CLOSED.



A few hours later (Sunset; 6pm)

        “So let me get this straight… You two used the five hours I was gone to train and practice for Nicko’s duel tomorrow?!”

        “Pretty much, Twilight.” Nicko told Twilight as dinner was beginning to be prepared. “Leo was there too and so was your friend, Rainbow Dash. But… Let’s just say… things took an unexpected turn when they met.”



Earlier

        “Hey, I see that you’re into Daring Do.”

        “Oh yeah, I bought these four recently before boarding the-.” Before Leo could finish the sentence he was going to say, Rainbow picked up the copy of Daring Do and the Arctic Archives off of the ground and opened the cover, seeing the notice that was on the side.

        Reserved for Rainbow Dash

        “Uhh… I can explain-.”

        “GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE THIEF!!”



Back to the Present

        “I told him that he was going to get in trouble for that, but he didn’t listen and now might be the reason why some of the trees might have slash marks across them.”

        “I see… He sounds like somepony’s little brother.”

        “Actually, he’s my best friend… And for the record, he’s older than me.”

        Twilight herself was surprised at that last statement as she set the bowl of salad on the table. At first glance, she thought that Nicko was the older one of the two new arrivals. “Really? How old are you two anyway?”

        “I’m 18. He’s 27.” Nicko told the Alicorn. “His personality though is a bit different from mine. Similar to Rainbow, but he is very reckless when it comes to either the stunts that he wan’t to pull off or the fight he gets himself into. That’s why he’s also very tactical and uses anything he can see around him to his advantage. Also, even if he did not start a fight, he’s determined to finish any that he gets himself into.” Spike backed up Nicko be recalling how he climbed up the tree’s in the park in order to try and avoid Rainbow’s attacks until he took a hoof to the face. Then, Leo and Rainbow duked it out for a good twenty minutes until Leo apologized for taking her book and explained what happened. Despite not believing it at first, the cyan pegasus soon came around and accepted his apology.

        “Hehe… That reminds me of Gleaming shield when I was just a filly and we argued with each other over who got first dibs on the cookie jar.” Twilight said as they began to eat. Nicko was about halfway through his salad when he heard the name the mare mentioned.

        “I heard that name earlier today. Is she related to you?” The human asked out of curiosity.

        “She’s my older sister.” That was the first thing Nicko didn’t expect. The second came in Twilight’s follow up sentence. “Speaking of siblings, I forgot to ask you something. What’s your family like, Nicko?”

        It was the one question that Nicko froze at. The word family made his blood run cold and the room silent. This worried Twilight. Something seemed wrong from his body language and facial expression. Not to mention not answering her question yet (which she thought was quite rude).  

        “Uhh… did I say something wrong?”

        “No. It’s not that… It’s just that it’s a topic I’m not always comfortable with.” Nicko told her. “I don’t really have much of a family.”

        “You don’t? Not even parents-?”

        “My parents have been missing since I’ve been six.” Nicko interjected. “My brother and I have been living in an orphanage for the past twelve years and we’ve never truly found a place to call home. Twelve years that made me think that I was in my own hell. There are multiple reasons as to why we haven’t found a home at all. But it all just leaves me sleepless on certain nights because I feel like I’m somehow a freak or just inhuman. Like I’ll be stuck there for the rest of my life. Now, not only am I here, but my brother Anson is here too. I personally hope that he’s okay right now because so far, being here has helped me forget about everything back home that has me upset in a corner or curled into a ball like I’m trying to hide myself from the world. I just hope that he feels the same way. That he feels free as a bird... Like I do once I got comfortable with the people I knew like Leo and the friends I made like Vinyl and Octavia. I don’t feel like I’m in hell anymore. I now think that where I am……  is heaven.”

        Twilight was stunned. Nicko opening up on his troubles really shook her system. He had never really known was it was like to be with anypony that could care for him. He never had really been with a true family. One that loved and cared for him like her parents and her sister. In a way, the Alicorn felt sorry for him. This reminded her that not everypony was as privileged as her family was. When Nicko excused himself from the table to grab his belongings and walk out the door, Twilight snapped out of her trance.

        “Thank you for the meal. I really should get going-.”

        “Wait-!” Twilight called out, stopping him at the door. “Where are you going?”

        “Honestly… I don’t know.” Nicko coughed a bit due to the cool evening breeze. “Maybe an Inn or something. Get a room with a good view of the moon since it helps me sleep. Why do you ask?”

        “Well… Why don’t you stay here?” She asked. “I have an guest room nearby my study. You can stay there if you want.”

        The offer surprised Nicko and also caught him off guard. He did not expect the mare he partially blackmailed earlier to actually offer him a place to stay. This hospitality was very unexpected, especially with how the teen opened up earlier about his troubles. He had not even told anyone else he knew back home about how he felt at all and thought the sounds of the words he would say would just scare anyone he would try to open up too.

        “Are you sure? I’m very grateful for your hospitality but-.”

        “I’m sure.” Twilight told him. It was all the Rune Slayer needed to hear. He closed the door in front of him and turned towards the mare. A tear actually fell from one of his eyes as he said his next sentence and then went upstairs to retire for the evening.

        “Thank you… very much. You have no idea how much this means to me… I feel like I’m finally home.”



Next Morning

        As the sun rose, Twilight was seen with her friends as they walked behind an ever so eager Amy, a half-awake Molly, a restful Yuri and an over excited Lyra. The Alicorn was telling the others about the events that occurred last night and with Nicko at the dinner table. Scootaloo was with Rainbow when they heard about Nicko and how he lived at an orphanage before coming here. 

        “Gosh, I now feel a little bit sorry for him.” Rarity said.

        “I thought that something like that happened.” Scootaloo spoke like she knew something was up with the human.

        “How exactly did you “know” that, Scoot?” Applebloom asked as she caught up with her sister.

        “When he said yesterday that he had a bad memory, he looked like me when I was still at the orphanage before being adopted by Rainbow. Like he had bottled up emotions inside that spilled out.”

        “Like when we did the soda prank a few weeks ago?”

        “Girls!!” Rarity snapped as the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to hold in any giggles they had. She was not one to talk about that incident. Especially after gallons of Orange soda almost flooded the Carousel Boutique earlier in the week. 

        Now though was when the girls were starting to come upon the sight of the duel between Amy and Nicko. It was the old battleground the Twilight had fought on before when the Azure Unicorn named Trixie possessed the Alicorn Amulet. Celestia and Artemis were said to be here to watch the battle take place. But when they got closer. They saw something mysterious.

        Another individual was in the battle arena. A male by appearance and strangely enough, he looked similar to Nicko. Amy was also there, getting herself in a fighting stance.

        “Is Nicko here early by any chance?” Rarity asked. “I know that Spike was suppose to be with him, but aren’t they here a little early?”

        “No, I last saw Spike back at the library.”

        “Then who the hay is that guy right there then!?” Rainbow angrily retorted in frustration.

        “Maybe he arrived for my Welcome to Ponyville Party I was planning for Amy, Molly, and Yuri today!” Pinkie Pie joyfully told her friends as she was bouncing around like the happy mare that she was.

        “I thought you did that after Amy beat the changelings?”

        “Oh that was my “Thank you for saving Ponyville and being a hero to all the good fillies and foals.” party. Very different from what else I had planned.”

        “Uh… That still doesn’t answer the question of who this guy is-.”

        That’s when they saw this new figure wield not only one greatsword, but somehow held two. One with the color of red and the other one that resembled a shorter, but stronger blade. His appearance, upon a closer look, was now nothing like Nicko’s. His hair was spiked along his head like a hedgehog and his gloves extended across his arms. There was a lot more armor across his waist than the casual clothes that the Rune Slayer wore. A different pendant was also strung around his neck. One that resembled a sword with a topaz gem in the center where the grip would be. Even when they heard the boy speak, his voice was a bit different from Nicko’s as well as his personality when he talked to Amy after she said something about this person being her opponent. The Blazing heart must’ve mistaken this new individual as Nicko.

        “Look Lady… I have no idea what the hell your issue is and I could honestly care less about your life problems. I walked all the way from Appleloosa on foot in order to be able to come here and I was just trying to mind my own business until you accused me of challenging you to a duel. I don’t even freaking know you!” He remarked as he set his silver blade on his shoulder and pointed his first weapon at the human girl. A smirk of confidence was on his face when he continued to speak. “But if you want to know my name, then you are going to have prove to me that you are as strong as you say you are.”

        “Can you just say who the hell you are!?” Amy shot back at the boy. All the new guy did was just shake his head, smirking a little as he set the red sword upward and straight into the ground by his feet. 



        “Who the hell do you think I am?”

        Twilight just stared as the newcomer as he charged at Amy, summoning three swords behind him as he charged. “MIRAGE STING!!” 

        She now knew one thing for sure. Looking at her friends with a look of caution and concern, the Alicorn told them what she now knew immediately. This was a major problem. Celestia and Artemis were to be here any second along with her sister and now this kid was in combat with Amy and almost having an upper hand in the fight.

        “Girls… That’s not Nicko.”




End Chapter 4