Chapter 2- When the past stops being just memories (Introducing: Snow Flash)
"Ahh, it feels good to finally get out of there." Leon said, walking away from the hospital.
"Couldn't agree more." Moon said, spreading her wings.
"You do realize that you could've left at anytime, right?"
Moon shrugged. "Didn't have anywhere else to be."
"Why not head home? Don't you live near Fillydelphia?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm still trying to figure you out."
"Figure me out? Moon I told you, the less you know, the better."
Moon raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that's gonna stop me? I mean, c'mon. You live in the Everfree and you're friends with a princess. I need to know. I'm your friend, aren't I? Don't I have a right to know what's going on? Leon?"
She turned around and noticed that he had stopped walking, and was staring at the ground.
"Hey, you alright?" Moon asked as she trotted back to him.
"You should head home." He said, still staring at the ground.
"What? Why!? I already told you I'm not leaving without answers!" She stomped her hoof in frustration.
"And I already told you, I'm not giving them. So just go home." He said, his voice seemed eerily calm.
Moon glared at him. "Tell. Me. Why. Why is it so important for me to go home!? Why don't you want ponies around you!?" Her voice rose with each question until finally she ended up shouting.
"AND WHY THE BUCK DON'T YOU HAVE YOUR CUTIE MARK!? YOU'RE NINETEEN AND A BLANK FLANK WHO SPENDS HIS DAYS IN SOLITUDE AT A FREAKING LIBRARY! WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IF YOU JUST SIT THERE STARING AT BOOKS ALL LUNA-DAMNED DAY!?"
"I MIGHT FIND ANSWERS!" Moon stopped, confused.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH QUESTIONS!? YOU THINK I WANT TO PUSH PONIES AWAY!? I DO IT BECAUSE I! HAVE! TO! I WISH, I COULD HAVE FRIENDS. I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE SO SCARED. I WISH..." Leon stared at her, all of his frustration clearly shown.
Leon closed his eyes, and took a deep breathe to calm himself.
"I wish, I had my cutie mark. Maybe it could point me in the right direction. But right now...I really wish you would just go home, and leave me alone..." Leon walked off, heading towards the Everfree, leaving Moon standing alone, mouth wide open in shock. After a few seconds, she spread her wings and took off.
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Leon had planned to head to his campsite, but wasn't sure if Moonlit had actually left. Instead, he had decided to head towards a nearby lake. He laid down at the edge, staring at his reflection.
He sighed, his breath rippling the water. When it had calmed, He had replaced Leon's reflection.
Leon scowled at Him. "What do you want?"
He chuckled. "Oh, I'm just here to congratulate you on a great performance. Losing your temper like that really made me feel for you."
Leon snorted. "If she knows what's good for her, she'll leave."
"Because that worked so well last time, right?"
Leon stood up, glaring at Him, "Look, I wanted to find some peace, so if you could just leave me alone, that'd be great!" He splashed water, leaving only his own glaring face.
No matter how much you may want me gone, I will always be here.
Leon sat back down, trying to figure out what to do next.
I can always head over to Twi's, but I should probably wait a bit, I don't need her asking me why I'm coming so late...I think I'll just stay here and relax... He thought, making himself comfortable.
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Leon woke up to find somepony gently shaking him.
"Excuse me, sir. It's getting late, shouldn't you be at home?" A feminine voice asked.
Leon groaned, "Don't have one, now let me sleep." He said, turning over to get comfortable again.
"What do you mean you don't have one?" The voice asked.
Leon tiredly waved a hoof in the air. "I mean I don't have one. Simple as that. I've got my campsite, but that's just where I usually sleep. Speaking of which, that's something I'd like to get back to."
"Why don't you just head back to your campsite then? It's bound to be better than out here."
Leon shrugged. "I'm comfy here."
"I'm sure your campsite would be better"
"...You're not just going to let me stay here are you."
The voice giggled. "Nope."
Leon sighed and started to get up. "Alright I'm up, can you go now."
"You haven't even opened your eyes." She deadpanned.
Leon opened his eyes to see the lake lit up in the moonlight, the full moon reflected off the lake's surface, helping to spread the light throughout the area.
Leon turned around to face the pony that had been wanting him to wake up so badly. "So, you got me up, mind telling me your name?" He asked.
"I'm Snowflash." She said.
She was a young pegasus, slightly shorter than Leon. Her coat was white, and her mane and tail were also white, but had a blueish tint to it. Her mane was tied into double ponytails that fell across her shoulders. Leon stopped as his gaze approached her flank as he tried to see her cutie mark, only to discover that she didn't have one.
Snow felt his gaze linger and shifted her tail to cover her blank flank.
"No need to stare." She said, "Not all of us can be good at..." She stopped, noticing Leon's blank flank. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
Leon laughed, "It's alright. I'm used to it, but how did you not notice earlier?"
"I was just trying to wake you up, didn't really pay attention to anything else." She said, relieved that she hadn't offended him.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't you be headed home as well?" Leon asked.
"Oh! Um, I was just heading there and..."
"You live on the outskirts of town?"
"Y-yeah, just on a floating cloud."
Leon sighed, "I might've believed that if it wasn't a clear night tonight. Do you not have anywhere to stay?"
Snow nodded.
Leon sighed again. "Well, I think I know where you can stay the night. A friend of mine usually does some late night reading before bed, so she should still be awake."
Snow smiled. "Really?"
"Yeah, just follow me, she's got plenty of spare rooms."
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After a few minutes of walking the duo had arrived at Twilight's castle.
"So, when you said friend you meant..."
"The Princess of Friendship? Yeah, but she still prefers to be called Twilight." Leon knocked on the door. Hopefully she's not too upset with me for not stopping by today.
The door opened to reveal Moon, who just stared at him for a minute.
"Where's Twi?"
"Studying."
"May we come in?"
"Sure."
Moon stood to the side to let them in, closing the door behind them.
The three of them walked in awkward silence, tension thick in the air as they approached the castle's library.
Leon opened the door to the library, Twilight was sitting at a table searching through a book for something. As they got nearer, they could hear her muttering to herself.
"No… No...maybe, but then...."
Leon tapped her on the shoulder.
"AHH" Twi spun around to face him. "You jerk! That scared me!"
"Whoa, easy Twilight. I was just wondering if you could let Snowflash here use one of the spare rooms for the night."
"Huh?" Twilight looked past him to the pegasus standing behind him with Moon. "I don't see anything wrong with that, but you're staying here as well tonight."
"Why would I be staying here?"
"Because, in case you haven't noticed, it's late, and after that Scorpio incident, I'd prefer it if you stayed here rather than in the Everfree."
Leon sighed, "Alright, fine."
Twilight nodded. "Good. Owlicious!" A brown owl flew out from the rows of books and landed on the table in front of her. "Would you mind leading Snow to one of the guest rooms?"
The owl hooted and flew to the doorway, waiting for Snow to follow.
"Thank you for letting me stay." Snow said
"Don't worry about it. Now go, get some sleep."
Snow nodded and left to follow the owl.
"Leon, you should go get some sleep too."
"Nah, I had a nap earlier, I'm good. Besides, I have studying to catch up on." Leon replied, moving towards the shelves.
Moon flew in front of him. "I'm sorry."
Leon blinked. "About what? If you mean earlier, I should be apologizing. I lost my temper, and there was no reason for me to shout at you for not understanding."
"Wait, what happened earlier?" Twilight asked.
Moon shuffled her hooves. "I tried to interrogate him about his past..."
"And I ended up shouting at her."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "And why won't you tell her? She obviously cares, and wants to help."
"Because it’s my problem! How many times do I need to tell you this? If it had been my choice, neither you, Spike, nor your friends would know about it either!"
Twilight closed the book she had been looking through, and showed it to him. It was the book of ancient artifacts he was always looking through.
"And how many times do we have to tell you? We don't care if it's your problem. You can't do it on your own, so we will help you. Tell her!"
"No! Enough ponies have been dragged in as it is!"
Moon cleared her throat, getting their attention. "Leon, you helped me out when I'd angered that Scorpio, so let me help you. I understand that there are some things you want to keep to yourself, and I shouldn't have tried to force answers, but Twilight's right. I just want to repay you for how you helped me." She looked around the library. "Even if it means sitting here looking through a bunch of books."
Leon sighed. "Fine...but you can't just look through them, you'll need to know what to look for...and why..."
Moon and Twilight looked at Leon surprised. "Wait.. you mean?"
Leon nodded. "If you're my friend… it's only fair you know who I am."
So, Leon told her everything. None the wiser about a certain pegasus standing just outside the door, listening to every word.
Well, he certainly doesn't seem like a bad pony. Snow thought as she trotted back to her room to sleep.
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"Let me get this straight." Moon said. "There's two of you?"
Leon nodded. "In a way, yeah."
"And Luna, the Princess of the Night, helped you learn how to keep… Him at bay?"
"Yep."
"Still doesn't explain why you don't have a cutie mark."
Leon shrugged. "I don't know either, but Twilight has a theory."
Twilight nodded. "Since Leon is, in a way, two ponies in one body, he might have to find both His cutie mark as well as his own."
"I guess that makes sense..."
Leon yawned. "I don't know about you, but I think I'll head to bed."
Twilight yawned as well. "I second that notion. What about you Moon?"
Moon shrugged. "I'm a batpony remember. We tend to sleep during the day. I might just go for a flight around town, or try to find some helpful artifacts."
"Alright then, goodnight." Leon said, as he opened the door out of the library. Only to find a note pinned on the door with a white feather. "What the?"
He pulled the letter off the door, and read it before turning back to the others, the note still held in his magic.
"Twilight, you may want to hold off on sleeping… We've got a problem."
"What is it?"
Leon showed her the note. Twilight gasped. "But who would?"
Leon shook his head. "I don't know."
"Um, you going to tell me what's going on?" Moon asked.
Leon showed her the note. "Somepony fillynapped Snow." He said.
"Wait, what!?" Moon snatched the note out of Leon's magic, and read it.
Hello Leon,
It's been awhile. Thirteen years, maybe?
I thought it'd be nice to see you again.
See if you've… changed over the years.
And I thought your newest friends might want to come as well.
Little Snowflash here seemed overjoyed at the idea.
So, come join us at your little campsite in the Everfree Forest.
And you'd best be quick, it's dangerous here at night, and I'd hate for anything to happen to her.
"What kind of pony, just up and takes somepony like this?" Moon asked
"I don't know, but what worries me more is that they seem to know me." Leon said. "But it doesn't matter, we've got to get Snow back!"
Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder. "We can't just go rushing in there, who knows what trap this pony could have set up out there. We need a plan."
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Snow was blindfolded, and scared. The last thing she remembered was heading back to her room, when something had been pressed against her muzzle, and a sharp pain in her wing as a feather was pulled out.
"Oh, don't be scared. I'm not going to do anything to you."
"And why should I believe anything you say?"
"You know… that's an excellent question! Speaking of questions, I have one for you."
"What?"
"Why did you stay after finding out what Leon is?"
"Well, he seemed like a nice pony… despite what happened."
"Pfft. A nice pony!? Oh that's a laugh!" He started laughing, but quickly stopped, and whispered in her ear. "Tell me, little pony. Would a "nice pony" burn an entire village to the ground, and stand around to watch the flames?"
"That...must've been somepony else. Leon isn't-"
"A bad pony? Hmm… Well I guess you just had to be there."
Snow could only sit and ponder.
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Leon walked into the clearing. "I got your note! Now where's Snow!"
"And here I was wondering when you'd show up."
A figure stepped out of Leon's tent, covered by a cloak.
"Who are you?"
The stallion shook his head. "Oh no, that simply won't do at all! I mean, is that really how you greet somepony? So rude."
"Sorry, but I don't exactly feel inclined to be polite when somepony decides to foalnap others for no reason."
"Oh, but I did have a reason. I wanted to see you as well as show your new friends what you really are."
"Well, two things wrong with your plan. First off, it's only me. Secondly, I already told them everything."
The cloaked pony laughed. "It's one thing to tell them, quite another for them to see it, don't you think?"
The pony pulled back his hood, and Leon couldn't help but stare.
The stallion's face was a mess of scars, and he seemed to be blind in one eye.
"You should've known this was coming. One does not simply run from their past. Eventually, it will catch up."
"So when you said thirteen years, you meant..."
"I was there, yes. You destroyed my home, and now that I've found you." He smiled. "We are going to have so much fun."
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Meanwhile, Moon and Twilight were moving through the forest, circling around the campsite to try to find Snow.
"I still don't like this plan." Moon grumbled. "We should be helping Leon beat whoever that creep is, not wandering through the forest."
"Moon, we've been over this. This is the best way to make sure Snow is safe." Twilight explained.
"I know, but he's using himself as bait." Moon paused for a moment. "Again!"
"Just calm down, we're almost there." Twilight said.
Moon's ear twitched, "Did you hear something?" She whispered.
They could hear voices nearby.
"So, when you said thirteen years, you meant..." The first voice said.
"That was Leon!" Twilight whispered
"I was there, yes. You destroyed my home, and now that I've found you. We're going to have so much fun." Said the other voice.
"That doesn't sound good. We need to hurry, and get Snow out of here." Twilight said, as they approached the clearing from behind Leon's tent.
Twilight used her magic to cut a hole in the back of the tent, and stepped inside, Moon close behind.
Inside they found Snow with a blindfold on. Her wings and legs were tied to keep her from trying to escape, and she had a gag in her mouth.
The ground soundly started to shake.
"C'mon, let's get these ropes off, and get her out of here." Moon said, "It seems like Leon's going to need our help."
Snow's ear twitched at the sound of voices, she started panicking.
"Snow, what's wrong? It's us, we're going to get you out of here." Twilight said.
Snow shook her head furiously.
Twilight removed the gag.
"You need to get out of here, it's a trap!"
"What!?" Moon and Twi exclaimed.
The ground started shaking again, as metal bars rose from the ground around them.
"What the hell!? Oh no you don't!" Moon started to fly above the bars, only to get shocked, and fall back to the ground.
"Moon, are you okay?" Snow asked.
"Ugh, yeah, I'm alright."
“Oh, did you hear that? It would seem the other guests have arrived!” Said the strange voice from outside.
The tent collapsed around them, the cage cut a hole through the top of the tent, so that the captives were clearly visible.
“Who are you anyway?” Moon asked, rising from the ground.
The pony face hoofed. “How rude of me to not introduce myself! Well, I gave up my actual name years ago, but you may call me Scar. Fitting don't you think? Now, why don't you all just sit back, and enjoy the show.” He smiled at them.
Twilight's horn started to glow, “Don't worry I’ll get us out of here.”
“I wouldn't try that if I were you.” Scar warned, “This cage has quite a shocking reaction to magic.”
Just as he finished speaking, a bolt of electricity struck Twilight's horn. Twilight screamed out in pain, and collapsed, twitching from the shock.
“TWILIGHT!” Leon's horn started to glow, as he glared at the pony in front of him, “You better let them out, or else!”
“Or else what?”
“Or else, THIS!” Leon fired a small blast of magic toward the center of the clearing, covering the area in smoke.
Leon followed the sounds of coughing to make his way across the clearing and find the cage.
“You guys ok?” He whispered
“Oh I'm sure they’re fine.”
“Wha?” Leon's was cut off as a hoof smashed into his face.
“That was a neat little trick you did, but that's not why I asked you to come out here.” Scar said, as the smoke began to clear. He turned and bucked, sending Leon flying to the center of the clearing.
“Now, if I remember right, there's still one pony I have yet to meet, but you're being a little stubborn to let me meet him.”
“Why?” Leon groaned, as he rose back to his hooves. “Why do you want to meet Him?”
“Well if nothing else, I'm sure he'll be more entertaining than you. I mean, a smokescreen, really? Not very fun at all now is it.”
Leon's horn started to glow again, but Scar charged him and punched him. He then quickly moved to Leon's side, and bucked him again. Causing him to slide across the clearing.
Scar snorted “Oh come now, surely you can do better than this. Did all that reading teach you nothing?”
Leon lay in the grass groaning, eyes closed. Any movement brought pain.
He opened his eyes, and saw Moon and Snow's worried faces, as well as Twilight's unconscious body, still slightly twitching.
So, now what's your big plan.
“I'm going to get them out of here, duh.” Leon groaned, trying to get back up. Only to be stopped with sudden kick the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
“Tsk tsk, poor you.” Scar put a hoof on top of him. “You just won't do it. Come now, show your true self!” He kicked Leon again. “Show them the monster you truly are!”
“No...I won't...let him...hurt anypony...ever again…”
Scar’s eye twitched. “Well, there's no fun in that now, IS THERE!?” He kicked again. “Well, if you don't want to have any fun, I'm sure your friends would be happy to oblige.” He pulled a little box with a button on it out from his cloak. “As soon as I push this button, your friends will get some free shock therapy, I'm told it's quite relaxing.”
“Don't you dare…” Leon glared at him.
“Then let me have some real fun.”
“You don't understand what you're asking!”
Wow, he is persistent. C’mon, let me show him what he's asking for.
Leon continued to glare at Scar. If I let you take control...promise me... you won't hurt them.
Oh fine, I promise.
Leon's coat color slowly began to change to black. His mane grew longer as it, and his tail, changed to black as well, with a red stripe down the center. Last to change, were his eyes. His pupils changed into slits, while the whites of his eyes changed to black. The only thing that didn't seem to change, was the color of his eyes. Still the same light-blue they had always been.
Scar’s eyes grew wide, like a foal opening a Hearth’s Warming gift, as he watched Leon change. Moon and Snow could only stare, wondering what was happening to their friend, as he slowly rose.
“I don't believe we’ve been properly introduced. My name, is Nexus.” He smiled, showing his new fangs. “And you,” He pointed at Scar, “are a dead pony.”
Scar continued backing away, as Nexus approached him. “Now what was it you wanted to do? Have some fun, was it?” His horn glowed as his magic enveloped Scar in a levitation field. “Well, I would be more than happy to oblige.”
Nexus threw Scar at the cage, causing him to drop the button. “Now then, magic clearly cannot be used inside the cage, but there’s no problem if I use it outside. Which means I can do this.” His horn glowed again, and there was a sudden flash as Moonlit, Twilight, and Snow, were teleported out of the cage, while Scar was teleported inside of it.
Moon and Snow stared at Nexus in shock. Moon moved closer to him. “Y-you saved us?” Moon asked.
Nexus scoffed, “Oh please, Leon and I had a deal, and I am not one to go back on my word. Otherwise I would've just left you in there as well.”
They turned back to the cage as Scar began to laugh. He leaned up against the cage. “You are the one I've waited so long to meet. Those cold eyes! I could never forget that face.”
Nexus sighed, and picked up the remote with his magic, “Yes yes, lovely to see you again and all that. Now then, shall we see just how relaxing this shock therapy is?”
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Moon asked
“I thought it was rather obvious, I'm going to give him a little shock.” He pushed the button, causing lightning to strike Scar within cage, Moon and Snow looked on in horror, as Nexus simply smiled.
Scar laughed through the pain. “NOW YOU SEE WHAT HE IS! THIS IS THE PONY WHO KILLED HIS OWN FAMILY, DESTROYED HIS OWN HOME WITHOUT CARE!” Scar continued laughing until he collapsed, body twitching from the shocks.
Nexus turned to see Snow looking like she might be sick. Moon, however, was stomping towards him, nothing but anger on her face.
She punched Nexus. His expression remained cold, as if he didn't feel it. “What the buck was that?!”
“I believe the term you're looking for is irony.” He replied.
Moon was seething by this point. She quickly turned to help Snow get Twilight back to her castle.
Nexus, what the hell?!
“You were planning on leaving soon anyway, I just made i easier for you.”
How exactly is this easier?
“Now you won't have to say good bye to anyone. Now, if you don't mind, I’ve grown rather bored, so I believe I’ll let you out now.”
Just like that? Last time you took control, you didn't let me out for about a month.
“Last time, I killed our parents, and you were in no condition to travel. That, and hearing you constantly whine was getting on my nerves, and I’d rather not deal with that again.”
Nexus closed his eyes, and his fur color began to change back to brown. Leon gasped and opened his eyes, he quickly trotted over to a nearby spring to check, they were back to normal. He ran his tongue along his teeth as well, checking for fangs.
Oh, relax, I said I was done.
“Since when have I trusted you?”
Nexus gave a mental shrug. Fair point.
Leon looked over at his tent, seeing Scar’s body still twitching every few seconds.
He sighed, “I suppose we should bury him.”
Leon's horn glowed as he teleported Scar’s body out of the cage, just to make sure, he put his hoof to Scar’s throat to check for a pulse.
….ba-bump…
“He’s still alive?! It's faint, but I definitely felt something!”
Are you serious?! Damn, should’ve shocked him longer.
“Shut up, he needs medical attention. Twilight's Castle is closer than the hospital, but… Hospital it is.”
Leon grasped Scar in his magic and placed him on his back before galloping as fast as he could out of the forest.