The Encounter (A Harmony Quest backstory)

by Inactive Pone

Rekindling the flame

I moved up to high school a while after my visit. And yes, I still have the same classmates, unfortunately. But that's how the system goes, so I'll just roll with it.

Most of them would just stare at me as I walked along. Dang, I gained a reputation for myself, not to brag. But, even so, I still think that something doesn't seem right.

And it was revealed one day.

One afternoon, I was walking along the streets as I was walking back home from school. For some reason, I keep having to take detours since the roads are for whatever reason blocked. I didn't want to, but I had to turn into the narrow and more secret passageways among the area. I've always heard these places are the most dangerous.

'(Sigh) I don't feel good about this...' I said to myself, sighing.

All of a sudden, he appeared. Oh boy, there's that intimidating voice again!

'Going somewhere?' Winston asked, grinning coldly.

I groaned in frustration. 'What do you want from me this time?'

He had a sinister laugh. Forcefully, he punched me in the face and pushed me to a wall.

'I don't think you understand...' He said. Continuing to smile coldly, he whispered, 'Why do you think, anyone in this world actually thinks you're cool?'

With magic, I pushed back.

'You just think so because you're jealous,' I shouted back. 'But I'm not seeing all of this as a gift naturally. And if you did it, you would be just as successful anyway.'

He started repeating my words in that 'falsetto' voice again. Ughhhh, that irritating voice... I furiously slapped him in the face and tried to run away.

'You're not going anywhere,' The bully laughed.

He had a hook in his bag, and pulled me back, and punched me in the floor. I wanted to use magic to fight back, but his friends just came over.

'Oh, aren't you a self-disciplined student?' Elliot teased. 'Not only will you break your personal rule... You're be scolded for violence, too...'

Winston stomped on my back. Ouch!

'Come on, fight back!' Tommy said. 'Hah, coward!'

I was so in rage, but I couldn't do anything. I don't want to hurt anyone intentionally, even in this situation. I just let both Winston and Jason pick me up and threw me into a wall.

'Argh, *censored* me!' I yelled, my head starting to feel dizzy. (Sorry for my language...)

Oscar was laughing hysterically. 'Why is he not fighting back? Oh, because he's stupid!'

As they all started laughing, I wanted to get up, but I felt a shot of pain in my legs. I crawled, but Jacky kicked back to where I was.

Winston cracked his knuckles.

'This is for making us jealous and taking away our spotlight in the class.' He warned. 'Come on, boys...'

As they got closer, I wanted to back away, and I was stuck to the wall. I was so afraid, frightened and horrified. I closed my eyes, buried my face in my hands... I secretly dialed my best friend, and the second they started to attack me, I screamed into the phone:

'Twilight! Help me!!'

They started to stomp me, kick me, punch me in the face, and even wanted to stab me with their stationery! Oh my gosh they were cruel! I could bearly see anything, my glasses were thrown and broken, and the last thing I recall was them throwing me into a corner, and seeing the leader ram my face into it, causing me to pass out. I was down on the ground, motionless, bruises all over my body...

When Twilight came, it was too late. I was already down.

“Nathan? Nathan!? Where are you!?” She yelled mid-air, worried.

She was flying around the area I was in, and it wasn't till she started to fly above the narrow ways of the town, she saw what happened.

'(Gasp) Oh no...' She flew beside me, nudged me, but nothing happened. '(Cries) Nathan... Tell me, what did they do to you...?'

I was silent, of course- I fell into a coma before she came.

She called Frisk on her phone, telling her to call for help. The princess just levitated me and held me in her wings and started crying.

'Oh, Nate... You're going to be okay... They're coming, hang on a little bit longer!' She cried.

It wasn't until a few days later that I would be awake again. I was rushed to hospital because of their brutal treatment, but thankfully I just passed out from the fight.

I wasn't fully awake yet, but I could already merely hear people around me speaking.

'How's the situation now?' My father asked, worried.

'I'm afraid he's still very hurt... It was lucky that he didn't break any bones either,' The doctor explained. 'Good heavens, the people who hurt him must have been really bad.'

My mother wanted to cry.

Who did this to my son!?' She cried. 'They shall be punished!!'

My father agreed. 'They have committed a terrible crime. Brutally beating up a person so important to ponykind... Who would do that?'

All of a sudden, I woke up.

'It's them,' I began.

My parents were shocked as I regained consciousness.

'It's those bullies, they did this to me.' I said, furious.

They understood what I was talking about the moment I said that. They knew those people. I talked about them.

'So, Nathan,' the doctor said. 'It's great to see that you're at least awake. Problem is, you're still incredibly hurt from that fight. So it's best if you stay until we make sure nothing serious affected you and until you're fully recovered.'

I looked at myself. There were cuts and bruises everywhere. Not to mention, a very deep cut on my left arm.

'What about my powers?' I asked.

'Ah, right. I see that your brain is not severely damaged, so I think it should be okay.' He answered.

I tested it out by doing a bit of magic. It worked, and I sighed in relief.

'You don't know how happy it makes us see you're alive,' My father said, smiling.

I chuckled. 'Thanks. And... Tell someone about this. They must get the punishment they deserve.'

'Oh, we will,' My mother responded. “They will not get away with this without a penalty.”

Another few days later, someone else wanted to visit me. I had a charming smile as the three entered.

'Aww, guys...' I said, blushing.

Twilight started laughing. 'Feeling any better now, Nate?'

I nodded. 'It's getting better. Not to mention, just seeing you makes me smile, Spark.' I rubbed her head a bit.

'(Chuckles) That's so cute!' Asriel squeaked. 'But seriously... Who did this to you?'

I sighed. 'Well, who else can it be? Of course, it's those freaking boys at my school! Who else would do that?'

Frisk moaned. 'I know how it feels to be beaten down by others, Nathan. But you gotta stand up for yourself! I know, I know, you're a pacifist. But, although that's a good thing, you're not gonna be able to continue for long if you stay weak like this.'

I thought for a bit. She is technically right, to be honest.

'If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach you the ways of combat. And with your powers... You have endless potential. You'll be able to defend yourself in any situation any day.' Frisk offered. 'After you recover, of course.'

Now that's a great idea!

'Yeah! You can join our little team,' Asriel added.

'And if you have any trouble, we'll be by your side to help you,' Twilight followed.

So I nodded. My next chapter will finally be freed from fate's hands.

Since then, I've been trained by Frisk. It had a pretty rocky start, to be honest. I was getting told I wasn't giving my all. I had to forget about being too merciful. I didn't like that, but the feel of defeating someone is oddly satisfying. Not that it's always a good thing, but still.

I may be keen on the magic aspect of fighting, I'm not good with other types, such as bare-handed and traditional weapons. I am actually pretty good at defense, though. My speed can dodge ammunition with ease. It was my powers that can give me the upper hand. But as the spread of obtaining these powers became more popular over time, I knew that if I wanted to beat them, I had to be all-rounded.

One motto I stuck to through all of this, was to not give up. My determination for success will pay off sometime in the future. I just know it.

It was only a year later, and I'm already crazy strong. The combination of using both physical and mystical powers actually work together very well, no matter defensive or offensive. I managed to take down Frisk a few times! But of course, I know she's not giving 100% of her ability. If she did, how would I possibly beat her? Don't worry, she still tries hard.

Once, we were training, and with the power of technology, Frisk spawned in someone just a bit lower than my level for me to fight with. I was getting more powerful every day.

'Don't hold back! No one that's powerful would hold back, now will they?' Frisk encouraged.

I somehow knocked him down, with extreme accuracy on my assault rifle, and I grabbed his leg and threw him into the wall. That's good enough, and as he charged, I did a crazy backflip and fired right towards his head!

'MLG indeed,' I boasted. (Just roll with it, don't question my wording)

Frisk clapped hands as she started to laugh in excitement. 'Well done! This guy is not easy to fight, to be honest. After this bad boy came out it took me a few tries to take him down! It came down to the method, probably.'

'That's what you taught me,' I responded. 'Find your opponent's weakness, and use it against them.'

A while later, I was walking along the streets of ponyville with Twilight, as I needed something restful to do.

'So, how's training today?' Twilight asked.

'Oh, it was awesome! I am getting more powerful day by day,' I said proudly.

'That's good to know,' She said. 'Just don't use it against us, though!'

We both laughed. But then, I heard something- Something that sounded like fillies screaming in horror.

'Uh oh,' I said. 'We better check that out.'

It was coming from near the school that the Crusaders go to, not that it's a big surprise. But what made me shocked was who made them scream.

'Tell me, where is that brat!?' Winston yelled at Apple Bloom. She was terrified.

'He told me about you once, you're a horrible person! I will never tell you that!' She yelled back.

The teen was about to smash her when Sweetie Belle distracted him. The other students just looked at the Crusaders in fear, even Diamond Tiara!

'Oh... I don't like this...' She cried.

A minute later, Scootaloo was also involved in the mix. The three backed away as the bully got close. I was watching with Twilight behind the trees, watching. I knew I had to do something.

'Hey, do you trust me?' I asked, nudging her.

She had to think fast. 'I guess...? But- Wait!'

I didn't even listen to her explanation and I already ran out there.

'Hey! Leave my little friends alone!' I warned.

Winston turned and saw me. His became furious.

'(Screaming) That little brat!!' He wanted to charge at me, but I narrowly escaped with a roll. The others all gasped. A fight was about to break out.

'You... You did this to me...' He grunted. 'You stole the spotlight... You made me get kicked out of your school... You made me an infamous student... And yet it's still not enough, you want to take away my freedom!?'

I took out my sword, and I glanced at Twilight, then looked back.

'It's not my fault,' I explained, shrugging. 'You were the bad guy. I'm just doing what I'm told.'

He had a menacing scream, and dashed with fury. I narrowly avoided him, and knocked him into a tree. He tried to use his sword, but I deflected his attack again! I looked at my hands as he got pushed back- Was I really that powerful this whole time?

Then I did something I didn’t think I’d ever do.

'What? You can't tell them that I used my powers to hurt someone now!' I jokingly said.

Winston was showing no mercy. Dang, he must've really wanted me to die! He had no sign of stopping his attacks. Surprisingly, one by one, I deflected them all. Everypony else stood in amazement.

'Wow, I've never seen someone that strong before!' Sweetie Belle said.

'I know! I hope he's okay, but I bet he'll win!' Apple Bloom followed.

Scootaloo was really excited. 'You can do it, Nathan!'

As all the little fillies started chanting my name, I knew I can't lose. But one mistake of getting distracted almost gave him the edge to kill me. His blade nearly pierced my heart.

'(Scream) I'll kill you!!' Winston roared.

As he started rushing, I remembered a strategy.

'Wait for your enemy to become impatient,' Frisk reminded. 'The more they push their patience, the more careless they'll get.'

I started to run, making the bully chase me. I turned, and ran straight towards a wall. I did a flip off the wall, and in that tiny timeframe window, I slipped out my portal gun and fired it. Landing behind him, who was confused and puzzled, I yelled:

'Get dunked, idiot!'

I kicked him into the portal, and he disappeared, yelling in anger as he dropped into the abyss. As I turned to the children, they were all surprised and felt glad he was gone. The crusaders ran over to me.

'Thanks for the help,' Apple Bloom said, relieved. 'He was really stirring some bullying around our friends!'

'I know,' Scootaloo added. 'We haven't seen a bully like that, not even Babs is that bad!'

I started chuckling and became a bit shy.

'Haha, I didn't do that well, did I?' I laughed. 'Sorry you all had to witness that, though. It's kinda bad for your age.'

I glanced at Cheerilee. She didn't seem to have a problem with it, so I sighed in relief. Twilight flew over from behind and smiled.

'That was amazing!' She commented. 'Guess Frisk taught you a lot of stuff, huh?'

I scratched my head. 'Well, that's just one guy. I may have to deal with several more in the future. Huh, lucky me, I didn't get hurt from that fight!'

Twilight and I both laughed.

'So, wanna tell her what happened?' She asked.

'Sure!'

As soon I told Frisk, she was very pleased.

'Nice job,' She nodded. 'At least you're matched up against him now! Don't get cocky, though. I'm guessing that he doesn't have the abilities you do, but when he does, it will much harder.'

My face turned red when she praised me.

'It's all because of your support, master,' I replied.

Twilight just thought about something. 'By the way... Where did you send him anyway?'

I started to giggle. 'Well...'

In fact, I placed a portal beforehand in case something like that happened. Where did I place it, you ask? Literally in the middle of nowhere back in the town I live in.

'Yup, he's not coming to bug us anytime soon,' I said, laughing.

All three of us laughed, and I put my arms around Frisk and Twilight.

It wasn't long until I have mastered the different aspects of combat. Ranged, melee, classical, magic, you name it. Even so, I would never use it to hurt my friends. Never.

Many in the past were unwise; They use this power for themselves to harm others and get what they want. I thought, 'Why the hostility? Why so selfish?' I use my powers for good. To protect my pony friends from the injustices of the world and probably save them all one day.

I never had any other target that I wanted to complete for being so powerful. The only mission I have in my mind is to get my revenge on those who used to treat me cruelly. It's not like I'll follow Frisk, Twilight and Asriel to defeat villains and destroy dark magic or anything. They're far beyond my abilities.

Even so, the magic of friendship continued to grow in my heart.

I recovered my personality of being open, friendly and caring. I had amazing friends that I would hang out with most of the time, I get to explore a magical land that I've once dreamed of going, and I made a pretty good reputation for myself in both Equestria and a bit in the human world.

But that's just it.

I don't know why, but I feel like my time with my friends- Especially my dear Twilight, is starting to run out. I knew something bad was coming.

Unfortunately, that day did come.