//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: Agent of Chaos // by Li_Time //------------------------------// Chapter Ten Applejack So, my day started like any other. Got up and did chores. Yep, that's my day and hoy ain't it fun. Bucking trees and harvestin' apples all day, that's the life fer me, and this was the time to do it. Nightmare Night was comin' up, faster than a stampeding buffalo on stampede day, and I had to get our harvest ready for it. It was gonna be a lot of work. Luckily, I had Twilight comin' over to help. It was fun workin' with my friend, and Twi was more than happy to help out. With her help, we got a lot of apples harvest. Twi left as I went and started to get the apples ready to make treats. Granny Smith and I had only just started when Twi stuck her head in the window. I'll be honest, she surprised me and made me jump, droppin' some cut up apples onto the floor. "What in tarnations, Twi?" I demanded from her. "Sorry, A.J., but I just got word from Princess Celestia," she said. "We need to get to Canterlot right away." "What's goin' on?" I asked. "Don't know,” she said. “But something big happened to make her need to summon us. I guess she'll explain when we get there." "Well, let's get goin' then," I said. I turned to see Granny looking at us. "Sorry, Granny. Duty calls, I reckin'." She gave me a smile and gave me a hug. "You two be safe now, ya hear?" she said. "We will, Granny," I told her. Then I followed Twi back to her place to meet up with the others. After we all got to her place, we headed to Canterlot. I had to wonder what had happen that would make Celestia summon all of us. It had to have been some kind of crisis. I noticed everypony's expressions as we went.Fluttershy was worried about somethin', but I had the impression it wasn't with whatever was goin' at hoof. Dash seemed excited, Rarity was concern, Pinkie Pie was...well, Pinkie Pie, and Twi was worried. It wasn't until after we got there and found out what had happened that I felt my stomach drop. The mention of Chaogent brought memories back. The days that surrounded Chaogent's attack was one serious emotional rollercoaster ride. A pony named Hero from another realm had found himself in Ponyville and in need of a place to stay. I offered him room on my farm. He betrayed my hospitality by attackin' one of my friends. Then when Chaogent attacked, he lost control and turned into a monster. I still don't know what he had become, but it was bad. However, he took control and helped us defeat Chaogent in the end. Hero had brought somethin' to our world. He brought a magic that even Twilight couldn't explain. That magic allowed me and him to look into each other's souls. The thought of it brought back the images and feelin's I felt when I looked into his eyes, as if I was lookin' into them for the first time. Then the feelin's I had when we last saw each other. He kissed me...and I kissed him back. I had to fight back tears. I couldn't get like this right now. Besides, there was a chance I wouldn't get to see him again. With my friends talkin' about him, however, it was hard not to. Luckily, we didn't dwell on it too long and we were off in a magical ball of light. I awoke in a bed. I could tell that much from how comfortable it was. I sat up and took in my surroundin', but it was my body I noticed first. I was human. In fact, I looked just like I did when I last saw Hero. When I looked around, I saw the place I was in. It was Hero's place, the one I saw when we came and visit him. However, the man who was sittin' in a chair watchin' me was not Hero. "You finally woke up, I see," he said. He had a draw to his voice, though it wasn't country like mine. I couldn't put my hoof on it. He was tall with dark golden hair and blue-gray eyes. His eyes seemed like he could see everythin' I do. He was dressed in black clothes and had something in his hand...and it was pointed at me. I stared at the metal object, not sure what it was. "Umm, who are you?" I asked. "Why don't you tell me who you are first," he said. I stared at him. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I tell him? Or should I find out what's goin' on? And what happened to Hero? "Where's Hero?" I asked. I heard a clicking sound as he pulled somethin' back with one of his digits on the metal thing. "I don't want to kill you," he said. "But I will shoot you if you don't answer me. Who are you?" I stared at the device in his hand. I got the impression that it was dangerous. It didn't help that I can sense he wasn't lyin'. "I'm Applejack," I said. He seemed to stare at me, tryin' to figure out if I was lyin' or not. "How did you get here?" "That's a little hard to explain,” I admitted. "Then start explaining,” he said. I bit my lip before I looked down. "I'm from another realm," I said. "I was sent here to find a creature that escaped to this world. Me and my friends were sent here, in fact. But I guess the spell separated us. The last thing I remember is being engulfed in this magical ball of light." "Are you a fairy?" he asked. "No,” I answered. "Are you human?" he asked. I looked down. "No." "What are you?" he asked, staring at me with caution in his eyes. "I'm...I'm a pony,” I said. There was another clicking noise as he lowered the device. "Who's this Hero?" he asked. I looked down, trying to keep tears from forming in my eyes. "He's someone from this world that I know. This was his place when I last came here." "This is a suite," he said. "It's owned by nobody and is rented out." I looked at him. So, this wasn't his place? Discord never said this was a hotel when we were last here. I just recken it was Hero's because Discord brought us here. I recken I shouldn't assume. "I'm so stupid," I said softly and I couldn't hold it back anymore. I started cryin'. I wrapped my arms around my legs, restin' my face in my knees, cryin'. The man, whoever he was, just let me cry. In fact, he just sat there quietly, waitin’ patiently for me to stop. After I got it all out, I looked up at the man again. I never realized that I had missed Hero that much, that the hope of maybe seein’ him again was so overwhelmin’. The fact that I wasn't goin’ to just crushed everythin’. "You feel better?" the man asked. "Yes," I said. "Sorry. Was I the only pony who appeared here?" "Yes,” he said. “ And you were out for about an hour now." "Who are you?" I asked. "You can call me Kincaid," he said. "Kincaid," I repeated. I took a deep sigh and tried to get out of the bed. It took me a moment to get use to my new human body. Once I did, I looked at him. "Could you help me find my friends?" "It'll cost you," he said. I frowned as I put a hand to my head, realizin’ my hat wasn't there. So I looked on the bed and saw it there layin’ by the pillow. I grabbed it and looked into it before puttin’ it on my head. I started patting myself. I knew I kept some bits in my hat, but they weren't there. Instead, I found them in a pocket. I didn't have much but I offered what I had to him. "This is all I have," I said, handing him the bits. He stared at me, takin' the bits and inspectin' them. "I guess you wouldn't have money from our world," he said, givin' them back to me. "You best not make me regret this." He got up and walked over to a table, settin’ the device in a box before closin’ the box and lockin’ it. "So, what was that?" I asked. "A gun," he said. "What's a gun?" I asked him, tryin’ to think if I had heard of the thing before or not. "Pull the trigger, shot a bullet into your target, kill them,” he said. My eyes widen as I looked away. So that thing was dangerous. He could have killed me if he wanted to. “What do they look like?" he asked, suddenly. “What?” I asked in surprise. “Your friends,” he clarified. “What do they look like?” "Well, that's hard ta say," I told him. "We’ve only ever been here once and that was a while ago." I tried to remember what everypony looked like when we were last here. "Let's see. Twilight had dark skin with purplish hair that had a pink stripe through it. Rainbow Dash is easy. She has rainbow color hair, though I don't think it's as bright here as it is in our land." I went quiet as I thought for a moment more. "Rarity will probably be dressed up all fancy like. She has a deep blue hair color. Fluttershy has long pink hair, usually covers one side of her face, and she'll be really shy." Thinkin' about it made me realize how scared she must be. I hope one of my friends finds her quickly. It didn't seem I would be able to get out of here quickly enough. Then I thought about Pinkie Pie. She would probably be the easiest to find. "Pinkie Pie has bright pink curly hair. She is really hyperactive. If anypony would be easiest to find, it would be her." "Then we'll focus on her," he said. "Do you have anything else other than their hair and personality?" "Sorry, but I don't remember what they all looked like when we were here.” I admitted. “But the color of their manes and tails carried over to their hair in this world. Trust me, if anypony would be spotted first it would be Pinkie Pie. I would not be surprised if she's not throwin' a huge party right now for this place." He seemed to consider that for a moment. "Haven't heard about any party yet. But if you just woke up, then it's reasonable to believe that they all just woke up. It's also possible that they appeared near some place that connects them to this world." "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "You mentioned this suite being your boyfriends' suite when you came here,” he said. I never said anything that suggested Hero was my boyfriend. Still, I kept my mouth shut, blushin’ a bit. “So, it's makes sense that you came here." "Then why did nopony else showed up here?" I asked. "Hero is our only connection to this world. And this suite is the only place we ever saw of this world. Our friend, Discord, brought us here and took us back." "Discord?" he questioned. "He's a friend who disappeared,” I said. "We’re suppost to find him also. He’s a dragonequus and has powers that allow him to change anything he wants and create chaos. It's his brother that we're after. Discord came here to find his brother a day ago and never returned. So, we came here to find them both." "Anyone else you're looking for?" he asked. "No, that was it,” I said. "So, what do your friends do?” he asked. “What do they enjoy? And what are they like?" "Umm, well, Twilight likes magic and books,” I said. “She always plans stuff too. Rarity loves her fashion and findin' rare gems, but she doesn't like to get her hooves dirty, that's for sure. Rainbow Dash is fast and likes competitions. Fluttershy likes animals. And Pinkie, as I said, likes to throw parties. She also likes making cupcakes." I saw him thinkin' for a while. I didn't know how else I could help him. There was a lot I could tell him about my friends, but what good would it be? "It's possible that your friend Pinkie could be someplace that bakes cakes or a party supply place." "Well, she does live in a cupcake shop,” I said. "Then we'll try a shop,” he said. “Rarity would probably be at a fashion shop. Dash might be at a stadium. Twilight could be in two places. Hopefully, she's at a library. Otherwise, we might have some problems later." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because if she is with the Winter Knight,” he said. “She will be in danger." "What's the Winter Knight?" I asked. "Someone I was suppose to kill and failed to do so a few years ago,” he said. My eyes widen as I stared at him. He couldn't be serious. "Kill?" "That's what I said. I'm a hired mercenary,” he explained. “I kill anyone for the right price. I'll also be a bodyguard or driver or anything else if you can pay the bill." "Why?" I couldn't understand why somepony would kill somepony else for money. Was this why Discord was against us gettin' involved? "I'm good at it and it pays good,” he said. "I can't...I can't see anypony doin' somethin' like that." I remember barely escapin' death before. I even remember the moment when Pinkie Pie was stabbed and almost killed. This was killin' for money. It was a job. This man killed for a livin'. "I don't know what it's like in your world,” he said, “but here, it's kill or be killed. If you can't handle that, you should have stayed in your world." "I kinda wish I had now," I said. I was startin' to feel sick. What's worst was that I was stuck here. I couldn't get home without findin' Discord or Hero, and I wouldn't leave without my friends anyway. Did this mean I was goin' to have to stay close to this guy until I find them? I could just leave and try to find them on my own. However, if he was anythin' I could expect in this world, I could be askin' for trouble either way. "I have no reason to hurt you," he said. "You haven't lied to me. You're not here to do me harm. And I bet you're scared as shit. So, I help you find your friends, you go home, and I get back to the job I came here to do." "What are you sayin'?” I asked. “You won't kill while I'm here?" "I'll set my job aside to help you,” he said. “It's not a big job that has a deadline, so I'll help you out first. If it comes to it, I will kill anyone who tries to do me harm. Rather it's you, my target, or one of your friends. If they decide they want to kill me, they won't live to leave this world. Nothing personal, but I'm not dying to help out someone else." "They wouldn't do that," I said, feelin' hate buildin' up inside me. I couldn't believe that this guy would assume somethin' like this. Though I guess if you were use to life or death situations, you would want to protect your tail also. It didn't mean I had to like him. "I will take care of my friends if they try somethin', but I can promise ya yer life is in no danger from us." "I hope not," he said. "You seem very trustworthy. I hate for you to try and pull a fast one over my eyes." He sat at a table that had a guitar case sittin’ on it. He opened it to reveal several pieces of what I assumed was a large gun. He started to take the pieces out and started to clean them. "So, tell me more about your friends. Every little bit could help. Even what they look like in your world." I bit my lip for a moment. I wasn't sure if I still wanted to tell him anythin' but what hope did I have in findin’ my friends. So, I told him everythin'. Anythin' I could think of, I told him. By the time I was done, it had gotten dark out and I was gettin’ hungry. Kincaid had finished cleanin’ his gun and put the pieces back in the case. "I'll have to do some leg work," he said as he locked the case. He got up, grabbing the gun he had pointed at me earlier and slipped it under the coat her wore. "I have food in the fridge. Get something to eat. I'll be back in about an hour or two." He walked to the door and left without another word. "What have I gotten myself into?" I asked myself. "Hero, why couldn't ya be here? At least I wouldn't feel like I'm a prisoner." It didn't really dawn on me until I said it. This whole situation felt like I was a prisoner in a land I didn't know. The last time I felt like this was when my cutie mark was forcefully removed and I was locked in a small room listenin' to a recorded message. At least I was with my friends then. Now I was alone. I growled to myself as I went to the fridge. There was a lot of meat in there. I didn't know a lot about humans, but I did know there were animals that ate meat. I guess humans were one of them. Did Hero eat meat too? I did find some greens though and I nibbled on that. I could have used some apples though. After I ate what I could find, I walked around the suite. As I did, I remembered the conversations I had with Hero while I was here. "So, how were ya able to do all that with the metal back there?" I had asked him once. "It's alchemy," he told me. He pulled out a piece of chalk from his coat pocket and started to draw a circle on the table. "Basically, it's what later became chemistry. The idea was to take an object, break it down to its basic form of atoms, and reassembled it back to make something new. It's not easy, and you can't change it too much. Whatever you put in, something of equal value has to come out. The whole of alchemy was surrounded in making lead into gold. It didn't work, but some stuff survived." Once he finished the circle, I say that it was very detailed in design. He took a vase that was sitting there and smashed it in the middle of the circle. Then he placed a hand on the edge of the circle, the circle and the shattered bits of the vase started to glow, and when the light died down, the vase was restored. "Why did you draw a circle to do that?" I asked him. "You didn't draw one when you were reforming the metal." "That's because I have a plate in my chest with the circle engraved on it already." He put his hands together. "Not that I need either anymore. But it's a lot easier than having to reach for the metal." He placed his hands on the table, beside the circle. The table glowed and started to change shape. When the light died down, the wooden table was in the shape of a pony...my pony form, complete with a hat. The others were impressed also with the magic, which he said it was a type of magic. "Even the transmutation circle has a magical basis," he said. "Someone without any magical powers can make a magic circle." He drew a simple circle around himself. A small metal knife formed around his finger on his right hand and he cut a finger on his left hand. He dropped a few drops of blood on the circle. "A little blood and you have a magical circle." "What does that do?" I asked. "Well, in a basic form, it can keep out magical energies,” he explained. “Twilight could try using her magic, but it wouldn't be able to touch me. I can also use it to build up my magic. Focus on what I want my magic to do. And when I'm ready," he rubbed his foot on the circle and a rush of energy ran passed us all. It felt like a whirlwind came through for a moment. "Break the circle with a mortal object thrown from a mortal being and it releases the energy. Or just pass through it. Do it right and the magic will do what you want it to do. Do it wrong, it can just disperse like it did now, or it can backfire on yourself." I remembered how interested Twilight was after that, but Hero didn't see a point in teachin' her how to use magic here since we wouldn't be stayin' here. After he showed us that, me and him talked alone. It was hard to think about it, even when we were talkin’ about it. "Where did you learn all this?" I had asked him. "I taught myself," he told me. "My father died before I was born, and my mother kind of kept to herself. She passed away a few years later and I lived with my aunt. I guess that's why I became such a bad guy." I looked down, thinkin' about my own life. "I lost my parents too," I told him. "After Apple Bloom was born, they passed away. Granny and Big Mac won't tell me what really happened. And freckly, I don't think I really need to know. Since they passed, I felt like I had to take over the farm, that it was my responsibility." He chuckled a bit at that. "That's kind of funny. You lose your parents and you try to take up the responsibility. I lose mine and I try to get away from it." "I guess it's based on your surroundin’s. I had a big brother and a little sister as well as a farm to look after. You had your aunt, but you were also supposed to be your land's ruler. Pretty big responsibility to take on as a young colt. Bigger than runnin’ a farm.” He chuckled. "Oh, if you ever stayed here longer than a few hours, I have to teach you proper human terminology." "Are ya makin' fun of me?" I asked with a scawl, though I started to smirk a bit. "I am," he admitted, laughin' more. I gave him a good punch in his arm, but I laughed also. I guess a male human wasn't called a colt, but I couldn't change what I was use to. He did have a point. If I ever had the chance to stay longer, I would seem strange to everypony if I used the terms I grew up with that weren't used here. I didn't realize I had started cryin', thinkin' about the past conversation with Hero. I missed him, more than I realized. I sat down on the bed, whippin' my eyes. I needed to be strong and find my friends. There was work to be done. I went to the door that the man Kincaid went through earlier and opened it...and I almost ran into Kincaid. "Going somewhere?" he asked. "I'm goin' to find my friends," I said. "I can't sit around waitin' for them to be found. If I want them found, I need to search for them." He looked at me and I stared back at him, not afraid of him. I didn't look him in the eyes though. If I learned anythin' from Hero's visit, it was I should be careful of meetin' somepony else's eyes. He smirked as he looked at me. "Rest first," he said. "You won't find them tonight. We'll look first thing in the morning." I felt frustrated as I rolled my eyes and turned away. I didn't want to wait. I wanted to go. "Go to bed," I heard him say. "You need to get more greens," I said and went to the bed. I did't care, I was takin' it, but I doubt I would get any shuteye.