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// Nightmare Moon part 1 
// Story: Scars to win them all 
// by jrock117 
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	Where have I heard that name before? Fuck, this is gonna drive me nuts! I have been thinking about that name for quite some time, and I haven't gotten anywhere. Maybe it was that mare who couldn't... no, that was Carrot Top. Maybe... nope, that was Ginger. You ask me, this is just unhealthy.

"Screw it!" I throw my forelegs out to the side as I shout towards the ceiling. I breathe deeply, trying to regain my calmness. "I'll just have to remember some other time." I get out of the chair I had been sitting in for the last hour, told you it was unhealthy. I walk over to my window and stare at the clouds. Watching the clouds move across the sky always calms my nerves. Looks like there won't be any rain today either. Man, why can't there ever be rain when I'm pissed. It is a little cliché, when something bad happens and then rain starts to pour down on everything in sight. I happen to love the rain, the smell, the taste, the free water, everything. It brightens my day, ironically speaking.

I wonder how the farm is doing. Maybe I can do some work, been a while since I had done any help. Really, it has only been two months, but to me, that's a while. The farm I'm talking about is, well, the only farm near Ponyville, the Apple Family's farm. My good friend Basket sent a good word for me two weeks after I came. I'm glad he did. Now I get paid for helping out with the apple bucking, mostly I just punch the trees instead of bucking, it's just as effective. Not to mention that the money helps me pay for necessities like food, water, heat, and other shit like that. I've been focusing on my training more recently, since I just about broke my right leg punching one of the trees. All that happened was that I popped it out of socket. Not the best time of my life, considering that I fucked it up more by fixing it myself. I couldn't move it for a whole week.

I look at the letter sitting on my table. I had placed it right next to the radio when my name-remembering challenge started. I pick up the letter and quickly re-read it. The Summer Sun Celebration is being held here huh? Maybe I'll help out with that later. I walk over to my desk, which I had placed right in front of a window. The desk is... not very tidy, there are papers and scratches all over the desk. Most of the papers have doodles and pictures on them. I put the desk there because the window can't open, I also gain inspiration from looking outside when I doodle. The scratch marks were there when I bought it, I chose it because it looked really sturdy, it still is. I also think the scratches give it character.

I place the letter on my desk, when something catches my eye. I move a few papers out of the way and see an old picture of me. Blur, Rose, Crimson, and sensei are also in it. We are all standing outside Canterlot Castle's gates. This was when sensei took me to Canterlot for my eleventh birth-day. Sensei was able to get us a free tour of the castle, I even got to meet the head of the Royal Guard. The strange part is, even though the guard must always have a 'dead face', he seemed glad to talk to us. Smiling, laughing, making jokes about the Guard, he has a pretty cool sense of humor too. He even knew my brother, awesome. Blur couldn't hold in his joy, that much was apparent when he got to hoof-bump Shining Armour. Atleast I think that was his name. Anyways, Blur fainted for a few minutes afterwards. I had face-hooved when that happened. Rose said that if I had met my idol and got to hoof-bump 'em, I would've fainted as well. That is not the case since my idol was sensei, and we have bumped more than just hooves. I remember when he head-butt me in the face after I trapped him in a full-nelson. Ow. I rub my forehead, remembering the pain from that head-butt. I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds, without getting a headache, for a few days.

I walk back upstairs into my room, which is a mess. What do you expect? I get really tired after a hard day of training and pushing my limits. I don't have the time to clean my room. I grab my bag and look around the room to get a few things. Lets see, I'll need a few bits for when I get into Ponyville. I grab my wallet, a picture of the Four-Star Crystal Ball on the front. I'll need some pain killers, in case my legs decide to say 'Fuck this shit!'. I put two labeled bottles in the bag. I will also need my shades, the sun is bound to be bright today. I grab a pair of sun-glasses that are sitting on a small rack, a few books sitting up there with them. Is that it? I look through my bag to see what I got, not like I just put them in there or anything. Wallet, pain killers, shades. Yeah. I zip up my bag and throw it the straps around my shoulders.

"Alright. Time to go." I walk out of my room and head down the stairs. I open the door and hear music coming from behind me. What the hell? I turn around and realize I left the radio on. "Oh, whoops." I sheepishly smile as I chuckle. "Probably should turn that off." I walk over to the radio and turn the only nob all the way to the left. I like my radio, the power nob is also the volume control. When you turn the volume all the way down, you have to turn it some more until you hear a click. The click tells whether it's on or off. Enough about radios and nobs. I look at my door, and I feel a very, alien breeze on my forehead. The hell? I rub there to see what's so weird. Realization strikes as my eyes widen a little. "I forgot my head band!" I quickly walk back up the stairs and into my room, this getting very repetitive. I look on my bed, under the blankets and pillows, on the floor, the dresser, the shelves, I even check behind a few books. Where did I put it? I scratch the back of my head wondering where it could be.

My hoof has a nice meeting with my face when I remember where I always put it. "The top drawer." I open the top drawer of my dresser and take out my head band. I proceed to tie it on where it belongs. I get a good look at my room when I turn a round. I sigh deeply as I face-hoof once more. I'll worry about when I get home. I walk back down the stairs and out my front door, that I accidentally left open. The sight of a big tree, a quaint-little field of flowers, a stretching Timber wolf, and a cross with a red scarf wrapped around it enter my vision. The whole area is in a nice clearing, surrounded by trees. I grab a bone from off the railing of my porch and wave it in the air.

"Come here girl, c'mon." I call out to the Timber wolf. She looks at me and starts wagging her tail. "C'mon girl, get the bone." She gets into a pouncing position and then takes off towards me. She jumps in the air and pushes me to the ground as she lands. My eyes are closed as I laugh a little bit. I open them to see her softly chewing on my right, fore leg. "Hey, that's not the bone you ding-a-ling." She looks me in the eyes with those cute, little ones of hers. She doesn't bite hard enough to draw blood, nor does she leave any long lasting marks. It doesn't hurt either. Just hard enough to make me feel it. It's like when a Timber wolf would put there mouth around another's neck as a sign of trust. But she does it to be playful. "Want the bone? Want it, want it?" I wave the bone a few inches from my arm and toss it. "Go get it!" She lets go of my arm and runs to catch the bone. She is really fast, I mean, she is a Timber wolf, but she is faster than most. She catches the bone in mid-air and runs back to me.

You might be wondering 'Why is your pet a Timber wolf? Why do you have a bone for her? How do you know she's friendly?'. The truth is, I found her around four years ago. She is seven years old now, she was three when I brought her to sensei. I found her under a tree during one of our training sessions. 
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"Sensei, I know you're here somewhere!" I yelled. It was raining that day, clouds covered the sky in a dark blanket of grey, and I had to find sensei before he found me. It was a little modified version of hide and seek, except both ponies had to hide from each other and try to find the other. When you're found, the pony that found you would have to take you down - pin you to the ground - and you had to either run away and find another hiding spot, or fight and make the other one run away. Where the hell is he? I looked around for any indication of him, what so ever. Nothing. The rain had made it harder to see and maneuver around. If he had found me then, I would've lost for sure. I was, basically, a sitting duck. I was standing in a clearing, thinking that he would have to come out in the open to take me down.

I heard movement to the left of me and examined a tree in the distance. The rain was being a dick, so I had to walk closer to the tree. I inched closer and closer very slowly until I saw a dark figure. It wasn't what I expected though. I found a Timber wolf under the tree, and it seemed lost.

"Hey, are you okay?" I called out in a calm tone. It hadn't looked at me yet so I didn't think it saw. I went over to it to see if it needed any help, but I was taken by surprise when I saw it stare at me.

"Grrrrrr." It had growled at me. It was a very low growl at that, sounded like it wanted to bite my head off. I moved a step back and tried to stay calm. I wanted to get closer, but I didn't know what to do. I just stood there waiting for sensei to find me, but I couldn't see any sign of him. The rain kept on pouring and pouring. I finally got the nerve to get closer and see if it was hurt. I ran up to it and stopped in my tracks, just a few feet from it, when it got into a pouncing position. "Rraaaf!" It let out a blood curdling bark. Its teeth were bared as it glared at me, making me think of many situations if I were to move any closer, most of them ending up with me being dinner.

I inhaled a breath of courage as I slowly made my way to it. I was in my fighting stance, just in case. As I got closer, I saw that it was backing up little by little. The pace at which I was going at was faster than the Timber wolf backing up. I was close to the tree, but not close enough to where I was out of the rain. It pounced at me like a Lion would a Gazelle. This caught me by surprise, which resulted in me sprawling out on the ground with the creature on top. The fall hurt the back of my head and the claws digging into my shoulders didn't exactly help either.

I had no idea what to do at that point. My forelegs were pinned to the ground, the rain was obscuring my sight, and a Timber wolf was on top of me. I felt like I was going to be eaten, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable. I felt its mouth move around my neck, making me tense up. The pressure I felt was slowly increasing, fear entering my mind, forcing me to close my eyes even harder than before. Nothing, the pressure stayed at where it was. What happened? Is it waiting for me to open my eyes? Does it want me to see the blood run from my neck as it tears the flesh?

I slowly opened my eyes, trying not to make sudden moves. Now fully open, I saw the creature. It was looking back at me, in the eyes. I saw something that I thought was impossible for Timberwolves, pupils. They were a darker green than the rest of the eye, but I knew they were pupils. I could see trust, and pain, I saw sadness too. It slowly brought its maw away from my neck and sat next to me. I slowly sat up, and looked at it. Yup, pupils. I felt around my neck with a hoof, feeling for any wounds. Glad to feel no punctures in my skin, I sighed. I look at the Timber wolf again, but this time, examining it. I saw no injuries from what I could tell. It had a poor build for its species, skinny legs, scrawny head, doesn't look like it had eaten in days.

It placed its head on my shoulder. We stared at each other for a few seconds. I placed my hoof on its head and started to pet it. A little smile grew on its face as its eyes closed. This caused me to smile.

"Good boy?" I heard it growl at me after I said this. It looked at me in the eye, as if I were about to steal its chew toy. I looked down between its front legs. Oh. "Good girl." Its eyes closed, head still on my shoulder.

It took some time before sensei finally found me. He didn't seem surprised, or scared, when he saw the Timber wolf. I think, I couldn't read his face most of the time anyways. His emotionless face puts the Royal Guards to shame. I explained to him what had happened when I found her, and to my surprise, he wanted to know what I named her. I did not know what to say, considering I had found her not too long ago. I was too focused on when he would find me and how I would explain what happened that I didn't even think about giving her a name. I didn't even know you could have a Timber wolf as a pet at the time. I named her Sunflower and we took her to sensei's place, which I was living at while I trained under him.

Sensei told me that she was around three years old and must've been left out of her pack. After that, I promised that I would take care of her and make sure nothing bad happens to her ever again. He chuckled and pat me on the head, saying that he knew I would.
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And that's where we are today. It doesn't bother me that she eats meat, most canines do. I still don't know why she didn't eat me then. She had me in her grasp, at the neck. One little bite and pop goes my head. I'm glad she didn't though, not because I wanted to live, but because I got to take care of something. Nurture her, bathe her, feed her, I practically raised her. She's like a little sister to me.

She drops the bone in front of me and barks, getting my attention. I look towards her and pat her on the head. A warm smile spreads across my lips. "Look, I'm gonna go into town and get some food. I might help the Apple family as well, think you can keep the place safe?" A happy little howl is my response. "I knew could trust you!" I hug her for a second and stand back up. I inhale deeply, breathing in the fresh air as I do so. I let it all out as I walk down the stairs to my porch. I walk by the cross and I sit in front of it, my rear legs crossed. I say a little prayer and stand right up. I get to the border of the yard and turn my head to see Sunflower pacing around the front of the porch in a comedic fashion.

"See ya later girl, I won't be long!" Waiting for no response, I crouch down and jump to the branches.

The way to Ponyville was a short one. Sensei told me that when I enter Ponyville, I should not give off my position. He said that the residence weren't crazy or hostile, but it would improve my skills. And he was right. I usually enter Ponyville from the rooftops, but sometimes I like to get creative. I made a few tunnels, with Mayor Mare's permission of course. I also made a few hiding spots, just in case anypony were to look my way. It was fun hiding from the populace, but when I had to come out for something, I couldn't go back in. That was the rule sensei made.

I took to the roofs when I entered, making sure nopony saw me. When I get to a pale yellow roof, I sit down and look over the ledge to see what's new in the market place. Not much, the usual stuff. "Same old fruit, same old tools, same old drinks, same old vegies, same old-"
A nice looking comic catches my eye. No way, it couldn't be! My eyes widen as I look at the masterpiece down at the corner of the market. "New issue of Dragoon!" I jump down from my post, shouting this as I land. That caught the attention of a few ponies, but that doesn't matter. I run closer to the stand to get a good look at my favorite comic series ever! "By Celestia's mane, it's beautiful." I look at the grace that is Dragoon.

The cover shows a stallion, who looks like he just fought through an entire army of demons, with a dirty-blonde mane and tail and a pale-black coat standing on all fours atop a massive stalagmite as he looks on into the moon, the look of a warrior on his face. He has a head band with the symbol of his village, a spiral leaf. The moon is a dark shade of red with the 'Mare in the Moon' replaced with three rings and nine magatamas, three magatamas on each ring. A red dragon with six pitch-black wings and devilishly-green eyes standing on top of the moon, an evil grin across his lips. The dragon has very dark iron-armor on, a red cloud with a demonic eye peering through it being the symbol. He is pointing a claw at the hero. Dragoon is the stallion, meanwhile the dragon is the one who started the 'Dread Scythe Organization'. His name is Wrath, however, this isn't his real name. They have yet to reveal it. The whole comic is in a nice little plastic sleeve, achieving a glare of light. The title of the comic reads, 


The Day the Moon Shall Fall!!!																		Rise, Great Lord Ryu-Jin!!!


"Ah, I see you like this comic." An elderly voice is heard from behind the counter. I look up to see a stallion, who looks like they've been around the block a couple hundred times, not to be rude. He has a dark-orange mane and tail with a white stripe going down the middle. His coat is a nice shade of yellow. He's a Pegasus. A cutie mark that has a bag full of money on top of a basket with stuff inside.

"Yeah, this is only the best comic in the world!" I look back towards the comic with a big smile on my face.

"I don't know about that," This grabs my attention, somepony saying otherwise about Dragoon, that's insane. "The Power Ponies series seems to be getting ten times the sales as Dragoon." He says this with frown on his face.

"That's only because they appeal to younger audiences." I say, a smug look in my eyes. "The Power Ponies has action and creepy villains, sure. But where's the plot?" I wave a hoof off to the side, a victorious smile on my face. "Dragoon has a story to tell, action, love, comedy. Not to mention the goal to protect those he cares about and to get his friend back. The Power Ponies has like, what, one fight per comic. And they're not even emotional, the whole time you're gonna be rooting for the good guys. Dragoon, on the other hand, has fights that last several comics. Not to mention the villains have backstories that make you feel sorry for them. Some of them even make the enemy sound like the good guy. Dragoon is put in life or death situations, where as The Power Ponies are put into slightly dangerous situations. The villains suck too, they are way two-dimensional. Dragoon has complicated villains, tragic stories of loss and power, villains that relate to the reader, ya know?" The stallion looks at me with astonishment.

"You know quite a lot about this comic, and what makes a good story, do you plan on becoming a writer?" He asks. I look at him with determination in my eye.

"No, I'm going to become the ultimate fighter!" I pump my hoof out towards him. I retract my hoof and smile. "Thanks for saying I know what makes a good story, though. That means a lot." I pull out my wallet to pay for the comic.

"No, that won't be necessary. Here." He places the comic in front of me on the counter. A look of confusion spreads across my face. "Free of charge." What?

"I'm-I'm sorry, what?" I blink a few times, making sure this is real. "Did you just... say that... I could have this comic... free of charge?" This can't be real, how could it? This guy is giving away the newest issue... for free? He laughs at my display.

"I'm an old stallion, not charity case. Besides, your my first customer of the day." Holy shit, this is actually happening. I pick up the comic in my fore hooves and look at the one who gave this to me. A tear glides down my face.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it. Hope you enjoy that comic."

"I will, thank you." I nod and he waves me off. This is the best day in the world. I look up towards the sky, a hoof covering my face. Seems to be about ten-thirty, I should get to the farm. I jump to the rooftops again, heading towards the farm, comic still in hoof.

It took a few minutes to get there, but I made it. The farm, the trees off in the distance, the big red barn, the place I'll be lending a helping hoof. I walk pass the fence gate to go see good ol' Granny. Wonder what kind of job I can help with. I walk up to the porch to see... Shit. How is this gonna workout?

"Well, howdy there Scar! Watcha doin' here?" A feminine voice calls out to me, strong accent. I freeze. Remember how I said I'm not the best talker, especially when it comes to mares? Yeah. Still have to work on that.

"Uh... J-just... Seeing i-if... You guys n-n-needed any help." Smooth, really... really smooth. If it were Granny, I wouldn't be like this because she is much older than me. But Applejack, she's like, seventeen. I can't help it.

"That's it?" She looks at me as if I didn't finish my sentence. "That's mighty kinda ya, but we ain't gonna need yer help today. What with the Apple Family Reunion and all." Thank Celestia for that. All I need to do gain feeling back in my legs and I'm out of here.

"Apple Family Reunion?" What the hell, mouth? Out of all the times I had to ask a question, it had to be now!?

"Yeah, the entire Apple Family is comin' 'ere ta help out with the buckin' and the coockin'." A smile comes across her lips as she continues. "Yer welcome ta stay if ya like, but we don't got any jobs fer ya." Here's my chance.

"Uh, no, no th-that's okay. I'll just be on m-my way." I turn around and head for the fence in a calm and leisurely manner, as to not attract anymore attention. Apple Family Reunion. I wonder if... I turn back to see Applejack still there, a confused look on her face. "Hey, when Apple Basket gets here. Could you tell him I said hi?" She gives a nod and goes inside. Alright. I look to my left, right, behind. I run as fast as I can towards Ponyville.

I'm sitting atop the pale building from earlier. Half way through the new issue of Dragoon already. It's been a few minutes since the... incident... at the farm. I'm too much into the story that I already forgot about it. I can't think of anything that would make this moment better. I got my comic, some food that I bought, a bottle of water. This is awesome. I look down over the ledge and see that the market place has been filled. Huh, when did that happen? I see a pink streak run through the entire crowd, knocking a few civilians to the sides. "What the hell was that!?" I have a bad feeling in my gut that's telling me to run like I've never run before. Now that is out of character for me. I don't run away, I fight. I won't let some pink thing scare me. My gut feeling only gets stronger. On second thought, lets go home. I put the comic into my bag and start jumping from roof to roof. I make it to the trees and keep on going. I'll come back when I feel that it's safe to return. I enter the clearing and see that Sunflower has fallen asleep on the porch. Adorable.