Zero awoke the next day begrudgingly. He took a much greater time with his morning routine, not in any particular rush to meet the day's activities. The only positive side to the day, in his opinion, was that he would be able to atleast have another training session with Rainbow Dash before his adventure in baking. He made his way out of his home, heading to the field that served as the site of his meetings with Dash. Despite there not being anyone at the site, Zero knew she was watching him. She always did. She enjoyed their sessions so much that she would push anything aside in order to get an early start. As Zero reached his destination, he was unsurprised to see a rainblow colored blur rocket down from an above cloud.
"What's up, Z?", she said with a smile, "You're early today. What gives?"
"I wish to start our lesson early. I have a meeting with Pinkie Pie later in the day.", he replied
"What for?", she pressed on.
Zero sighed, "I am to bake."
Rainbow Dash burst with laughter, "Bwahahahaha! You? Baking? You've got to be kidding!"
He glared at her. "This is not amusing.", he stated coldly.
Dash settled down after wiping a tear from her eye, "You're right. I actually feel bad for you. You're gonna make a complete fool of yourself.", she finished with a grin.
Zero ignored her teasing and refocused on the reason they were both here. "Assume your stance.", he commanded.
Dash immediately raised herself on her hind hooves as she took on the combat stance Zero had taught her. He noted how much her stance had improved as she was much quicker and maintained her balance perfectly. He nodded towards her, a sign for her to begin to warmup. It consisted of a basic combination of punches and kicks in order to prepare her for whatever Zero planned to teach her. Since he allowed her 10 minutes to do this, he decided to pull out a tome he had brought with him. It was a simple book that involved elementary level teleportation, but he knew he could make it much more. Since the spell required little effort compared to more complex spells like his illusion conjuration, he figured he could cast it multiple times in quick succession. He continued his studies until he saw that Dash was beginning to wind down. He abruptly shut his book.
"Very well. I will now teach you something new.", he stated as he walked over to her. He motioned her aside as he assumed his own stance. He stared at the emptiness ahead of him, pulled his right fore hoof to his side, and forcibly jabbed it forward, turning his body slightly to the left along with it. The force of the blow was impressive, potentially able to flat out break bones. Dash watched attentively at his display.
"A precise attack/ Useful for stunning your foe/ A true Cobra Strike.", he finished as he allowed himself to relax.
"Cool! Let me try!", exclaimed Dash as she pushed Zero aside. He could only smile as he watched her attempt the Cobra Strike in vain, for the move was deceptively complex. If the right amount of force was not applied, then you risked losing your balance. He watched her stumble about for several minutes before intervening.
"It will come to you eventually. For now, we review."
Their lesson continued as normal as Dash practiced the various basic techniques Zero had already taught her. After several hours, Zero decided it was time to stop. Rainbow Dash said her thanks and he began to make his way to Sugarcube Corner. Dash remained there by herself and eventually took a nap that lasted a good part of the day. It wasn't until a figure appeared behind her did she get up. She quickly turned around and relaxed slightly when she recognized the face.
"Gilda? What the hay are you doing here? I haven't seen you since flight school!", Dash asked.
Gilda the griffon stood imposingly before Dash, ignoring her question. "Where is he?", she hissed with fury evident in her voice.
"Where's who?", Dash replied, slightly confused.
The griffon gave her a look of grim determination, "Zero."
Zero began to formulate a plan of action once he arrived at his destination. He had very limited cooking skills, only enough to sustain himself. Hell, he could barely make a mediocre breakfast. This, however, did not mean he wouldn't try. He never half-heartedly attempted a challenge and this was no exception. If he had to wing it then that's what he'd do. He approached the bakery and once again the door was opened before he could reach it.
"You're right on time, Z!", shouted Pinkie. Zero was not going to enjoy listening to her incessant talking for the next couple of hours. She continued, "I just set everything up! Come on in!"
He nodded towards her and walked inside, spotting the tools he would be using for the day on a nearby counter. Immediately noticeable was the ungodly amount of sugar. He truly hoped that they would not be using all of that, for he was quite sure you could kill a bullymong with that much sweetness. He took note of the various other ingredients, but did not recognize them. This was going to be one hell of a challenge. Pinkie had him remove his equipment and gave him an apron to wear instead.
"You are kidding.", Zero stated as he examined the apron.
"Well, we don't want to get sugar all over your nice clothes, do we?", replied the mare.
He only sighed as he tied the apron around his back, "Anything else?"
"Nope! Let's get this party started!", she shouted. Zero was led to the counter of ingredients. The mare had planned to make a cake along with several batches of cupcakes. Pinkie quickly explained exactly what they would be doing and he was surprised at how basic the actual set up was. Pinkie had him mix the batter as she threw in plethora of ingredients in a certain order. After mixing for several minutes, Pinkie took the batter away from him and began pouring it into the various molds she had set up. After finishing with preparations, Pinkie placed the molds into a pre-heated oven and turned to face Zero.
"Once they're done the real fun will begin!", she exclaimed.
"Can't wait.", he replied dryly.
"Oh come on, Z! Cheer up! I'm sure you'll have a blast once we start decorating!", she assured.
Zero sat there in silence as Pinkie began to ramble on about random, unrelated topics.
"...and that's how Equestria was made!", she finished. She noticed her companions blank expression before a question popped into her mind.
"When was the last time you laughed, Z?", she asked.
The stallion shrugged, "I cannot answer."
"Well that's no good! We've got to fix that!", she said with concern, "Everypony needs to laugh every once in awhile. It's only natural."
Zero raised a hoof to silence her, "There's no point to it/ It is not neccessary/ I'll live without it."
She visibly saddened, her mane and tail deflating slightly. They quickly resumed their original forms, however, as a loud ringing noise was heard.
"Oh goody! They're done!", she happily trotted over to the oven and began checking over the newly baked goods to see if they were cooked through. Upon finishing her inspection, she began to spread an alarming amount of icing over the cake they had prepared. She brought the cake out to one of the tables in the bakery that Zero was sitting at and placed it in front of him.
"Here ya go! Now start decorating!", she said with a grin.
"Err...how exactly?", he asked.
"I don't know. Get creative! This cake is gonna be for Twilight and the others. I only need the cupcakes for the competition.", she finished as she went back into the kitchen, leaving behind a rather puzzled Zero. He wasn't sure how to even begin. He decided he would simply sculpt the icing into some sort of crude picture. He stood up and went over to where his gear was stored. He quickly took hold of one of the daggers he had hidden inside his cloak and made his way back to the table and began. He gently placed the blade of the dagger into the icing and began to sculpt. He had no clue what he planned to draw and so thought about the recipients of the cake: the six element bearers. He payed close attention to his strokes with the blade, making each one precise and deliberate. He continued this for several hours until Pinkie interrupted him with a loud gasp.
"Z! It's amazing!", was all she could get out.
He shot her a questioning look before backing away from the cake. Looking back at him from the cake's surface were the faces of all six of element bearers. The detail in each of their faces was incredible, each one easily distinguishable from the others despite them all sharing the same color due to there only being one type of icing. He then looked up to notice a small crowd had gathered to observe his artistic display. As he lifted his cake in order to admire it up close, he was stopped when the door to the bakery was thrown open, a particularly angry griffon in the door's frame.
"You!", she shrieked while pointing a talon at Zero.
He shot her a questioning look, "Hrm?"
She glared at him, "You were the one who killed those griffons in Canterlot, right?"
He nodded slowly, "Yes. Why?"
He didn't get an answer as the griffon leapt at him. He wasted no time with surprise, his horn already beginning to shimmer. Right before the griffon collided with him, he teleported to the doorway she was just at. He didn't want to fight her inside the bakery for a bystander might get injured. He sprinted outside and was met by a frantic Rainbow Dash.
"Is she here!?", she wasted no time asking.
Zero didn't answer as his attacker was already stepping outside behind him. He noticed the worried look she shot towards the griffon, rather than him. She knew who this griffon was.
"Don't hurt her.", Dash pleaded, confirming Zero's suspicions.
He turned to face the griffon and then realized he had none of his equipment. Instead, he was still holding the cake. Gilda rushed him again, hatred obvious in her eyes. In response, his tossed the cake in the air,grabbed her as she charged by him, threw her to the ground, and caught the cake in one blur of motion. He was not about to let his last few hours of work go to waste. He decided to try and reason with his opponent.
"What have I done to anger you so?", he questioned.
Gilda looked up at him, "You killed him. You killed my father."
The ponies that had been watching from the safety of Sugarcube Corner gasped.
"Is that true, Z?", asked Rainbow Dash cautiously.
He shrugged in response, "If it is, then he was one of the attackers in Canterlot."
Gilda calmed slightly at the mention of the attack on Canterlot, "He...lead the strike force. I told him not to do it. It was a suicide mission."
Zero interrupted her, "You said he led them?"
Gilda raised, "Yes. Why?"
"I didn't kill the leader", he stated.
The griffon gritted her teeth, "You liar!", she shouted as she lunged at Zero again. He met the brunt of her attack and quickly turned her own momentum against her, pushing her to the ground and holding her there. While doing this, he suspended the cake in midair.
"Control yourself now/ Or I will be forced to act/ You do not want that.", he warned.
Gilda struggled under his surprisingly strong hold, "I'll control myself once I kill you for what you've done."
Zero began shaking his head. "Your ignorance blinds you. Your father is not dead. I only crippled him." Zero did not see much of a difference between the two. Gilda's father was most likely never going to move on his own again.
As much as she wanted to believe the stallion was lying, she could tell he was speaking truthfully, "But they told me everyone on the mission had died!"
"Your people are based on honor. It is more honorable to die in battle than to be kept as a prisoner. He is most likely in the Canterlot Dungeons as we speak." He pulled himself off the griffon, allowing her to get up.
Gilda couldn't believe what she was being told. Everything Zero had said made sense. They would have most likely covered up the fact her father wasn't killed to spare his family the shame. Despite the possibility of her father being alive, she wasn't going to let Zero off the hook. She knew, however, that he was too strong for just her.
"You better watch yourself. The griffons will get you back for what you've done.", she hissed while taking off with amazing speed into the sky.
Zero sighed at the foreboding warning he was just given. The last thing he needed was even more trouble.
"Thanks Z. For not hurting her.", said Dash as she patted Zero on the back.
The blow on his back caught him by surprise and broke his concentration. He watched in silent horror as the cake he was just levitating quickly met with the ground. The crowd, whom were still watching, gasped again, prepared for all hell to break loose. Dash realized her folly and began to apologize.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!", she explained.
"Not the cake!", squealed Pinkie. Pinkie knew Zero would not be happy. He had just spent the last several hours creating the masterful artwork that was etched into the cake's icing.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprised, Zero began to chuckle. But this was much more than one of his normal chuckles. It was a genuine laugh. He couldn't help but laugh at the humor of the situation. He spent all this time defending this cake only to have it destroyed by the last person he would have expected. The other ponies began to join him in his laughter and Pinkie was ecstatic that her friend was laughing. However, he soon abruptly stopped and shrugged.
"Still don't see the point.", he commented before walking back into the bakery, followed by the pink mare.
"That's no fair! I really thought you were enjoying yourself, too.", she replied sadly.
"I never said I did not enjoy myself. I just do not express it the same way as you do.", he replied as he gathered his gear and removed the apron he was still wearing.
"But I want you to laugh! Why won't you laugh!?", she shouted.
"I cannot answer that. But it does sound like a worthy goal for you to persue. A challenge", he said with a grin.
"Eh, I'll get you to laugh eventually. No doubt about that."
Zero gave her a strange look, "That's....a bold statement to make. What makes you so sure?"
She grinned at him, "Well isn't it obvious, silly? If I didn't win then the story wouldn't be as interesting!" She quickly covered her mouth with a hoof. "If I keep this up, Voriz is gonna take me out of the story completely!"
Zero only shook his head as he left Pinkie to her ramblings. He knew well enough now that once she started to talk nonsense, it was time to leave. He smiled as he made his way home.
"What a strange pony/ There is no logic to her/ A true mystery."
I blame Dishonored for this taking so long : /
Come on Zer0 you yourself also break the forth wall
how do you not know what Pinkies doing
Also do you have Borderlands 2 for ps3 or xbox 1424822
1424822You got it? How fun is it? Also, did you get the Mechromancer yet? Just came out Today I believe.
Heh, this is really good!
I love what you been turning out, awesome works!
Hello. My name is Gilda Razortalon. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
1424822
Playing Dishonored? Corvo going to show up now and turn this into a assassin insert fic? If you are, Garret from the Theif series wouldn't be out of place.
How do you write such long chapters? I can only get like 500 words outta myself.
Nice story!
But I just hate it when Pinkie breaks the fourth wall and talk about the author and stuff like that. It's not funny anymore.
XD Figured this was going to happen. *pulls out a bucket of Fourth Wall Repair Putty, and a trowel* *begins applying repair putty to cracked fourth wall* :|
Another great chapter, as usual. It balances foreshadowing and Chekhov's Gun usage well. Though, as a note, at the end of quotations, you use the comma like this.
"Good. Good. Tell me about it later," she said.
Put the comma inside the quotes.
1424850 Both Xbox and the PC.
1424864 It's pretty amazing in my opinion.
1424970
dang got ps3 but
who do you play as let me guess
Zer0
Anyone have Borderlands 2 for Ps3
Level 50 Zer0 moment: "Warning Cake Badass!/ Challenge accepted, bake failed/ Must stop, drop, and roll
Honestly the best Borderlands 2 crossover I've ever had the j0y of reading, you are a great writer and vastly improving, keep up the awesome work.
1424902
best. reference. ever; of. All. Time.
1425013I do.
1424974Really. What kind of things are in it? 'Cause the commercial made it look like a mix of Assassins Creed and Bioshock.
1424864 I have it too, and yes it is amazing.
btw, Mechromancer came out two days ago and she is my new favorite character.
1425036As she is mine. Her action skills is OP as hell, but I still LOVE it. Which skill tree are you working on?
How is the fourth wall even still intact after how many holes Pinkie made to this point?
If you look at the Mechromancer's skill trees, you will see a lot of obvious pony references. The Stare and 20% Cooler are two good examples.
1425063 Don't forget the "Evil Enchantress" one.
1424929 If anything, Corvo will get his own fic.
1424938 I really don't know how to answer that. Magic?
1425032
What level
the Mechromancer in Borderlands 2 uses Mlp reference
Look at this
1425132 and Discord.
1424961 I apologize D:
Is there a possibility of seeing brick? It would be cool to see a towering earth pony with fists of fury
1425318 There's a possibility for everything. This story is written with alot of comments like yours in mind. I hadn't even thought of bringing Mordecai in at first until someone mentioned it.
Gilda: "You killed my father!" (I was surprised by Gilda, but then totally saw this coming. )
Zer0: "I am your father./ Blatant Star Wars reference/ Sucks for you, now die."
(hope this isn't dup'd/Login was acting strangely/Stuck in haiku mode.)
1425294 *Zer0 voice* Hehe.
1425363 Yea...that ran through my mind as well. But you win for putting it into haiku form :D
1425013 i have it for ps3. if u wanna add me just add my username on here. and i never realized there was that meny mlp references. No wonder i love the mecromancer so mutch. hell i even named her Nyx. keep up the good work vorizmordu.
Excellent story, I haven't played Borderlands 2 but this story has made me want to play it even more.
Gilda check. one more act to get straight are the flim flams
1425391 Doit.Doit.Doit.Doit. That is all.
1425376
My user is Bacolodcity
Level 29 Assassins or if you beat the game already
i am happy to start a new campaign with a new character
1425410 But first he's gotta deal with another nasty in the mountains. More side missions. Sweet.
1425376 Yessir! *salute*
Amazing chapter ^_^ oh and btw I'm almost done with Dishonored and it's amazing so far :D
142517210 atm. Just started her a couple hours ago.
1425431 You spoil anything, you die. That simple.
1425376 1424989 Dude, hit me up. My username is 'HAZARD_3_'.
I have school, though, so don't expect me to be online ALL the time.
You need the letter 'A'.
cdn.broni.es/images/emotes/mlp-drage.png
Nopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopenope.
i4.photobucket.com/albums/y149/GreyFox27/MLP%20-%20FiM/mlfw1237_Twilight_Sparkle_nope_nope_nope.gif
YES
1425036
how do you get her i bought the season pass and it wont let me download the new content and i checked to see if i already had them but to no avail
1425445 Hey, that last point is debatable :D But seriously, nice catches.
1425425 ull have to add me my gamer tag is DEMADNESS13
Awesome, as usual.
So, I'm not sure, did he pass the challenge???
I mean, he timed the laughing perfectly and the element of laughter is to make other people laugh.
But he himself didn't truly laugh...
So, technically he DID pass and in reality he DIDN'T???
I'm not sure... :/
Anyway, still hoping for that vault hunter guild!!! :D
142517210 atm. Just started her a couple hours ago. And I tried adding you as a friend but it said you had a full friends list. Also, my internet is going screwy, so if you want you can add me on PSN. User is NightmareKnight2. No idea who took NightmareKnight, and NightmareKnight1 got banned.