"So, how's you been doing Rainbow?" I asked, slowly flying around Ponyville with my prismatic-maned friend.
Rainbow shrugged. "Everything's been really quiet lately. No big baddies have shown up since the Elements were destroyed." She did a quick flip in midair, avoiding a cloud. "But the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to get their cutie marks using potions. Well, it was Applebloom mostly. She took something from Zecora's and got her cutie mark, but she started gaining more and more cutie marks. Everyone freaked out, thinking it was the Pony Pox."
I let out a small laugh, remembering it from the show. But inside I felt kinda proud that my friends are able to take care of Ponyville without me, especially since I've been spending most of my time in Canterlot now. "Seems you guys really don't need me around as much as I thought when I arrived." We both stopped on a big cloud outside of Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash seemed like she was nervous about something. She was avoiding eye contact, gently kicking the cloud with her hoof, and she was taking a few deeper breaths than normal. "Well, here's the thing." She started. I sat down, always making it a point to be there for any of my friends. She took a few more breaths, before looking at me with her big pleading eyes. "We need you back. I don't think we can handle Twilight very much. She constantly trying to kidnap ponies to experiment on them, and we think she's planning something against you. Something big. I don't understand how we're supposed to be friends with such a-a monster! She doesn't feel sorry about anything anymore, and only cares about her science stuff."
Rainbow was about to continue, but I put my hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay Rainbow, I'll keep a better watch on Ponyville. I dislike Twilight as much as you guys, perhaps even more, but she is needed in the future." Against Tirek and the other things. I removed my hand from her shoulder, and she still looked at me in the eyes. I pulled out a small watch, before handing it to her. "Here. Take this. Push the button if you ever need help. Remember, I am always there for my friends. You guys were there for me when I first arrived, treating me like a friend when I thought myself a monster. I don't want to imagine what it would have been like if Fluttershy didn't find me, and help me."
Rainbow put on the watch, which quickly changed from a metallic grey to sky blue with red lightning bolts on it. She was examining it, when I felt a shiver in my spine, and quickly got up. "I have to go. There's trouble. Keep an eye on Twilight for me, k?" Rainbow nodded, and I smiled, glad to have friends like her, before I leaned backwards, falling off the edge of the cloud, and then flipping in midair, so I was looking at the ground. I watched as the ground got closer, and right before I hit it, I was an inch above it.
I pulled myself off the ground, and cracked my neck, before quickly running to Canterlot. I watched as the scenery quickly changed as every step brought me miles closer. It didn't take but a few seconds to reach the rocky walls of the mountain. Without stopping, I jumped, landed both feet on the mountain and quickly ran up it, swerving around the sharp jagged pieces, before reaching the snowy top and jumping off. I was flying through the air without actually flying, and noticed the Canterlot castle quickly approaching. I curled into as much of a ball as I could in my current form, and slammed into one of the windows, which spun around on it's place. The millisecond I passed through the window, I uncurled, and landed on the carpet with both feet as I used my powers to negate my momentum.
I smirked, looking behind me at the stopped window. "Getting better every day." Not missing another beat, I ran down the hall, quickly changing directions, as I neared my location. I stopped midway through my run, to quickly check on the body next to the wall. "Crap." I muttered under my breath. I put my fingers against their neck, feeling no pulse. Looking down, I gently pulled off their helmet, set it next to them on the floor, and carefully closed their eyelids. "You did your duty well." I picked up their spear, noticing the small amount of blood on the tip of it.
Upon further examination, I saw that the metal tip was exposed to an acidic component in the blood, which was still fresh. Judging by the explosive residue around the area and the huge dent in the pony's helmet, I can only assume that the culprit was Murphy. Dropping the spear, I kept running, noticing more and more dead guards, all surrounded by explosive marks. "Mass murder? This isn't like him. This is not like him at all!" I stopped in my tracks when I noticed something that wasn't Murphy's style at all.
Quickly crouching next to the dead mare, I noticed no sign of death by explosives or gun shots, or even weapons. Her throat was crushed by a giant metal hand. A few nanobots were swimming in her bloodstream, most likely dropped into her throat by the attacker. I shrunk my fingers down, and grabbed a nanobot coming out of her throat, and examined it. "Nanobots designed to cause as much harm as possible in the victims." I destroyed all the mini robots in her body and stood up. "This isn't Murphy's style. Only one person I know would do something like this. Machines are not meant to be used for evil!"
Continuing my running, it didn't take long for me to get to the doors to the main throne room, where the most bodies were piled around. The doors were broken off, with one looking like it was blown up, and the other was ripped off. I stopped, and walked through the opening, and confirming my suspicions. As I was doing this, I noticed a few things different about the throne room, other than the bodies, destruction, blood and guts. There were a few charges set around the door, along with various inventions set up around the room. Instantly knowing what they were, I focused back on the throne.
Sitting on the throne was two of my most dangerous enemies. Shooting some innocent guards, and laughing like a mad man, was Murphy Derum, the red-headed teenage murderer, and the Cosmic King of Destruction. Next to him, keeping an eye on the princesses, and holding a beaten-up and bruised Celestia, was Dr. Ivan Malicious, the CEO and creator of Creatures for the Destruction of Ponies, and one of the multiverse's greatest minds in robotics and cybernetics. Malicious was inside a giant robotic suit, similar to the one he was wearing last time we fought.
"Now, Princess Celestia, do you honestly think that your hero will be here in time to save you?" Malicious said, sneering in Celestia's face, while holding her still with his giant robotic hand. "Well, he probably will. The Cosmic Brat is very punctual. But he might not be able to save you." He pulled back his fist, which started glowing purple, as a bunch of rocket propellants grew out of the back of it, preparing for a super punch.
Murphy looked over and noticed me. "Hey, Malicious. Look who's arrived." He shot the last guard, jumping off the throne, and taking a few steps toward me. Malicious looked over, smirking, before looking back at Celestia.
"Like I said, punctual." A faint beeping sound came from his suit, and I quickly ran forward, avoiding the charges, before getting punched in the face by Murphy. I flew back, before quickly flipping in midair, avoiding several shots from my red-headed rival. The second I landed, the ground below me shot upwards, almost slamming me into the ceiling. I managed to use the tendrils from my back to pull me away, only for the area behind me to blow up, flinging me into Malicious's rocket-powered fist.
I didn't have any time to recover, as Malicious grabbed my right leg, flinging me into the ground near Celestia and Luna. When my vision stopped spinning, I looked over at the terrified faces of the two alicorns, and quickly got my act together. My eyes glowed with electricity, as everything slowed down to almost nothing, and I pushed myself up, walking over to the two girls I've been defending for millions of years, and both hugged them, creating a time stasis bubble around them to speed them up.
They blinked in surprise at my sudden movement, before returning the hugs as best as they could. "Connor! Are you okay?!" Luna asked, practically sobbing into my shoulder.
I nodded. "I don't know how this is going to end." I actually did. I can't seem to turn off this power I have that forcibly has me always see every single possible future, and know how every second is going to play out. "But I will try my best to stop these two." I looked down at their bindings, and grit my teeth. "I can't crack these. Murphy and Malicious clearly worked together for this."
"Connor, you can't lose. Whatever they plan on doing once beating you..." Celestia held back a sob. "You can't lose."
I gave a small smirk. "Of course I can lose. I have to keep a realistic assessment of every situation. I have a pretty good chance of losing." Just saying that made me start to feel giddy. A fight that I may actually lose! A challenge! This is the reason why I keep my villains alive! So they can provide me the rush I never experience! The possibility of my life finally ending! Something I've been denied for so long! "But I'll try to win. After all, heroes can't lose." Yes they can, and I'm not a hero.
I stood back up, and got rid of the stasis bubble. Music started playing, and I turned around, running up to Murphy, who looks like he was just now catching onto what I was doing, and slowly pointing his gun at my quickly moving body. I slapped his gun across the room, as he may be stronger than me, but I'm definitely faster. Before he could react, I upper-cutted him, and sent him flying into the ceiling.
I turned around, and jumped over Malicious's fists, before getting blasted by a laser from his back. Slammed into the wall, I quickly jumped down, avoiding Malicious's laser, only to get hit in the chest by a missile shot from Murphy. Getting blasted back again, I gritted my teeth, and charged up some power in my arm. I fired a huge blast of energy at Murphy, who wasn't able to dodge it, and got blasted through a few walls.
Quickly focusing on Malicious, I jumped over his fists again, and quickly flipped to avoid his laser, but was crushed into the ceiling by Malicious's fists again, as they quickly raised from below me. Before I could do anything else, Malicious pulled me out of the ceiling by my right leg, crushing it, and ripping it off, before dropping me to the ground. I couldn't even hit the ground before Murphy kicked me in the back of the neck, breaking my spine, and dropping me like a rag doll. My leg quickly grew back, and my spine healed, but I couldn't get back up in time.
Malicious quickly grabbed me, using his huge hands to pick my entire body up, and I felt something sharp enter my body, and I screamed in pain, before coughing up blood that quickly changed into black goop. My eyes widened in fear, as Malicious chucked me into another wall, breaking a few of my bones. I tried to get off, but Murphy kneed me in the stomach, before using his powers to make some of the pieces of metal from the guard's armor melt and formed burning hot... whatever they're called, kinda like one piece handcuffs, that directly attach to the walls, trapping my arms and legs. I screamed from the metal burning my skin.
Taking this moment to their advantage, Malicious threw rocket-powered punch after punch into my chest, easily breaking my chest and ribs, and possibly my back. While he was doing this, Murphy was adding his fire powers to Malicious's punches, giving me third degree burns over most of my torso. I was practically puking blood, until Malicious punched me in the stomach, causing me to actually puke out the eggs, restoring my powers.
I was barely able to regenerate my nerve endings and spine as I quickly removed the burning metal, and dropped to the ground, looking at my two opponents. I felt my chest quickly heal , and wiped the blood off my mouth, before running forward. Both of them laughed, as Malicious slammed a metal box on the ground, and Murphy opened it up, pulling out a large device, pointing it at me. I quickly tried to sidestep, but a shot from Murphy's floating pistol to both of my knees and thighs forced me to the ground, as my body tried to heal from the bullets
I tried to get up, but Malicious quickly kicked me into the wall on the opposite side of the room. The second I slammed into the wall, he reacted, ripping off and destroying my metal arm. He laughed. "Let's see if the rumor is true." He slammed his fingers into the metal socket where my shoulder once was, and forced some energy into me. I screamed in pain, as an arm shot out of the socket, making the metal fall to the ground. "So it is true! You could have regrown your arm at any time, but you left it off to replace it with a metal arm!" He laughed again, before letting me fall to the ground. The second I dropped the the ground, I quickly tried to charge at the retreating Malicious, only to be shot in the legs again by Murphy, and falling back to the ground.
I quickly look up upon hearing a humming sound, and see the machine Murphy's wielding is glowing bright white. Getting up to my feet, as the bullet wounds healed enough to stand, I try my best to analyze the machine. My eyes widened in fear as I realized what it was.
Malicious chuckled. "You know what this is Connor? Wait, of course you do, with all those memories of the previous Cosmic Kings forced into your head. I must say, this weapon is rather easy to make, especially with the help of Murphy."
Murphy chuckled as well. "Well, I figured that we both have the same goals, we should work together. Much easier than just waiting to be beaten several times before finally working together."
"And I'm so glad you've come to your senses. I recall seeing in your last fight that you actually were going easy on the animals around you, almost as if you cared about their worthless lives." Malicious replied. "But you wouldn't, being the god of Destruction and a murderer."
Murphy didn't respond, just looked down. I quickly had the idea to capitalize on his second-thoughts. "Murphy, you don't have to do this! Remember when we-ACK!" Murphy fired a bullet into my throat. I first thought it was a normal bullet, but judging by the lack of blood or pain, it was a weak bullet designed to just apply a lot of force.
"Yes I do. I'm the god of destruction. Malicious, power up the machine." Murphy said in a dark voice, as he made sure the device was pointed at me. It glowed even brighter, before firing a powerful beam at me.
I screamed, as my entire body racked with pain. I fell down onto my knees, purple energy quickly flew out of my body and quickly moving in the opposite direction of the beam. I quickly forced all my Cosmic Energy forward, hoping to fight against this. I turned into my Cosmic Form, but that quickly faded as the beam turned purple, and was moving in the opposite direction, and I could barely feel any Cosmic Energy anymore. Everything was changing. All my various visions turned into one normal plain vision, and massive amounts of knowledge left my mind. It didn't take long before the remaining energy in my body quickly turned back into organic cells.
When the beam faded, I was taking deep breaths, as I looked at my arms, trying to summon even the smallest amount of energy. Nothing. I don't have my powers. I'm human. I looked back over at the evil duo, noticing them pulling out an orb of purple energy from the machine they used against me. My energy. They both laughed nefariously, as Murphy pulled a few tubes from the back of Malicious's robotic suit, attaching them to the orb, and his suit glowed purple. My purple.
"So this is what's it's like to be a god!" Malicious exclaimed. "I can feel the power! How can you not use this kind of power to rule over everyone! To rule over everything!"
Murphy coughed into his hand. "Even if you have the power, it doesn't make you a Cosmic King. You might be able to rule over a universe or two, but not the multiverse. Only Connor or I could use the power to it's full potential. I'm only letting you have it as per our agreement."
Malicious regained his head. "Yes. I suppose. Now, time to deal with the trash." They both looked at me, too weak from the pain and sore feeling to do anything. "I suppose you want to do the honors?"
Murphy grinned. "I'd be glad to." He walked over to me, and I just gave him a dead look in his eyes.
"You've changed from the friend I used to have. Josh and Sarah would be ashamed of you." I spoke in a soft voice to him.
His eyes burned with anger. More anger than usual. Figured mentioning those two would make him the angriest. "GOOD BYE!" I suddenly felt a massive surge of force through my entire body, as I was suddenly flung through the air.
Everyone in the room looked as Murphy sent one powerful punch into Connor's stomach, his punch filled with a massive amount of force, designed only to fling the person on the opposite side a far distance. And fling it did. Connor smashed through several walls, before being seen as a small speck on the horizon. Eventually, he was no longer seen, but the top of a mountain in the Everfree Forest was destroyed, and crumbled down onto the Everfree.
Luna cried out in pain from thinking Connor died. Celestia tried to comfort her sister and glared at the two villains. "Why? Why would you do this?"
"Because he ruined both of our lives." They both responded at the exact same time, both of them harshly remembering what Connor did to ruin their lives.
Connor's eyes shot open, and he quickly looked around, ignoring the massive amounts of pain he was feeling. He noticed he was in some kind of wooden cottage, somewhere in the Everfree, judging by what the house was made out of, and what was outside the window. For some reason, one of his eyes wasn't seeing anything, but he ignored it. Looking closer around the room, he noticed that it seemed to be someone's own room, similar to how Fluttershy let him recover in her own bedroom when he first arrived. He noticed a few picture frames, but before he could examine them, the door to the room opened, and a pony walked in, carrying a few bandages in midair.
The pony, a unicorn mare, quickly noticed Connor sitting up, and jumped, the bandages falling to the ground. "You're awake! I thought you'd never wake up! Those wounds would have killed anypony!" The unicorn picked up the bandages in her magic, closing the door behind her with her hind hoof. She quickly walked over, and began changing the bloody bandages on Connor's body.
This finally prompted Connor to look at his body, and he flinched in surprise. His right leg was seriously broken, and his left leg was malfunctioning. Most of his body was covered in bloody bandages. There were a few wrapped around his head, and one covering up his right eye. Luckily, both of his arms were mostly okay, with a few broken fingers. The important thing is that he's alive, and can recover. He tested both of his legs, seeing both of them move slightly, and sighed in relief at the fact that the chip in his spine still works.
He looked back at the unicorn mare who finished changing the bandages. "Why did you help me?" He asked.
She flinched, looking up at his watching eye with a scared expression. "You can talk?!"
"Yes I can. Now, can you please tell me why you helped me?" Connor didn't mean to sound angry, but he was kinda in a bad mood, and wanted to make sure this wasn't a trick by Malicious and Murphy.
"Why wouldn't I?" She responded. "You're a creature in need of help. You barely survived that rock slide from the mountain. It was one heck of a rock slide too. The entire top of the mountain came off. I quickly ran over, trying to make sure no creatures needed help, and if they did, I'd help them. I saw you, pulling yourself out of a small lake, before passing out."
Connor couldn't quite remember what happened. All he could remember is Murphy punching him after he lost his powers. "May I ask for you're name?"
The mare smiled. "Of course." Right as she was about to say her name, Connor examined her. She was a pinkish mare with a hint of purple, and a purple mane with stripes of light blue and a different shade of purple. Her eyes were between purple as well, and she had a cutie mark that was a purple star with a white star behind it. Above the star was two streaks of two different shades of blue. "My name is Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you."
Connor's eyes widened at the name.