The Equestrian Hero's Call: Homecoming

by Genis94

The Struggle Within

Considering everything that had happened as of late, it was no surprise I managed to nod off during the flight to our next destination in the chase. I was dreaming that I was sitting at the top of a large hill, with the wind blowing through my hair. I breathed out a heavy sigh as I took in the peaceful scenery, but I paused as I felt a small tingle in my head. After having her in my dreams as many times as I had, I had identified the sensation as an alicorn entering my dreams. A grin spread across my lips as I realized Luna and I would have another chance to speak alone.

"Glad to see you here, beautifu-"

I swear I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw who was really standing behind me.

"Expecting someone else?" The Princess of the Sun asked with a smirk.

"C-Celestia! H-how are you-?! I-I thought Luna-"

"I did have to take over her duties for a thousand years. Learning the art of dream walking was a necessity."

"R-right..." I said as I tried to recover from nearly crapping my dream pants.

"Now, I would like to ask a question of you."

"Uh, sure. What is it?"

"What happened between you and Luna last night?" She asked with a stern gaze.

Now the last thing I wanted to tell Celestia was that I had taken Luna's virginity. It was impossible to gauge what her reaction would be, and right now my thoughts were bringing Freddy Kreuger to mind.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I lied, rather poorly at that.

"You two were acting differently than usual on the ride to the plane. Now either you can tell me, or I could always take a look at your memories." Celestia threatened.

Bluff or not, the thought of Celestia seeing those images terrified me beyond belief.

"Okay, okay! Before I tell you, I just want you to know Luna means everything to me and I would never do anything to hurt her. Also, I hold you in the highest regard and-"

"You're stalling." She flatly observed.

"O-okay..." I took a deep breath as I mentally prepared myself. "Luna and I... Well, we... had sex..."

I think I caught Celestia's eye twitch, and that made me wonder how long it would take me to swim to shore if I managed to wake myself up and dove out of the plane. Then I remembered the decompression probably wouldn't have very good results for the other passengers.

"You... and my little sister..."

Well, if I was about to be subjected to a painful demise, I might as well be honest.

"Yes, it's true. We both had sex for the first time while you were passed out from the sake. But to be honest, it's kind of your fault for demolishing the dividing wall in the hotspring and placing that sound barrier. And before you say anything, I didn't force it upon her."

I was suddenly wrapped up in an extremely tight hug.

"I'm so happy for both of you!" Celestia cheered.

"...What?" Was all my mind could process. I was expecting her hair to burst into flames, to be forced to witness the most terrifying images my own imagination couldn't conjure. Instead, she was hugging me and congratulating me.

"I'm so happy your relationship has flourished even in these troubling times. You two have been getting along better than I ever could have hoped."

"So... You're not mad?" I cautiously asked.

"I'm happy your relationship is blossoming, but I am still a bit... conflicted as for how to react to that specifically."

"Fair enough." I shrugged.

Hey, I figure she's got full right to be a little upset learning that her little sister lost her virginity from the person that did it. I just didn't want her going vengeful god on me. But with that taken out of the way, I had a very important question to ask Celestia specifically.

"Celestia, about my sword... How exactly did it transform the last time?"

"Well, based on what you told me, it seems that it was transformed by dark magic you manifested with your anger and hatred."

"Wait, I can do that?" I asked in disbelief.

"The weapons Luna and I gave you were created with pure magic. Magic isn't just released in one form universally, it changes it's properties based on the emotional state of the user."

"So hatred and negative emotions are dark magic?"

"Precisely. Common magic like the majority of the spells you've seen Twilight use are manifested through stable emotional levels. But there is another type of magic you have seen firsthand."

"Friendship and love?"

"Correct. Friendship is indeed a powerful magic created through bonds like the Elements of Harmony, but love is far greater in strength when the love between two individuals is impossible to break."

"That explains how Cadence and Shining Armor managed to repel the Changelings so easily. Even the Elements of Harmony would have taken a bit longer to accurately remove them." I surmised.

"Robert... I need to warn you of something before I leave." Celestia looked me seriously in the eyes. "Do not listen to the whispers. They will promise you power, courage, and all of your desires, but you must not trust them. I have faith that you are stronger than their influence."

"The whispers?" I asked in confusion.

"You will know in time. I wish that you didn't, but you will."

With those final words, a strong gust of wind sent a flurry of leaves across my vision. When they passed, Celestia was gone.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing left to do except wait for us to arrive." I shrugged.

--------

"Oh... my... Celestia!" Rarity blurted as she looked down the street with trembling eyes.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

"N-no I'm not trying to address you, Celestia. It's an expression of shock."

Celestia smirked at Rarity, who was only now realizing the joke.

"Very funny." She admitted. "But honestly, look at this architecture, and the clothes in the shops. Such profound culture, and the history

"Ladies, Benvenuti in Italia." I told them, displaying my limited knowledge of the language with pride.

"So this is Italy..." Twilight noted. "I was expecting more people obsessed with pasta."

"PASTA!" Pinkie blurted as she understood the reference.

"I really should stop showing you guys anime without explaining the jokes..." I muttered, annoyed with my own mistake. "Anyway, just where in Venice is Astral, Luna? I'm getting sick of this cat and mouse game."

"He's not far, but he's been staying still for a while." Luna responded.

"Ah'm guessin' that ain't good." Applejack said, adjusting her stetson.

A crowd of citizens began fleeing from one particular direction in response. Everyone in the group turned to face her, with varying levels of annoyance.

"What? It's not like I did that." She defended.

As we began heading towards the chaos, one man grabbed me by the shirt in a panic.

"Lupo Manaro! Lupo Manaro!!!" He screamed before running off.

"Lupo Manaro?" I repeated in confusion.

Suddenly a crash was heard and I could see a humanoid wolf creature leaning on the belfry of a nearby building, howling in rage.

"Oh..." I realized. "Lupo Manaro... Wolf Man..."

"Arooooooo!" He howled.

"Awww! He's so cute!"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash berated.

"But just look at him. He's so fluffy, and-"

At that moment the werewolf chomped its teeth down on a dove that flew too close. Fluttershy then stood motionless in shock.

"How vile..." Octavia winced.

Vinyl lowered her glasses. "Dude, I've seen some gross thing happen in my DJ career, but that's just plain nasty."

I drew my weapons in annoyance. "Let's get this over with."

The werewolf jumped down from the belfry and growled at me in fury. Suddenly he dashed forward slashing madly with his claws, there was no pattern or style to it, just blind animalistic rage. I managed to find an opening where he swung too wide, and dashed forward to slash at his abdomen.

I was suddenly sideswiped by a claw to my arm. I looked at where I had just cut the werewolf a moment ago, but couldn't even find a scratch.

"What the hell?!" I blurted in shock.

The werewolf took advantage of my shocked state and pinned me to the ground, trying to get a clean bite at my neck.

*Krzzshoom!*

A burst of blue magic sent the beast off of me, straight into a pillar at a corner building. The dust sent flying obscured our view of him, but I was glad for the break.

"Thanks, Luna. I almost became dog chow." I thanked as I gripped the wound on my left arm.

"Arooooo!"

"Oh c'mon!" I whined.

As the dust settled I noticed a very disturbing difference with the werewolf I had just been saved from. Before he was about two feet taller than me and was fairly lanky. Now he was a full four feet taller with muscles that gave Thor a run for his money.

"Is it me, or did he just roid up while we weren't looking?" I asked.

"Oops." Luna muttered.

"Oops?" I asked, my mind beginning to worry.

"If he's a werewolf, then perhaps my moon magic has been absorbed by him."

"So he's a bonafide werewolf?!" I panicked.

I was given no time to think as he began charging me again.

"Run!" I told the others.

I managed to slide under the space between his legs and began running for dear life down the street.

Okay, so I can't hurt him with my weapons, and he's a legit werewolf. C'mon, what were their weaknesses?!

I suddenly noticed I was about to run into the canal. I used my time stop to give me the extra bit of time to find a nearby gondola and jump across the canal on it.

"Pardon me!" I said as I made my jump.

The werewolf wasn't far behind, though he managed to make the jump in a single bound, keeping him hot on my heels.

Okay. In Hellsing they used blessed bullets on the vampires, but what was it Seras used on that werewolf Captain from Millennium? I wondered, hoping that my time spent reading the manga wasn't wasted for this purpose.

The werewolf took a leap at me and just barely missed, though his tooth managed to graze my leg.

That's it! It was Pip's silver tooth! Now, where can I get silver around here...

I spotted a nearby cafe and bolted for one of the abandoned tables where a salad had been left abandoned.

Perfect! A fork!

I picked up the three pronged tool of destruction, but suddenly noticed it wasn't metal.

"Of all the times to find a cheap cafe, it had to be now!" I complained.

Let me help you... I can grant you the power to slaughter this pathetic mutt.

I grasped my head in pain as an unfamiliar voice began speaking to me.

"What the-? Who the hell are you?"

I payed dearly for my lack of focus as the werewolf grabbed me with his claws and tossed me down the street.

Let me have control! I will give you the power to destroy him!

"The whispers... Celestia was way off on the name, you're way more annoying than a whisper." I angrily muttered as I stumbled to my feet and continued my retreat.

Say what you will, I can unlock your true potential.

"No way... I'm not going to risk it." I defiantly told the voice.

The werewolf jumped over me and cracked the pavement where his paws made contact. He pounced forward, but I used my time stop to vault over him and continue my escape. I suddenly saw what could have very well been the most beautiful sight all day.

"A blacksmith's shop! There's gotta be something I can use in-"

I was suddenly raked across the back by the werewolf's claws, the force of the blow sent me tumbling across the pavement and crashing through the window. I began frantically looking around for anything I could use as I barely managed to rise to my feet. I was officially in fight or flight mode, and I knew I couldn't take much more punishment.

*Crunch*

I was out of time. The werewolf had cleared the distance and was bearing down on me.

I grabbed a nearby Zweihander and hefted it over my shoulder.

"Silver or not, I might as well use the biggest thing here."

The werewolf charged forward.

I swung the massive blade.

*Crunch!*

I nervously opened my eyes to see the blade had actually sliced clean through the neck of the beast, killing it instantly and sending the blade crashing into the wooden floor.

"Hey! Che cosa sta succedendo?" An older man yelled as he came out from the workshop.

"Parli inglese?" I asked.

"Sì." He responded.

"Who the hell orders a silver Zweihander?" I asked in disbelief.

The blacksmith smirked. "Someone with very deep pockets."

"Well..." I said as I pulled the sword from the floor and handed it to its maker. "You can tell them it killed an honest-to-God werewolf."

--------

After reuniting with the group, I detailed the encounter to them, and how I managed to survive by insane luck.

"A silver Zweihander?" Octavia asked.

"It's an old Germanic sword." I explained. "Massive blade, so it has to be used with two hands. Why someone would want one made of silver, I can only guess he wanted an awesome sword that could flaunt his wallet as much as he could."

"I'd think whoever that is deserves your thanks." Celestia responded.

"Hey, if I meet the guy I'm telling him he's crazy for having something like that made, but he's also brilliant for saving my life."

Luna hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Robert. It's my fault that he gained as much strength as he did. I should have thought about the effect my magic would have on him."

I lifted her head up and gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, if you hadn't gotten him off of me back then, he would have taken more than a little off the top." I said, making a cutting motion across my throat.

She punched me in the arm in response. "Don't even joke about that."

"Oh, c'mon. The Legend never dies." I said.

"The Legend? Getting a bit pretentious aren't we?" Luna questioned.

I dismissed the criticism. "It's just a reference to something. I just used a Zweihander so I couldn't resist."

Luna merely raised her brow in confusion.

"I'll show you the video later." I told her. "So, where to next?" I asked.

Luna closed her eyes as she attuned her magic to search for Astral. "That's strange... I can't locate him."

"Damn. He must have caught wise to us and is hiding his aura somehow." I surmised.

"That seems to be the case." Celestia agreed. "Well, we should catch our breath here until we can find him. Even during times like this, it's important to take a break."

"I'll be at the shops!" Rarity said before dashing off.

Spike sighed. "I'd better follow her and make sure she doesn't bankrupt us."

"Good thinking." Twilight said. "I actually want to find a cafe and get some coffee. I haven't had a good cup in a while."

"If you find the one I went to, please yell at them for not having actual silverware." I told her.

I began walking down the street to my own destination, but was called after by Luna.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just going to see if I can find something. I'll meet up with you later." I called back.

After a short trek, I made my way back to the blacksmith's store.

"Ah, bello vederti di nuovo!" He welcomed.

"Grazie. Ho bisogno di aiuto per trovare qualcosa ... unico." I told him.

"Definire 'unico'."

"Conoscete un armaiolo?"

--------

Who would have figured the blacksmith's nephew was exactly the craftsman I needed? And what luck that he had exactly the model I was looking to find too! I was now sitting in back alley with all of the components I needed for my little experiment.

"Okay... Let's see if Twilight's lectures on magic have beaten anything into this head of mine."

I focused the mana within my body, inching it along to my hands. As I felt the magic begin to fluctuate, I focused it onto the objects in front of me. I could see them begin to glow as my mana began to fill within them.

"Ha! Now, just gotta gauge how much I can put into-"

*Bang!*

One of the objects exploded in a small spray of metal and smoke.

"...Too much..." I muttered.

--------

A few attempts later allowed me to properly estimate the maximum amount of mana that could be contained without my experiment blowing up in my face. Needless to say I was happy with my first successful enchantment. With that bit of work done, I went back to the square where we agreed to meet once we had finished our own errands.

Twilight was the only one currently standing there, and I waved hello as I walked up.

"Hey Robert, I got you a brownie from the cafe I went to." She said, producing the square chocolate baked good.

"Wow! Thanks a bunch!" I said as I greedly bit into the brownie. "Oh *munch* by the way..." I grabbed my latest purchase from it's spot against my hip.

"Ahh! Where did you get one of those?!" Twilight panicked.

"Look, calm down." I told her. "I went back to the blacksmith and asked if he knew a guy. Turns out his nephew was just who I needed."

Twilight gave me an incredulous look. "Why would you need a gunsmith?!"

"Where else would I have gotten a custom made Mateba Autorevolver?" I asked with a smirk.

Twilight squinted at me angrily. "Why do I sense magic on it?"

I proudly smiled as I released the cylinder and removed a bullet. "I used my mana to enchant these suckers. Let's see a monster shrug off an enchanted .357 magnum round!"

"You... enchanted it?!" She asked in a rage.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, it did take a few tries to figure out how much mana these things could store without blowing up, but yeah." I popped the cylinder back in and ensured the hammer wasn't cocked before I twirled it back into the holster.

"While I'm glad you managed to use your magic without a guide, I'm not sure I like you using it on a gun."

"Aww, but I like Onyx Rose!" I told her.

She looked at me blankly for a moment. "You named it?"

"Yeah. I got the name because of the jet-black finish and the rose design on the cherry wood handle." I explained.

Twilight let out a sigh. "I suppose there's no talking you out of keeping it, huh?"

"Nope. These things are rare, Twilight. They stopped production years ago. I'm just glad the guy I went to happened to be an avid collector of revolvers. Why are you so adamant on me not having one?"

Twilight rubbed her arm nervously. "Those things scare me. I mean, we saw guns tear you to shreds just a few days ago. The fact these weapons can do something so gruesome is just..."

I put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Hey, do you think I would use this to blast somebody innocent, or any non-monster?"

Twilight let out a sigh. "No... That's not you at all."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Besides, even if I were forced to use it on somebody I would aim for non vital areas. I would only want to incapacitate them."

"Well, let me tell you a little secret." Twilight leaned into my ear. "The way you enchanted these bullets basically makes them mana blasts like the ones I use, but that also means you can apply a formula to them since they're just blank slates."

"A formula?" I asked in confusion.

Twilight nodded in affirmation. "That's right. You could apply the properties of a spell, like an ice blast, to the bullets. Then when you fire them, they would release the power of the formula on contact."

The various possibilities began racing through my mind, and it all came to one particular comparison.

"This is gonna be like Outlaw Star!" I exclaimed in excitement.

"Outlaw... Star?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"It's an anime set in the future." I began explaining. "The man character, Gene Starwind, uses a Caster gun to fire spells that are contained in special Caster shells."

"Oh, well, I guess it is sort of like that." Twilight agreed.

"Ice bullets, lightning rounds, bullets that can home in on their target... This is going to be fun."

"Just remember to be careful. Applying the spell could take it's toll on your mana supplies depending on what kind you try to use, so don't try to overdo it in the heat of battle." Twilight warned.

I nodded to show I understood.

Twilight let out a small yawn. "All of this traveling is completely throwing off my sleep schedule. I hate having my schedules thrown off."

I chuckled a bit. "We've both got one track minds in our own ways, but I can understand where you're coming from. C'mon, let's meet the others back at the hotel."

--------

After meeting up in the lobby, each of us made our way to our rooms to settle in. Despite it only being a few hours into the afternoon, the jetlag had finally gotten to all of us. Luna and I practically collapsed on the bed.

"Tired... Too damned tired..." I moaned.

Luna shifted her position to face me. "You've been fighting back to back with barely any time for rest. Even the mightiest warriors cannot fight forever."

"You're right. Seems like you always are."

"I was merely- *Yawn* offering my observation."

Neither of us could fight the weight building on our eyes, and we both drifted off to sleep.

--------

The world around me was a white void, absent of any features. It was chilling, and quite the leap from my previous dreams.

"What's going on here?" I wondered.

"I wanted to continue our conversation." A malevolent voice said.

Stepping from a shroud of fog in the void, there was a silhouette draped in a dark aura.

"Who are you?" I asked the voice.

The silhouette pointed straight at me.

"I am you. And you are me."

"Uh huh. So what are you? My evil half?"

I felt like the figure was grinning, despite the fact there was no face to see.

"I'm not evil, I'm just the part of you that you try to lock away. You keep talking about how you'd never try to hurt anyone, but just look at how much you enjoyed that last fight in Japan."

"That wasn't me! It was the dark magic!"

"Idiot! Dark magic manifests from the emotions of the user. You hated that monster. You wanted to tear it to shreds for nearly separating you from Luna. Ohhh and did you! Every second filled you with ecstasy. The screams it made as each head was loped off! That pathetic pile of chunks being all that remained! You didn't just like it, you LOVED it!"

"Shut up..." I muttered.

"And when I told you I could help you destroy that werewolf... You honestly considered! You knew what Celestia told you, but in your desperation you actually thought about it, even if it was just for a moment!"

"Shut up! You're just some being made from dark magic! You're not me!" I shouted.

The aura around the silhouette erupted. "Care to test that? I'll show you just which one of us is real!"

I shielded my eyes as the aura engulfed the figure. When I opened them again, a massive wolf with a ball and chain around its ankles.

"I am a shadow... of your true inner self."

I found myself without a weapon, and the white walls crumbled away to reveal a series of torture devices, as well as a solitary confinement cell that was torn to shreds.

In my defiance I made a quick one-liner. "Can't be. My inner self wouldn't be this ugly."

The wolf lurched forward and snapped it's giant fangs at me. I jumped over the first bite and delivered a kick to the nose, stunning it for a moment.

"Ha! How'd you like tha-"

*Crunch*

I was blindsided by the ball and chain slamming me into the wall, and I found the pain to be far more real than I would have hoped. I collapsed to the ground in a heap, waiting for my injuries to regenerate. I tried to push up from the ground with my arm, but found it laying limply at my side.

"What gives?! I should be-Nng!- healing by now!"

The wolf growled in amusement. "You're in my world now. And we play by my rules."

He howled as he flipped in the air and brought the ball down in an attempt to smash me. Using what little strength I had, I managed to jump just out from under the crushing weight of it.

"This isn't... good..."

"Aroooooo! Now... hold still and die!!!"

*Krzzpow!*

A blue beam of magic knocked the wolf back, causing him to whine in pain.

"Just in time..." Luna sighed in relief.

"Luna? What's going on?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure earlier, but now I have no doubts. The dark magic you used before has caused your shadow to manifest itself." She explained as she examined my injuries.

"My shadow? He called himself that earlier. What exactly is he?"

Luna's gaze was filled with concern. "It is just what you would presume. He is the part of yourself that you have locked away. Thoughts you wish you'd never had, memories you'd rather forget, the desires you try to hide. The same thing... happened to me."

"So Nightmare Moon was...!"

"Rrrrraaaaaarrr!!!" The shadow growled as he got back on his paws.

"How do we beat him?" I asked, determined not to become something that could hurt my friends.

"There is no we, I'm afraid. You must face him. You must accept what you've been trying your hardest to deny, or your shadow will overcome you, just like mine did long ago."

The wolf locked eyes with Luna, his growl low and menacing.

"I'll thank you for awakening me, but get in my way and I'll squash you like a bug!"

At that moment I began struggling to my feet.

"Hey! This is between us! Or rather, it's between me and myself."

"What?!" He blurted.

"Maybe you're right. No, you are right. Killing that monster, however it was made, was enjoyable. I couldn't keep myself from laughing when I saw how I'd finished the deed. For once in my life, I didn't have to hold myself back. I didn't have to keep myself from getting back at someone who wronged me; from paying them back in spades."

Now on my feet, I finally understood it all.

"All my life I've been holding myself back because of what others have said or done. I locked myself away in my shell, thinking that one day everything would change and I could finally stop worrying about what others think."

"And you got that the easy way! It all just fell into your lap the night you crossed the distance between worlds!" He growled in spite.

"But that's not the point! It's not that things were easier, but that I finally had friends who were willing to dig deep enough and show me the way. You can wish and hope all you want, but the only one who can change things is yourself! No matter the circumstance, the one who needs to help you out from your shell... is yourself!"

"So... You finally...?"

I nodded. "No more keeping my feelings locked away, or hiding from my problems or the truth. I accept you."

The wolf erupted into a bright light, and emerged as a humanoid with a wolf head, clad in an open long coat that exposed his chest. A broken chain was looped through the left collar of the coat, and he wore a cap with a torn back and a split on the visor.

"We are now one. And as one, we fight together." He said.

I extended my hand to shake. "As one."

And with that shake, the dream faded away.

You are far... from empty.

Comments

[ManWithThePan]

There's some Persona shit goin' on in here!(XD)

[Twilight Dragoon]

What's next? Is he going to be using cleave or vorpal blades any time soon?