I woke up to someone shaking me and the smell of bacon and eggs. Mmm, bacon… Wait. BACON! I thought, instantly waking up and running to the bar. “Where’s the bacon? Gimme some bacon!” I said, startling Applejack, who was currently cooking some eggs on the stove.
“Settle down, doggie. Bacon’s in the oven. Also, we found Twilight sleeping in the school library and brought her and Spike here. Hope ya don't mind.” He said, pointing behind me. I turned to see Twilight with bed head.
“*Snrk* Someone slept well.” I said with a smile.
“That bed is better than the one at the library in Ponyville.” She replied.
“I’ll say. Came home and found you out like a rock.” I said. I walked over and sat on the couch before staring at the tv, lost in thought. “Artemis, search online for some gaming consoles. I'll want some here if we return.” I said, watching AJ come in from the kitchen, holding two plates that smelled of scrambled eggs with bacon and bacon on the side.
“The bacon has been doubled!” I said before turning to Twilight as she sat down. “So, how was your first taste of meat? Or did you skip out on lunch?” I questioned, grabbing a strip of bacon as Aj walked over to talk with the others.
“Well, I didn’t get any meat a couple days ago, but Rainbow Dash convinced me to try some. Let’s just say, I was surprised that I didn’t puke, and I was surprised at how good it was.” She answered.
“That’s because of your current anatomy. Right now, you’re designed to get your required protein by consuming meat, which can be substituted with tofu, but genuine meat is better than the fake stuff, I’m sure.” I said, grabbing my fork eating my eggs with bacon.
“Anyways,” I began once I swallowed my fifth bite of eggs. “I’m heading out on what I think might be the interstate today. I was advised to go on the other side of Canterlot towards Crystal City and ask a gang that resides in an abandoned facility about Celestia’s whereabouts. Let’s hope I don’t beat the guys holding Celestia captive into a millimeter of their lives.” I said.
“Don’t have too much fun. We’d rather stay at school than get you out of random situations.” Blitz said, getting nods of agreement from the other guys.
“Too much fun is not enough fun. There can never be enough fun.” I said, finishing up my eggs and bacon. “Welp, I’m off. Wish me luck and have a good day at school.”
I was closing my car door when I heard Twilight say, “What day of the week is it, Dusk?”
“Friday, it seems.” He replied
“Good! Monday sucks!” shouted Blitz, getting a laugh out of everyone.
I influence those boys too much. What Blitz said is something I would expect from me. I thought, opening the garage and pulling out, heading towards the interstate.
-----1 hour later-----
City traffic, the worst stuff on earth. Ugh. I thought pulling into the warehouse. “Let’s get this over with. Sooner I can get to Celestia, the better.” I walked in, instantly grabbing attention. “Hold it, I’m just here for info. Does anyone know what gang or terrorist group has Celestia from Canterlot and where they are?” I asked, causing some to relax while the rest reached for what might either be a taser or pistol.
“Info from us will cost ya” One of the gang members said.
“Kay then, how much?” I asked.
“Two hundred.” Said the same person.
“You sure you don’t want three thousand?” I questioned.
“Three thousand.” I handed over the money, pulling said money from random pockets. “She was taken captive by a gang who calls themselves ‘The Hive”. They function like a beehive, except the collectors travel in groups and the drones scout out places to visit in the future. They are in the top 5 for most wanted and best gang. You’d probably find them in the important areas of Crystal City, at least the drones. As for the hub, I’ve heard that there’s been high activity in Badlands for The Hive than anywhere else. Best place to find drones in the city is around banks or mansions. The more money, the more likely it is to find a drone.” He informed me. I nodded and left, instantly taking off the moment I got in the car.
-----30 minutes later, Crystal City Vaults-----
I walked inside, intending to draw out a drone with a big deposit. I waited for a while before finally getting called on by a teller. “I’d like to make a deposit of ten million, please.” I said. The teller looked at me with surprise before gaining a look of suspicion.
“Alright, what is your name and account number?” The teller asked.
I took a quick look around, seeing nothing suspicious. “Shade Blitz, A113.” I said.
The teller typed away at the keyboard before turning to me. “I’m afraid you aren’t registered in our sys-” The teller was cut off by the sounds of the door bursting open followed by gunshots.
“Everyone get down, this is a robbery!” The newcomers shouted.
I turned around as everyone ducked down. “Well what’d’ya know? You all must be part of ‘The Hive’, correct? I was honestly expecting a drone, but collectors are more reliable when it comes to gaining info.” I said, watching as the people dressed in loose black clothing and blue tinted shades pointed their guns in my direction.
“We said get down, so you better do it now before you get hurt.” One of them said.
I yawned before whispering to Artemis. “Send a message to Maverick telling him to get his best fighters and meet me near Badlands on the road heading towards Crystal City.” I turned my attention back to the small group of collectors. “We can do this the easy way, the hard way, or my way.” I said, cracking my knuckles.
“We warned you.” A different collector said, causing the others to fire.
I reacted quickly, jumping to the side and narrowly missing the bullets. “Tiid, Klo Ui!” I shouted, causing my vision to be shaded blue as time slowed. I ran around the collectors, jumping over ducked people, before finally reaching their 6. “Fus, Ro Dah!” I shouted, causing them to fly back. One shout left before I have to recharge. What to use, what to use. Not Aura Whisper. At this speed, I could try Fire Breath, but they might have some resistance to it… Better safe than sorry. I thought, planning out how things might go if this works and hoping that I still had enough time to approach them before time sped up.
I charged, jumping in the air when I got near and tilted my head down. “Yol, Tor Shul!” I shouted, sending a wave of fire at them, catching their clothes on fire as time sped up. I looked up as I passed over the glass barrier and braced myself as I crashed into a wall, pushing off once my momentum dissipated. I jumped over the barrier and pinned the collectors to the floor.
“Where is your base? Badlands? Canterlot? Where?” I questioned.
“Get off me, freak.” One said. I used some magic to increase my weight.
“Where. Is. Your. Base? If you value your life, you’ll answer truthfully.” I threatened.
“F-fine. It’s in Badlands. It's the largest abandoned factory, you can't miss it.” The same collector said.
“Smart move.” I said, letting them go. I watched as they ran out before looking over the counter at the teller. “Cancel that deposit, please.”
-----1 hr, 30 mins later, Badlands suburbs-----
“Alright Maverick, I got some collectors to tell me what the place looks like. I have a feeling that it’s either closer to the city or here in the suburbs. Anyways, they say it’s the largest abandoned factory in Badlands. Now then, as for the battle plan. I need you and your fighters to cover me as I charge through them. I promised Celestia’s sister that I would have her back as soon as possible and I intend to follow through. I’ll be aiming straight for the center of the building, then I’ll find the most defended spot while fighting off any who try to kill me. As soon as you lose sight of me, you’re free to go crazy on them all.” I said. Maverick nodded, relaying the plan to the five others he brought along, one of them being Butch.
“So, what do you plan on doing once you have Celestia?” Asked Maverick.
“Simple, really. I’m gonna blow the roof.” I informed him with a devilish smirk.
“Cool guys don’t look at explosions.” He joked. I shook my finger at him, thinking of how to say what was on my mind.
“This is an exception, I kid you not.” I said. “Now then, let’s roll.”
-----30 minutes later, The Hive-----
We pulled up to the large factory, getting the attention of some guards out front. They approached us as we got out. “What are you doing here? This building is off limits to unauthorized personnel.” The one on the left said.
“Would ya look at that. Someone took online school. Sucks that this is the last day you’ll live.” I said, pulling out one of my katanas from my jacket before cutting his head off and slicing the other’s trigger hand. “No thanks, I’d rather not die again. Too soon for that.” I said as I rammed the tip of my blade through his forehead. I turned, seeing Maverick and his group standing still in shock. “What? Never seen a guy pull an enchanted katana out of his jacket GTA style? What am I saying? Course not, this ain’t Equestria. I’ll explain later.”
Maverick was the first to break out of the trance as I walked off towards the door. “Okay. Don’t know how or why that happened, but I have a feeling that I’ll need to get used to it.” He said, breaking the rest out of their trance.
I cracked the door open slightly once Maverick and his group joined me, seeing a large amount of commotion inside. I turned my attention to them, counting down from three with my hand. I bust down the door, summoning a weak ward spell right after and charged in. I didn’t get too far before a bulky drone jumped at me, causing me to lower the shield to stab his heart.
I decided to leave the shield down and see how rusty my reflexes were. I somehow managed to dodge most of the bullets and block a few more that were aimed for my head. I cut off more heads, crushed and stabbed hearts, and immobilized many drones and collectors as I looked around me. I eventually found what I was looking for and began running towards the group of guards. My streak continued, increasing in frequency as I got closer to the guards. I quickly pulled out my other katana and held the discs, having split the original as I pulled it out of my jacket, and jumped at the guards.
I sent my discs to the two farthest from my landing point and stabbed the other two through the lungs and heart. I looked around, seeing that the attention on me was fairly light, and took the few moments that I had to grab my discs from their place in the wall and store them in my inventory. I turned to the now unguarded door, busting it down with a battering ram and jumping on the room’s lone resident.
“Where’s Celestia?” I growled. The occupant, seemingly female when I took a moment to look at her facial features, stared at me unblinkingly with slit eyes.
“Why should I tell you? You’re nothing compared to me. You have no name. No fame. Nothing but luck and those friends of yours. I am Chrysalis, Queen of The Hive.” She said. I stared at her dead in the eye.
“You want to know why you should tell me? Because I will rip your heart out, eat it, then tear you limb from limb before burning you and dumping your ashes into a cauldron of acid then dumping said acid into a body of water. Or, I could paralyze you, find Celestia, plant bombs all over the building, then blow it up once I got far enough away to see the explosion in my rear view. Who knows, I might come up with some other way to brutally kill you and your subordinates. It can all be stopped by telling me where she is.” I said, activating the runes on my discs and swords.
“Fine. She’s underground in a cell. The door is on the other side of the building.” She said, her voice laced with a some fear.
“Smart move.” I said, getting up and deactivating the runes. I jumped over the desk that Chrysalis was sitting at and quickly made my way to the opposite side of the building, killing any drone or collector in my path. Once I got to the door, I kicked it with a couple tons of force, causing it to slam into the opposite wall. I ran down the stairs, skipping a few here and there, before I reached the bottom floor.
“Celestia? Is there a Principal Celestia in here?” I called out, walking down the hall and looking in every cell I passed.
“Who’s there? Please don’t hurt me!” I heard a voice similar to my sister’s down the hall. I dashed down the corridor, stopping once I heard a faint breathing. I had to rely on my hearing since the light was almost nonexistent because the last working light was yards away.
“Artemis, night vision. Can’t see worth dirt here.” I said. I blinked, my vision turning green when I opened my eyes. I quickly looked around, seeing a pair of familiar eyes watching me a few cells down. I walked over and scanned the bars, looking for any kind of lock. Not seeing any, I held my hand out and performed a magic scan, finding that there was a magic lock covering the whole thing. “Celestia, I suggest you stand against the wall, or anywhere that isn’t in the path of the door if it was to fly off it’s hinges.” I advised, watch as her eyes widened as she quickly made her way to the nearest wall.
I pulled out a blue glass bottle, popping the lid off and downing the whole thing before returning my attention to the door. “Fus, Ro Dah!” I shouted. The force of the shout broke the lock and sent the door flying into the back wall. “C’mon, Celestia. Your sister needs you and your students miss you. Plus, there’s a little problem that I’ll need to deal with when we get back to the school.” I said, leaning into the cell and holding my hand out to her, having sheathed my swords as I approached the door.
“W-who are you?” She asked, taking my hand. I helped her up before staring at her in the eye.
“Would you believe me if I told you that I was a god from another realm where I’m the only human in existence and where magic is as common as technology is here?” I asked, receiving a look of disbelief. “Well I am. The name’s Alex, God of Rage, Prince of Equestria, and brother to Princesses Celestia and Luna. Yeah, in Equestria, you and your sister are royalty. Also, sooner we get you out, the sooner I can blow the roof.”
We quickly made our way to the door, with Celestia partly in the magical land of confusion. I opened the door and guided her along the wall, sticking close to the shadows. We eventually reached the door, with no sign of Maverick. I took a peek outside, seeing him and his companions fighting as best as they could.
“Wait here and stay out of sight. I have a few friends out there who seem to be on their last legs in this fight and I’m about to go nuts on these creeps. You can still watch if you want to.” I told Celestia. She nodded, seemingly to have recovered from her confusion enough to acknowledge the world again. I flew out the door, having summoned my wings for the first time since I went through the portal. “Artemis, normal vision. Could’ve sworn I programmed you to be able to switch between the two when needed.” I said, watching my vision go from green to normal.
I swung my swords in the style of Attack on Titan, slicing through multiple drones and collectors before I reached Maverick. “Get to the van and wait for me and Celestia. I can handle these mindless things without a problem.” I said. Maverick hesitated before succumbing to my serious look and signalling a fall-back. I turned my attention to my opponents, dividing my attention to the best of my ability in order to build up magic for a summon and defend Maverick and his companions as they jumped into their van. I continued to build up magic after they got into the van, thinking about what to summon.
I swung my katanas out of their sheathes on my back, holding them out in opposite directions. “Ragnarok! Yolkendov! Awaken!” I shouted, resulting in the red eyes of the chinese dragons on my katanas to become realistic before the dragons separated and flew away from the blades, leaving the runes and black katanas behind. Fire engulfed the living designs, growing in size until they began flicker out, revealing two golden Chinese dragons flying around before returning to my sides.
“I am Ragnarok, twin brother of Yolkendov. I have slayed thousands in my lifetime, and it appears you all are next.” Said the dragon on my right.
“I am Yolkendov, twin brother of Ragnarok. I have incinerated and fought thousands in air and on land. Prepared to be cremated.” Said the dragon on my left. They both rocketed into the sky and within the clouds. I lunged at the nearest drone, activating the enchantments on my katanas with the magic I had left. I managed to slice through a couple dozen drones before Ragnarok dove from the sky like a bolt of lightning, burrowing into the earth and crushing the drones that didn’t dive to avoid it. Yolkendov came from my left and torched or crushed even more drones and collectors.
“Get owned! Su, Grah Dun!” I shouted, my attacks increasing in speed. “Mul, Qah Diiv!” I shouted again, becoming surrounded in a blue, orange, and yellow set of transparent armor resembling a dragon, with my attacks instantly gaining more strength. “Mid. Vur Shaan!” I shouted as Yolkendov and Ragnarok passed in front of me at the same time. Their attacks quickly matched my speed.
Before long, the whole group of collectors and drones were either dead, dying, or immobilized. “Hey you two, help me carry them inside. I would like to get rid of the evidence as best as I can by destroying the supports in the warehouse and crushing them. Also, explosions are cool.” I said. Soon enough, we had taken every last body into the warehouse, Ragnarok and Yolkendov returning to their original states on my katanas.
“All clear, Celestia. Let’s roll.” I said, giving her a friendly smile, hopefully settling any fears she might’ve had about me. She reluctantly nodded before joining me as I returned to my car. Once we were buckled up, I did a U-turn and began driving away from the warehouse, Maverick and his group following behind. Once we got a certain distance away, I turned my attention to my rear-view and snapped my fingers. I watched as the warehouse was destroyed by the explosion. Celestia turned back when she heard the boom, seeing the explsion where the warehouse used to be.
“Why did you do that?” She asked, turning to me.
“One. Explosions are cool. Two. I’m a guy. Three. I’m not allowed to explode things back home at random unless it’s to protect Equestria.” I said. “You up for some music? It’s nothing classical. Actually, I think I have a travel playlist or mix here somewhere.” I said, pulling out an iPod and shuffling a playlist. A few moments into the song I looked over to see her silently moving to the beat with a soft smile.
-----3 hours, 30 minutes later-----
It was dark out by the time I pulled up to the school, Maverick having turned off to head back to the warehouse a while earlier. I got out and opened the door for Celestia. “So, how did you like the trip?” I asked.
“It was certainly a lot more comfy than on the trip there.” She said, getting out. I saw movement in the corner of my eye and looked to see Luna running out the door.
“Sister! I’ve missed you! The Fall Formal is about to begin. We must hurry!” She said, taking a moment to hug Celestia before dragging her inside. “Oh, one more thing. Thank you for returning my dear sister to me.” She said.
“Anytime. Now, about that Formal.” I said with a mischievious grin.
-----A short while later, CHS Gym-----
“Attention Canterlot High. I am honored to announce tonight’s Fall Formal Princess.” Celestia said, getting cheers of excitement as an OK to continue.
“And the winner is.” She cut off, increasing the suspense.
“Hype! Hype! Hype!” I shouted from the crowd. That got a multitude of laughs and responses, both negative and positive, from those surrounding me.
“Twilight Sparkle!” She announced. I turned around to see Twilight get glomped by Pinkie and Bubble Berry.
Suddenly, the whole crowd burst into one loud gasp, some pointing to the stage, others standing in awe. I turned to see that someone decided to steal what I instantly identified as the Element of Magic, which began to transform her and surround her in a barrier of magic.
Soon after, she burst from the ball of magic as a she-demon. I quickly took of for my car, signalling for the boys to follow. “I have an idea about how to stop this, but I’ll need parts that I don’t have. I remember seeing a few tech and metal factories down the road. I’m certain they’ll have what I need. Boys, on Blitz, ASAP.” I said. They did their thing and quickly hopped into the Elemento after me. I started the car and zoomed down the street, making a U-turn and heading back towards the city.
We eventually reached the tech factory, which happened to be a few blocks down from the dealership, grabbed the tech that we needed, stored it into a hastily made pocket dimension, and made our way to the metal factory, doing the same as we did at the tech factory, and quickly made our way back to the school, where the events that were occurring inside the gym have made their way outside. I quickly located Twilight and her new friends.
“Girls! Keep her busy! I need at least ten minutes to build what I have in mind!” I shouted to them, getting nods from a few of them, specifically Twilight, Dash and Applejack, who quickly relayed the message to the others. I instantly set to work, having the boys help me out. AJ and Blitz were carrying parts to the others, Dusk and Elusive were cutting parts to certain shapes, Bubble Berry and Butter Scotch were watching them to make sure they don’t melt themselves, and I was assembling the parts together.
-----Ten minutes later-----
It was finished, and all that was left was to flip a switch. I looked up, seeing that the she-demon was starting to overpower the girls. “Shoot, we have to move quick. Artemis, as soon as I flip this switch, I want you to prepare the best drop I have and link to the cannon”
“Understood. The drop is ready.” She said. I quickly moved to put the backpack on that held the battery. Once that was on, I hefted the cannon onto my shoulder, grabbing the handle that went down to my belly with my left hand and holding the cannon steady with my right. I quickly used my left hand to flip the switch on the backpack before grabbing the handle again, which caused the cannon to whizz to life, certain parts lighting up, while the speakers gently hummed.
“Alright demon, you ready to feel the beat? No? Welp, sucks for you. Artemis, power up the bass cannon.” I said, feeling the slight vibration in the cannon grow in intensity as Execute by Excision began to play. When the bass dropped, a blue beam of energy shot out at the she-demon, throwing her against the wall as the energy went to work destroying the transformation magic surrounding her.
Meanwhile, Blitz flew in and grabbed the Element of magic, returning it to it’s rightful place on Twilight’s head. “Alex! You can stop firing!” Dusk shouted at me. Artemis paused the music as I cut off the power and lowered the cannon. I was to busy taking the cannon off and figuring out some way to store it in my new pocket dimension to witness Twilight and her friends use the power of the Elements against the weakened she-demon, as well as the events afterwards. I managed to turn around in time to see everyone heading back in and quickly joined them as we made our way to the gym.
-----3 hours later-----
I looked out the window to see that the moon was almost at it’s peak. “Twilight! We gotta go now or we’ll be stuck here.” I shouted. She looked to me then out the window, her eyes shrinking slightly. As she said her goodbyes to her friends, I made my way over to the boys, who were hanging out with some other guys. “Hey you six, we gotta go. Only a few minutes til midnight.” They quickly said their goodbyes before joining me as I made my way to Celestia. “Hey, I’m about to head home, can I trust you to take my car back to my house? I’d rather not leave it here because someone might attempt to steal it and I don’t have enough time to take it back myself.” I asked.
“Sure. It’s the least I can do to repay you for reuniting me with my sister.” She said. I gave her the keys, saying my thanks in the process, and made my way out, the boys in tow. We say Twilight and her friends standing in front of the statue that disguised the portal.
“Twilight, hurry up. We only have seconds until the portal closes.” I said as I came into earshot. She looked up, said her last goodbyes and joined us as we crossed through the portal.
-----Moments later, Crystal Empire-----
We returned to see the other Elements and the Princesses surrounding us, a particular sky blue mare having stopped pacing as we emerged. Twilight wobbled before falling onto her hooves. Her friends rushed to congratulate her on getting her crown back as I popped up next to my sisters, literally. “I hope things have been well? You didn’t miss me too bad did ya?” I asked.
“Everything has been fine and we did miss you, although not as much as we were when you were stuck in stone.” Celestia said. I looked to her deviously.
“I guess you can say that I was rather stoned for a thousand years. Let me tell ya, it was trippy.” I punned. This earned a facehoof from Celestia and a good laugh from Luna. “Then again, Luna was mooning them for about as long.” I punned again. It was Luna’s turn to facehoof as Celestia started giggling.
“That was quite the glorious mooning, dear sister. Also, tell me again why I should lay off the cake?” Celestia trolled.
“Because your’s is far bigger, Cely. After all, you are Princess of the Sun, so your rear should naturally be bigger.” She returned my answer with a death glare as Luna burst out laughing, gaining the attention of everypony else. “Is something wrong, dear sister? You seem to be in a fit of unlady like laughter. Oh I do hope you can settle yourself down before you embarrass yourself in front of so many.” I said in the best posh voice I could muster. This got even more laughs from her and some giggling from Celestia. I turned to everyone else, maintaining the posh voice. “Was it something I said? I’m certain I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. After all, my jokes come from sarcasm and impersonations, but I’m not doing any of the sort at the moment.” This got Celestia laughing as well as Applejack, AJ, Blitz, Dash, and Spike.
I switched back to my normal voice before I spoke again. “Alright, alright. It was funny while it was, but I’m certain all of us are tired. Next stop, the dreamworld!” I said, getting some yawns as well as cheers.
-----Next day, halfway to Ponyville-----
“So that’s all that happened in the other world. If you’d like, we could record greetings for all of you that couldn’t come and share them with your respective counterparts, maybe even set up a dimensional connection so you may speak with them live.” Dusk said. The mares chose to go with a live conversation, which left me with the job of figuring out how to set up a dimensional relay.
“Ok, now that that’s settled, how am I gonna be reintroduced to Equestria? Will it be spectacular? Or will it be so classic that it’s boring?” I asked.
“Why don’t we change a few things and make it more exciting.” Celestia said.
“Such as?”
“Different music, different towns and cities, maybe a display of technology?”
“Perfect. Look out Equestria, I’m coming home. Artemis, play the instrumental.”
The rest of the ride was spent napping, eating, chatting, and having a good time. At least, until the shenanigans began…”Th-th-th-that’s a-all, folks!”
