//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22 - Before the War (unedited) 
// Story: A Gamer In Equestria 
// by The Dark Brony 
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	I arrived back in my Equestria(Again). “And now I am armed to the teeth with halo weaponry… This is seriously happening in just a few days. I hope Equestria calms down soon?” I sighed.

I then look at myself and say “Don’t want ponies getting the wrong idea” with that i turn my sword back into a guitar and say “That's better” 

I then look up and see Twilight run up to me as she shouts “Craig we need to head to Canterlot”

“What's the emergency?”

She just smiles and says “No emergency just some training for you courtesy of princess Celestia and Luna.”

I then sigh and say “Dash told you about what i’ve got to do”

“Yeah… I still think you're crazy for doing this”

“Please Twilight don’t remind me.”

She then smiles and says “OK Craig let's get to the station the train leaves in a few minutes.”

“Ok lets go.” with that we both begin to run towards the station.





Once we reach the station we see that everyone is there waiting for us and i say “you all coming along to see me get thrashed by whatever Celestia has planned for me.” 

I then see Rainbow smile and say “You really think the guards can do you in?”

I then smile and say “no but no reason i can’t humour them, I’m worried about getting knocked around by Shining Armour”

I then hear Twilight say “I doubt you’ll need to fight him he’s probably busy”

“Twilight he’ll be overseeing his guards training most likely which will include me”

I then see Rarity walk over to her and tell her “and even if he is I doubt that Craig will use everything he’s got.”

I then laugh and say “Yeah I wouldn’t use the majority of my gear. Some of the stuff i’ve recently acquired are quite dangerous, lethal infact.

They then all look at me in confusion as Twilight asks “What do you mean?”

I then think about the dangers of showing them whilst on the platform the say “It’s not exactly safe to use them here… how about this i will demonstrate most of the weapons once we are at Canterlot where it is safe to do so”

She then looks at me and says “why most and not all?”

“One of the weapons are very dangerous. It can cause insanity if you look into the portal it creates”

“Seriously Craig… insanity, pretty ridiculous lie… it’s even worse than my prank” replied Twilight

“Applejack am I lying to her?”

She then looks at me, then to Twilight and says “I hate to say it Twi but i don’t think he is” 

I then see Twilight look at me and mutter “that is crazy, just crazy, that makes no sense” with that she walks onto the train.

Seconds later I sigh and say “I think i broke her again”

I then hear fluttershy whisper “I’m sure she’ll be fine”

“I hope your right.” With that we follow Twilight onto the train.


-3 Hours later-


Once we arrived in Canterlot we walked of the train and onto Canterlot station. I then looked up to see that there were a few guards waiting for us, at this point i smile to the girls and say “I think Celestia send us an escort to the palace”

Pinkie then looks at me and says “think she expects you to cause trouble”

I then laugh and tell her “Maybe… but i don’t plan on causing any”

She laughs then whispers “Oh Craig… you're a Displaced it kind of comes with the job per say”

I then laugh and tell her “I suppose you’re right” I then look at everyone and say “alright let’s get this party started”

I then hear Pinkie shout “hey that's my line!” At this point we all laugh as we leave the station under the escort of the guards.





As the guards escorted through the castle, both me and pinkie eavesdropped on their conversation. Seeing as we had nothing else to do other then wait until we got to the throne room.

“Hey… did you hear about those huge dogs that entered the castle?” The guard whispered to his comrade.

Seeing as all the guards look the same, it was hard to point out who was talking and who was not. The other guard looked back at his friend with a raised eyebrow. “Dogs? What dogs?”

“Guess you didn’t hear." He started. "There are a pack of wild dogs in the castle, saying they are here to make "peace". Like they are some higher class or honorable warrior or something,”

“Sounds like some weird rumor going around the castle, that isn't true!” He whispered back agerly to his close friend.

“No, I’m telling you! I saw it! A massive white dog that was taller then Celestia herself!”

“I’d say the Canisius are more important than you for one, and secondly i’d say that they are likely here to talk to us and the Princesses!” I leaned in and whispered into their ears, sending chills down their spines.

The two guards gulped in response, ending their somewhat quiet conversation.

We turned a corner of the maze like castle, ahead of us were two large gold doors with small silver handles decorating it’s front. The two guards ran to the sides of the doors and opened them, revealing the throne room and it’s contents. As usual, the room was large and seem to show royalty in every corner. We entered the royal room and to my amazement, we found Alpha and Celestia talking to one another at the large center table.

Celestia noticed our presence and slowly turned her attention to us. “Ah, Craig. Come, sit down.” She said, pulling out seven of the chairs on the other side of the table with her telekinetic magic allowing me and my friends to sit down.

“Thank you Princess” I smiled, walking towards the chair. “And it is a pleasure to see you again Alpha” I bowed before sitting in my seat.

Alpha nodded her head with a smile. “As well, Mr.Craig,”

“I see you have met Ms.Engel Mor’feea?” Celestia replied.

"Yes and I can say our first meeting was… memorable” I weakly smiled, scratching the back of my head with my fingers.

Alpha coughed with her paw next to her muzzle, remembering their first encounter. “Yes, it was… Unexpected to say the least,” She raised her head. “But as always, It is nice to meet you too Mr.Craig,”

“Anyway, how is everyone doing since we last saw each other?”

“Fin’ra, Ste’fur, and Paorach have all been fine. They are actually walking this world as we speak,” She smiled.

“I’m glad our encounter left a good impression in the end, I’d feel bad if I caused your kind to avoid us over that misunderstanding”

Celestia looks at both me and Alpha with confusion. “And what misunderstanding would that be?”

Alpha looked back at the ruler with a warm smile. “A simple rock that had been accidently thrown, Celestia,”

Celestia's concern look was now dotted with worry. “Well at least you settled your differences without problems?”

“Dan’t Worry Princess! They dan’t hold unta grudges f’ur long!” A familiar semi-high pitched Scottish accent sounded through the room. From the entrance of the throne room, two earth ponies were pampering a lunging biped, hands behind his head in a moveable hammock. "It all depends on what happens in th'e situation!" He slowly rose from his pose on his newfound bed and waved at me. "Hello lad!" He smiled in a happy demeanor. He jumped off his hammock, performing three front-flips before landing perfectly on his tippie-toes. "How ya doin on this'er fine day!" He smiled, putting both hands on the side of his hips.

"OhmyCelestiahe'ssocute!" Pinkie yelled, squishing her cheeks together with her hooves, making her lips pucker. She leaned in close to me and whispered. "What is he~?!" She asked, pointing her hoof at the orange biped.

I then smile and say “A good friend Pinkie” I then look at Poarach and tell him “It’s good to see you again how are you feeling?”

“Th’e day is getting ah lot better!” He happily said, walking over to the table and taking a seat of his own.

I then smile and say “Pinkie Pie meet Poarach, Poarach meet Pinkie Pie”

“Nice ta-”

Pinkie quickly snatched Proaches hand and shook it drastically up and down, lifting the small creature up, keeping him airborne for a short duration. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie!”

I then laugh and say “Pinkie personal space”

“Oh, sorry!?” She let go of Paorach’s hand, letting him land face first onto the marble floor.

As soon as his body made contact with the floor, I noticed a silver transparent octahedron envelop his body, it quickly faded just in the time it took to appear.

I quickly glanced back at Paorach, confused on what just happened. “What was that?” I asked.

Paorach put the palms of his hands on the floor and pushed himself upright, standing on both paws. “It’s called “Barrier” It reduces force taken ta one’s form” He cringed, rubbed the front of his head. Scratch marks were visible on his face. “Is this bracelet ah enchanted ta keep th’e spell on m’he. Although not as powerful...” Again he cringed at the small bump that was now growing on his forehead. “It helps,”

“Ah, similar to some spells in games. I believe there was one in a game I played only days before I arrived here, what was it called .... Witcher? I believe the spell was called something along those lines... What was it?” I thought to myself, putting my hand up to my chin. “Quen... or was it... Aard?” I muttered. The chairs in the room scooted back, causing everyone to hold onto their seats. “Ok maybe not that one”

“lad!” Paorach said with disappointment, getting to his feet and sitting back down in his seat. “What ah used was ah part of Abjuration magic!”

I rub my head, uncertain of the word he used. “I’ve not heard of that before… but saying that I come from a world without magic. So, I suppose that makes sense?”

“Ok lad… Abjuration magic focuses on magical energies to provide protection. It can take a number ov forms, including warding off specific types ov weapons or creatures and discouraging or dispelling enemies!” He gave a quick description, dramatically taking off his goggles and cleaning the lens with his thumb. “Abjuration also includes ah variety ov spells involving avoidance and repellency. Abjuration spells concentrate on eliminating or hindering sources ov potential harm rather than repairing damage. Seeing as It’s rarely used lad, not many know about it!”

“I suppose that makes a lot of sense. a lot more sense than all my powers.”

A cough made its presence clear. Paorach put his goggles back on his head and turned to Celestia. I did the same. “Shall we continue with our meeting Craig?”

I then smile and say “Ah yes, sorry about that please continue”

“Thank you Craig. I heard about what you shall soon attend from my faithful student and I wish to give you as much time and training to prepare you for what lies ahead. I have decided that the best way from you to train is to face the full force of my army whist not using any of your advanced weaponry.”

“Seriously Princess I can’t use my advanced weaponry…?” I then rub my head and say “thank god now I don’t need to worry about seriously injuring one of my opponents.”

“And if You do defeat Celestia's Army, You will be training with one of my pups,” She smiled. “I and Celestia have been discussing this matter and she has convinced me to help you, but you must earn it,”

I then look at them in confusion and say “You really want me to face a pup? No offence but in my world it’s like attacking a small child… I’d say it’s pretty wrong to do that?”

Alpha laughed, her voice echoed across the royal walls. “You will see what I mean Mr.Craig, when you are finished…”

To this i just smile and say “OK I look forward to meeting him” I then turn to Celestia and say “when do you want me to start training?”

She then smile and say “now” with that she ignites her horn and we are teleported outside.

as we appear outside the barracks i see that we are in a large yard where i see what must have been just a few hundred soldiers and i look at her and say “that's the whole army Celestia? I hate to say but it seem quite underwhelming considering that this is the force that’s supposed to be able to protect the whole of equestria.”

She just smiles and says “we'll see soon won’t we”

To this i just nod my head and change my guitar into the sword and with that producing all of my weaponry, of which i remove all of the guns and the staff and them against a wall behind us and then turn back to Celestia and say “Ok ready” 

I then turn to my opponents and bow to them then quickly ready my sword as Celestia just nods as four pegesai bolt towards me. I then just smile and say “Lets see what you can do” I then wait to the last possible second and then slip to the side and instantly uppercut one of them in the chest which cause him to instantly collapse then within seconds I arrive next to two of the others and quickly knocking their heads together instantly knocking them out I then look around for the fourth one of them but fail to find him. I then shut my eyes and sensed a figure rapidly falling toward me i then look up and see him moving at what seemed to be as fast as a bullet towards me i then pull my hand to my side and as he gets nearer and thrusts it upwards just before he makes contact with me causing him to collapse onto the floor in pain holding his muzzle. 

I then look around to see that i am surrounded by twentyfive more soldiers that all seemed to be Unicorns. I then look round in worry and move my hands into one symbol and shout “Shadow Clone Jutsu” I then see the unicorns back away as now instead of me being surrounded the circumstance had changes and my clones surrounded them outnumbering them two to one. They all then charge towards them and in turn strike them each down before they can even cast a spell.

I then turn towards the remaining ponies to see that that what remained were what seem to be forty earth ponies, twenty-five pegasi and eleven Unicorns. I then smile as i see the one leading them was no other than good old Shining Armour. I then smile and say “let's have fun with this thing” Then all of the clones charge towards the Earth ponies and unicorns each holding a ball of seemed to air in their hands and charge towards them. As each one makes contact with a pony it sends them flying backwards as the majority of them smash into the surrounding walls whilst an unlucky few get knocked into the air causing many of the pegasi to come crashing to the ground unconscious from the force they were hit.

I then look up to see almost all of the remaining forces dropping their weapons and ran apart from just Shining Armour and one Pegasus. I then call off all of the clone and say “Shining! how about we make this interesting just you two against me!”

They then look at me as Shining Armour says “OK then, you best be ready Craig”

With that they both charge at me Shining armour on the ground whilst the pegasus in the air i then whisper “Yrden” Which instantly creates a small circle on the ground that as they move into causes them to slow down. During which time I quickly dispatch the confused Pegasus as I quickly run forward and bring my knee up into his chest knocking him out of the circle and leaving him unconscious. 

I then land behind Shining Armour and say “Sorry I’ll rephrase that one on one” 

We then turn toward each other as he says “You took out my whole guard singlehandedly and you don’t even look like you’ve even started trying.” he then smiles and says “let see how our newest recruit lasts against a captain” with that he charges towards me as I close my eyes and I begin to feel like time began to slow. I then open them as I quickly sidestep him and attempt to strike him in the side however before i make contact a small shield appears in front of my hand as it appears in a purple glow.

I then look at him and say “Ok then let’s turn it up a notch” With that i jump backwards as a red flame appears in my hand and i throw it at Shining Armour however instead of hitting him it instead struck the ground beside which knocked him of balance, I then charged towards him and mange to catch him by sweeping his front hooves out from under him causing him to fall to the floor. I then jump and bury my sword into the ground beside his head.

The girls cheered me on, raising their hooves and stomping the ground with excitement. Fluttershy fainted and Twilight seemed to breath in and out at fast speeds while putting her hoof onto her chest. I rose to my feet and offered a helping hand to the guard on the ground. He nodded and took my hand with his hoof, I pulled him towards me. As I supported the soldier to his hooves, I saw two white figures approached me, one with her chest puffed out and her head held high was obviously Celestia, while the other was none other than alpha, her wings tucked next to her side.

"It was very entertaining to watch Mr.Craig," alpha praised me with a smile. "I'm impressed by your magic powers and skill,"

I then blush and say “Wouldn’t say it was that amazing” I then look at Celestia then tell her “And sorry about holding back on your guards and Shining"

Rainbow dash flew towards us with her jaw wide open. "You were holding back!" She yelled, waving her hooves at the unconscious pile of guards.

“Yeah i’ve never needed to go full out…  think the most I’ve ever gone to was around maybe forty percent and that was against another Displaced. I’d say I used about twenty percent at a push”

"I see..." Celestia hummed, looking back at her entire squad of guards who were now struggling to their hooves. "I may need to give my guards more training?"

I then smile and say “Give me a few minutes Princess” my body then begin to glow as I walk up to each guard I subdued then whisper “Grand Healing” as they instantly begin to feel stronger and begin to stand up almost as if they hadn’t just be knocked out. I then turn to Celestia and say “that should help them.” with that the glowing ceased.

"You still cease to amaze me Craig," She shook her head with a weak smile.

I then rub my head and say “Thank you Princess. but all i did was fix the mess I caused”

"So Mr.Craig" Alpha started. "You have peeked my interest. I will allow you to train with any of our pups and learn from them... That is if you wish?"

I then smile and say “it would be an honour”

"That is wonderful!" She smiled, walking towards the castle. "Walk with me Mr.Craig, and I will show you who you will be with,"

“Ok then Alpha ready when you are.” with that I follow her towards the castle.

We walked through the castle, it was like an endless maze of marble and glass with gold props hugging the walls of the hallways.

"Who would you like to train with Mr.Craig?" She asked, shifting her wing.

Craig then smiles and ask “Who is their to train with?”

"You may train with any of us, as long as you have reason to. Paorach is available, he may be small, rude, and... Immature, in some situations, but he knows much." She said admiring the stained glass that we passed by. "There is Ste'fur, Wolf, who knows much about patience and change, who would gladly help you. Fin'ra... I am uncertain of him. Although..." She put her paw next to her chin, her face contorted to concern. "There is Tel'den,"

“Why are you unsure about this Tel’den? Is there something I should know?”

"No," She shook her head. "He is fine and well, but I worry more for him then I do for the rest of my pups,"

“Why do you worry about him… is there something wrong with him?” I asked.

"There are many things wrong with him. He is not very social with his own brothers and sister, isolating himself from his own kind. He will visit and come from time... The only worry I have for him, is that I feel like he is different from us... Like he is not a Canis..." Her head dropped close to the floor, saddens very clear in her voice. "The only reason I am putting him as a candidate is that he is here, on Equestria ground"

I then look at him, my eyes filled with determination and say “I know who I’m training with… Tel’den!”

Alpha lifted her head with ears pointing to the ceiling, astonished by my sudden outburst. "Are you certain Mr.Craig?" She tilted her head.

I then nod my head and say “As sure as I can be… He sound a lot like me, he isolates himself, avoids contact with other beings, doesn’t act like others do, he seem similar to me before I arrived on Equestria. and besides only a diamond can make a change to something that is the same as itself.” I then smile and say “You never know we may be the only ones who can help each other solve our own downfalls.

"You are very kind as always Mr.Craig..." She giggled. "I shall summon him then. Where do you wish to meet him?- umm, may I suggest somewhere less populated?"

I then scratch my head then say “the best place would be the everfree but that's not exactly safe… give me a minute”

I then close my eyes and try to get in contact with the Mayor. As soon as I manage to get a link with her I say “Mayor can I speak with you?” 

"...Who's there!?" She asked looking around her office.

“sorry if i startled you… It’s Craig. If you're looking for me you won’t find me nearby I’m talking to you telepathically from Canterlot”

"Oh?" She said with a confused voice. "Ok... So, what can I do for you Craig?" She sat back in her chair, her eyes still searching the room.

“OK I know this is a bit out of the blue but I was wondering if I could get your permission to set up a training field in a large empty place outside of town, I also thought you could use it as an area for ponies to perform when it’s not being used.”

"Humm. I do not mind you... Training in or around ponyville, but setting up a large area away from the town is a bit tricky Craig. Is the grass land not that wide or open, and ponies could always go to the hills and practice... things?"

“You won’t need to worry about building it, I can prepare the land and build it up overtime and I was thinking as more of a larger area for when musical artists or performers come to town instead of packing lots of ponies into the town centre.”

"W-Well!" She thought. "I guess Craig," The mayor sighed with defeat, knowing that I would not give in with a polite no. "Mind if I ask how you are going to do this?"

“Not at all. I plan on working with the local community over time starting as just a small stage and a large space in front of it and slowly building it up overtime until we have a good size area for ponies to use”

"Ok Craig," She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling.

“Oh and sorry about the surprise call I’ll try not to do it again.”

"Thank you Craig?" She wrote down notes on a blank piece of paper with a pen. "Just be sure to clean up when you are done?"

I then laugh and say “No promises with my luck i’ll be all over the place… almost like Pinkie”

"Don't remind me," She sighed.

“Ok, I hope to hear from you later gotta get back to my meeting”

I opened my eyes and faced alpha. She was waiting with patience. "Did you ask for permission to train in this... Place?"

“Well yes and no… we have a permission to use it but in return i need to build a stage and prepare it for use.”

"How do you plan to accomplish this on your own Mr.Craig?"

“by one of my kind’s most hated topics… hard work and on a brighter note I’m going to get help from the community.”

“I See” She was intrigued. “Where is this location if I may ask. So that I may send Tel’den to this location.”

“It’s the field just outside the main entrance ponyville, for simplicity's sake tell him to meet me at the entrance to the town”.

“As you wish”





I sat outside sugarcube corner, in the small wood chair that sat next to a pink wood table, just outside the candy coated building. I watched ponies of different bright colors enter and exit pinkies home. Either walking out with a smile on their faces, or leaving with a cardboard box filled to the brim with cakes or sweets. It was all fine and relaxing, I was only waiting for the unintroduced Canis who I have yet to know. I stared at the edge of town, waiting the strange creature to appear over the green, grassy hills.

I took In a deep breath... And exhaled. All the while looking at the endless rows of large earth mounds that surrounded the peaceful village. I had already made plans to summon the building I told the mayor and alpha we would be training with when we meet. It was then, that I noticed a small figure approaching ponyville’s front entrance. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better view of the far off figure.

It was another pony, His coat was white with gray scattered around his body, his mane was very short with a dark gray color and his cutie mark was the USB connector symbol pointing upward. The obvious things that were noticeable about the stallion was that a titanium prosthetic leg occupying his left hind leg, and he seemed to slouch with his head half ways from the ground. He walked into town and from what I could guess, he seemed to be paranoid and insecure. The only emotion he seemed to show was a blank stare.

I then sigh and mutter “he really is no different than me before I came to Equestria” I then stand up and begin to walk towards Tal’den as I think “I hope this doesn’t seriously backfire two of us who struggle with being around others trying to get over it… This sounds like a worse idea every second.”

“Hello!?” He said as I approached him in a low, gravelly, monotone voice, his eyes directed to the ground with expressionless features.

I then sigh, kneel down so i am nearer to his eyes level and say “Are you Tal’den?”

His ear twitched and swiveled in my direction. “That I am... Tech Tel’den, and you are Craig?” He asked in the same low monotone voice.

“Yes I am… I’ve heard a lot about you from Alpha but i for one do not like to go on the word of others I prefer to understand them from my own meetings.”

“Then you must know that I am not a pony if you have talked to leader Alpha. I am a being of a sentient species” He specified, moving his head to the side to allow his ears to point towards me, his fully gray eyes examined nothing but air.

“As are all these ponies they're not like the ponies and horses where i’m from and anyway if what she said was true, me and you are more alike than we make out”

“Is that so?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Yes Alpha said you avoid contact with your family, me i avoided all contact out of fear of being hated and always attempted to hide my face.”

He hummed. “...Shall we train, do you accept or decline?” He asked.

I then smile and say “I accept and am ready when you are.”

“Then where are we going to train. I look around and I see nothing but darkness. The only available description I can make out from this land is an open area?” 

I then smile and say “You’re looking where we are training give me a second” I then close my eyes and an building similar in shape to the Colosseum in Rome appeared in the open space. I then open my eyes, point toward the newly made stadium and say “that is where we’re training”

His head rose from its position, he sniffed the air. “Are we safe from prying eyes?

“Once we get inside I will create clones of myself to ensure nopony or nobody watches us.”

“Then let us proceed inside.” 

“Ok then let's go.”

As we walk inside we are surrounded by pristine marble walls that are engraved in gold and walk over what look like ancient mosaics that are in a multitude of images and colours.

As Tel’den followed me through the arena his form began to static. His body changed and morphed quickly from an equine to a Canis. His fur was white with small gray lines appearing on certain parts of his body, battle scars. His left hind leg and right foreleg were replaced with thick metal in the form of a dog’s leg. His eyes were covered with a strip of white cloth that wrapped around his head and his tale was cut in half, leaving metal to replace what was left.

As I look at him i cringe as i say “looks like someone did a number on you…. what happened?”

"I was once a normal Canis, not an “Ceaseless”. HQ was attacked by enemy forces. Enemies thought I was an Ceaseless, they tortured me to reveal info on HQ. I did not know any. They gouged out my eyes, severed my tail for my body, they cut off two of my legs and they poured acid on my lung, heart, and my throat." 

I then begin to feel terrible as I walk over to him place my hand on his shoulder and say “I am so sorry, nobody deserves that sort of torture… if you ever want revenge for what they did to you just tell me where to find those monsters and I will end them. Nothing hurt my friends.”

"Yes... The monsters, but I died when they were finished with my corpse" His emotions did not change neither did his voice. "I was dead for ten moons..."

I then sigh and say “I’m afraid I don't understand what you mean by ten moons”

“10 years" he quickly replied, walking further into the arena while I walked beside him.

I then look to the ground and say “Ten years… I wonder how long I was gone before I got a message to my parents and younger brother?”

"It all depends on how old you were before you came to the world"

“I was eighteen when I arrived, I still am, I only went missing a few days ago.”

He was silent for a short duration. "I am 567 years old in human belief. Before I turned into..." He looked at his right foreleg, the sound of a piston sounded from within the metal prosthetic. "This... I was 21, the average lifespan for a normal Canis is 57 to 78. But for an Ceaseless, or Immortal, it is usually 90,000 to 700,000."

“Wow I never thought about a being living that long… to be fair before coming here I never believed in magic, gods or any of the things in this reality.”

"I do not use magic Craig, although I do wish I could have it back. You should favor your life My heart was destroyed by the acid, my heart is where my soul lays. But that I have a heart made of metal with sheets of iron. I can no longer use magic for my soul can not remain. It would rust. I am a walking corpse, if I do not have a soul. Then I do not have life inside of me,"

“I think you're wrong about not having life… just because you lose something doesn’t mean it’s gone, I believe that if you want something hard enough you can amount to anything, you just need to not give up on yourself. look at Flair for example he was killed by my kind, he lost everything, and yet he didn’t give in, he persevered and now he can at least say he’s working for something he believes in.”

“He was not killed and his heart's still beating!” His voice rose from Its previous quiet and monotone self to a much louder, angrier form. “He was only experimented on, and he was asleep! I was not! And I was awake for my torture”

I then smile and say “And that brings me to my second point you say you don’t have a soul but I my experience everything does every plant, every creature that has life, you still walk you still breath and you still have emotions, you may hide it but you still have feeling for others.” I then mutter “As did I even after all my injuries” I then look back at him and say “You’re a survivor, you don’t give in, in my eyes that gives you as much of soul as anyone else.”

“Emotions!?” His monotone voice reappeared, but a look of surprise was plastered across his face, even with those covered eyes of his. He looked down at his paw, he brought it up to his throat. He shook his head. “Disremember this conversation, we will train” He walked further into the arena and sat down. “What do you want to learn”

I then smile and ask. “That depends… what can you teach me?”

“Using weapons and Conjuration. I am more familiar with guns and projectiles.” I rose my hand to counter his words, but his voice sprung to life before I could say anything. “-I am unable to use magic. But I never said I did not know how to use it. looking at your musical instrument” He pointed his head at the guitar on my back. “It is enabled with Hammer-space, there are weapons contained in the object?”

I then smile and say “Yeah the weapon is a sword I was given by Celestia which she and Luna the improved using their magic.”

“Other weapons than the sword?” He asked, adjusting the metal box that lay on his back.

“Yes but it may be easier to show you rather tell you” I then place my hand on the back of the guitar as my sword, Arihaims staff, and Churches sword and all of the guns I had acquired during my travels appeared on my body.

Tel’den seemed mesmerized by the weapons that lay scattered on the floor. He walked slowly over to the weapons. One of the guns were enveloped in a fuzzy, transparent texture. The MA5D slowly rose from the ground and hovered close to Tel’den’s face. He placed his paw on the white bandage around his head, lifting up the right side of the bandage, revealing a blue bionic eye. His reaction was that of surprise.

I then look at him in confusion then ask “What's wrong?”

“This is UNSC technology… Where did you claim this weapon?”

“I didn’t claim it, it was given to me by another Displaced a guy who had been turned into a guy from the show Red VS Blue. He gave them to me as thanks for helping him.” I then tap my helmet and say “He also gave me this”

Tel’den looked up to see the helmet I held on my head. He looked back at the assault rifle in his magnetic grip. The large box that was placed on his right side opened. Two ammo clips rose from the metal box. One of the two clips levitated towards the bottom of the assault rifle, replacing the clip that was held in the gun. The recently detached clip levitated back to the metal box and disappeared from sight. The sound of metal slugs scraped against a hollow container. He looked down the sights, determining the metal guns accuracy.

“Do you know how to use it?”

I then look at him and say “yeah it’s one of my strange powers, I can instantly learn and understand how to use anything I find”

“What about functioning ammo?”

I then rub my head and say “look at the ammo count.”

Tel’den looked at the guns blue textured ammo counter. “I understand the clip size. I was referring more to how much ammo you have.”

“It doesn’t run out… it doesn’t need to reload same goes for all weapons I have. I only ever need one clip.”

“Then this weapon is flawed.” He placed the gun gently back on the floor. “Same as the rest, there are rarely any weapons that have infinite ammo, that or this weapon is only a fake” He walked over to the rest of the guns. “Even I do not have infinite ammo…”

“When we found them they were in an UNSC Pelican and were like this after they came out of The Warp”

“...” He stood there staring at the guns for a short moment. “Then what are we here for?…” He said walking towards the exit of the arena.

“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion

“You seem to know everything there is to these weapons and have no clue of what you don't know. How are we supposed to train if you know all!”

“Because I don’t understand everything… I understand how they work but I don’t understand much else… my powers let me master things quickly but don’t give me any actual knowledge of their limits”

His mind wondered. He thought for some time. staring into my eyes. He sighed with annoyance. “Then I will show you.”

“thank you”

I then bow to him as I hear a voice say “Come on Craig, I need you!” 

I then spin around and ask “Did you hear that?”

He lifted his ear, scanning the area for any sound. “I heard a voice?”

I then look down to my armor and say “Wait… my token, is someone contacting me… wait that voice… Church!”

I then quickly grab the amulet the say “Oh man Church you only gave me half a day without a call, that's fast… Give me a second” I then look at Tal’den and then sense another group of ponies and say “Sorry guys looks like I need to call it a day early.”

Tel’den looked at me with a face of confusion. He placed the white cloth back over his eye, concealing his bionic vision. He turned around, looking in the direction I shouted towards.

I then turn to the entrance and say “I can sense you all… Alpha, Twilight, Celestia, Rainbow Dash you to Paorach”

“Ah come on lad!” Paorach angrily yelled, the illusionary sphere that surrounded them shattered, revealing Paorach who was atop of Alpha’s back. “Maybe we wanted to stay hidden! And not let em know!”

I then smile as I pick my stuff up and say “Sorry you lot i’ve just been summoned I need to head off… I’ll be back as soon as I am able” With that i open the portal to Churches world and walk through it.

Before I left the world, I could hear the faint monotone voice of Tel’den, followed by the working of springs and pistons scraping against metal.