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VIII.2,286 words
IX. 3,570 words
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Interlude I.1,474 words
XXIII.1,119 words
XXIV.1,161 words
XXV.990 words
XXVI.1,276 words
XXVII.1,118 words
XXVIII.1,333 words
XXIX.2,439 words
XXX.3,559 words
XXXI.1,062 words
XXXII.1,045 words

VIII.

After I was knighted, it finally let the reality of the situation sink in. My old life, on earth, it was gone. I was Roxas, knight and defender of Equestria. So that is who I set out to be. I was given a permanent room in the castle, filled with all the amenities. I spent some time exploring the castle, the towns and cities, but a lot of my time was spent training. Though my current track record contradicted it, I had never really been a fighter. Turning into Roxas had given me a new found natural ability, but I would need more than that if I were going to help protect Equestria.

In all likeliness, my aid in the defeat of Discord was probably luck and adrenaline. So, I decided to train my body, as well as my magical abilities. I got to use the royal guard’s training grounds; only I got my own little section to work in. There, I practiced the spells that I could remember from the games, building my endurance. I had plenty of dummies to practice my Keyblade strikes on, and I had guards to spar with. My abilities grew with my body, and in time, I was able to perform complicated strikes and combos, just like in the games.

One thing I did find odd was that I only had the one blade to work with. I recall distinctly from the game that Roxas had the ability to wield two, Oblivion, and Oathkeeper. And I had bought both from that scummy merchant, and yet, I just had the one. I had tried summoning the other two, but I could never do it. Maybe I needed to reach a certain level in order to wield them? I did not know.

Months passed, and my friendship with the royal sisters grew. We spent our free time with each other, and as time went on, we grew more accustomed and relaxed with each other’s presence. When I wasn’t in the castle, or training, I was traveling the still small kingdom of Equestria. I helped the guards stave off monsters, and catch a few criminals every now and then.

The ponies of Equestria grew to know me, and accept me. I wasn’t just a soldier, or an intimidating hood; I was a friend, and a fellow citizen. Gradually, months turned to years, and that’s when things got odd. As the years passed, I noticed that I didn’t really change. I mean, it does take humans a few years to change enough physically to notice, but around the five to seven year mark, the sisters and I noticed, that I still had this boyish look to my face, and I still had an adolescents voice.

When the 15-year mark reared its head, and I still had not aged a day, the princess decided to test a theory that they had been developing. They took a sample of my blood, and tissue and performed a test on it. The basic nature of the test was simple. They used a controlled time experiment, to age the blood and tissue, by years, decades, and then centuries. The results were…conclusive. Though the cells did die, and regrow, they did not slow down as time went on. The cells in my body were perpetually dying and growing, like normal beings, only they did not slow and wrinkle with age. Essentially…I was immortal. Or, at the very least ageless.

I remember when the two sisters told me the news. They took me out to the gardens, and we sat next under the shade of an apple tree. The two presented the news as if it were grim, and upsetting. I guess if anyone, or pony, knew the fallbacks of immortality, it was them. I think they were expecting some big reaction, for me to break down in tears at the news that everyone I ever knew was gone, and I would never see them again, not even in death. But when they told me…well, maybe I was expecting it. I don’t know, it’s hard to remember what I was thinking all those years ago.

The news did affect me; it weighed heavily on my thoughts. But the kick, it just wasn’t there. The princesses looked to me, as if they told me I had terminal cancer. And I remember, I looked down at the ground, at the grass beneath me, and sighed. Then I looked back up to them, dry eyes and said; “Well…that explains a lot I guess.” The princesses seemed to be a bit unnerved by my lack of reaction, but I quickly changed the subject.

“Hey…I guess this means you don’t have to worry about me dying on you, right? We get to spend a lot more time together!” That seemed to lighten the mood. Honesty, I’m not sure why I was now immortal. Maybe nobodies didn’t age, or maybe it was the magic of this world, I’m not sure. But I wasn’t going to let it drag me down. I had a good life here, and now it seemed, that that happiness was going to last a lot longer.

Things were good for the sisters and I. Our friendship grew stronger, as did my abilities. But everything changed the day that we were attacked….

I was training in the courtyard, with a group of new recruits. I wasn’t technically a member of the guard, but I did work with them, and sometimes I helped train the scrubs. My magic and abilities were now greater than I could have ever imagined, but I held back for these guys. No use in breaking a soldier before they get the chance to fight for real.

“Nice job!” I commented as one of the recruits jabbed at me with his spear, faster then I was expecting. Of course, I was still faster. I quickly dodged, and swung my Keyblade toward him, which he blocked with his recovered weapon. I did a back flip in the air, and launched a very, very low-grade ice spell at him. The guard used his spear to block it, which froze the tip of the spear. I landed on the ground, and dashed forward, bringing my blade down from above. He used his spear to block, and then swung it on my feet. I jumped over him, and upon landing, I quickly swung my Keyblade at his head. His reaction was not quick enough, but lucky for him, I stopped it just as it was about to reach his head.

“Bang, you’re dead.” The guard stood there, and after a few moments, he lowered his head and let out a chuckle. He spoke through heavy breaths.

“Damn…still no where close to beating you,” he said as he turned around to look at me.

“Don’t feel bad,” I said as I sent my Keyblade away. “I’ve been doing this for nearly a century.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You did good today. “ I then looked to the other’s who were gathered around us. “You all did good. You showed great perseverance! I especially liked how you-“ but before I could finish that sentence, a loud, booming echo reverberated through the air, and ground. It shook the very soil we stood on. The guards started to panic, and I drew my weapon, prepared to handle the situation. But nothing revealed itself. I looked around, but could see nothing. That was, until I spotted smoke coming from the city. “An explosion?” I said under my breath.

The guards started to freak out, asking what we should do, but I quickly got their attention.

“Guards, at attention!” I called out. The guards froze for a brief second, before lining up, side by side. I returned my Keyblade to wherever it went when I wasn’t using it, and turned to face the recruits. “All right recruits, listen up. I want you to go get the other guards from the barracks, and let them know we’ve got a situation in town.” The guards saluted, and turned to leave, but I stopped one of them. “Not you. I want you to go tell the princesses that there was an explosion in town, and that I’m going to go see what happened.”

“Sir yes sir!” replied the soldier. I gave him a nod, and he was off. With him making his way towards Celestia and Luna, I turned towards the direction the explosion took place in, and started sprinting towards its direction. The wind blew past me, as I ran towards town. When I made it to the cities limits, I was a group of ponies, running towards me in a panic. Thinking quick, I leapt over them, and onto the roof of a nearby building. From there, I parkoured my way towards whatever was going on. I leapt from rooftop to rooftop, and when I reached the site, another explosion happened, sending a nearby building up in flames.

“Two explosions…that doesn’t happen naturally. Which means, we’re under attack!” I quickly dove behind cover, and got a look at the center square of the spot I was at. I only caught a brief glimpse of the attackers, but I knew one of them in an instant.

“Damn!” I cursed under my breath. After a moment, I looked back. “I guess I should have seen this coming!” Right in the town square, were two large, imposing figures. One I recognized instantly. Half horse, and half Minotaur, large black chest, enormous red arms, silver hair and beard, and two curved horns. It was Tirek. The other creature was big as well, though he looked nothing like Tirek. He had brown fur, and a darker lions mane, but overall he looked like a winged baboon. His face was longer though, somewhat like a wolf. I assumed this was Tirek’s brother, Scorpan. I could see that golden medallion around his neck.

The ponies were still running in panic, trying to get away from the two titans. I didn’t know much about Scorpan, but Tirek I knew, could steal magic. That would be problematic for me. I needed to think. Just then, another explosion happened, this time a building a bit farther off in the distance.

“Ponies are getting hurt…alright, time to wing it!” I was strong, but I honestly had no idea how my power compared to theirs. Hopefully, Celestia and Luna would arrive soon, and help me with this. If I remember correctly, it was through Scorpan that Tirek was defeated. That meant, I needed to somehow turn him to our side. That was going to be difficult. Maybe I just needed to beat them both down. Things were different now. In the show, they didn’t have me. So maybe, things would be different. I didn’t want them to both be stuck in a prison for all eternity…but I couldn’t let them hurt any more ponies.

Just then, I heard the voice of a mare starting to scream. I got a quick look, and saw Tirek holding an earth pony mare in his hand. He was going to steal her magic! I had to act now! I pulled the hood over my head, and made my way to the edge of the roof I was on. The two didn’t seem to notice me. But that was about to change.

“DROP HER!”

Through my time with the two sisters, I learned a few new tricks. One such trick was the royal Canterlot voice. They had taught it to me, and for some reason, I was able to learn it. The two villains turned their attention to my direction, and their eyes settled on me.

“Who dares to order me?” questioned the centaur. I leapt from the top of the roof, and landed on the ground. I walked towards the two, and stopped a good ten meters from them.

“Put her down Tirek!” In surprise, he did just that. Well, more like dropped her, but I used my time slowing ability, to make sure she had a safe landing. She then sprinted with all her speed away from the two, thanking me as she passed. The town was deserted. It was just us.

“Who, and what are you, and how do you know my name?”

“I know a lot about you, Tirek the magic stealer. I know you and your brother have come here for an easy conquest, but I can assure you, you won’t find one here.”

“He he…you think YOU can stop US?”

“It’s my job. I am Sir Roxas, Knight of Equestria. If you stop what you are doing now, I will try to see that you are shown leniency.”

“You don’t intimidate us,” said Tirek. “We will drain this land of magic, and all of these pathetic ponies will obey our rule!”

“Do you both feel this way?” I said turning to face Scorpan. He had a look of hesitance on his face; maybe even guilt, but his brother ignored it.

“Of course we do! We will lay this land to waste, and you will not be able to stop us!” I looked to the two. Tirek was oozing with confidence, his brother, not so much. Maybe I WOULD be able to turn him. Only time will tell.

“So be it,” I said materializing my Keyblade. The three of us got into battle stances, Scorpans slightly slower than his brother. Then the three of us dashed forward. The fight had just begun.

Author's Note:

For those of you who are wondering what took so long...hey look over there! (runs away)