Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans

by FrostTheWolf

Chapter 6: Released Power

        The chariot ride over to the majestic of city of Canterlot took some time to arrive there since all three chariots that carried everypony was moving as a unit instead of individually at their own pace. It was a good ride over there for the most part, but then again, some things always crop up. Right now though, Nicko was listening to Lindsey Stirling on his Ipod and his brother Anson was taking in the sites below. Leo was trying to relax despite the fact that The ponies on the chariot he was on either wasn’t quite the “carefree” type or was too shy to conversate with. Those included Applejack, Rarity, Yuri, Amy and Fluttershy. Molly was stuck with the pair of brothers, but spent the time on the trip playing her 3DS. Twilight was with the Princesses and her brother on the lead chariot while Rainbow Dash, Spike and Pinkie were all on Nicko’s transport. About a few minutes in though, The Rune Slayer could hear Amy from the other carriage pester Twilight with the classic “Are we there yet?” line from the Simpsons.

        Molly’s response to all of this was her rolling her eyes and giving a deep sigh. For the Blazing Heart being her older sister, she was the one who seemed the most mature out of the two right now (Besides Yuri). Nopony else really cared for how she behaved though. Probably because they just either flat out ignore her or pretend to strangle her inside their head.

        Leo though actually surprised Nicko and a few others when he actually started up a conversation with Fluttershy. It all started when Angel decided to sit on Leo’s lap and was actually quite comfortable. This led to him talking with Fluttershy and how back home, he volunteered at an animal shelter and wanted to be a foster parent for some cats, but couldn’t since the Orphanage he, Nicko, and Anson lived at didn’t allow pets. The reason was because some of the caretakers in the facility were allergic to pet hair. Still though, despite having a mechanical Nasod arm, the bunny didn’t seem to mind when Leo tried petting him with it.

        Nicko himself was doing fine a third of the way through the trip. That’s when a familiar voice was heard over the song “Take Flight” when it was just finishing up. One that he remembered being inside his head the day before on the train ride to Ponyville.

        ‘Hey Nicko, mind lowering the volume down a bit? That song, despite being well composed, was killing my eardrums.’

        It was Eris. Once again, she seemed to surprise the Rune Slayer. For being a spirit of chaos, she seemed to have a talent of coming inside Nicko’s head at the most unexpected of times. Hence, Chaos being in the title and everything. ‘I was wondering when you were going to show up. I thought that you and your father would be in Ponyville this morning.’

        ‘We overslept. When I felt you clash with a similar magic signature, it served as a personal alarm clock. Speaking of which, mind telling me and my dad what happened?’

        ‘Sure-. Wait a minute… Your dad?’ Nicko asked inside his mind. He was a little puzzled by the statement the Draconequus said. That was… Until he heard another voice make a surprising introduction inside his mind. One that reminded him of when one of the caretakers tried to do their best “Star Trek” impersonation of a character he couldn’t remember the name of during one Halloween party.

        ‘You called?’

        Nicko himself did not know what to make of this weird and uncomfortable situation. Still though, He tried to make the best of it. ‘Uhh… Eris? Mind doing the thing you did yesterday?’

        ‘What thing?’

        ‘You know… The thing with me being in my conscience?’ 

        ‘Oh yeah… That thing. Sorry Nicko, but I can’t. Certain powers that Dad and I can do can only be done every few days. Right now, you just have us inside your spacious head of yours.’ Nicko sighed upon hearing this. Having a voice inside his head was one thing. Now having two voices was another thing. Then, he heard Eris talk to him again. ‘Anyways, back to the topic at hand…’

        ‘Yeah, maybe it would be best if I start with a question I want to ask you Eris.’ Nicko told the two of them. ‘Do you remember when I challenged Amy to a duel after she called me a pipsqueak and she agreed to it?’

        ‘Yeah. How does that relate to what we felt earlier though?’

        ‘That’s the thing. I never got the chance to fight Amy because when I got to the arena, I found someone else fighting her. That person, as it turns out, happened to be my twin brother Anson. Amy had mistaken him for me, despite the fact that we both wore different sets of clothes and also have different combat styles, weapons and skills. Shortly after I arrived and had Amy “Step Aside”, Anson and I decided to duke it out to have some fun.’

        ‘Would your brother happen to be the one next to you in the carriage you’re in and also the one who's taking in the sights like a pegasus who just began to fly?’ He heard Discord ask him.

        ‘Yeah, that’s him. His abilities specialize in wielding more than one weapon, or what I call him; The Infinity Sword. He fights with two greatswords and can summon multiple blades at once to cut apart anything that tries to get in his way. He unleashed a hail storm of swords when he fought me and could’ve accidently hurt everypony else who was watching.’

        ‘Interesting. That’s quite different from the Rune Magic you’re capable of… as I’ve been told by my daughter.’ Discord replied. ‘Mind if I see it for myself?’ Nicko nodded and flexed the muscles in his right hand, making a small mini rune before dismissing it a few seconds later.

        ‘That is quite impressive. You seem to have a great amount of control over your powers.’ Inside the spirits head though, Nicko seemed familiar to someone Discord had seen before. It was about… oh a thousand years or so (Give or take). His appearance wasn’t the same, but the calm demeanor and control Nicko had over his rather impressive abilities reminded the Spirit of a Navy haired man he had seen once before.

        ‘Thank you for the compliment.’ Nicko replied politely inside his head.

        ‘If I may dad, I wanted to ask Nicko something else. Where are you guys right now?’ Eris asked Nicko. ‘We were told that this was all going to be done in Ponyville, but we didn’t see you guys when we arrived here ten minutes ago.’

        ‘We had a emergency that required all of us to be there. Remember when you told me in the letter you originally gave me to look out for those “Changeling” creatures that can change their appearance? Well, there’s been more activity since Leo, Anson and I arrived. Were on our way over there right now with Amy, Molly, Yuri, Twilight and also everypony else.’

        Now Discord was the one that was confused. Lady Swiss Cheese never focused on evil deeds that would sacrifice the lives of her kin unless it was for an important reason or cause. ‘What kind of activity?’

        ‘So far, from what I know, they’ve been robbing stores and stealing mass quantities of Spellshards. We don't know a reason why, but whatever it is, it can’t be good.’

        ‘Spellshards hunh? Anypony with a large amount of those could possibly equip an army. Then again, it really focuses on the Type of Shards they are.’ Eris mentioned.

        ‘They’re different types?’

        ‘Yes, nine to be exact. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning, Ice, Light, Shadow, and Arcane. Each with it’s own advantages, disadvantages and purposes for use.’ Eris explained. ‘You seem to have some shards similar to these in the bag I gave you.’

        ‘Yeah, but those are called El Shards. I use them to extract El Essences, a source of energy that I use with my Mana to pull off my most powerful abilities. Unlike Spellshards though, there are only six types. Fire, Water, Wind, Nature, Dark and Light. You can also enchant Weapons and Armor to have different effects to disable your opponents in battle. However, I’m just having them on hand for if I need my strongest spells.’

        ‘Hehe… Very smart thinking. You never cease to impress me, Nicky.’ Eris teased. Discord himself chuckled at the nickname his daughter gave the teen. Given that his name and the word nickname both had “Nick” in it. Not to mention how his magic was the same kind of magic that no other Unicorn besides Starswirl was able to master. Speaking of Starswirl...

        ‘Hey Nicko?’

        ‘Yes Discord?’

        ‘I just remembered something that I think might help you expand on what you know with your magic. Are you familiar with Starswirl the Bearded by any chance?’

        ‘You mean Gandalf?’

        ‘Who’s that?’ The confused spirit asked him, having a sound effect play off in the back of his head like he was the host of a game show.

        ‘A wizard in a book series I read back home.’ For a moment inside Nicko’s head, it sounded like the inner sanctum of his brain became a home theater system with the memory of the scene from Lord of the Rings involving Gandalf using his “Intimidating Voice” on a startled and elderly Bilbo Baggins.

        ‘Well then, that was… Interesting. He definitely reminds me of Starswirl back then. Same booming personality and everything’ Discord added on.

        ‘And how does this relate to the current topic?’ Nicko asked moments afterwards.

        ‘Because one of the journals written by him contains a gold mine of notes based on your Rune magic. Consider the possibilities of what you could achieve with your magic if you learn from the research of a Grand Magus.’ Now Nicko was convinced.

        ‘And where would I happen to find this Notebook of his?’

        ‘In the Royal Library in Canterlot. I believe Eris can help show you the way, right?’ 

        ‘Sure thing, Daddy.’ Eris confidently replied. Before Nicko could say anything though -and around the tenth or eleventh time Amy asked “Are we there yet?”- he felt the carriage begin to lower towards the ground like an airplane coming in for a landing. Looking down below, The Rune Slayer was able to see the Royal city of Canterlot for the first time. It looked outstanding from the location where he was. The Mountainside castle reminded Nicko a bit of Disney Castle from all the times he saw Disney movies when he was a child. Eris and Discord had to end the current conversation, telling them that they will see Nicko and his friends soon enough once they land the chariots. Nicko could hear Amy from the other chariot sound relieved that they finally were able to make it after an hour and a half long trip. Still though, Nicko had a feeling that they might be here for quite a while.

Landing Platform, Canterlot

        Moments after landing the chariots, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis were greeted by Nobleheart as everypony stepped out of the carriages and walked towards the Royal Guard Captain. Princess Cadence was also there to greet them as well as one additional guard that dressed himself in a Royal Suit and wore white gloves over both of his hands. He was an earth pony with cream colored fur and a short black mane. He kept his arms behind him and stood in position like a bodyguard. Leo though, noticed that every once in a while, that this pony seemed to look at him. More likely, his arm.

        “Welcome back, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis.” Noblehorn greeted the Royal Siblings. “I presume that you received my message?”

        “Indeed we did,” Artemis replied. “We came as quickly as we could. However, with the railways undergoing repairs, our only method to bring everypony here safely was to come by carriage.”

        “I understand completely.” Noblehorn nodded as Everypony followed him through the city. Cadence used the chance to introduce herself to everypony, including Nicko, Amy and all the other humans. However, Amy’s reaction to Cadence’s title of “Princess of Love” was just a sly snickering and then Yuri smacking her over the head. Nicko and Anson were taking in the sites of the city, but Leo though was thinking about that one pony who was looking at him and his arm earlier. He also noticed that every once in a while, the left shoulder of his shook a little like it was out of place. The Reckless Fist had a strange feeling that he might be having a conversation with him about it later as everypony arrived by the Royal Barracks.

        The Barracks itself was a two story building that stretched out quite a ways. It almost resembled a school building based on what it looked on the outside. Inside though was a different story. The entire bottom floor was a weapons locker and armory with the back rooms being a rest area/training room that leads to the outdoor sparring grounds. The top floor was a meeting room and also held Gleaming Shields and Noblehorn’s personal office. This top floor also contained the map room and was also where everypony was planning to meet.

        As they walked on up, Celestia was first to speak as everyone was adjusted to the new room and comfortable. “Now, Noblehorn. Would you mind explaining more on what you said in the letter you sent to us?”

        “Certainly.” Noblehorn pointed out his right index finger at a City up in the northwestern section of the map in Equestria called Vanhoover. “Last night, Queen Chrysalis was spotted with one of her swarms and robbing stores that sold or used Spellshards. Quantity wise, were still trying to finalize the total number of shards stolen. But that’s not my major concern…”

        “Your major concern?” Leo asked, just as confused as some other individuals in the room.

        “Some other robberies like this have occurred about two months ago when the three girls you know as Amy, Molly and Yuri first arrived, but they were small in scale due to the changelings defeat in Ponyville. However, these crimes have been more rapid in scale since the Arrival of Nicko, Leo and… My apologies, but who is the other boy?”

        “I’m Anson, Nicko’s twin brother.”

        “Okay then, Anson.” Noblehorn added on. “Furthermore, They have been spreading out in locations and not doing the robberies in one single town or place. Vanhoover was only the eighth town that they have stolen Spellshards from.”

        “Just out of curiosity, what were the other towns?” Leo proceeded to ask. Noblehorn proceeded to pull out some red dot like pins and place them on different locations on the map. The towns he marked in Red meant the most recent occurrences while the pins in navy blue were from two months ago. Questions were continually asked around the room for details involving details that focused more on the details that didn’t make a difference to Leo. Because he saw something that no one else could see.

        “So we have no way of knowing where they might hit next, if they are going to steal more shards?” Leo heard his friend Nicko say.

        “We have put security in all towns and cities on high alert as of this morning to ensure the safety of the civilians.” The guard captain told them.

        However, Now was when Leo interjected. “I’m not sure if they would be wanting to rob another store. I believe there’s something that we are possibly overlooking.”

        “Overlooking?” Artemis asked, a little bit in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

        “Well, what if you look at it from a different perspective. Not as in what they stole, but what they could be using it for? Having a whole bunch of pretty stones isn’t going to do much good if you can’t use it for something.” Leo explained. Turning towards Twilight, he then asked his next question. “Twilight, can you tell me again what these shards are used for?”

        “Well, they can be used for powering up machinery, enchanting weapons for the Royal guards and a variety of other purposes.” The Alicorn answered the Reckless Fist’s question. “How does this relate to what you said though?”

        “Because every criminal leaves a trail no matter how clean a crime scene might look.”

        “Leo brings up a good point.” Nicko added on. “He always has a talent for seeing things from different perspective and uncovering hidden clues. A very smart cookie if you ask me.”

        The cookie comment caused Pinkie to be like “Did somepony say Cookies?!”, not knowing that it was a figure of expression. Twilight herself asked if the older teen needed anything. Specifically, Leo asked if they had case files regarding all changeling activity besides the robberies. He believed that a trail could be found looking through previous cases. He also asked for a copy of the map of Equestria. Both items were provided to Leo shortly afterwards. Noblehorn though, added something else to it.

        “Mr. Leo… Given the current events that have transpired recently, I believe that it would be best if I have a guard with you to protect you. Changelings can take on the form of anypony and it would be best to have a smart mind like you under the protection of a soldier I could trust.” With a hand motion, the black mane earth pony that Leo saw earlier was called to the High Captain’s side. “Watchmen, make sure Leo is escorted to his quarters and assist him with anything he needs.”

        The pony nodded as the two of them walked their way out of the barracks and towards the main castle. Despite looks from passers by and some of the younger fillies and colts asking their parents about his arm, Leo felt comfortable for the most part and didn’t mind the attention. He soon came across the room and set down the cardboard box of the case files on the queen sized bed, Separating each of them by when it occurred. That was when The Reckless Fist turned to see the guard pony still there.

        “You’ve been very helpful. Thank for your assistance.” The compliment was only met by silence. The human began to think that either it was because the guard either needed permission to speak or he was just plain nervous. With a sigh, Leo spoke again. “If you need permission to speak, then-.”

        “Oh, sorry.” The male pony spoke, covering his mouth to clear his throat. “I just had some thoughts on my mind. I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”

        “It’s alright. If I may ask, what’s on your mind?”

        “Well… I was wondering about your arm. How do you handle living with it everyday? Doesn’t it make you stand out?” The guard asked.

        “Not quite. I feel fine with it……… Something tells me you’re not asking just for casual conversation.” The Earth pony was quite surprised himself. This human definitely had a talent for finding hidden clues. So, he proceeded to take off the glove that was on his left hand. What Leo saw surprised him.

        A metal hand.

        The pony then took off his coat and that’s when the Reckless Fist saw the metal plate around his left shoulder. This pony had a metal arm just like him. With his arm being covered in steel. The guards face though looked like he wasn’t too thrilled to show it off.

        “I lost my arm during the Canterlot Invasion two years ago by protecting some civilians that were trying to get to safety. My right hand had my sword and my left one had my shield. However, when I took on some changeling drones, their method for disarming my shield was hacking off my arm. I was lucky to have a Light spellshard to close my wound, but the recovery process took very long. Still, I’ve had problems before where my arm can accidently hurt somepony even though I never intended to. When I saw you walking around normally with your arm, I thought you knew a way to be able to know how to use it without possibly hurting somepony. Right now, I’m worried that I might accidently do more than just harm somepony on accident if I don’t do something.”

        Leo himself was just speechless. He did not expect for a guard that was just watching him to not only have an arm like his, but a story behind it. This pony came to him for his help. Fortunately, The Reckless Fist did have something that could help him. But he needed to know who he was first.

        “What’s your name? Because I don’t believe it’s what Noblehorn addressed you as.”

        “Caliburn, sir.” The Stallion replied.

        “Well, Caliburn. I believe I can help you. I just want to make sure of a few things.” The Human told him. “First, you don’t need to address me formally. Just call me Leo.”

        “Okay, S- I mean Leo.”

        “Next…” Leo shuffled through his shoulder bag that he had and pulled out what looked like a skill book, but was not like the one he had. This one had a gold book clip holding the book tightly like a private journal. But instead of a Metal claw on the front of it like on his book, this one that Leo brought out had a sword on the front of it. “I would like you to open this for a minute. Only to the front page. I want to see if you can read it.”

        “Okay, but if I may ask, how does this help me?”

        “My book here taught me the skills that I needed to fight. Theres a difference between you and me though, Caliburn.” Leo told him “I use my arm as a weapon. However, you are different. Therefore, you should use your new arm as a shield like you did with your original arm. Use it not to fight, but to protect others. Let your sword be your weapon to fight. Now… the reason why I say this is because this book here could teach you the skills that are necessary for you to go down this path.”

        Thinking it through, Caliburn saw sense in what the human told him. Using his right hand, he unclipped the front of the journal and was greeted by a series of symbols on the front page. But to his surprise, the symbols began to morph into words that he could read clearly. The front page had what resembled an oath or a vow.

        “Leo… I can read this.”

        “That… is a good sign. What does it say?”

        The guard pony calmly cleared his throat as he began to speak. The words that came from his mouth were said in rhythm like a poem. But the words themselves represented his traits.

        The moment the guard finished speaking those words, a surge of energy could be felt through his veins as he glowed for a brief moment in a pillar of light. Leo smiled a little as he rested a hand on Caliburns shoulder. “Congratulations, you’ve completed the first step. You may keep the book. It will be your guide to learning the skills on the path that you want to follow.”

        “Wait a minute! What do you mean by first step?” The earth pony asked in confusion.

        “The second step is to train you of course.” Leo explained. “You might know already how to use a sword. But again, that book is a guide. It teaches you more skills that Noblehorn or any of the other instructors don’t know how to pull off in a lifetime. I’m helping you Caliburn because I want to give you a second chance. Read through the book while I look through these files. Then, since I believe all of us will be here for dinner, meet me afterwards where you would train back at the barracks.”

        “Okay, but what happens then?” The guard pony asked.

        “Consider it as a test. You use the time to study now and tonight, I’ll see how much you have learned.”

Meanwhile

        Shortly after Leo left the barracks, the meeting wrapped up with Nicko, Amy and the other humans were outside with Spike, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Rarity herself had wandered off on one of her personal shopping sprees after hearing about a famous clothes designer at one of the nearest fashion outlets.

        “So… Now what?” Spike asked. “We got a few hours to kill so does anypony have a suggestion on how to pass the time?”

        “Maybe a tour through the city?” Anson suggested. “I’ve never really been through a city like this one before and maybe I might find something that I want to check out. What do you think, Nicko?”

        The words check out made Nicko think of a library. Which also reminded him of the Notebook of Starswirl the Bearded back at the Royal library that he needed to look at/acquire. “I think it’s a good idea. But I got somewhere else to be. I’ll catch up with you later.” With that, he took a right turn and made his way through the streets of the sprawling city. Using the directories and signs as a guide, Nicko followed each one and continued to keep going for another five to ten minutes. That was when he found the entrance of the library. It was massive. Like he was looking at the entrance to the Jedi Archives in a Star Wars Movie. Many ponies were going in and out of its entrance like it was a busy commute.

        ‘Is this the place?’ Nicko asked inside his head.

        ‘Yup.’ He heard Eris answer. ‘This is the Canterlot Library. One freaking huge room filled with a freaking huge amount of books.’ 

        ‘I now see why Twilight likes it so much. So, is your dad going to guide us or he too busy with Royalty?’

        ‘Yeah, Ms. Sunbutt needed him for a minute. Though, daddy said it wouldn’t be hard to find it. I wonder what he means by that...’ Nicko wondered too. When the Rune Slayer walked in, he noticed that there was a map of the library and took a moment to analyze it. There were three floors. First floor was the Fiction/Non-Fiction section. Second floor was the reference section with the third floor being a study hall room. Before he went to any floor though, he saw one of the workers by a desk that says For Sale and had a few desks on a pile by a small register and some more in a basket.

        Curiosity attracted the attention of the human. Moving over there, he scanned each of the books to see if Starswirl the bearded came up as the Author of anything. Turns out, halfway through the bin, Nicko found something that resembled an old leather journal. Symbols covered the front of it, but the Rune Slayer had a feeling that this was the right one. The front page of the book had the same symbol of the Rune marking on his shoulder.

        ‘I think this is it.’ Nicko told Eris mentally as he inspected the next couple of pages. ‘The Secrets of Rune Magic: A reference guide. By Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the clever.’ 

        ‘Yeah, that seems about right. I wonder why somepony would have that be here though? Unless they’re looking for a quick way to get some bits off of you.’ 

        Eris’s comment brought up a good point. As Nicko walked over to the register and quickly glanced at the book’s barcode number, he saw the mare at the register reading the paper. The front page article had his face on it as he was coming out of the Friendship Express. Well, this was just great…

        “Hello sir, How can I help you?” The mare at the desk asked him, her head looking down and not making eye contact at all. She had coffee like fur and a Light colored mane that resembled coffee creamer, dressed in a set of casual work clothes. Talk about anti-social.

        “I would like to purchase this book please.” Nicko replied politely. He saw the Mare nod her head as she looked for the number of the book in a binder below her arms. Nicko soon heard the scanning of a code as the price appeared on the register. Something though, did not seem right.

        ===> Price: 3,000 bits.

        “Uh, Ma’am. I’m not sure if that’s the right price.”

        “Excuse me?” The mare asked. Before she was able to say anything else, the earth pony mare looked up to see who she was talking to. Her eyes widened a bit as she gritted her teeth.

        “You scanned the barcode of the wrong book. My books code is 82130 and the one you scanned was 82259, which is the code for an Algebra Textbook.”

        Upon looking back at the binder, the mare soon realized that the human boy was right and rushed to correct her mistake. She couldn’t believe that the job that she saw as a “Dead-end” had led to her being face to face with the ‘Friendship Express Eidolon’ that saved the lives of countless ponies only yesterday. She soon pushed the book towards the Rune Slayer as a new price came up on the screen.

        ===> Price: 400 bits.

        “Sorry about that.” The earth pony said. “Having a late night last night doesn’t really help if you have a 9 o’clock shift the next morning. Say… would you happen to be Nicko Nocte? The boy who saved all of those ponies on the train?”

        Nicko nodded his head in approval, answering the mares question. The human tried to play along the best he could as he counted the amount of bits he needed to pay the cashier. It was natural for him to feel uncomfortable around new people he just met. But it was even more uncomfortable for him to feel this way when they knew his name and he didn’t know why. This time though, he knew why. Guess being a hero gets you unwanted attention when you least expected it.

        “Well, I’m just honored to be able to meet you.” She told him as she flipped over a triple sided nameplate that was face down. The name “Hazel Ink” showed up in gold lettering as she spoke again. “I’m really grateful for what you did yesterday.”

        “Grateful?” He asked out of curiosity.

        “My husband was coming home on that train when it was being taken over. If you didn’t do what you did, I wouldn’t know if he was okay or not. You’re a real lifesaver”

        Now Nicko knew the reason. He almost forgot about all the other ponies that were safe after they came out of the train. Most of the passengers probably have families that they wanted to get home too. It felt good that Karma was on his side. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. Oh and heres the money for the book. Keep the change.”

        With that, Nicko set a small pouch on the desk as he began to walk to the lobby and turn to the front page of his new book. Hazel on the other hoof, looked inside the small leather sack and gasped. The human had paid her almost five times as much as the book was for sale for. She felt like this was a mistake of some sort. But then again, there’s no mistaking somepony’s generosity. She looked as the human sat down, enjoying the book that he had recently purchased.

        ‘Just out of curiosity Nicko, why did you have her keep the change?’ Eris asked inside Nicko’s head. ‘You did give her 2000 bits after all.”

        ‘I was feeling generous.’ Nicko replied mentally. ‘Many ponies here see me as either a alien or somepony under the protection of Celestia. I want them to see what kind of person I am through the action I do, not through who I’m with. First impression really affect how somepony see’s you, so giving good first impressions makes them see that I’m not different from them in any way at all.’ 

        Nicko continued to read for a good eight to nine hours as he processed the knowledge into the mental computer that was his brain. Seeing notes and pages that reflected skills that he knew previously, the Rune Slayer decided to call this book the one that contained his “Skill Notes.” Some of these notes included ones that allowed his spells to cost less Mana, his “Rising Wave” spell to follow curved paths and his “Burning Fist” to last longer and deal more damage. It also taught him a few more spells and the skill notes on each of them. It felt good to have some extra tricks up his sleeve for if things got out of hand.

        As he left the library though, another pair of eyes seem to be watching him besides the mare at the desk. These eyes belonged to an individual in a long navy coat as he was looking at a book that he kept on him as a journal, notebook and a sketchbook. Closing the book, he whisked around a shelf and into the back of the room, out of sight from Eris when she looked beside the Rune Slayer she was with.

        The Spirit of Chaos felt like she was being watched. Then again, barely anypony could see her right now. Must’ve been some sort of freaking superstition she had.

        ‘Something wrong, Eris?’ Nicko asked her. The Rune Slayer could hear her breathing differently than before and also her sighing inside his head.

        ‘No, I’m fine… I just can’t shake this weird feeling I have though.’ 

        ‘What feeling?’ 

        ‘That we were being watched.’ Eirs told him. ‘It might just might be a mirage playing tricks with my eyes. With the sunlight reflecting off of the glass and what not.’

        Nicko though, despite understanding Eris, had also felt the same feeling and decided not to tell her. He feared that it might distract them if they were going to run into somepony. Sooner than expected, somepony actually came looking for them. It was one of the guards, a orange pegasus with a blue mane and tail with a cutie mark of a shield and a lightning bolt. Instantly, Nicko recognized him from the train ride yesterday.

        “Hello, Flash Sentry.”

        “Hello to you to, Nicko. Your presence is being requested at the Castle.” Nicko began to wonder the many possibilities of why he would be called until he noticed that his surroundings were getting… dimmer.

        That’s when the teen noticed that the sun was completely set and now the moon was out. He looked at his watch on the phone he kept in his pocket. 6:00pm. Yup, Night had fallen. “I guess it’s because dinner will soon be served.”

        “Yes and because your brother was a little concerned about you.”

        “Hehe… Typical Anson.” Nicko said. “Alright, Captain Sentry. Lead the way”

A few minutes later,

        No later that the moment Nicko walked in did it feel like a Volcano erupted because of the amount of shouting that came through the mane hallway. from the sounds of things, it seemed like someone had the guts to piss off Molly this time as she now was acting like a Mischievous Mastermind that her powers were based off of, summoning Apocalypse to chase somepony wearing a formal suit for attire and had a gold mane. He was a Unicorn from a quick glance and judging from the fact that he dropped a wine glass, he had EXTREMELY high standards. Acting quickly, Flash led his human accomplice to his room and AWAY from the ongoing chaos. Despite Eris being a spirit of chaos, this was not the kind of chaos she was expecting. Soon, both Nicko and Eris were informed of what exactly was causing this and why. When Nicko turned around, Yuri was in the same room as they were, reading a book from a nearby bookshelf.

        “Hello there, Nicko. Seems like you made it through the craziness.” Yuri greeted. The Teen himself; was exhausted at this point, falling backwards onto the nearby couch. He nodded.

        “Any idea why Molly is acting… You know… like that?”

        “Have you heard of Prince Blueblood?”

        “No, but from judging by the name -and excuse my language- he sounds like a complete jackass.” Nicko replied. Moments afterwards, Eris decided to come out in her physical form so she could join the conversation between the Rune Slayer and the Sakra Devanam as Flash Sentry left the room to give them some peace.

        “Preaching the choir on that one, Nicky.”

        Yuri herself looked startled by the Draconequus sudden appearance. “I’m sorry, but who are you and where did you come from?”

        “I’m Eris, spirit of chaos and daughter of Discord at your surface.” The spirit bowed as she formed a pink cloud with a snap of her eagle talon to rest herself upon. “As for your question, I was with Nicko.”

        Yuri looked confused for a minute, trying to understand what just happened. Nicko recognized the expression as one that he saw on Twilight’s face before. Looks like he needed to step in. “Eris has been inside my head and helping me out. Remember when you and I ran into each other in the dining car?”

        “Oh… So when you said Eris, you were referring to her?”

        “Basically,” The Rune Slayer said. The sounds from outside made it sound like somepony was screaming bloody murder and pleading for forgiveness. “Now, should we return to the topic at hand?”

        “Oh yes… That.” Yuri replied, not with a lot of enthusiasm though. “I’ve known the girls for quite a long time and have known Amy for being the one that sometimes gets more offended than Molly. But there are some things that should not be said or even refer to when around Molly. Like at all.”

        Nicko and Eris looked at each other for a few seconds before returning their gaze. They pondered on the thought of if they should even ask what set her off like a Nuclear warhead. “And what is that?”

        “Blueblood said a rather… disturbing insult about her mother……  her dead mother.”

        The Sakra Devanam straightened her clothes for a moment as she continued to speak. Yuri told Nicko and Eris about how raising Molly was hard at times because she knew that she couldn’t comfort her as much like her actual mother could. The Rune Slayer himself, looked at an old family photo was kept in his wallet. That way, he could preserve the memory of his parents.

        Shortly afterwards, everypony gathered in the hall of elements for a three course meal courtesy of the best chef’s in Canterlot. Tonight’s meal included Ceasar Salad, Spaghetti (But no meatballs, Which was a bummer to Anson), garlic bread, and also a special cake made by Pinkie Pie. Blueblood decided not to show to dinner since he felt that his string of bad luck was going to continue with more humans being at the dinner table. But despite what he thought, everypony was having a great time. Especially when Nicko and the others met Eris’s little brother, Chaotic. He was only 7, but he still had a lot of traits that resembled his father. When asked who was the mother of Eris and Chaotic, the spirit told Nicko inside his head that she would only tell him if the two of them somehow ended up in stone or worse.

        As time passed, everypony was directed to their rooms as they went to go get a good night’s sleep. However, good was not exactly what happened for Nicko.

        “Don’t worry, Nicky. You’re dad and I won’t be gone for long.”

        “Please don’t leave, mommy.”

        “Everythings going to be alright, honey…… We’ll be home soon. I promise.” 

        “No, stop… Please… Don’t leave…”

        ‘Nicko? Nicko?! Nicko!!!’ 

        The Rune Slayer jolted from his queen sized bed faster than it felt like to be woken from the dead. He was startled, with beads of sweat running down the side of his face as he grasped the front of his face with his left hand. The teen laid there without a shirt, but still had his pants from earlier. He couldn’t sleep. Not like this.

        ‘Dear Chaos, are you alright?!’

        ‘Eris?’ Nicko thought inside his head as he reached for his half shirt. ‘What happened?’ 

        ‘You were having some kind of flashback during your sleep. It happened moments after I was trying to settle down and retire for the evening. Had you talking in your sleep and was haunting you, so I tried waking you as soon as I can’

        That’s when Nicko remembered that Eris decided to stay inside his head for the remainder of the evening. It felt odd because of the fact that him asleep in his bed and the spirit sleeping in his mind might cross a few boundaries if someone thinks of it the wrong way. Putting on his shirt, the Rune slayer then decided to put on his gloves and shoes. A breath of fresh air was much needed right around now. So, after equipping his sword, the boy left the room and had the draconequus join him. It would be best for the emotional support since he did see a nightmare of his parents.

        Before they left the room, Nicko made sure to put his wallet and phone in his pocket as well as check the time. It was an hour after midnight and the light of the moon brightly casted it’s glow through the windows of the empty hall. Both the Rune Slayer and Draconequus did not expect anypony to be up besides the guards on the night shift. So on that matter, it was easy for them to reach the balcony by the hall of elements and look upon the dimly lit Canterlot that was illuminated by Artemis’s moon. To the Rune Slayer, it was beautiful. The moon to him was like a rare treasure. A sacred one that should be kept safe.

        “The city looks even more spectacular at night.” Nicko said aloud, thinking that nopony besides Eris would hear the stray comment. Eris herself decided to come out from hiding in Nicko’s head and talk to him as well.

        “Yeah it does. Though, the moon has scared many before.”

        “It has?”

        “Yeah. There were originally two Royal Pony Siblings. But something took form from Artemis’s built up anger and emotions. It represented everything that was the opposite of him, including it’s appearance. She was called Nightmare Moon and wanted to cast the world into a never ending night. She was stopped though twice.” Eris explained as she snapped a talon finger and formed a glass of leftover punch from the dinner table.

        “Why though?”

        “Hmm?” Eris asked. “What was that?”

        “Why did she want to do that though? Did Nightmare Moon have a reason?”

        The Chaos spirit’s only answer was a shrug. “Nopony knows. You can’t really have a trial if you banish her to the moon.”

        That got Nicko thinking. The thing he knew about family members was that sometimes, one got more attention and praise than another. This led to hatred, anger, and in a lot of cases, envy. “What if she wanted to feel free?”

        “What do you mean?”

        “Well, Celestia and Artemis are siblings and despite the fact that I don’t know a thing about the two, there are some instances where you want to break away from the feeling of being held back, only for ponies to hide from you if you did show yourself.” Nicko pointed at the sky for a moment at a flying bird. “The feeling to be free as a bird and make your own choices. The feeling to be loved or appreciated for the things you do for people. Artemis must’ve had those emotions, but they formed a mind of their own and wanted to act on their own. Maybe she just wanted to feel free.”

        The comment wasn’t just heard by the spirit of chaos though. Princess Celestia was nearby, hearing the teens words. She didn’t make her presence known yet. The Alicorn wanted to hear more from the boy.

        “I have that feeling too. At times, Anson and I feel pulled back due to the both of us being on the Autism Spectrum. At times, it’s a blessing. But other times, it’s a curse. It affects how I communicate and how I behave in certain situations. Sometimes, I loosen my hands because I don’t want to feel like I’m standing Idle. Standing Idle to me feels like being frozen in ice. If I keep moving, then I can move on from my past and look forward.” Nicko calmly took a deep breath. With what came next, he had to make sure that he could stay strong.

        If he could open up to Twilight, then he could open up to Eris.

        “You’re a lot luckier than I am, Eris. On a lot of things. You have your parents, your little brother, friends. I just have my brother. The memory that you saw when I tried to sleep was of my mom and dad before they disappeared. They were invited to a Fantasy Themed Masquerade Ball by their co-workers and never managed to return home. For me, the memory remains inside my mind when I sleep and at times when certain events or motions resemble those of the past. I remember opening the door, anticipating my mother when I instead saw a family friend of ours with a look of worry and sorrow in her face. I remember people talking about our parents possibly being dead or murdered while we were in the next room and the words echo through the halls of the orphanage we live in. I remember everything.”

        Nicko cleared up his face a little, to stop himself from emotionally breaking down. “Coming here made me feel free. But for the last few hours, I have a strange feeling. I heard that sometimes dreams can be used as a way to show something. But what though? What would showing my parents help me with?”

        “I don’t know, Nicko. But we’ll figure it out. We do make quite a team, after all.” Eris then heard something from the hall of elements. A thud like sound that sounded like somepony dropped something. Leaving the ledge and coming back inside, the two of them were Surprised to see Princess Celestia standing in the hall.

        “Princess?”

        “I was wondering why you two were out here when I thought you would be asleep.”

        “I can explain-.” Nicko ushered the motion like he wanted Celestia to give him a moment to speak. But that didn’t really come to him.

        “It’s okay, Nicko. I heard everything you said.” The sun princess told him. “Could you follow me for just a moment?”

        Looking at Eris and then nodding, the two of the followed the Alicorn to her throne inside the hall.

        “Through all my life Nicko, I met thousands of interesting ponies. But you and your Brother and best friend are quite extraordinary. In fact, you and your brother remind me of two humans I met about a thousands years ago actually.”

        “Wait… we do?”

        “Yes. They were a married couple, but the wife of the two was turned into a twelve year old girl because of a spell casted on her.” Celestia continued. “The young girl reminded me a bit about you since the two of you have some similar traits while your brother reminds me of her husband with the way he fights with two swords. The Duo wanted to get back to their world as soon as possible because they had two sons that they wanted to see again when they returned home. A pair of twins actually.”

        The last comment had caught Nicko’s attention like it was hook, line and sinker. A married couple that were raising two boys that were twins? What did that mean?

        “Who-?”

         *CRASHHH!!!* 

        Before Nicko could even pose his question, the three of them were startled by the sound of the door to the Hall of Elements smashing through the hallway after being torn off it’s hinges. When the smoke cleared, they saw two new individuals that entered the hall. One was a young girl that looked like she was twelve years old in a black and blue short dress with a white bow around her neck and a black crown on top of her head of white hair. The other was taller- about 5ft 8in height wise- and wore a dark navy coat that matched his hair and had two swords holsted around his waist. Celestia’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

        These two were the Duo that she saw a thousand years ago.

        “Ciela, I told you before… no dramatic entrances.” The taller one addressed the little girl. She just rolled her eyes as she coughed a bit before looking back at the few people in the room. She remembered the Alicorn, but not the red headed human or… wait a minute. A human?

        ‘That boy…’ The Brawler thought to herself as she looked at the teenager. ‘Why does he seem… familiar?’

        Nicko himself was not sure of anything that was going on right now. One moment, he was talking with Celestia. The next moment, these two just dynamically entered in the hallway like they intended on making an entrance. Looking back at the Princess only brought him concern when he saw the expression on her face.

        “Celestia, are you okay? Who are these two?”

        “These two… are the duo I met a thousand years ago.”

        Now, the individual with the two swords startled to walk up to Celestia. “Funny that you remember us now… after all, you were the reason why we got trapped in stone in the first place-.”

        “What-!?”

        “That was an accident! My brother and I never intended to harm you or your companion-!”

        “Bullsh*t!!” He blurted out. “You knew that we have a family that we wanted to return to, but couldn’t do anything to try and free us sooner! Even after that damned Esper reduced our strenght and we still fought on, you… did… NOTHING!!!”

        Now Nicko had a bad feeling about this guy. His hands were very close to his weapons and seemed eager to draw them. Quickly, Nicko put himself in between Celestia and this individual. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. Not as long as he was here and he could do something.

        “What are you doing kid?” The adult said. “Step aside… I need to talk with Ms. Princess here.”

        No response came from the Rune Slayer. Eris herself was worried about him. What was Nicko trying to do.

        “Child, I said step aside.”

        “I don’t take orders from people who are trying to hurt my friends.”

        The older swordsman was surprised by the young boy’s response. He had guts, that was for sure. He walked backwards a bit, but Nicko watched as his hands grabbed his weapon handles and heard a *KLICK* go off. That’s when he realized that he wasn’t holding two blades. He was holding two gunblades.

        “Luke, stop.” came the voice of his companion. “You told me that we weren’t fighting anyone unless necessary-.”

        “Pfft! Coming from the toddler that blew down the front door instead of knocking.” Eris slyly commented. The spirit of chaos thought that she wouldn’t be able to hear that. But, as it turns out, she did. Her anger was now rising like high tide on the coast of Seaddle. Almost like if you called Nicko a name that referred to his height. Hellfire churned around her hands as she summoned her weapons. Two gauntlets that could change their size based on the user.

        “Don’t… call me… A TODDLER!!!”

        The young girl sprung forward, intending to smash her fist in the Draconequus face. But on instinct. Nicko leaped over and blocked it mid-flight with the face of his sword. a kick to the chest sent the girl flying backwards. He was going to tell everyone to calm down, until the young girl decided to open her mouth again.

        “That was rude… Didn’t your parents teach you how to be more respectful.”

        Now Nicko was ticked. This little wrench just crossed a line. Gritting his teeth as he held his sword backwards and the runes on his sword and the cuffs on his wrists began to glow. “Eris, take Celestia, get out of here and find Artemis and him.”

        “Wait?! Whose him!?”

        “You know who it is.” Nicko cut off the spirit before she could say anything else.

        “What about you though?”

        Celestia’s question only had one answer. Nicko was going to stay behind. For the reason why… Well, there was only one reason why.

        “These two made this fight personal.” The Rune Slayer growled. Eris used the chance to get the two of them out of the room. Seconds afterwards though, Luke bolted for the window in pursuit and his accomplice prevented Nicko from allowing him to stop the Bladegunner. The Brawler and the Rune Slayer were now the only one’s in the room and nothing was off limits to how this fight was going to go down.

        The first move was made by Ciela as she used her huge fist to yank a statue from the floor and throw it towards Nicko. The teenager casted his Wind Blade skill and had the conjured sword shatter the statue into pieces, using leftover debris to hit it back at his opponent like it was a home run derby. This caught the fighter off guard and had her cast something the Rune Slayer never expect.

        “FLAME OF THE DEVIL!!!” 

        The young girl now had three hellfire pillars burning around her as she leaped in the air and crashed by Nicko. The impact caused the teen to not be able to see his opponent as she struck him three times. Each time he was hit, her three flames exploded on contact and caused Nicko to howl more in pain. Ciela wasn’t done though… As the boy was about to land, she smashed her gauntlet into the ground and had a phantasmal claw emerge from the ground and savagely tear at him.

        “Come on, now? Is that it?” She mocked as the young girl just looked at Nicko, laying on the ground. “I expected more for someone who-.”

        That’s when she saw something float in front of her eyes. It was a photograph. A family photograph. One that she had seen before and remembered. She even had one just like it after all.

        “No…”

        Ciela couldn’t even speak as she saw Nicko slowly struggle back up from his face being on the floor. Flashbacks were coming inside her mind with what the kid said next.

        “No way am I giving up! I don’t quite and I never run!! If I did, then I wouldn’t be able to overcome anything that got in my way. My parents weren’t around for 12 years after they disappeared one night. But I’m not letting that hold me back!!”

        The blue cinders of hellfire began to churn rapidly as it changed from a cool blue to a violent orange flame. Nicko was now back on his feet as the runes on his clothes and weapon glowed even more and he was channeling a small rune inside his hand. But this rune was different. It formed wings of fire that resembled an ancient beast of legend as the Rune Slayer cracked a grin.

        “This ends now.” He declared as the fire turned into an all out blaze and the Rune formed a giant bird of fire that soared into the air and through the roof of the broken hall. It landed back downward on Nicko’s body, the energy becoming one with his own. Now was when this fight got serious.

        “PHOENIX TALON!!!”

End Chapter 6