• Published 24th Nov 2014
  • 11,868 Views, 248 Comments

Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans - FrostTheWolf



Getting stuck in a world full of talking ponies? That is not the best way celebrate someone's 18th birthday. Follow Nicko as he tries to make sense of the world he's now in and not get killed in the process. Based off of the Burning Crusadr

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Chapter 7: Nightmare

Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Nightmare


It was an hour past midnight and for the Pegasus Guard named Flash Sentry, he couldn’t get any sleep. The stallion was lucky that he wasn’t asked to attend the night watch tonight; but despite getting an early rest after having to handle one of the humans going after Prince Blueblood, things just continued to make his head spin. The time right now was a little after midnight and as he began to dress himself in some pants and a coat, he began to hear noises. Noises coming from outside.

Now… the thing is, Flash Sentry lived at the bunks where most of the other recruits and other guards live unless if they have an apartment or a place they rented out. The pegasus’s room was actually nearby the training yard, which is actually where the noises were coming from. He opened the curtains to his room to see a strange sight. It was the Human named Leo and… Caliburn? ‘What’s he doing out here?’

“So, you made sure to study the book?”

“Yes I did.” Caliburn replied. He took off the glove on his left hand to show a hand of… Metal!? Flash’s eyes widened. He never knew that Caliburn’s left arm was actually artificial. He drew the sword that he brought with him as Leo prepared his weapon. “You ready to see what I learned?”

Leo Grinned, his teeth shining with the minimal amount of Moonlight that glimmered in the night sky. He made the first move by charging and trying to strike the Earth pony with his Mechanical Arm “LIMIT CRUSHER!!”

Flash thought that Caliburn wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack coming at that kind of speed, but the pegasus was surprised to see his comrade move backwards to dodge the attack and then moved forward in the air to attack from above.

“WOLF FANG!!!”

The strike had not only surprised the Reckless Fist, but also impressed him. It showed him that Caliburn took his advice when he told the guard to study and prepare himself. Of course, knowing the skills in the book was half of the battle. Action was the other half. The two warriors continued to clash, each one demonstrating their skills with their preferred weapon type. Caliburn was able to easily parry and block Leo’s arm as many times as Leo had surprised the Guard pony. Flash Sentry had now left his room and come down to the training yard to have a closer look at the small battle that had commenced.

“GUARDIAN’S STRIKE!!”

“SHOCKWAVE- CUTTER!!!”

“ARMOR CRASH!!”

“FINISHING SLASH!!!”

The two swordsmen became exhausted moments after beginning their battle, but the human had a smile of satisfaction on his face as he looked at the pony he was training. He began to clap his hands. “Well done. Caliburn, you have really impressed me with the skill you put into your training. For that, I am proud to give you this.” The Reckless Fist now handed what appeared to be a set of folded clothes and a titanium sword to replace the one from the training barracks that Caliburn used for the clash with Leo.

“You have now successfully become a Blade Master. An expert in Swordsmanship and a guardian to those who can’t defend themselves on their own.” Leo told the former guard pony. Caliburn himself was proud of his accomplishments, but was surprised to see Flash Sentry in the training yard as well. The fight between him and Leo must’ve woken him up. But to his surprise, Flash was clapping his hands and congratulating the Earth Pony on his accomplishments. But despite all this though, the celebrations for this evening were short lived.


Canterlot Garden

Running through the Hedge maze in the garden during the night would make any of the humans think of a play on the “Maze Runner” book series. But right now, It had to serve as Eris’s shortcut for both her and Celestia. Nicko had told them earlier that they needed to reach Artemis and another individual that he only described at him. Eris had a good guess in mind of who this him was, but that wasn’t her major concern. That part was already taken place by the Male Human named Luke who was in pursuit of the two of them and left his Partner named Ciela to fight against Nicko. Of course, something else bothered her as Celestia and the chaos spirit weaved around another corner.

These two new individuals that just introduced themselves moments ago had similar Magic signature to both Nicko and Anson. It didn’t make sense inside her head, but something told her that her question would be answered soon. They were like forty feet away from Luke when the two of them finally came across Prince Artemis nearby the royal quarters of himself and a few other guests that were staying there tonight.

“Artemis!!”

“Sister! What’s going on? You look like you ran for miles!!”

“That’s because we were. Do you remember the Duo that fought against Eric 1000 years ago?”

“Why of course! Why would I-?” Artemis’s question was cut off by the sight of Luke barreling towards them in the air. Eris herself now felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She couldn’t exactly fight this guy, nor did the Draconequus find the person Nicko asked her to get.

That was, until he was seen in the air above them and sending the bladegunner flying backwards.

“Anson!!”

“Are you guys okay?” The Infinity Sword asked as he turned towards the Royal Pony Siblings and Eris. However, someone else now spoke. As he got up, Luke heard the name of this new individual and somehow made him have a flashback to where he saw one of his sons before coming to Equis.

“D-did you say… Anson?”

Anson turned to face the human in the navy cloak. “Yeah, thats me.”

“That’s also the name of one of my sons. Tell me boy, what’s your full name?”

The question had Anson thinking a number of thoughts that made him wonder what he should say. This person could obviously be trying to acquire information, but he wasn’t fully sure. He could be just trying to make him talk. But it was hard to tell at this rate. He even still had his weapons on his person, so this guy might attack him once the Infinity Sword answered his question. So, Anson kept his greatswords on his person as he composed himself.

“My name is Anson. Anson Conrad Nocte. Now That I told you my name, it would be polite of you to tell me yours.” The reaction that the teen got though was unexpected. This individual’s eyes widened and he actually sheathed his weapons. But the most strangest thing that happened was that a tear was coming down his face.

“My god…… You have grown a lot, my son.”

Anson’s eyes widened immensely at that statement. He now sounded exactly like… dad before he and his mother left that fateful evening. Now that he thought of it, he even looked exactly like his father. Now… he just gasped and let the question he had stumble out of his lips.

“Dad? Dad?!…… DAD!!” The only response that came afterwards was the shocked reaction of Celestia, Artemis and Eris along with Father and Son embracing each other in a tight and warm hug. Tears came from both of them as they were finally able to see each other again after being apart from each other for twelve years.

“Oh Anson! I thought I lost you!!” The bladegunner told his son as he looked at him. “How much have you grown since I’ve last seen you?”

“Well, Nicko and I are both eighteen-.”

“Wait!? Nicko’s Here too!!”

Before Anson could reply, an explosion went off in the direction of the Hall of Elements as a Bird of pure fire rose upward through the roof and crashed on down. Celestia was shocked by what she saw. Was that Philomena? Or could that be something different?

“Anson,” Eris shouted towards the Infinity Sword. “That surge of magic just now came from Nicko!!”

“What’s going on with him?”

“He’s having to fight another human who tried to attack us after she couldn’t take a joke when I called her a toddler since she looked like she was twelve years old-.” Eris stopped talking when she noticed Luke personally panicking a little to himself. Like something wasn’t going to plan at all. In a hurry, she disappeared as she tried her best to make it back to the hall of elements as soon as possible.

“Anson, What did your brother look like?”

“Red hair, ponytail, half-shirt, Cargo pants, blunt sword.”

“Damn… That’s not good.” Luke cursed, realizing what was going on. “We need to hurry back there now. Nicko isn’t fighting just anyone in there…”

He’s fighting your mother.


Hall of Elements

Nicko was known for many things, including tactics. One of the strangest tactics that he had done now was the one that occurred before he activated Phoenix Talon. The goal was to see what his opponent could do in combat. It looked like she could only perform three active skills and two special active skills, only from using a few moments of being thrown around like a toy. It also allowed him to see what were the limits of his skills. With Phoenix Talon now active, he had only thirty seconds to try and start a comeback in the fight he was engaged in before Ciela’s partner came back.

He didn’t plan on wasting any time.

With a quick push, the Rune Slayer dashed forward in a burst of speed. His blade clashed with Ciela’s gauntlets, almost causing her to lose her balance from the force of the strike. With the strenght the brawler could muster, Ciela executed her “Strong Strike” ability and struck Nicko’s sword. The blow pushed the Rune Slayer into the air, but what Ciela didn’t know was that he had a new skill to be able to use his current situation to his advantage.

Quickly, he had the flames that churned around him surround his blade as he pushed off of the ceiling and barreled towards the ground.

“SWORD FIRE!!”

The fiery inferno exploded outward in a wave of roaring flames, throwing Ciela off of her feet. The flames began to burn some of her clothes, but she ignored that and focused on making this kid pay. However, Nicko though, was just getting started.

Ten seconds have passed. Twenty seconds remained.

The two fighter clashed again, both of them with an intent of gaining the upper hand in the fight in the hallway. After a few sword strikes, Nicko tried to channel his magic into his hands to pull off his “Rising Wave” skill and put his hand on the floor. Ciela, expecting this, jumped in the air towards the wall and hold onto it like she was Spider Man. However, she was caught off guard when Nicko didn’t put his hand on the floor and instead slammed it against the wall that she was holding onto. The magical blades soon emerged from the wall, shredding through the brawlers defenses like it was paper.

Twenty seconds now. Got to make this count!

While Ciela was falling towards the ground, Nicko channeled a high powered amount of magic and power into his Right Fist. He flipped his sword to where he was holding it backwards and soon dashed forward. His “Explosive Fist” made contact with Ciela’s face after The Rune Slayer used his blade to lower her guard; sending her flying across the room. Phoenix Talon’s buff was now gone and he could feel the buff being dismissed. He dropped to one knee, exhausted from the amount of power he used. Fortunately, the fight was now over and he could use the chance to try and-.

The noise startled Nicko as he looked in the direction the sound came from. In front of him now, Ciela could still be seen standing even though Nicko’s fist should have sent her into the wall. The golden button that was used to keep the white bow the brawler had on her had now cracked. But inside it, something glowed a wicked navy blue. It almost resembled a star, but it was one that Ciela was able to grab hold of.

Putting it close to her heart though set off a chain reaction that Nicko never expected at all. A Sigil of the same color appeared underneath the fighter, having her tattered clothes disappear in a glowing light. Her gauntlets have also disappeared in the same glow. The glow then turned from light like to almost demonic. The color had darkened immensely and many changes began to take place. For one thing, there was a new pair of gauntlets that looked more fearsome than the last pair and the end of the tail she had resembled less of a heart and more of a fearsome arrowhead.

In addition to this, her clothes took on a new appearance that looked more fearsome, but also put flashbacks inside Nicko’s head. He had seen it before somewhere. The small dress from before was ditched completely for a hood and jacket that reminded the Rune Slayer of Strength from Black Rock Shooter mixed with the resemblance of Little Red Riding Hood. The crown on top of her head also changed and her hair looked like it was split into two pigtails. Her stockings also changed and she was also wearing Jeans shorts to add on to the complete wardrobe change.

But this wasn’t the only thing Nicko saw as he now had the strength to stand firmly. Her magic had also completely changed. Now it looked like she was wielding a dark form of sorcery. One that was the opposite of what she was using earlier. It even felt like he was looking at an actual demon, even though he knew that this girl was human like he was.

When the transformation was complete, the girl looked at her newfound Magic Gauntlets and her appearance and smiled to herself. When she looked at Nicko, her eyes were as cold as ice. Ciela was still unsure if this boy was who she thought it was, so the only way she would be able to find out was to beat the answers out of this Short, red-headed brat. As she looked at the Rune Slayer, the Chiliarch was now ready to unleash hell.

“You brought this on yourself,” She warned as her newfound control over Terror began to surge around her body “POWER OF ORIAX!!!”

‘This is bad,’ Nicko thought. Not only had his opponent became stronger, but one of her new spells had pushed her body to be as strong as he was when he had activated Phoenix Talon. In a blink of an eye, she was now in his face and preparing to strike. Nicko quickly raised his blade to block, only to be surprised to see the Fighter be behind him this time.

Swinging forth, she showed no mercy in her attacks. “DEAD HANDS!!”

The powerful strike landed on Nicko’s chest, almost knocking the wind out of him. But that attack wasn’t the only one that the Chiliarch had in store as she followed up with a second attack. “RUINOUS IMPACT!!!”

The second blow made Nicko feel like his ribs were cracked as the attack sent him flying like a ragdoll. He was coughing up some blood by the time he got to his knees. But something else was affecting him. Voices were heard inside his head. Voices of the memory he had earlier.

“Don’t worry, Nicky. You’re dad and I won’t be gone for long.”

“Please don’t leave, mommy.”

‘No no no… Not now!!’ He thought to himself. However, no matter how many times he tried to forget it, it still kept on happening. Ciela’s new form also came with new passive traits. One of them was called Encroaching Fear and it was applied to whoever was struck by her attacks. Not only did it serve as a chance for the Terrormancer to dish out some extra pain, but it also allowed for her to see her opponents nightmares as well as recent memories. However, what she found from this boy was nothing like she expected at all.

“Everythings going to be alright, honey…… We’ll be home soon. I promise.”

Ciela’s eyes widened a little. She remembered those words. In fact, it was her who said those to her son… Nicko. She then heard another voice, which turned out to be the voice of the boy she was fighting right now.

“You’re a lot luckier than I am, Eris. On a lot of things. You have your parents, your little brother, friends. I just have my brother. The memory that you saw when I tried to sleep was of my mom and dad before they disappeared. They were invited to a Fantasy Themed Masquerade Ball by their co-workers and never managed to return home. For me, the memory remains inside my mind when I sleep and at times when certain events or motions resemble those of the past. I remember opening the door, anticipating my mother when I instead saw a family friend of ours with a look of worry and sorrow in her face. I remember people talking about our parents possibly being dead or murdered while we were in the next room and the words echo through the halls of the orphanage we live in. I remember everything.”

As the voices played on, she tried to ignore it as she fought against a weakened Rune Slayer who still had the willpower to stand on both of his feet and fight back. This continued for another five minutes until both of them were in a state of exhaustion. Ciela thought the voices would help her find a way to make her opponent submit and accept defeat. However, all she found were flashbacks of the past. Then, one line struck her as she looked back at her opponent one more time.

“Please don’t leave, mommy.”

“Oh my god…” The connection was finally made on who this boy was. But could it be possible was another thought that popped up inside the Chiliarch’s head. As the Rune Slayer tried to stand again, Ciela dismissed the weapons she had and tried to brush her hair to the side as she got closer to him. “Nicko? Is that you?”

This now came as a shock to the teen. His opponent now knew his name? Was it because of the nightmares inside his head? “H-how do you know my name?”

“I’ve always known you are,” She told the boy. What came next though was sure to have Nicko’s world come crashing down. He saw the girl hold the photo that floated out of his pocket and then her holding an exact copy of the picture. “A mother never forgets about her children.”

Shock and disbelief hit Nicko like he was shot by a paintball. The memories kept flowing in of when he was a child and all the fun times he had before that fateful night. Outside the hall, Twilight Sparkle had been woken from her slumber due to the explosive comeback from Ciela. But as she looked now through the open doorway, the alicorn saw two beaten warriors (One she couldn’t recognize) but also saw… tears coming down Nicko’s face? What exactly got Nicko to become emotional?

She was about to find out once Nicko spoke again.

“M-mom?”

The Chiliarch soon embraced her son in a deep and warm hug while the Rune Slayer hugged her back as the sun began to rise. She had waited twelve long years to see one of her children again. Tears of joy were running down both of their faces. Twilight could not believe what she was seeing. The friend she had made whose parents were missing had now found one of them. It seems like miracles really doe exist.

Nicko soon noticed that Eris returned to the hall a few moments later while they were in their Emotional Reunion. “Oh, what the actual hell!?”

Ciela turned around upon hearing the voice of the spirit of chaos. Her angered still spiked through the roof from when Eris called her a toddler. Nicko now had to put himself between the two of them (again) as he turned towards the Chiliarch. “Mom, stop! Eris is a friend of mine!!”

“Wait a minute… Mom!?”

“That’s right-.”

Before anyone else said anything, Nicko turned towards the sound of hooves and feet running into the hall. He looked and saw Anson, Twilight and also the individual named Luke. Both Anson and Luke were shocked to see the state of Nicko and Ciela as everypony was shocked at the crumbling condition of the hall of elements.

“Anson! Thank god you’re here!!”

“Holy crap, you look like you got the sh*t beat out of you.”

Seconds afterwards was when he turned to see Ciela. His mother. The Chiliarch was excited to see her children now as she had Anson come closer so she can hold the two boy’s in a group hug. Soon, Luke walked over to Ciela’s side to join his wife.

“You’ve changed, honey.”

“Hehe… so you noticed?”

“H-hold on a second… Mom, is that… Dad?”

Luke nodded his head, answering the teens question. Now Nicko and Anson were both completely overjoyed. Apparently dreams do come true for the two brothers. Princess Cadence had once said that the heart of a hurt individual could be healed by the company of family. Now that the Nocte’s had finally reunited, their combined hearts can slowly recover.

Still though, none of this though didn’t really go unnoticed. From the entranceway that led to the guests quarters, some familiar faces were attracted by the sounds of the fight that had occurred earlier. The Royal Pony Siblings as well as Twilights friends and Flash Sentry had noticed the missing door that was kicked off its hinges and wondered what could’ve caused that. As they arrived by the side of the the Royal Siblings, all of them saw Luke and Ciela by Nicko and Anson’s side. Still though, some were confused on why they were there.

“Okay, just what in tarnations happened here!!?” Applejack was the first to speak at the sight of the Hall of Elements looking like a Battlefield with the broken statues, craters and torn bannisters.

But what happened next was not because of what she said. It was because of the follow up comment from a mare with a Technicolor mane. “And who the hay is the little girl and the butler?”

Nicko smacked his forehead in a facepalm that could be heard across the moment. “You two just had to kill the moment, did you?”

“And what is that suppose to mean, Sugarcube?”

The question the earth pony asked did not get answered just yet. Instead, things only got a little more out of hand when three familiar faces walked into the hall.

“Okay, can I ask who had the- Holy sh*t!!!”

Nicko looked up to see that Amy, her sister Molly and Yuri had just entered the room and were shocked by the current state of the throne room. The Blazing Heart was going to ask how a broken statue crashed into their room in the middle of the night. But given the condition of the room, that question basically answered itself. Amy and Yuri were going to ask about who the two new humans were, but then they were shocked to hear what came next from Molly.

“Hello, Ciela. How are you doing this morning?”

“Doing quite well, actually.” The Chiliarch said, despite the series of events that have occurred throughout this morning.

“Molly, you know this girl?” Yuri asked, puzzled.

“Of course. I met her yesterday while I was waiting for Anson to be done with helping Pinkie Pie make last nights cake.” Molly then took into account that she was by Nicko, Anson and also one other individual. “Who’s the dude in the trench coat?”

“That’s my husband, Luke.”

“Woah woah woah!! Back up a minute…” Rainbow now was the one to burst out of turn. “Husband!!? You look like you’re younger than Scootaloo. How can you be married?”

“I had a spell cast on me to where I look like a twelve year old girl. In reality, I’m in my thirties and so is Luke. We’ve known Celestia and Luna since they were children, but in a battle between a Diabolical Esper a thousand years ago, we got turned into stone-.”

“On accident, mind you!”

“Well excuuuse me, Princess.” Ciela delivered her snarky reply to Princess Celestia. “A warning could’ve been helpful.”

“She does have a point.” Amy added on, supporting Ciela’s statement.

“Oh and that reminds me. Molly? Would you care to introduce me to your companions?”

“Ah yes. I’m Molly Anderson the fourth, this is my sister Amy Anderson III and my mother/maid Yuri.”

“Wait… You’re Jane’s girls?”

The comment from Luke had both Amy and Molly look at the Gunslinger with a mixture of shock and surprise on their face. “You know our mother?”

“Of course we do.” Ciela replied. “Jane was my roommate in college.”

“Uhh…” Nicko just looked at Ciela with a look that meant ‘You’re going off topic’. Lucky enough, the topic was changed moments later when Twilight said something.

“Nicko? Don’t you have something to tell the rest of us?”

“Oh yes…” The Rune Slayer Cleared his throat as he straightened himself and got off of the floor. “Everypony, meet Luke and Ciela… After twelve long years, Anson and I have found our parents.”

“Oh my stars…” That was one thing that everypony didn’t see coming.

“Dad… I have a question for you though,” Anson said as his father turned to look at the Infinity Sword. “What happened when you and mom first arrived here and what lead to you two getting stuck in stone?”

Luke sighed for a moment. “That… is going to be an extremely long story to tell. I suggest everyone to get comfortable. This might take some time.”


“When we first arrived, Ciela and I had landed in the royal gardens. Back then, it looked as dense as a forest and we had no idea if we were kidnapped, dead, or in some kind of crazy dream and I was personally surprised that your mother turned into the size of a child. However, we soon found our way when a young Prince Artemis found the two of us and helped lead us out of there. Turns out, that “Forest” we thought we were in was actually an overgrown hedge maze that the gardeners have not had the opportunity to trim. While inside though, both of us found out that we had magic and found out that it was stronger when we fought as a team. Artemis soon introduce us to his sister Celestia, who in turn had suspicions about us for being spies of the Kingdom of Gryff and insisted we go visit her Father. Lord Apollo the Brave.

Your mother and I explained our situation to Apollo and his wife, Lady Evelynne. They welcomed us with open arms in exchange for being able to help them if a time of crisis were to come upon the kingdom and that we serve as protectors to his children. Starswirl the Bearded, Apollo’s Grand Magus, helped us with understanding and developing our powers. Celestia and Artemis over time soon took a liking to us as they grew up. Even though your mother would chase them around the garden every time Celestia teased her because of your mothers size.

However, even though times were peaceful, this peace did not last long. Three months after arriving, another human made an appearance. One with white hair and blacked out eyes.’


Canterlot Castle (1000 years ago),

“Whee!!” The sounds of young children playing filled the halls as a Duo of Husband and wife were returning a pair of Royal Siblings to the main throne room. They had just spent the entire day playing in the garden and also learning another lesson magic with Starswirl the Bearded. Both Celestia and her little brother were tired out as they stood by Luke and Ciela. Ciela looked different as she wore a calm and cool sapphire dress that was provided to her by the finest tailors in Canterlot while Luke wore a special blazer that was tailored and enchanted.

“Now now, you two. You can’t be running around the halls at this time of day.” Starswirl had just taught Celestia how to raise the sun that morning and the white Alicorn had received her cutie mark for obtaining such a feat. Luke was still surprised though that she still had this much energy in her system. “The two of you remind me a lot of my children back home where I’m from.”

“You have foals, Mister Luke?” Artemis asked, surprised by the comment.

“Why of course,” Ciela followed up on the comment. “Two twin boys. One of which remind me a lot of your sister.”

“Oh really? What’s his name?”

“His name is Nicko-.”

Before Ciela could finish her statement, the four of them walked into the grand hall. It seemed as if Lord Apollo and his wife was having a private meeting with an unknown individual. Some guards stood by his side for his protection. But Luke had a bad feeling that something would go wrong.

“Oh… Who do we have here? I wasn’t aware that there were any other humans in this place.” The voice of the teen sounded like a pit viper. Venom dripped in his words everytime he opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t even think about laying one of your hands on my children. Your proposal is already insane as it is.”

“What proposal, Apollo?” Luke asked.

“This boy wants to use a powerful and forbidden source of magic to crack open a rift and cause chaos to break loose in my kingdom. He’s desperate enough to continue his own research that he would want to put the entire population in danger! Guards, seize this boy and banish him from the castle!!”

Celestia and Artemis hid themselves behind the towering figure that Luke was to them. The teenaged boy just cracked a vicious smile that matched his insane persona. “Well, aren’t you a bold lord.”

PING!! CRAAACK!!! A shot went off that was so loud, everypony in the room had to cover their ears. When the sound was gone, a new one filled the air as a horrified Celestia looked at her father… And the cracked hole in his chest. “I don’t like bold lords.”

DADDY!!!!”

The white Alicorn couldn’t stop crying, trying to rush to her limp fathers side. Lady Evelynne tried her best to have the Lord stay alive, but it was too late. The projectile the boy fired had pierced his heart.

“HE KILLED LORD APOLLO!!”

“STOP HIM!!!”

Despite the guards best efforts, the boy went on a rampage. Killing each one of the poor souls who tried to stop him. Another shot went off from the time tracer’s attacks and had gravely wounded Lady Evelynne. Artemis and Celestia tried to stay by their mothers side, but all it did was make them targets. The boy didn’t care who stood in his way. He was fueled by bloodlust.

This could not go on any further.

FLICK SHOT!!”

The attack that commenced from Luke struck the boy at the side of the head, but all it did was lay a scratch. Still, it provided the opportunity for him to step in between.

“That’s far enough!! You must be soulless if you intend to hurt children and their wounded mother.”

“I have my own rules, pointy ear freak. One rule in particular is no witnesses.”

“Ciela-!!” He turned to see her partner checking the pulse of Lady Evelynne, only to drop her head in sadness. Now the Lord and the Lady were dead. This was a horrific tragedy. One that can not go on any further.

“Ciela, take Celestia and Artemis. Get them out of here!!”

Ciela looked at her husband in shock. She wanted her to leave him with this monster!? Why? Then he saw the duelist draw out his weapons to the side and his magic surging around him. She saw this as a sign to follow the lead as she used her magic gauntlets to take hold of both children. “Stay safe, Luke. I will be back as soon as I can!”

He nodded back, now looking at the boy with the look of a guardian.

“Prepare to pay for your crimes, you monster!”

“Intriguing… Let’s hope you don’t bore me like the others.”


“Following that, Ciela had Celestia and Artemis stay with Starswirl the bearded while the two of us faced him. Midway through the fight though, a uncontrollable energy was released, changing his clothes and making his eyes become that of the devil. He was too strong for us to take on our own.

But when we were near defeat, the impossible happened. We saw Celestia and Artemis, but they had six glowing gemstones around them. Each one crafted differently from one another. The power released from those gems was able to set the monster we were facing in stone, but since the power couldn’t be controlled, your mother and I were caught up in it as collateral damage. Next time we were awake, we were in a forest called White Tail woods and a short walk away from a town called Vanhoover.”


“I believe you may know the rest, My sons.”

The story Luke just told had answered a lot of questions that both Nicko and Anson had. It explained why their parents were gone for so long and why did they already know Celestia and Artemis.

‘Wow, it seemed like Celestia has taken a bit of a personality check from my dad.’

“You think?” Eris answered back.

“Well, not that this has been enlightening at all or anything like that, but I have things to do, places to go and an apprentice to train. Not like anyone else has decided to take on that task yet.”

“Actually,” A voice echoed from behind everypony. It was Flash Sentry. “Leo did that.”

“Excuse you?”

“Leo did it… the whole apprentice thing. Besides, who are you training?”

“Scootaloo.”

“Yep, and that was after Leo and Caliburn had a conversation that must’ve gave you the idea while you were trying to find your room.”

“But this is completely different!!” Amy hollered. However, almost everyone was not convinced. But one person had the guts to actually say it to her face. That…… was Ciela.

“Yeah, just like how much you’re different from Nicko, skill wise.”

“SHOTS FIRED!!”

The moment the comment was said though, a loud rumbling noise could be heard from inside the room. “Well… Seems like we got to get something to eat.”

“OOOOH! We could use this chance for a Family Reunion breakfast party!! With Pancakes and Pancakes that are made with actual cake batter!!”

“May I assist in making that?” Anson offered out of generosity.

“YAY!! I have my own Super Duper Number 1 Assistant!!!! Come along now, Sonny!!” Pinkie encouraged as the Infinity Sword followed the hyperactive party pony out the door. What just happened though left Luke and Ciela in a state of shock of Confusion.

“What the hell just-? I mean… How-!?!”

“Don’t try to question it, Dad. She’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.”


End Chapter 7

Author's Note:

This took forever to write. But alas, It is done! I had the chapter focus on events of the past that forged certain characters into who they are today. For example, Nicko's nightmares of his parents distract him from combat, but also give him a reason to keep fighting. Celestia, on the other hoof, doesn't have that much of a tolerance for humans (As shown in the early chapters of TBC) because Eric killed her parents. Now that this chapter is done, I can finally catch a break before I work on Follow the Wind.

Cookie for the first person to guess the reference I used for Eric in the Flashback.

Music: