> Judgement > by rikkuidol > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Free Fall > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1: Free Fall Power….I need more….Power Might controls everything – And without strength, you cannot protect anything; let alone yourself…. Above high in the blue sky filled with the bright Sun’s warmth and light, a portal opened, and in a few moments something came out of the portal. Just above the Ghastly Gorge, a white speck can be seen falling from the sky in free fall, slowly descending from high above the sky. *BOOM!* A huge Crater was left when it landed in Ghastly Gorge from a very high altitude, there was silence for a few moments, then the sound of clanking metal was heard, and at the edge of the crater, an armored hand came out and grabbed at the land, and with a few grunts, it made its way out of the crater; A white bipedal creature, wearing an heavy armor that pulsed colors, atop its head was a humanoid helmet with horns protruding from the forehead and a cape. “Where am I?” said the creature with its voice echoing through its helmet as it groggily tried to balance itself. Looking from left to right, the creature took in the scenery before he looked at the sky and spoke once again. “I died” As if accepting its said fate, it walked from side to side making small grunts. As it walked, its armor started to shake, and with a few more steps its armor broke, starting from the boots up. But it did not bother the creature as it still continued to walk slowly and groggily, and after a good distance it left a trail of its armor, which revealed what the creature wore underneath all that armor; A long blue coat with three tails and a snake-like pattern on the right side of the jacket, a set of white gloves and long black pants. The creature stopped in its tracks and slowly removed its helmet, revealing a pale white male face with brushed down white hair covering his eyes and most of his face. After tossing his helmet lazily on the ground, he put his hand on his face behind his hair and with a quick sweep from the bottom and up, his hair was now swept back, revealing an emotionless face. With another look at his surroundings, he came to a conclusion that he was in some kind of gorge. “If I am dead, why is the surrounding seem so bright, even though I am in a gorge, Is this heaven” he said, and as soon as he spoke those words, a smirk crept in his face “Highly unlikely, me, in heaven, how laughable” . ‘But if this is not Heaven, then, where am I?’ he thought to himself “I must get out of here” he said to himself, after eyeing the edge of the gorge, as he knelt and with a grunt, he jumped from where he was standing onto the top of the gorge. “This is definitely not Heaven” he said as he scanned the area again “but why is it so….” he cannot find the right words to put on what he is seeing and feeling at the moment; Yes the trees that surrounded the gorge were dark and ominous, even the gorge itself, was in fact, a gorge and yet. As he tackled for a word in his mind to fit the big picture, it suddenly came to him.”…Colorful” Ponyville “Sugarcube Corner” “I feel a disturbance in the force” said pinkie as she stopped in her tracks while balancing a tray of cupcakes on her head, right next to a table her friends are currently at. “Is somethin’ botherin’ you, sugarcube?” asked Applejack as she looked at pinkie with an eyebrow raised. “C’mon AJ, you know Pinkie is just being Pinkie, though I kinda see where you’re going with this, she just stopped, for no apparent reason” said Rainbow Dash as she hovered next to Pinkie while poking her puffy pink hair quizzically”. “I-Is she alright, Rainbow?” Whispered Fluttershy behind her pink mane “I hope she’s fine, you girls don’t think she’s having a stroke isn’t she? Oh my!” added Fluttershy as she starts to panic due to her pink friend’s situation. “Come now Fluttershy, you know how Pinkie acts randomly from time to time, though I think it’s not THAT grave, It seems this is not included in her, ‘Pinkie Sense’ as she calls it” said Rarity, while flipping her hair and turning to Twilight next to her. “What do you think Twilight?” “Hmmm, we all know that it’s Pinkie we’re talking about here, she might just be being random, though, she did say she felt a disturbance in the ‘Force’? I doubt sh-----“ before Twilight could finish her sentence she was cut off with the strange way Pinkie started to act. “Are you alright Pinkie?” Pinkie started to shake profusely as if she’s having a stroke of some kind, which furthered Fluttershy’s worry as she started to whimper; All the while Rainbow Dash hovered a few feet away from Pinkie when suddenly. She was gone, leaving only the tray of cupcakes floating in mid-air for a while, then falling to the ground. Everyone had eyes as wide as saucers and mouths agape for a good while, when a good few seconds passed, Twilight spoke” What just happened?” “A Pinkie Pie just happened” Answered Rainbow Dash. Ghastly Gorge “Surface” ‘Where in the world am I?’ He thought to himself as he started to slowly walk away from the gorge, where there was seemingly a road up a small hill ‘If there is a road here, there must be civilization nearby, for all I know, this is neither Heaven, Hell or Earth’ as he further thought to himself. As he neared the top of the hill, an Image came to his mind. A creature identical to him wearing a red coat as opposed to his blue, with white brushed down hair sporting a white color same as his, with a huge sword on its back. As he slowly backs away from the creature, nearing the edge of a waterfall, they exchanged words, though their mouths open, words did not come out. As he closed at the edge of the waterfall, he opened his mouth, but no words came out again, and in a quick motion he let himself fall. The creature quickly stretched its arms, and in reflex he slashed the upcoming hand, he fell in Free Fall. As he snapped back in his senses, he was already atop the small hill, what he saw was a vast green land, and over the horizon was the sun shining brightly as its light covers the land as if embracing it, like a warm embrace of a mother to its child. He felt the warmth creeping in his body, it felt good and at the same time he felt sadness. As one word escaped his mouth: “Mother" > Nero Angelo > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Nero Angelo Sugarcube Corner “Where do you gals think Pinkie Pie went?” asked Rainbow Dash turning to her friends as they collect themselves and realized that pinkie was just being random. “This is a hunch but, I think we’re in for another party” “Yer guess is as good as mine dash, fer all we know she might already be preparing already” answered Applejack as she trotted next to the tray of cupcakes that Pinkie left and picked it up. “You girls might be right, in any case, I gotta leave early, I wanna finish this research of mine about Tartarus.” Said Twilight as she stood from her seat and began trotting to the door. “Ummm, do you really have to go so soon?” Asked Fluttershy with her usual soft tone, barely heard by her friends. “Now, Fluttershy darling, you know how Twilight gets Engrossed with her studies, we can always reschedule our little ‘soiree’, Rest assured that the next time will be most, Exquisite! I’ll even bake for us my famous Hay cake.” assured Rarity, as she put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, as Fluttershy gave a small smile. “I’m really sorry for this girls, it’s just that Princess Celestia---“ “Speak no further, sugarcube, we all know how ya need to finish this. We don’t want another Cerberus rampagin’ on Ponyville again.” Said Applejack as she raised her hoof and gave Twilight a reassuring smile, as did her friends. “Thanks for Understanding girls, I’ll make it up to you gals, as soon as I finish this” said Twilight with a smile on her face. Small Road As he walked through the road that he followed from above the small hill, he contemplated on what he felt when he was atop the small hill. ‘This warmth in my heart is a bit nostalgic, never would I imagine to feel this way again, to think, I needed to die first’ He thought to himself, for sure he remembered dying by the hands of his brother, finally being free of his captors bind on his soul and body. But one thing bothered him, if this is not earth, hell or even heaven, then, where is he currently at? As the Sun reached its peak, he was guessing its already the middle of the day, as opposed to earth, where the sun rarely brings light, this world’s Sun is as bright and as warm as the Sun when he was young, but those days were long gone. As he walked, he saw a wooden sign that is pointing to the North with words inscribed: “To PonyVille” “Ponyville?” he said with a quizzical tone, so there is a village near here, A weird name, he asked himself. So far he has not yet met a single intelligent creature on his small trek, perhaps this village can provide information as to where he is currently residing. And with a nod, he continued to walk to where the sign was pointing, to Ponyville. As he walked North, directed by the sign, he once again looked at his surroundings, there are trees and vast fields on both his left and right, and all of the creatures are as colorful, ‘they should not be this colorful’ as he thought to himself, sure rabbits, little creatures and the little birds would be, this colorful? But to think, A bear? A bear would never be this, this colorful! It’s downright wrong! As he continued to walk through the seemingly long road to ‘Ponyville’, he reached a small hill where the road has led him, and beyond that small hill, he saw it, a small village. As he walked towards the village, he saw a small red house, probably a small school, due to the fact that there are swings, small tables and a bell that was placed at the top of the small building. He also noted another road leading to what it seems to be “Sweet Apple Acres” due to the sign above to where the road will lead. As he continued to trek to the village a shadow from above went past him, and when he looked up, he could not believe his eyes, “A Pegasus?” he said, so there are these kinds of beasts here, but something seems off, it was not as huge as he was accustomed to, it was like a smaller version of it, a pony perhaps? It spotted a grey color and blond mane, he thought to himself, that he could reach the middle of the village if he rode on its back. And so he whistled to get the attention of the flying horse. But to his surprise, it spoke: “Whaa---, is somepony calling me?” Said the grey Pegasus as it stopped in mid-air and looked around to find the source. His eyes widened and his face showed a mild shock, he knew these kinds of creatures are intelligent but if ever they spoke, they were through mind telepathy, but even so, the only ones capable of these kinds are the old ones, much like the leader or an ancient, but it seems this one is just your run of the mill Pegasus, to be able to speak let alone—its eyes? As he trailed in thought, it seems that its eyes are wall-eyed to an extreme, much like a chameleon. As he snapped back to his senses, he called out to the flying Pegasus, “Over here!” to which he caught its attention. With a tilt on its head, it looked down below. Its expression was almost the same as what he displayed, only more comical, with eyes as big as saucers, mouth agape and eyes trying to focus on him. “Come here” he demanded, thinking that it was intelligent enough to understand his words. The Pegasus, snapping back to its senses, slowly flew down, and as it landed almost near him, it was fashioned with a blue hat with what seems to be a logo of mail, “A Messenger” perhaps, as he thought to himself. And then it talked: “W-w-w-what d-do you want, ummm—“it said nervously as it cautiously backs away from him. He thought that its eyesight was very bad due to the fact that it landed next to him even though it was afraid of him; he also thought that it was the first time that this creature has encountered a humanoid. “Is this a first time you have seen someone like me?” He asked with a neutral tone but with a slight authority. “U-u-u-mmm, U-u-uhhh” was all the Pegasus could mutter, clearly too afraid and alien to answer, as it backs away slowly with eyes trying to focus on him. This kind of act showed him that this is in fact its first time to encounter his kind. “Answer me” he commanded as he raised his voice a little. “I will not hurt you, it will be unbeneficial for me if I did” he added. This did not help in anyway; it only gave the grey Pegasus more fear as it backed away a few more inches. He saw the fear on the eyes of the Pegasus, even though they were not aligned properly. As he gave a sigh, he spoke again back to his neutral tone. “I apologize; Again, I am not going to hurt you, I’m just going ask you another question, and I expect you to answer” The Pegasus pony only gave a small nod in response. “Good, now, is it safe to assume that, that building in the center of the village is the town hall?” he asked as he pointed to the tall middle building of the village. Again it nodded. “Good, now, are you capable of carrying me to reach that building?” he asked It rubbed its chin, and swayed its head left to right and spoke. “Sorry, umm, mister, but I’ve got work to do, and I don’t think I’m Strong enough to carry you.” “I see, then thank you for your cooperation” he said as he slowly walked past the grey pony. The Grey Pegasus pony, rubbed its chin yet again, and an idea came to its mind. “But I can help you go there! I’m sure everypony will be afraid of you when you enter Ponyville!” “Everypony?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks and turned to the grey pony. “Are there more of you? Is that village a settlement of your kind of some sort? “You can call it that, and my workplace is just in front the townhall anyways!” it said with a cheery tone as it hovered next to him. “OH! I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Derpy! Derpy Hooves! Nice to meet you, ummm” He only continued to walk in a slow pace, seeing this, the pony Pegasus followed. “Hey wait!!” said Derpy as she followed. He then spoke with his neutral voice and expression: “Nero Angelo” > Party > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3: Party "So I take it that your name is Nero Angelo?" asked Derpy as she tries to focus her eyes at Nero. Nero did not answer as they continued to walk, if ever he needed to answer one of her questions, he’d either nod or doesn’t speak at all. And as they reached the entrance of Ponyville, he stopped as a lot more ponies saw Nero; some feared his looks while others were surprised, but there was one brave pony that approached him that was beaming with a smile. Nero was correct on the assumption that Pegasus are not the only type of Mythical “ponies” that resided in this world, for he saw both simple ponies; which was called ‘Earth Ponies’ according to Derpy, Pegasi and Unicorns. He did not pay attention to the smiling light green unicorn next to him, as they continued to walk to the center of the village, when he stopped in his tracks because something was pulling on his coat. “HEY! I’m talking to you!!” said someone from behind him. As he turned his head, he was a bit surprised as he saw a light green aura surround a little part of his blue coat, he never knew unicorns where capable of this kind of magic, he did not bother with these kinds of useless matters before, but it was a good thing that he liked to read, and once in a while saw some information about unicorns; for example, their blood can cure certain curses when the moon is full, or when you use it’s horn as an barrier breaker. As he turned to face the light green unicorn with white hair, he spoke with his neutral tone but with a slight intimidation added: “Let. Go…” Seeing this, the light green unicorn released its hold on Nero’s blue coat and gave a sheepish grin. After finally noticing the light green unicorn Derpy glided next to it and said “Hey Lyra! How you doin?” she asked as Lyra gave Derpy a warm smile. “I’m Fine! Is this Human your friend Derpy?” asked Lyra, as she pointed a hoof to Nero. Nero was surprised at what Lyra has said; so humans do exists here, but with the conversation he had with Depry before, it seems that Humans are rarely seen or extinct even. This caught Nero’s attention. “You, Unicorn, are there anymore humans, like myself around here?” asked Nero, with his usual tone but with authority. With his sudden question, Lyra was surprised as she turned her attention to Nero. “Ummm, I guess?” answered Lyra with a sheepish grin as she rubs the back of her head. Nero raised an eyebrow at her answer. “Am I safe to assume that, this is the first time your kind has seen the likes of me?” asked Nero as he turned away from Lyra, as his assumptions earlier were correct, If so, then why is this unicorn not as surprised seeing him. “Yes, BUT! It is said in many books that your kind exists before!!” answered Lyra as she jumped up and down. “But aren’t those books fairytales?” added Derpy while rubbing her chin. Lyra stopped bouncing up and down as she heard what Derpy said. “You’re right, but--- HEY!” Nero has heard enough as he continued to walk to the center of the village followed by Derpy. With the town hall nearing in his view, he spoke to Derpy: “I wish to talk to your leader, Derpy” he said while keeping his sights to the Town Hall, while not caring for all of the Poinies staring at him. “Ok, with all of the attention you’re getting, I’m sure you’re gonna fit right in with your upcoming welcome party!” said Derpy with a cheery tone. “What do you want with Mayor Mare for though?” added Derpy. “First of all, I am to know where am I, or what this world is call---wait, what did you say?” said Nero as he stopped in the middle of answering her questions. “What party?” “Your welcome party silly!! everypony will be there! Pinkie Pie Throws the greatest parties when there is a new face in town, there’ll be cakes, punch, dancing, games….” As Derpy trailed off to her ramblings about how a great welcoming party is to be made in his honor, Nero remembered a scene from his past life. “What a touching reunion. Right, brother?” “Sorry I was late for the party…” “Your gonna show me a great time, right!?” As he rubbed his temple with this sudden memory of his brother, ‘You we’re so foolish back then, Brother’ he thought to himself, as he continued to walk without realizing he passed a Purple unicorn slack-jawed with eyes following him. As it recovered from its shock, it screamed at Nero. “HEY! STOP!” And with a sigh, he stopped to look at his caller only to see a purple Unicorn with wings looking right at him with intrigue in its eyes, as it spoke yet again: “Who, what are you?” Only to be ignored by Nero, as he continued to walk. This shocked the Unicorn, but it seemed to be persistent as it continued to call out to Nero, and after many failed attempts, Nero Herd a ‘POP’. And in an instant, it appeared in front of him face to face as it hovered in front of him. “Begone” said Nero Flatly with his usual tone. “NO! Who or what are you? And what is your purpose here” It asked with a stern look on its face. Nero only stared into its eyes, as if looking into her soul, he gave her a cold gaze and said: “I am here to talk to the leader of this village, now, do not waste any more of my time. MOVE” “For your information this is a town! Listen here buster! I may not be Mayor Mare but, I am a Princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle to be exact!” said Twilight with authority in her tone as she pushed a hoof on Nero’s chest. “You dare touch me?” he said as he looked at the hoof of Twilight, then shot a cold glare at Twilight that sent shivers down her spine while she removed her hoof on him. “You may be a ‘Princess’ but you do not touch me with your filthy hooves” as he dusted off his chest with one hand, he did not remove the cold stare on Twilight. “If you are a Princess, then my trek will be cut short, I will answer your questions if you answer mine. *Gulp* “O-ok! At least you’re willing to cooperate, umm, mister?” “Nero Angelo, or Just Nero, no Mister” “O-ok Nero, First of all, Welcome to Ponyville, you may not be a pony but that does not mean that you are not welcome here, Why don’t we have our conversation elsewhere” suggested Twilight as she saw the looks of ponies from every corner, they are clearly getting more attention than needed. “Why don’t we go inside and continue” as she pointed in the direction of a building that resembled a big cupcake and a sign that says ‘SugarCube Corner’. “Very well, Princess, Lead on” said Nero as he stepped to the side so that she may lead. ‘This beats having to walk further and cause more commotion just to get answers from these strange talking ponies’. As they were about to enter, and with Twilight about to open the door with Nero right next to him, A Pink Pony suddenly popped out of the door and shouted. “SURPRISE!!” > But! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: But! Sugarcube Corner “So this is what Pinkie meant when she said that there was a ‘Disturbance’ in the something.” said Rainbow Dash as she sat with her friends, excluding Pinkie Pie and Nero. “First time we ever had a ‘Welcome-to-ponyville-new-guy-who’s-a-different-race-than-us.” “Oh please, you know full well how Pinkie has a party for every little new thing” said Rarity with a playful tone. “And besides, I’m curious how that, that dashing rouge! Would react to one of Pinkie’s parties” she then looked at Nero together with Pinkie and gave a bewitched smile upon seeing Nero with his usual neutral expression even when wearing a party hat and holding a cup of punch. True, he was surprised at how he did not sense this strange pink pony when they reached the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. *25 Minutes Earlier* “SURPRISE!” screamed Pinkie as confetti blasted Nero’s face, and yet he did not change his expression, he was indeed surprised at this but, he has a tendency to not show his emotions when handling this kind of situations. “If I might ask Princess, what is the meaning of this?” said Nero with his neutral voice and tone as he looked at Twilight. She on the other hand showed her surprise and muttered to herself: “So this is what she meant by the Disturbance in the force”. After apologizing for the sudden surprise to him, she shot a glare at the pink pony and said: “Look Pinkie, as much as we want to partake on your famous welcoming party it jus-----“before Twilight could finish her sentence, Pinkie Pie interjected. “Who’s your friend Twilight? I knew I was right when I felt something earlier though I didn’t expect it to be somepony—I mean something else altogether I hope he likes one of my ‘Welcome-to-ponyville-new-guy-who’s-a-different-race-than-us’ Party, though I don’t know if he can eat cake or punch or hay or grass or hay fries or cupcakes or muffins or sandwich or eggs or cake or cake---“ said Pinkie as she continued to ramble a lot of words whilst examining Nero from every angle and even pops up here and there. The moment Pinkie opened her mouth; one word came out of Nero’s Mind: “Annoying” As Pinkie Trailed off with her random ramblings about how he looks or what he likes to eat, he stared at Twilight and said: “Is she one of your friends?” “Yes she is and I’m sorry Nero, but this is just how she is, but it’s all in good fun! I’m sorry again, shall we look for another place?” asked Twilight with a sheepish grin. “Look for another place!” said Pinkie as she popped in front of Twilight face-to-face. “You haven’t even introduced me to your new friend yet!” she added as she looked at Nero with a beaming smile. “And from the look of things, He kiiiiiiiiinda needs to lighten up!” ‘Lighten up?’ As Nero processed this thought, a memory crept to his mind yet again, but this time, it was not his brother, it was his: ------------------------ “But Father!” said a young boy wearing a blue shirt with white shorts. “No Buts! Butts are for sitting!” said a middle-aged man with a monocle and a purple coat while he knelt with one knee. “Even though you two are twins, you’re a few seconds older than your brother, so you’ve got to protect them both” he added. “I understand” the boy said as he looked behind and saw their mother together with his twin brother, with a motherly smile on her face; she wore a pure white dress, and even though she wore a smile the little boy noticed a tear on her eye. “Good boy, here, a little something to help you protect your mom” said his father as stood and handed a katana with a purple scabbard with a long white sash attached to it, the sword longer than the boy, hugged it. “Though you’re still young, but in time, you’ll be able to be as good as me, well, maybe not as good, but hey! You’re my son and I believe in you, the both of you” as he knelt again and put a reassuring hand in the little boy’s shoulder. “Now go back to mom!” he said with smile on his face. The little boy nodded and hugged his father’s memento tight, he ran to her mother’s side not looking back. As he ran, his father shouted one last thing to him: “And try to lighten’ up!” As the boy heard his father’s last words, he looked behind while running and gave his father a warm smile and nodded. “Good boy….” ------------------------ As Nero remembered his late father’s words, he heard Twilight spoke. “See Pinkie, He clearly is not in the mood to join us in the party, It may be too sudden, can’t we postpone this?” said Twilight as she looked at Pinkie with a worried look on her face but still wore a warm smile. “I see where you’re getting at Twilight” said Pinkie with a frown. But as she was about to head inside, Nero spoke: “No need to worry Princess, A party may just be what I need for the moment” said Nero with a small smile as he entered the building with a bouncing pink pony and leaving a slack jawed Princess. *Present* “So this is Rose, Lily and Daisy! These three grows the best flowers here in ponyville!” said Pinkie as she introduced the three to Nero. The three seemingly afraid of Nero’s neutral look but gave a warm smile nonetheless. Nero only gave a small nod and sipped his cup of punch. “And Finally, This is Derpy and her family!” “We’ve met” said Nero as he looked at Derpy and her supposed family. “Didn’t you say that you have work?” he added “Oh! About that, well, when these kind of party happens, all of the citizens of Ponyville are invited, including my boss, so I just stamped in my time and went here!” she said as she tried to focus her eyes yet again and wore a great big smile. “Oh! Let me introduce you to my family!” she added. As Derpy showcased her family she pointed at a filly unicorn and spoke: “This is my youngest daughter, Dinky” the said unicorn smiled at Nero, and then Derpy continued and pointed to a much older unicorn and said: “This is my Eldest, Sparkler” which gave a sheepish smile, clearly still feeling awkward at the presence of Nero, “And finally; my husband! Well he’s not here yet, but I’ll introduce him when he gets here!” said Derpy with a sheepish smile. Nero only gave a small curt nod and excused himself, then he started to walk to Twilight and his friends’ table with Pinkie Pie following. “So Angie! How do you like the party so far?” asked Pinkie as she bounces up and down, eager to know the thoughts of her guest of honor. “The name is Nero Angelo, not Angie. While you may call me Nero, I will not be called Angie” He said bluntly with a cold stare at Pinkie as they stopped walking. “But Angie—“Said Pinkie but was cut off by Nero. “No Buts! Butts are for sitting!” Nero continued to walk leaving a dumbfounded Pinkie Pie. > Son of Sparda > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: Son of Sparda “Princess Twilight, I believe I have questions for you” said Nero as he approached Twilight and his friends at their table. “Please Nero, Just call me Twilight, I haven’t sunk in the title of Princess just yet” she said as she gestured Nero to sit next to her. “Now, let’s start off with your questions, this world may seem much more alien to you.” She added. As Nero sat next to Twilight and her friends, he removed his party hat and disposed of the empty cup of punch. “Indeed, but not by a large margin, for you see, Unicorns and Pegasi aren’t that common where I came from” “Really? Then that must mean you’ve already seen and interacted our kind before?” asked Twilight while looking at her friends then back to Nero with a quizzical look on her face. Nero crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he spoke: “I have, but, the ones I have encountered are not ponies of the sort, but full grown Horses, and the ones able to speak are either Old enough to be considered an Ancient or as powerful.” He then turned his attention to Twilight. “Now, Twilight, What is this World called?” asked Nero with his neutral expression. “Well, this is the Land of Equestria and as you may already know, this is the Town of Ponyville.” answered Twilight with a cheery tone. “I see, and is this world connected to others?” asked Nero without changing his expression. “Umm, Excuse me? as in ‘other’ other Worlds?” “Yes, like Heaven or Hell, Where the Damned or the Blessed resides” “I-i-is H-he talking about a place like-like, Tartarus?” whispered a shy yellow pony. Even though barely heard by others, Nero caught every word she said. “Tartarus? It’s here?” said Nero as he turned his attention to the shy pony giving her a neutral look but with slight curiosity. “Is that what you said?” The shy pony didn’t answer as she cowered in fear; Twilight saw this and interjected, gaining Nero’s attention. “Please pardon my friend Fluttershy, Nero, as the name suggests she’s kinda shy around the new people“. Said Twilight with a sheepish grin, she then realized that she haven’t introduced her friends to their new guest yet. “Before we continue Nero, I forgot to introduce my friends to you” Nero only nodded in response. And as Twilight showcased and introduced her friends, she also mentioned that they are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Rarity; a snow white pony Unicorn who’s a fashionista, is the bearer of the Element of Generosity. Applejack; an orange Earth Pony who’s one of the ponies running the ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ together with her family is the bearer of the Element of Honesty. Pinkie Pie; the pink Earth pony who made this party, is said to be random most of the time and is the bearer of the Element of Laughter. Rainbow Dash; a cyan Pegasus and her signature rainbow colored mane, is said to be the fastest flier in Ponyville and even boasts to be faster in all of the land, and is the bearer of the Element of Loyalty. Fluttershy; the yellow shy Pegasus who loves to take care of animals and can tame most if not, all of the animals, is the bearer of the Element of Kindness. And Finally, Twilight Introduced herself as the final Element of Harmony, the Element of Magic, the 6th Element that will only appear when all six are gathered. During the introduction, Nero noted every one of the Bearers connection to each Element and how it could be possible to have ever conflict in what seems to be a peaceful land, He knows well to not judge a book by its cover. “So let me get this right, you ponies, use this ‘Elements of Harmony’ when the Land of Equestria is in danger, Am I correct?” asked Nero as he turned his attention to the 6th Element. “Yes, though Equestria is protected by the two Princesses---“before Twilight could finish her explanation, Nero interjected with a question of his own. “Are you not one of the Princesses who protect this land?” asked Nero with a quizzical tone. Twilight was slightly taken aback with Nero’s sudden question but answered it nonetheless. “Yes and No, actually It was my Teacher; Princess Celestia, who controls the Sun and is one of the Ruler of Equestria. Her Sister; Princess Luna, who controls the Moon and is the co-ruler of Equestria. The two Princesses was once the bearer of the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight then explained how the two princesses had a quarrel long ago, a thousand years to be exact; where Luna was jealous of her sister because of the fact that their subjects, who most of the day were active then slept through her night. Transforming her Jealousy onto a form of Dark Energy also known as ‘Nightmare Moon’ and was banished by her sister to the moon for a thousand years, then returned only to be saved by the six new Element Bearers. She also explained that they helped incase in stone the Element of Chaos itself, and after a while freed it just to teach it how to use its powers for good, and how Fluttershy was the one responsible in its reform. And lastly; How she became a newly appointed Princess after saving a lost Empire from a tyrannical ruler. “I see, so all of those hardships were a test for your rise to be a princess? Am I correct?” asked Nero as he soaked up all of the information he was given. So there are two other Princesses who possessed such great powers as to move a Moon or the Sun. He then closed his eyes and thought about his Death by the hands of his brother and his release from the hold of his captor and his Reincarnation in this strange land, ‘Am I in Purgatory? Am I to redeem myself?’ Many questions swam in his mind. ‘What am I supposed to do in this land? Do I seek to return to my own when I already died there?’ As Nero tried to process information in his mind, Twilight spoke. “Are you alright Nero? Do you still want to know about Tartarus?” It then came to him, ‘Tartarus’ why is it here? To my knowledge it is the same as the Temen-ni-Gru that father has used. As I remember Tartarus’ Last floor is connected to the Underworld. I must know the reason as to why I came here’ as he thought to himself, he answered Twilight. “Take me to Tartarus” he said bluntly. -------------------------------------- Tartarus “Entrance” “Okay Spike, Send the Letter to the Princess” ordered Twilight to Spike as the baby dragon spew forth green flame and incinerated the scroll. She then turned around to see Nero Standing in front of the Gates of Tartarus transfixed at the Tower. “Nero? Are you alright?” asked Twilight with a worried look on her face. Standing in front of the gates, Nero gazed upon the tower. And as he felt a sudden nostalgia as he looked at the gates; The Gates has some sort of encryption written from top to bottom, and as Nero placed his palm on the door, he spoke out loud: The Tower of Tartarus Only a Heart with its Intention Set Can Enter through this Gates Divine or Evil This Gate Will not Judge For the one who will Judge Is the Tower itself Prepare thy Body Prepare thy Soul For What Lies ahead Is thy own Fate, you chose And as the Gates of Tartarus opened, a belching noise was heard. And as Nero was about to go inside, Twilight shouted at Nero. “Wait!” She shouted as she galloped to Nero’s side with a levitating scroll by her side. “I just got a letter from Princess Celestia that, we should meet her first before going inside” “Why?” was the only word Nero said as he stood still in front of the opened Gates with his neutral look but with his tone slightly irritated. “The Princess told me that traversing the unknown is uncalled for, and that she wished to hear your part directly as to why you want to traverse it” said Twilight as if pleading to stop Nero from going any further. “I know you want to know why you were sent here. But please, hear me out? The Princess might have some answers as to why you are here; she’s as old as Tartarus itself.” ‘Just as old’ with what Twilight has said, Nero suddenly thought ‘What If she knows father’. “Very well, I need to talk to her and ask her some questions myself.” Said Nero as he turned his back from the door and faced a smiling Twilight Sparkle. “Besides, I need to get some stuff.” “Stuff?” asked Twilight with a raised Eyebrow. “What stuff? And from where?” she added “From what seems to be a Gorge, Just North from the Entrance of Ponyville” “Oh! You mean Ghastly Gorge” said Twilight, she then added “What’s your stuff doing there anyways?” “I fell from the Skies” Nero answered. As they were about to leave the Gates of Tartarus, They heard a load scream. *Load Feral Scream* “Oh no…” “What was that Twilight?!” screamed Spike, as he hugged the foreleg of the Purple Unicorn. *Gulp* “I think it was….” As Twilight and Spike looked behind, they saw a towering three headed Dog and screamed in Unison. “CERBERUS!” As Twilight and Spike ran, they passed a standing Nero with his neutral expression, not even looking back at the beast. When Twilight realized that Nero wasn’t following them, he screamed at him. RUN! Nero wasn’t fazed by the towering three headed dog behind him, he frowned in disappointment and said: You dare challenge the son of Sparda? > Hesperides > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Hesperides “The….Son of…….Sparda?!” bellowed the three headed hell hound as it looked at Nero from each head. “ I did not know he had a son?! ” As Nero turned to face Cerberus, he put one hand on the upper part of his coat, as if trying to loosen it. “It seems that you know my father, mutt”. He said coolly. As if seeing a monster, Cerberus jumped back and growled. “ What are you doing here in the land of Equestria? ” Both Twilight and Spike were slack-jawed at the scene that was taking place in front of their eyes. Cerberus the mighty and fearful Guardian of Tartarus, cowering like puppy in front of a creature not even as big as it’s paw; And the fact that it could speak? ‘He never did that before’ ‘what the HAY is going on?!’ she thought to herself. “Tell me, is this tower connected to the Underworld?” said Nero in his usual tone and expression, while he slowly approaches the cowering Cerberus. All worlds are connected to the Underworld, Every soul is to be judged accordingly “I see, you seem to know more, Why am I here, when I have already died?” Nero said as he suddenly vanished in a blue blur and reappeared at the muzzle of the middle Cerberus. As Cerberus whimpered like a little puppy it spoke: “ I do not wish to share the same fate as my brethren; I am but a Guardian to this peaceful world ” it whimpered as it sat, “ But HE may be able to answer your questions ” “Who’s he?” asked Nero with a quizzical tone but with his neutral expression. “ The one that Resides in lowest floor of Tartarus, the Harbinger of the fall… ” it said in a low tone of voice as if telling a scary story, but Nero was not fazed by this, he merely retained his expression. “Thanatos” And as Cerberus spoke the name, a silent cry was heard from beyond the gates of Tartarus; And as it grew in volume the wind carried an ominous breeze that sent chills down the spine of Spike and Twilight, never did Twilight felt this kind of spine tingling fear, It was like Death was whispering in her ears. And as the sound died down, a little girl’s laugh was heard and as soon as it come and ended, the sound of Cerberus’ Disemboweled heads falling to the ground was heard. Right on the spot, Twilight fainted and Spike vomited and also fainted soon after. Nero, already a few feet away from the lifeless body of Cerberus, saw the image of the one responsible for the death of the Hell Hound; A small dark Silhouette of a little girl who held an absurdly huge Scythe. “What are you planning?” asked Nero as he shot a cold stare at the ghastly image. ”Who are you?” “My name’s Hesperides!” said the ghastly image of a little girl with a sweet tone. “He was a bad puppy!” as she seemed to be pouting and looked at the corpse of Cerberus, then frowned as she met the gaze of Nero. “You want to meet my Big Brother?” she asked as she played with its Scythe, which caught the attention of Nero but with his expression not changing. “Yes, I wish to speak with your brother” he said bluntly “OK!” she said with a cheery voice as it giggled, and then looked disappointed suddenly. “Not now though” “And why not?” he asked as a growing light caught his attention from behind the forest. “I don’t like the Morning Sun” she said with disappointment in its tone. “What?” was all Nero could say as Hesperides seemed to frown with disappointment and slowly glided behind the gates with her scythe in tow, but before truly vanishing, a smile crept back in her face and spoke “Goo night” she said in a sweet little girl’s voice. Then the Gates quickly closed with a large sound, leaving the corpse of Cerberus behind. ‘Hesperides’ Nero thought to himself. He then walked next to the lifeless body of Cerberus and as he was about to touch the lifeless body of Cerberus; It glowed a bright red light and condensed in a little white orb and entered Nero’s body. “Hmph, you may be of more use to me” said Nero as he touched his chest with one hand; he then put the said hand in front of him and a bright light flashed, as a Dark colored ‘Hydra’ Shotgun formed in his hand. “Interesting, but” He then tossed the gun in the air without care, as if discarding it and spoke: “I Despise Guns” > Questions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: Cerberus “mmmmm, ugh, Spike? Nero?” said Twilight lazily as she opens her eyes while laying down on her own bed in her Tree House. “What happened? Where----“before Twilight could finish her questioning, the sudden rush of memories of what had occurred hit her like a brick wall; Cerberus, talking to Nero like he knew him, Cerberus’ death, and a mysterious voice. Twilight threw up on the spot. As the sound of Hoofsteps approaching was heard, the sound of Applejack’s voice ringed in Twilight’s Ear. “Twilight? Are you alright over there Sugarcube?” And as the others arrived, Twilight couldn’t help but run to her friends and give them a hug, with her eyes red from crying. “Oh girls…. *sob* *sob* I-I-I---“cried Twilight as she hugged her friends and buried her face in Rarity’s chest. “Shhh, It’s ok darling, we’re here, It’s going to be alright” cooed Rarity, as she hugged Twilight even more. “Where’s Spike!” said Twilight suddenly as she broke the hug, searching the room for her number one assistant, thinking about the mental trauma that was inflicted onto the baby dragon. Her eyes searched the room and found the baby dragon, sleeping in his little basket. Twilight gave a relieving sigh before she thought of something again, and spoke. “Where’s Nero?!” “He’s downstairs Twi” said Rainbow Dash, Hovering next to her Friend. “If you’re gonna ask if he’s ok, well, he’s just sitting on the sofa and not talking, except saying that you guys are fine. She added with a shrug. “Yup yup! When Angie arrived here carrying you and spikeywikey, he had that same expression on his face! All grumpy and emotionless, that grumpy grumpypants!” said Pinkie Pie Enthusiastically, as she bounced next to Twilight. “Good thing I was on my way to Derpy’s House when I saw him. He then asked me where you and Spikey Lives, and he only said: ‘Guide me’ “said Pinkie as she tried to copy the voice of Nero. “He then came to each of our houses carrying Pinkie and told us to come here” said Fluttershy in a soft voice. “Yeah! He was like teleporting or something! He would suddenly appear, then once he said his piece, he was gone in a blue blur!” added Rainbow Dash as she flailed her arms in the air. And as she said that, Nero appeared right next to Rainbow Dash surprising the cyan Pegasus. “Whoa, Hey! Don’t scare me like that Nero!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she backed a few inches from Nero. Nero only looked at Rainbow Dash for a second before turning his attention to Twilight. “Are you ok now Twilight?” He asked. Twilight only nodded then trotted to her bed and sat on the edge then gave a weak smile to a sleeping baby dragon. “Was all that real?” said Twilight in a soft voice. “Apparently so” Answered Nero. “If this is the First time you have encountered that kind of Death, then this world is as peaceful as it looks.” “Whoa whoa whoa there partner, that kind of death? What are you talkin’ about?” Asked Applejack as she approached Nero and looked him straight in the eye. “I will not go any further for your own health. Or do you wish to experience what Twilight and Spike had to suffer?” he answered returning the look on Applejack, with his natural expression. “Let’s just say, it was VERY unpleasant” Applejack and her friends winced at the notion and looked at Twilight, seeing their friend frown some more. “Alright, thank you kindly for considerin’ our feelings” said Applejack as she and the rest of her friends huddled up to Twilight to give her a warm hug again, to which Twilight Happily Received. *A few minutes later* After comforting Twilight and enjoying each other’s company, Twilight reassured them that she is alright, and let her friends leave to tend for their own activities for the rest of the afternoon. Now that her friends are gone, Twilight asked Nero: “What will happen to Tartarus, now that Cerberus is gone?” asked Twilight as she trotted to her sofa and sat there. “They will not be coming out anytime soon, or rather, if they will be let out” answered Nero as he walked across the Living room / Library in search for a book. “What do you mean? There’s no more Guardian. And what did you mean ‘If they will be let out?’ “Asked Twilight as she levitated a book from a nearby shelf. “It says here, that the only Guardian of Tartarus is Cerberus, keeping any monsters at bay, and now that it’s dead, how will Ponyville, no, Equestria be safe?” “Technically, he is not ‘Dead’ yet” Answered Nero as he picked up an interesting book from a bookshelf and started to read it. “What do you mean? What did you see when we were unconscious?” asked Twilight as she stood from her sofa and trotted next to Nero. “I saw it with my own eyes!” added Twilight as she irked at reminiscing the awful memory that would stay with her, her whole life. “He gave me his soul” answered Nero without turning his attention to Twilight and continued to read the book. “What?!” snapped Twilight. *Sigh* Nero then stretched out one arm and a bright white light covered his hands, and in an instant a weapon of some sort appeared; it was dark colored with a hint of dark red, it had 3 metal cylinders with a head of a dog with its mouth opened at the end of each cylinder. “What in Celestia’s Name is that?” asked a slack-jawed Twilight as she examines the thing in Nero’s hand. “I would use it, but, I despise guns.” Answered Nero, as he tossed it without care, Twilight then caught it in mid-air with her levitating magic. “Hey! You might break it?!” snapped Twilight. “So this is Cerberus’ Soul, Materialized?” asked Twilight as she examines the weapon. “If you want it, then you are free to use it. It’s yours” said Nero as he continues to read the book at hand. “But do not pull the trigger indoors” “The what now?” asked Twilight as the top of the Cylinder was directed upwards and the trigger was pulled by Twilight’s magic, Curious to see what it’s for. *Large Roaring Sound* As a burning hole in Twilight’s Tree House was made, leaving a slack-jawed Twilight again. *Sigh* "I told you…" > Answers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8: Answers “Do not make me repeat myself Twilight; most souls can be materialized if the owner is a combatant soul.” answered Nero as he closed his book and looked at Twilight with irritation in his face. Twilight simply gave a nod as she jotted down notes after notes while levitating the weaponized soul of Cerberus, ignoring the huge hole on the roof. While Spike has waked up from his sleep from the sound of the blast, he looked up to see a huge hole on the roof and gave a huge sigh and as if automatically; he waddled downstairs with a grunt and went down to what it seems to be like a basement of some sort, and after a while came out with a broom and some tools in hand and started to clean the mess that Twilight has caused. “I believe you’re alright now, Spike?” Asked Nero as he kept his eyes on the baby dragon as he worked on cleaning the mess that his Boss made, it was as if these kinds of things happen on a daily basis. The baby dragon only nodded in response and said that he had the weirdest and creepiest dream, to which made Twilight stop at her jotting and looked at Nero while dismissing a hoof and shaking her head, Nero knew full well not to mention what had happened as to not scar the mind of the baby dragon more. “So, Mind telling me what made that huge hole, Twilight?” asked Spike as he was sweeping some dust and books to one side of the room. “Ahaha, Well I was trying a new Spell and I miscalculated it” said Twilight Sheepishly as she hid her head on the brown parchment she was writing on. “Uh-huh, so, that thing is the one that made it?” asked Spike as he pointed on the Materialized soul of Cerberus. “Kinda looks like---“ as Spike was about to finish his sentence, the memory of what has happened at the Gates of Tartarus hit him like a truck, and right then and there he almost threw up again. Seeing this, Twilight rushed to comfort the baby dragon. Nero only watched as Twilight comforted Spike from what has mentally scarred the baby dragon. These ponies have not shed blood, that much is certain. Upon seeing the frightened look of Spike; His whole body was shaking from fear. Not from the Death of Cerberus. No, he knows full well this fear that spike is feeling right now. He walked near the two and looked down and said something simple, yet meaningful. “It’s going to be alright” ----------------------- “ Noooooooo! Mother! ” screamed a white haired blue shirted boy holding a sword in his hand as he stood next to a similar boy as him with a sword on his back and sporting a red shirt. “Run! You and your brother run!” screamed a white dressed woman holding a closed door. And as a sound of demons are heard from the other side of the door trying to open it. “ We won’t leave you! ” screamed the red shirted boy as he held the hand of the blue shirted boy. “Just Go! I’ll hold them off!” said the white dressed girl as she approached the two little boys and hugged them one last time. “I need you two to be safe, you’ve got your whole lives ahead of you!” she added as tears poured out from her eyes. “The Family of Sparda! You will All DIE TODAY!” screamed the Demonic voice from outside of the house. “There’s no more time, go to the hidden back door” Instructed the lady in white as she broke the hug and wiped her tears. “Here, one of each for you two, to remember us by” said the lady as she removed her necklace and was split in two and gave it to the two boys. The blue shirted boy was silent, tears escaping from the eyes of the red shirted boy. “Now go and don’t look back. Be safe my sons, be proud of whom you are and never let anyone tell you otherwise.” cooed the lady as he scooted the two boys to escape. And as the two boys ran for their lives and not looking back, the sound of a door breaking was heard and a demonic voice spoke. “You are POWERLESS, Death is the only thing that awaits you! And as the two neared the hidden door, in their hands they held tightly the memento of their parents. A tear finally escaped the Eyes of the Blue shirted boy, and as he looked back to see the fading image of his mother laying lifeless on the floor, he spoke. “I need more power” as he held the sword his father gave him more tightly. ----------------------- “That kind of fear, I know it too well, Spike” Added Nero as he looked onto the eyes of Spike. Hearing this, Spike’s eyes stopped crying and gave a shaking response.” Ho-how did you?” “Might. Controls. Everything” said Nero coolly as he turned his back from the two and walked to the door. And with that said, Spike wiped the tears from his eyes and broke the hug of Twilight, giving the Alicorn a confused look on her face. As Spike ran to Neros side he spoke. “How can I protect the one’s I love?” said Spike with a determined tone and expression. Nero looked down at Spike and spoke with his neutral expression: “You have to find it for yourself” and with that said, Nero disappeared in a blue blur, leaving a surprised look on Spike and Twilight. “What just happened?” asked Twilight to herself. Ghastly Gorge “Where is it?” said Nero as he looked around the Crater of the Gorge that he made when he first arrived. There was scattered white armor everywhere, and in the middle of the crater, he saw it. A white handle was protruding from the ground, as Nero approached the handle, he then knelt down and held it firmly, and with a light grunt, he pulled it from the ground to reveal a huge white sword with traces of glowing blue lines. As Nero examined the blade in his hand a popping noise was heard from behind and Twilight’s voice was heard. “Nero? I knew you’d be here” said Twilight as she trotted next to Nero. “What happened here?” “This is where I landed” answered Nero as he put the huge sword in his back and turned to face Twilight. “Landed? Oh yeah! You told me you fell from the sky, right?” said Twilight as she walked around the crater and saw the scattered white armor. “You must be pretty high up to have made this kind of crater! I mean, how are you not injured? And are these things, yours?” asked Twilight. “You have lots of questions, and you have the right to know the answers” said Nero as he closed his eyes and explained everything to Twilight. Nero explained to Twilight that he was once a powerful half-human half-demon hybrid and the son of a mighty demon who is known as Sparda the "Legendary Dark Knight”. Two thousand years ago in his world, Sparda "woke up to justice" and alone defeated the ruler of the netherworld and his legions. When sealing the netherworld, sensing his power had grown too strong, he intentionally sealed himself and his own demonic power in as well. Later, he escaped his prison and quietly lived in the human world and continued to preserve harmony. Before his death, he resurfaced in the modern day and married a human woman named Eva, who gave birth to twin sons. Twilight soaked up the information she was given as she eagerly listened to Nero talk highly about his Father’s Heritage and how her mother was a very loving woman who cared for her children more than he cared for her own well-being. “You highly regard your father, don’t you? To know so much about his history” asked Twilight with a smile on her face. “Your parents are really something aren’t they? To think, love can break these kinds of boundaries” “Even still, I embrace my demonic heritage and despise my human one.” said Nero Bluntly with his natural expression. “What do you mean?” asked Twilight with a quizzical look. “The race of humans are fragile and weak, they cannot hope to protect the ones they hold dear” answered Nero flatly. “Whilst demons have power. That is why I embrace my demonic heritage” “O--------k, wait! You told me Sparda had twin sons? Then” “Yes, you are correct Twilight I have a twin brother; who I might add, is the total opposite of me” “So if you’re calm and cool, then, he must be wild and reckless? Wow, if Pinkie and Rainbow Dash was to meet him, they would get along too well” winced Twilight as she thought of 3 pranksters. “Indeed, and at the same note he was the one that killed me” There was a long silence before Twilight shouted: “WHAT!?” > Vergil > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9: Vergil After Nero retrieved his sword from where he first arrived in Equestria and answered most of Twilight’s questions, they started to trek back to Ponyville. “So, ummm, let me get this straight Nero, you----“before Twilight could finish her sentence she was cut off by Nero’s sigh. *Sigh* “I don’t fancy repeating myself Twilight Sparkle” said Nero with his usual tone of voice whilst continuing to walk in a moderate pace, while Twilight is trailing behind him with a sheepish grin on her face. “But, why?” asked Twilight catching up to Nero and trotting beside him. Nero then looked down at Twilight with unchanging expression without answering her question; Sadness? Pity? Nero could tell that she wanted to know why his very own brother killed him; yes he was corrupted and lost but, what else could he do? He failed to rule over the Underworld, his arrogance got the better of him. ------- ”YOU ARE INJURED AND WEAK! YET YOU STILL CHALLENGE ME?!” asked an overwhelming Demonic voice, as three glowing orbs are the only things seen in the darkness. “I am the son of Sparda! If my father could defeat you, then so shall I!” said a blue coated man kneeling with one leg and using his O-katana as a leverage so he could stand up. The Demonic voice only laughed at the miserable attempt of the young man’s words. Indeed he is one of the sons of Sparda that he has searched for a long time. His Anger, Humiliation and Hatred for being defeated and sealed for 2000 years was almost at its end, he have already killed his whore, now what’s left is his two spawns. *Demonic Laughter* ”SPARDA HAS TWIN SONS DOES HE NOT?” asked the demonic voice. The young man only smirked at the question and finally stood firmly with his sword at the ready, as he spoke: “I’m more than enough to beat you, besides, what makes you think I’ll even let you get him?” With that said, the young man charged forward with sword in hand and a determination in his eyes. “YOU ARROGANT HALF BREED!” ------- Many thoughts ran through Twilight’s head as she kept gazing at the eyes of Nero; It wasn’t empty or cold, it was more like sad, even if he wore his usual neutral facial expression, she could see it in his eyes that he was remembering something, something about his past. She wanted to help him, for how sad his past seems to be, he needs to remember the warmth of Friendship. It then hit her like a piano falling from the sky. “Wait, Nero I have an Idea!” said Twilight as she suddenly jumped in front of Nero. Nero only raised his eyebrows. “You don’t need to fret anymore! I know what you’re thinking.” She then walked slowly to Nero never averting her gaze, and neither did he. “I’ll gladly help!” Nero has already finished his train of thoughts moments ago and in a weird sense, he felt his feet becoming a bit sore, and what’s more weirder, he thought of asking Twilight if he could sit on the back of the Alicorn Pony till they get back to the entrance of Ponyville atleast, he thought to himself ‘she is a pony, and she did offer assistance’. Though he didn’t want anyone to see him riding a Princess, moreover, he did not want to imagine anyone seeing him riding a Pony, If his brother saw that, he would automatically die 5 more times. After Hearing Twilight’s offer he only nodded and approached Twilight. “…………………” “What are you doing?” asked Twilight “Taking you up on your offer” said Nero as he sat comfortably on the back of the Alicorn Princess. “Just near the Entrance of Ponyville will do.” *********** Ponyville “Treehouse Library” “It’s too dangerous” said Nero as he sat in a sofa and closed the book he was reading and looked at the pleading eyes of the purple baby dragon next to him. When they arrived via teleportation magic of Twilight, Spike could not believe what he saw; Nero sitting on top of Twilight, to Him it looked like one of his fantasy as a majestic macho knight with a mighty steed. But in a weird way, it looked so very wrong. And as Nero got off Twilight and thanked her they began to argue about teaching Nero the Magic of Friendship and that letting go of his past or simply accepting his fate is a good thing. Nero did not seem offended to what Twilight suggested, but he told Twilight that he wanted to know something as to why he was reincarnated here. Twilight then suggested for them to meet the two Princesses in Canterlot to discuss how Tartarus is connected to Nero’s Dad or something. Then they said some stuff that Spike did not bother to understand as he ran straight to Nero and continued to ask him how to get stronger and he asked if he could come if ever Nero went back to Tartarus. “I beg you!” pleaded spike as he kneeled at Nero with pleading eyes. Nero was not a stranger to creatures kneeling before him, He was royalty. But in some weird way, Spike reminded him of himself when he was young, though less scaly and not so purple. “This path you will choose will be of your own responsibility, Spike” said Nero as he opened his book yet again and started to read. “Besides, you are a dragon, and you are at a proper age already. Twilight told me about your growth spurt/rampage here in Ponyvile.” He added “She said that!” said Spike as he jumped in surprise to what Nero has said. “You need to control it, The Devil Within” said Nero as he looked at spike with a cold gaze, which sent chills down the spine of Spike. *gulp* “I-I understand” “Spike!” screamed Twilight, and at the sound of his name, Spike ran upstairs to Twilight. “I need you to send a letter for me” she added. Nero then let out a sigh and continued to read his book, only to close it again and look at his white sword with glowing blue veins. “Yamato…” he said in a whisper. ‘Has my soul still lost all traces of compassion and humanity; is there nothing more that connected to my family other than the blood running through my veins? Has the spiritual bond I have, disappeared?’ he thought to himself Nero then grabbed his blade and stood; he pointed it forward and closed his eyes. In his mind, he remembered his first time when he came here in this world; the warmth of the Sun was like the embrace of his mother. Remembering his forgotten feelings, his corrupted soul, he then realized. His armor as Nero Angelo was the manifestation of his corrupted soul. When he came here in Equestria, the armor broke and he started to feel his cocooned emotions again, his memories came back to him, he remembered his family. As he opened his eyes, a bright white light covered his blade and filled the room. Twilight upon seeing the light downstairs quickly galloped with spike following close behind her. She then called out to Nero: “Is everything alright down there?!” said Twilight as she and Spike stopped in the middle of the stairs due to the light blinding them and covering the whole of the Treehouse. As the Light subsided, Twilight saw Nero standing in the middle of the room holding a black object by the middle; it appears to have a white handle at the tip of it and 2 long white sashes attached. “Are you ok, Nero?” Asked Twilight as she and Spike Descended from the stairs and approached Nero. Nero turned to Twilight and gave her a small smirk of a smile and then turned to the sofa and sat there and placed the black object inside his crossed arms, he then closed his eyes with his smile not leaving his face. Twilight then raised an eyebrow and turned to Spike, which gave Twilight a shrug and walked next to her. “O—K, I’ll just be sending this to Princess Celestia now Nero----“ before Twilight could finish her sentence Nero interjected. “Vergil…..” “Excuse me?” asked Twilight. “My real name is Vergil. Twilight Sparkle” said Nero as he opened his eyes and looked at a surprised look on both Twilight and Spike. *********** Tartarus “13th Floor” The 13thfloor of the Tower of Tartarus is where the Harbinger of the fall resides. It is neither hot nor cold; the sounds of little girls playing merrily can be heard even though the floor itself is empty, its walls have no windows, the ceiling fashions a pure black shade. And in the far end of the room sits a human figure with 13 chains connected to its shoulders, at the end of the chains are 13 black caskets small enough to fit a small human, they say that these caskets are filled with the souls of its siblings. This dark figure is known as Thanatos, and just behind this dark figure is a sacrificial table with 2 huge pillars in each side, and in the table lays a key. A key to a door located in the most bottom floor of Tartarus, a key to enter the 666th floor of Tartarus, the key to enter the Underworld. As Thanatos rose for the first time for over a Millennia from his spot, he started to walk to the middle of the room dragging the 13 caskets in his back. And as he arrived at his destination, a small smile appeared in his shadowy face. ”13 DaYs…..” VeR…..….giL > Day 1: Forgotten Promise > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 10: Day 1: Forgotten Promise Germaney “Royal Castle Chambers” As the two royal pony Princesses relaxed in the joint chambers of Germaney’s Castle Chambers after a long day of royal duties. And Inside their sleeping room a sudden magical green flame appeared and a letter formed in front of Celestia as she was comfily sitting in her bed. “I wonder if the Human named Nero has found what he has been looking.” said Celestia with a concerned look on her face as she magically unfolded the letter. Dear Princess Celestia, I am here to inform you that, Nero and I have finished visiting the Gates of Tartarus. It is sad to say, that the Guardian of Tartarus; Cerberus, is dead. It saddens me so to see a loyal Guardian to fall due to some weird circumstance. The one responsible for Cerberus’s Death is one of the siblings of the one who truly Guards the Tower; Hesperides, who according to Nero is the much like Princess Luna. Nero himself would want to explain everything he knows up to this point to us due to the fact that when much of these have transpired, that I was unfortunately unconscious. So I have a request for a royal meeting between us Princesses; excluding Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, The Elements of Harmony and our guest Nero. Hoping for your quick reply Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle Princess Celestia only sighed as she finished reading the letter and quickly summoned a letter and quill and started to write on it. As Celestia was busy writing a letter of response, Luna entered their room and saw her sister writing a letter with her natural expression. “Is that another Letter for the Ambassador of Germaney, dear sister?“ asked Luna as she approached Celestia. “He truly needs to be less, uncouth for a stallion of his age” she added. “I’m afraid not, dear sister, after we are done with our business here in Germaney, we need to get back to Canterlot” answered Celestia as she finished her letter and magically sent it, for Spike to receive. “Is it a matter of Importance, dear sister?” asked Luna as she sat near Celestia and levitated the letter her sister received and read it. It did not faze Luna a bit, until she read a name she has long forgotten. “Hesperides!” shouted Luna as her eyes widened and her whole body trembling “But the Elements!” Luna added as she looked at her sister. Celestia only closed her eyes and hugged her sister. ************ Ponyville “Twilight’s Treehouse Library” “So let me get this straight, your real name is Vergil?” asked Twilight as she walked back and forth and continued to think while doing so, Vergil only nodded in response and sat quietly in the sofa as he cleaned the blade of Yamato with a small wool connected to a stick. Twilight then faced Vergil and took on air and spoke: “And that those white broken pieces of armors including your previous huge white sword; liking the new look by the way were a ‘shell’ of corruption covering your soul and body due to the fact that you were once enslaved by the ruler of the Underworld and that you had no control over your mind WHICH is in fact your fault for attacking the said ruler after a deciding fight between your OWN twin brother in which you lost and thus doing something STUPID and fighting the RULER.OF.THE.UNDERWORLD. What in the hay were you thinking?!” “And she says that Pinkie Pie is the only one capable of doing that” said Spike as he walked past Twilight to sit next to Vergil. Twilight gave spike a glare as he sat next to Vergil, the baby dragon then gave her a sheepish grin and added “and he was also freed because of his brother?, hehe” Twilight only glared more at spike, as the baby dragon shrank and gave another sheepish grin. *Tick* “Correct” Answered Vergil as he Sheathed Yamato and stood up and walked to the door, but before opening the door, he stopped and said “I may have died but, I have regained my soul” and as he opened the door, he added “If I do recall, you told me that you’ll help me, besides, I wish to remember the joys of these locked up feelings that I have” he then turned and gestured Twilight to accompany him. Twilight was surprised for a good while but recovered and gave Vergil a warm smile as she trotted and walked past Vergil and responded “With Pleasure”. And as the two walked the streets of Ponyville, they discussed all about feelings and asked Vergil if ever he had any friends to which Vergil responded with a slight shake of his head to which surprised Twilight. “Never? Like anyone or anything?” asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “What have I told you about repeating myself, Twilight, I would have guessed that you were smart enough to remember this.” Answered Vergil coldly to which Twilight responded with a sheepish laugh and grin. “Well how about a loved one, besides your family” asked Twilight as she continued to trot not noticing that Vergil stopped in his tracks. “Vergil? Hmmm, hey!” after noticing that Vergil was not following her she looked behind and saw him standing still and looking at the ground. “What’s wrong Vergil? Did you remember something?” asked Twilight trying to look at Vergil’s face. “…..” “What was that? I didn’t quite catch that?” asked Twilight as she leaned closer to Vergil, placing a hoof to her ears. “I broke my promise” answered Vergil but sounded more like a whisper, good thing Twilight was used to Fluttershy’s voice, so she heard properly what he said. “Promise? To whom? Oh! Oh! Is it with a female?” asked Twilight with a tease. “Is it a promise of love? a promise for the future? Oh! Rarity would eat these kinds of stories!” added Twilight with a giggle. Vergil then looked at Twilight but with sadness in his eyes that made Twilight sympathize with him. “Sorry Vergil, I got carried away, would you like to talk about it over there?” asked Twilight as she pointed to the park. And as they strolled at the Ponyville Park; where fillies and colts played with supervision of their parents or guardians, Twilight gave a worried look on Vergil, his face not showing anymore expression but his neutral one with his eyes closed. “You ok there?” “Yes, I’m sorry for my sudden, ‘sulking’ it has been a while since I have truly experienced that” answered Vergil while tightening his grip on Yamato. “Look Vergil, if you don’t want to talk about it anymore, let’s just change the subject” said Twilight with a worried look on her face. “Don’t worry anymore Twilight Sparkle” “But you’re my friend! Of course I’ll worry about you!” Vergil then opened his eyes when Twilight spoke the word ‘friend’, true that he had not made any friends in his previous life, and to think, he needed to die just to obtain one. “Thank you Twilight Sparkle, I appreciate your thoughts” “That’s what friends are for! Looking out for each other!” said Twilight as she perked up, and so did Vergil who gave a small smirk. *hmph* “To answer your question, Twilight, I have promised two people exactly” “Two? Wow aren’t you a lover boy?” said Twilight with a teasing grin and tone. “I promised my wife to be there when my son is to be born” It was then that Twilight was the one to stop in her tracks slack-jawed and wide eyed and spoke shaking. “Y-y-y-you were supposed to be a fa-fa-father?!” > Day 2: Little Visit > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 11: Day 2: Little Visit “Don’t apologize Twilight, it’s not your fault, it’s mine” Answered Vergil as they sat near a pond in the park. After Twilight knew that Vergil was supposed to be a father, she instantly remembered that he had died and resurrected. After a long silence, Vergil finally stood up and unsheathed Yamato, as the light of the Sun reflected on the blade and caught Twilight’s attention, Vergil looked around to see if anypony around was near them, and when he saw that the park was almost empty for some reason, he spoke. “Want to see something cool?” Vergil asked with his neutral and cool expression. Twilight then stood up and looked at Vergil Quizzically, to which Vergil only smirked as he closed his eyes and sheathed his sword. Twilight was about to subject to this but as soon as she saw that Vergil made a stance after sheathing his sword with one hand holding the scabbard and the other hand close at the handle while standing in front of the small pond. *Tick!* As fast as Twilight opened her eyes from a natural blink, she heard a ‘Tick’ sound and saw Vergil returning to his normal standing. Twilight was about to question Vergil if he gave up or forgot how to do the ‘cool’ thing that he was supposed to show, when a gust of wind hit her face and saw a spherical gusts of wind in front of her slicing the air and making a crater like hole on the pond. “W-w-what was that!” shouted Twilight in shock with wide eyes. “I didn’t know you could cut air like that!” “Impressed?” was the only thing Vergil said as he looked at Twilight with a grin on his face. “Super impressed! How did you do that?! In a matter of a blink of an eye, you cut through the air multiple times!” expressed Twilight as she flailed her hooves in the air. “Yamato, the memento of my father gave me; can cut through anything” answered Vergil. “Anything?” “Anything…” “Wow, just wow, no wonder your father was that strong as you told” “Yes, he used to tell me and my brother stories as to how he could swipe a whole pack of demon minions in one stroke” “So if your father can kill that many demons, then he had lots of weapons doesn’t he? With what you told me about materializing the souls” “I’m impressed you remembered what I’ve said” said Vergil as he looked at the horizon. “But, I forgot to mention that, Demons with Great Combatant souls are the only ones capable of materializing into weapons.” He added “Yes, like Cerberus or Discord, right?” answered Twilight as she jotted down on a note she magical summoned. “Discord?” asked Vergil, as he looked at Twilight Quizzically. “Discord, the Element of Chaos and Disharmony. Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that, that was his name. Remember the one I told before that we incased in stone and later on with the help of Fluttershy was reformed?” answered Twilight as she still continued to Jot on some note. “I see, so this, Discord is now good? Where is he now?” asked Vergil, to which Twilight stopped her writing and rubbed her chin and thought. And after a good few seconds, she gave up and just shrugged. “You let loose, the Element of Chaos and Disharmony without supervision? You ponies seem to be too naïve” answered Vergil. “What happens when he suddenly changes his mind?” “We have trust him enough, that he will do the right thing” answered Twilight with a smile on her face. “Trust?” “Third times the charm, right?” said Twilight with a warm smile. ************* Everfree Forest Entrance “Fluttershy’s Cottage” “Why, if I may ask, are we doing here?” asked Vergil as they approached the Cottage of Fluttershy “Well, you seemed to doubt our faith in Discord when we talked about letting him free unsupervised” answered Twilight “So let’s ask Fluttershy on her thoughts about Discord.” “I see, because it was Fluttershy who reformed him in the first place” “Exactly!” answered Twilight with a beaming Smile. And as they reached the front door of Fluttershy, Twilight knocked on the door and called out Fluttershy. “Are you home Fluttershy? It’s me, Twilight. I brought Verg---I mean Nero with me!” said Twilight as she looked at Vergil with a sheepish grin. “We kinda forgot to tell everybody that your real name is Vergil. And that brings me to question--- Before Twilight could question Vergil as to why he didn’t introduce himself with his real name before, the door opened. Twilight and Vergil looked at the door and saw that no one was there, until a sound of a small voice of clearing its throat was heard. *Ahe! Ahem!* And as they looked down, they saw a little white rabbit holding the door open with a raised eyebrow while tapping its one foot. It then gestured them to talk. When Twilight noticed this, she gave the small bunny a small smile and talked. “Hi Angel, is Fluttershy home?” asked Twilight to the little white bunny while wearing a warm smile. The little bunny only nodded and gestured them to come in as it ran further inside the cottage. “Who was at the door Angel?” said a soft voice as it peaked from what seems to be the dining room “Another guest?” “Hi Fluttershy! I brought Nero along for a little visit” said Twilight as she trotted next to her friend. “I hope we’re not bothering you with your guest” Twilight added with a sheepish grin. “Oh! Hello Twilight, you’re not a bothering anypony. Hello Nero, nice to see you again” said Fluttershy with one of the warmest smiles, to which Vergil acknowledged with a nod. “Are you ok now Twilight? Is something bothering you?” Fluttershy added. “I’m fine now Fluttershy, Thanks for asking. We’re here today because Nero wanted to ask you something.” said Twilight as she sat and pointed her hoof to Vergil. “Oh my, what is it you wanted to ask me about?” asked Fluttershy with a concerned look on her face. “I’ll answer any questions you have for me, with the best I can” “Very well then, But Firstly I must apologize to you Fluttershy” said Vergil with his Neutral tone and expression. “Apologize? For what Nero?” asked Fluttershy with a confused look on her face as she hovered to Vergil’s Eyelevel. “My real name is Vergil, and I apologize for hiding my real name” answered Vergil as he bowed his head a little. “I have my reasons and in time, will tell them to all of you” he added as he looked at Fluttershy and Twilight. “I see, well, you’re my friend and whatever might be your reason for hiding it from us.” She said with a warm smile as she looked at Twilight then back at Vergil. “We understand, and will wait for you to tell us yourself”. “Thank you” “It’s no problem at all. Now, what is it you want to ask me about?” “Yes, It is a matter regarding a creature named Discord, I was informed by Twilight that you where the one you reformed the Element of Chaos and Disharmony?” “I heard my wonderful name! Did somepony call me?” said a cheery voice from the room. “It’s funny you asked that Vergil, Discord is just in the other room! He just arrived moments before you two got here” And as the trio entered the other room, they saw a unique creature with different parts of animals wearing a spiffy English outfit wearing a monocle and holding a teacup while sitting on a chair on a long table, and just across the table was Angel bunny sporting a top hat and drinking from a small teacup. “We’re having a tea party!” said Fluttershy cheeringly as she sat next to the creature. “Discord this is my new friend Vergil. Vergil this is Discord. “Oh! A Demi-Human! And I can sense royalty in his veins!” said Discord cheeringly, and in with a snap of a finger he appeared next to Vergil. “Hello! Discords the name and CHAOS! Is my game” said Discord as he offered Vergil a glass of what seems to be chocolate milk. “Likewise” said Vergil as he took the glass of chocolate milk. Discord then gestured Vergil to drink it, Vergil then looked at Twilight and Fluttershy and they both gave a small nod. And as Vergil drank the milk, Discord rubbed his goat chin and a little light bulb suddenly appeared above his head, and with a snap of a finger a monocle appeared in the left eye of Vergil, to which he was surprised, and stopped drinking the milk. “That’s better! You look more like your Father now!” said Discord as he slithered behind Vergil. To which Vergil spat out the milk he drank and in Unison, Twilight and Vergil Shouted. What?! > Day 3: Sparda ‘Memories of the Past’ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12-1: Day 3-1: Sparda ‘Memories of the Past’ *multiple long sipping sound* “The tea is…nice” said Fluttershy softly as she sipped again. “Indeed, this is some good Ale tea” said Vergil as he sat right next to Fluttershy and the others. “Why thank you, I do enjoy a good cup every now and then” said Discord in a very gentlemanly manner as he too sipped from his own cup. “Angel, if you please?” asked Discord and to which Angel bunny complied by getting the Tea pot and refilling Discord’s teacup. As the others enjoyed the silence and tea, a certain Alicorn princess sat dumbfounded at the sight she was beholding. With the sudden revelation that Discord knew Vergil’s father, how could they just sit there like nothing shocking happened. “You seem, upset Twilight. Is something the matter? You haven’t even touched your tea yet” asked Discord with a frown. “Indeed Twilight, Is something amiss?” Asked Vergil with closed eyes and savoring his cup of tea. “You don’t like your tea Twilight? I have coffee, would you like some coffee?” asked Fluttershy with concern in her eyes. And as Twilight opened her mouth and was about to finally speak her mind, Vergil interjected. “I already know what you are about to say Twilight, Don’t worry, I myself want to ask Discord about father but, we are currently in a tea party. It is impolite to ruin it. Keep calm and drink your tea.” Said Vergil as he took another sip of his tea, then gestured Angel for a refill, to which the bunny complied with a smile. “Could you pass me the milk please?” asked Twilight with a sheepish grin. --------------------------------- *30 Minutes later* After they have finished their little Tea party, they all headed for Fluttershy’s living room while the owner herself and Angel bunny stayed and cleaned the Teacups and plates. Vergil sat in one of Fluttershy’s sofa and Twilight sat next to him, and as for Discord he lazily floated in mid-air and was the one to break the silence. “So, now all of that is done, I believe you have some questions for me?” asked Discord as he snapped his fingers and his attire Disappeared and a red comfort chair appeared and he was magically sitting. “Yes, First question; When and where did you meet father?” asked Vergil with a blank face and his usual tone as he looked at Discord in the eye. “Hmmm, if I remember correctly, it was about 2000 years ago at the Everfree Fields just behind the Everfree Forest.” answered Discord as he stroked his goat beard. “How is he doing nowadays? Still wrecking some Chaos I believe?” “He’s Dead” answered Vergil in a flat tone, to which Discord was taken aback “It seems you two where close, to be taken aback” “Yes, he was a close friend” said Discord as his face dropped “So did he fail? His one man mission I mean, and fled to the human realm?” asked Discord and to which Vergil answered with a shake of his head. “No, he succeeded; he did release the seal after a thousand years and retired to make a family, to which resulted to his death and my mother’s” “I see, well, good for him. Better to try and hope to succeed, rather than never have tried and regret it later by not trying at all” answered Discord with a sad smile. There was silence for a good while, during this time Twilight taught to herself ‘That’s why he was so down when Fluttershy left when she had enough of his antics, it had been so long since he had a friend’. The silence then broke when Vergil asked another question. “Was he the one who built the Tower of Tartarus?” “Yes, the tower is like a tunnel, he accidentally made it when he was making the Temen-ni-gru” answered Discord. “Tunnel? What do you mean?” “Well, you see, he was always one step ahead of everything he ever plans on doing” ************************ *Two Thousand Years Ago* “Everfree Field” “Is this the Human world?” Asked a tall Bipedal creature wearing a purple coat and a monocle in its left eye; he was holding a sword with a black scabbard with two white long sashes attached, in its back was another sword, only wider and heavier. As the creature walked through the Fields, he spotted a horse like creature quietly resting, it was both a unicorn and a Pegasus with long red hair, right next to her was two smaller ones who were playing; one was pure white with a pink mane and the other was dark blue. And as he walked towards the trio, he sensed something was slithering and was approaching him, but he did not sense any killing intent so he did not drew both his blades and only spoke. “What’s up buddy?” asked the bipedal creature. “W-w-what? You sensed me?” asked a small boy’s voice. “Yup, I did, come on out, I promise I won’t hurt you” the creature said as he looked around and put his hands in the air and dropped the blade he was holding. “See? I come in peace; I just want to ask you something” “W-w-what are you?” asked the little boy’s voice “I’m a Demon, but, I’m in my ‘Human’ form” he answered as he continued to search for the source of the young voice. When he pinpointed his location, he approached slowly with arms still raised in the air and asked “Are they your friends?” “Don’t come any closer! And no! They’re not!” the little boy answered And as he reached his destination, he knelt with one knee as if facing a little boy and gave a warm smile and spoke in a soft fatherly voice. “No need to be afraid, I’m a Friend” With a sound of a snapping finger, a little creature appeared in front of the Demon in Human form; it had a head of a pony and he has a deer antler on the right part of his head, a blue goat horn on the left, one long fang, different-sized pupils, a snake tongue, a goat beard, and white bushy eyebrows. He has the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. In addition, he has a bat's right wing, a Pegasus' left wing, a horse's mane and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft. The shape of his body resembles that of a snake. “Why where you hiding?” asked the Demi-Human not even taken aback by look of the little creature in front of him. “I’m a draconequus, they might be afraid of me” as it looked at the direction of the trio horses with a sad look, to which the Demi-Human noticed. “You said ‘might’, that means you have a 50-50 percent chance of them being not afraid of you.” The Demi-Human answered with a warm smile and placed a hand on the little draconequus’ head. “Don’t be afraid” “But there is still a chance that they will be afraid me!” retorted the little draconequus. The Demi-Human then rubbed his chin and thought of something, and after a good few seconds he stood up and spoke. “Then let’s go” To which the little draconequus raised an eyebrow and asked: “Go? Go where?” “To them, they haven’t seen the likes of me yet, so let’s introduce ourselves, we have both the same 50-50 chance that they won’t run away.” To which the little draconequus was surprised to what this strange creature is suggesting; true they may not be afraid of them, but there is still a chance that they are afraid of him, he is weirder than a Manticore or Chimera. He broke from his train of thought when he saw a clothed hand in front of him; it belonged to the Demi-human. “C’mon kid. Better to try and hope to succeed, rather than never have tried and regret it later by not trying at all” said the Demi-human with a warm smile. “You’re never alone at anything” Discord’s Eyes Widened and mouth agape when the Demi-Human changed to his original form; he grew slightly larger, vaguely insectoid demon with clawed hands, a scaly hide, a pair of downward facing ram horns, chiropteran wings with beetle-like wings underneath, hooves for feet, and reptilian spines protruding from his back. Parts of his body appeared to be made of grey scales with accents of red and purple. He also had gold veins on his hands and arms, chest, shoulders and back, a red diamond eye shaped gem in the center of his forehead, and skull-shaped gold knees and elbow guards with small horns. His most notable feature was his slit-like eyes, which glowed red and did not have pupils. To which the little draconequus only nodded. Speechless he placed his lion paw on the Demon hand and looked at the Demi-human’s eyes with a warm smile, thinking to himself that ‘he is not alone’ and spoke. “My names Discord, What’s your name mister?” And with a smile and echoing voice, the Demon answered: Sparda > Day 3-2: Sparda 'Party Demon' > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12-2: Day 3-2: Sparda ‘Party Demon’ *sound of bed squeaking* “Wake up!” shouted a little boy’s voice “Yeah! Wake up!” shouted a little girl’s voice “Discord! Luna! Quit jumping on sir Sparda’s bed! He might get angry” said another little girl’s voice only a bit older and sounded concerned. “No he won’t Celly!” retorted Luna as she and Discord continued to jump on Sparda’s bed. *Grunt* *Mumble* “I’m up! I’m up!” said Sparda with an annoyed tone. As much as he wanted to keep on sleeping, it was about time to wake up as he felt his stomach grumble. And as the duo jumped off the bed, Sparda sat up from his bed with a grunt. “I’m so sorry for Luna’s actions sir Sparda!” apologized Celestia as she approached Sparda with puppy eyes. Sparda was not about to scold the two for what they did, they were children, but when he looked at the eyes of the little Celestia he couldn’t help but pat the head of the little alicorn. “No worries Celly, after a month of staying here in Canterlot, I’m already used to the antics of these two” said Sparda as he eyed the two mischiefs that were near the door to his room smiling sheepishly. Celestia then gave Sparda the warmest of smiles and trotted next to the two and gave them mean looks, to which Luna stuck her tongue out and ran quickly outside the door, to which Celestia followed soon after, leaving Discord and Sparda behind. “What a handful bunch” said Sparda jokingly as he started to stretch his muscles. He then walked next to Discord and gave the little Draconequus a pat on his head. “Having fun?” asked Sparda as he looked at Discord “You bet!” answered Discord Cheeringly It has already been a month since Sparda and Discord introduced themselves to Queen Faust in the Everfree Fields. At first she was slightly taken aback with how the two looked; one was a Draconequus who was thought to be a myth. The other was a bipedal creature who emitted an extremely large aura, to which made Queen Faust shiver as she realized that, that aura was a shielding aura that contained the true aura. For a containing aura to be greater than her true aura she feared how powerful is this creature to have so much power than hers. It was like comparing a drawn knife to a huge sheathed sword. But to her surprise she did not sense any killing intent or bloodlust at all, and even though the creature did not show it, she felt that it was not here to do any harm to them; she felt warmness in its presence. And as the duo stopped in their tracks, the first to speak was the bipedal creature. ************************* *1 month and 13 days ago* “Greetings” said the creature with echoing voice. “My name is Sparda and this little one is Discord, we come in peace, we do not wish you nor your foals any harm” Sparda added, to which the two little Alicorns noticed, as soon as they saw Sparda they stopped playing and ran behind their mother. “I see, but please understand that the both of you are not normal dwellers in my land” said the alicorn as she stood and extended her wings; she was as tall as Sparda, her wings are just as long, as the sun reflected on her crown and royal accessories, she added “I am Queen Faust. I welcome you to the land of Equestria that I reign over.” Discord then noticed that Queen Faust was looking at him and gave him a warm motherly smile, to which Discord shied away and looked down. Queen Faust then looked at Sparda with a neutral expression and spoke. “Why have you come here sir Sparda?” “It seems that I have made a detour your highness” answered Sparda with his echoing voice. He then added “I was supposed to have travelled to the Human world” “Human world?” said Queen Faust Quizzically as she raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you see….” And as Sparda was about to tell his story to Queen Faust, he remembered that there were children with them, he then looked to Discord and gave him a warm smile. “Queen Faust, I wish to explain this in private for there are children with us” “Indeed” answered Queen Faust, and with a nod, she turned to her two foals and whispered to both of them. And as Queen Faust and her foals were talking, Sparda gestured to Discord to introduce himself to them. “You can do it, remember, you’re never alone” Discord then nodded and approached Queen Faust and spoke. “Excuse me, your highness” said discord as he bowed slightly. Queen Faust noticed this and gave Discord the same warm smile she gave earlier and spoke. “Luna, Celestia. Get acquainted with our guest” she said with a smile and gestured for the two to follow suit. The first one to talk was the little dark blue filly as she trotted in front of her mother. “Greetings, sir Discord! My name is Princess Luna” Introduced Luna as she slightly bowed her head. “He-hello Princess Luna” said Discord shyly. To which Luna giggled to how Discord reacted. The other slightly older filly followed next and introduced herself. “And I am Princess Celestia, sir Discord; it is a pleasure to meet you” “Li-likewise” answered Discord shyly again. To which Celestia giggled also. The way the little ones introduced themselves gave the other two observers a warm smile. Queen Faust then gestured something to Celestia, to which she complied and talked to Discord. “Sir Discord, I wish to know more about you, would you like to join us over there?” asked Celestia with a warm smile. Discord then looked at Celestia with a blush and quickly looked at Sparda, Sparda then gave a warm smile and nodded. “Sure! what do you want to know?” answered Discord as the trio walked away from the two adults. “What are you?” asked Luna cheeringly as she hovered next to Discord as they left. As soon as the two were left alone, Sparda then told Queen Faust that he is from the underworld, where the evil and damned departed souls resided. And that he wanted to wage war on a Tyrannical ruler. Whose objective is to take over the world of the living to expand his reign, so that he can rule both the living and the dead. And kill all who stands in his way. “You see your highness; I was once the General of the Army of my ruler. Not all of the Demons in his ranks are evil to the core, some of them are rational. As for me, I saw the Tyranny and Injustice he has done to my kind and even so to the humans. You can say that I ‘woke up to justice’ “explained Sparda. Queen Faust during the explanation soaked up the information she was being given. His intentions are true, his words, not a single lie came out from them, and every word he said was true to him. “These feeling of Justice you seek, I have felt that, are true and without a poison of doubt” answered Queen Faust with her eyes closed and wearing a warm smile. And when she opened her eyes, what she saw was no demon, what she saw was a knight, a hero. “But how do you plan on achieving your goals? Are you prepared to stain your hands with the blood of your own brethren?” she added. “The needs of the few outweighs the needs of the many, your highness, I would sacrifice even myself, to save the innocent. I may be a demon but I too have a soul.” “I under-------“ *Screaming* Queen Faust was cut off when she heard her foals scream, she then heard a snapping sound and Discord magically appeared infront of them with a look of worry and fear in his eyes. “Sparda! Help! Something came out of the forest!” said Discord with fear in his tone, and with a popping sound both Celestia and Luna appeared next to Queen Faust and was both afraid and shaken. “Mother! There are creatures that came out of the forest that we have not seen before!” said Celestia nervously. “We thought that it was the same as sir Sparda but---“ SPARDA!! Luna was then cut off with a scream that came out of the forest. Sparda then sighed and looked at Queen Faust and spoke. “I’m sorry your highness, it seems that they have found me, I’ll take care of this” said Sparda as he looked at Queen Faust with determination, he then knelt with one knee and placed his hands at the head of Discord and Luna “Don’t worry kids, I’ll take care of this, stay put” “But he was as huge as a hydra!” screamed Luna as she flailed her hooves in the air. “Thanks to Discord we teleported right time when it swiped its claws at as.” “Indeed, thank you Discord” said Celestia with a smile, to which Discord smiled with a blush. ”WHERE ARE YOU SPARDA?! DEATH AWAITS YOU!” “Good grief! Queen Faust, stay put, this’ll just take few seconds” said Sparda with a smirk and a sarcastic echoing voice. To which Queen Faust only nodded in agreement and gave him a warm smile. This prompted Sparda to stand, turn to the source of the voice and outstretched his hand, and a katana appeared in front of him, it had a black sheath and two white sashes attached to it. Sparda then walked to the direction of the demonic voice wearing a smile and craned his neck to which a satisfy crunch came out. And as the sound of more demonic voices was heard, he stopped in his tracks and assumed a stance where he put his hand that held the blade in his waist and the empty hand near the handle. *Shlink* And with a blink of an eye, Queen Faust could not believe her eyes. As if the air itself was cut, the edge of the Everfree forest was cut horizontally that spanned a whole acre. When she casted a shielding barrier at the three children, in the form of a small spherical bubble so that they can’t see what was outside. As the Top of the forest came sliding down, a fountain of blood spewed like a geyser. A horde of Demons then rushed out of the forest heading for their target. Not knowing that it’s ‘THEIR’ death that awaits them. And as Sparda slowly returned to his Human form, he drew two weapons from his coat and shot two bursts of electricity and fire at the horde and killed off one fourth of the horde. “Adam? Eve? Are you ready?” And as the horde neared their target, what they saw was not fear on his eyes. But what they saw was a smiling face. “Let’s get this party started” > Day 3-3: Sparda 'A Friend' > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12-3: Day 3-3: Sparda ‘A Friend’ *Giggling* “Hurry sir Sparda! Discord! Breakfast is ready!” shouted Luna from below the stairs leading to the dining room. “Celly and mother are waiting!” she added. “Yes, yes, go on ahead Luna” said Sparda lazily while trying to suppress a yawn, but ending up yawning anyways. “Go on ahead Discord, I just got to wash my face first.” “Alright, I’ll see you there” said Discord with a smile as he snapped his fingers and appeared next to Luna. “C’mon woona!” “Hey! Don’t call me that!” protested Luna as she chased Discord to the Dining room. ******* “So, Let me get this straight Lauren, The war between the Dragons and Griffons are all fine and dandy now?” asked Sparda as he pointed a spoon dibbed with soup at Queen Faust, who was sitting across the long table eating with her royal poise and magically floating a letter. “It’s what it says here Sparda, with your monstrous strength, I doubt that we’ll have any more conflict” said Queen Faust as she set aside the floating scroll and continued her eating. “Well, they were beyond reason to begin with. Dragons are bound by honor, while the griffins on the other hand. Well, they’re gonna be a handful, but your more than enough for the likes of them Lauren. Said Sparda with a smirk and continue to eat his soup. “Thank you for the compliment Sparda, but I do detest conflict, if ever it’s possible to solve it in a peaceful and diplomatic way, then I will take that path. I may be a powerful Alicorn, but it does not mean that I should use force to get my way.” “I agree, but not all conflict can be solved peacefully.” “I know that all too well--- Luna! Eat your peas!“ said Queen Faust as she glared at Luna, who was trying to silently and slowly put her green peas under the table. “But mooother!” wined Luna as she gave Queen Faust “No Buts! Butts are for sitting!” retorted Queen Faust as green peas, magically appeared in Luna’s plate. *Hysterical Laughter* “I am sooooo going use that someday!” A month has already passed after the fateful meeting of a Queen and a Demon Knight at the Everfree Fields. Before they left for Canterlot for a proper welcoming of their two unique guests, Sparda made sure that there were no more demons coming out of the portal by making a seal and a Tower in its place. The Tower of Tartarus; in its Entrance was one of the Hell hounds, Cerberus. And inside of the Tower, was one of the allies of Sparda, Nyx. ****** Tower of Tartarus “I trust you will hold you end of the bargain, darling” spoke a ghastly voice. “I mean, I will be sending my children here to Guard your tower.” “Of course Nyx baby, what do you take me for?” said Sparda with his naughty cool tone of voice. *Seducing soft laughter* “Then I leave my Children in your hands, and will await your good news.” “Don’t worry; I have a score to settle with him myself. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be excusing myself, I have some company waiting.” said Sparda with a smile and a playful wink. ********* In the many days that Sparda was in the land of Equestria, he has helped Queen Faust with many “physical” diplomatic problems; such as the invasion of the Griffons on Cloudsdale, to which Sparda prevented when he threw the most powerful General of the Griffin army so hard and so fast, that it broke the sound barrier and made a rainbow trail, due to the fact that the General held a spotting rainbow flag, and thus creating the Tale of the Sonic Rainboom. There was also the Great Dragon hording a few days after the Griffon Invasion. Sparda with his invulnerable body withstood the great icy breath of the Queen of the dragons and earned her trust, he also showcased his intelligence by making a treaty to which both the dragons and the ponies can get along in peace without bothering each other. In just a month and thirteen days, Sparda has helped Equestria in a great way. For without him, Dragons and even Griffons would turn Equestria upside down, and yet, he did not wanted to be recognized. To him; Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty and Laughter are the elements for making the most Magical bond, the magic of Friendship. And with this traits that Sparda, alongside Queen Lauren made the most powerful ‘Key’. The key that sealed the Tower of Tartarus that Sparda made, the ‘key’ that holds enough power to purge any evil: “The Elements of Harmony” ****** Everfree Fields *Sobbing* “Do you weally *hic* ave to go?” cried Luna as she looked at Sparda, all the while being carried by the tall Demon like a baby as she continued to cry. Sparda needed to be in his true form so that he can properly seal the entrance to Equestria from the underworld, so that no demon can enter this peaceful plane of existence. “Don’t worry Luna, I promise, When all of this is over, I’ll come visit!” cooed Sparda as he gave a warm reassuring smile to the crying Luna. “Pwomise?” “I promise” answered Sparda as he put down Luna, next to Celestia. Even the usually poised Celestia was crying her heart out. In the days that Sparda was in Equestria, he showed the trio of children the father figure that they so yearned subconsciously. “Hey Celly--- oooof!” before Sparda could finish his parting words, the little Celestia practically threw herself to Sparda, crying her little eyes red. The days they spent together, all the laughter and sweet memories, Celestia was a smart filly, she knew that there was only a slim needle of a chance that he will come back, and this drove her to tears more than anything. *Intense Crying* “Discord….” Spoke Sparda as he held the crying Celestia and also the crying Luna; which also followed when she saw Celestia cry, and as Sparda turned his attention of the silent little Draconiquus standing silently next to Queen Faust with his head down, and then turned to look at Sparda all the while trying to suppress a tear. “You know what you have to do…” Said Sparda as he gave a warm smile to the little draconequus, to which the little draconequus only nodded in affirmation. “Good boy” And as the two little fillies calmed down, Sparda put them down next to Discord and gave them all a pat on the head and one of the warmest smiles he has ever given. Their father figure, was about to leave them, to wage a one man war to a tyrannical ruler that wished harm on not just the Human world, but to every other world. And if this ruler ever succeeded it’s only a matter of time before he reaches this peaceful land. He has to stop him at all cost, for the sake of all the innocent. And as he turned his attention to Queen Faust, he was greeted with the warmest of smiles, and the two shared a quick yet warm hug. “Kneel, Sir Sparda” said Queen Faust with the royal Canterlot voice, to which Sparda complied. “I dub thee, ‘The Legendary Dark Knight’, the royal knight and guardian of Equestria in one if it’s Darkest Time” “Thank you, your highness” “Do, remember us” “Like I’ll ever forget you guys” said Sparda. And as Sparda spoke with his mind ‘Take care of Discord for me, I feel something from the little guy’ ‘Yes, I too sense this, do not worry, I will treat him like my own’ ‘Thanks Lauren, you guys are the only ones he has now.’ ‘No Sparda, I should be the one thanking you, for all of you have done’ To which Sparda nodded in response. And as Sparda stopped their mental conversation, he spoke: “I trust the Elements of Harmony to you, Lauren” “Yes, I will embed its essence in these necklaces, so even if they are destroyed they can still be rebuilt” “Nice one, no wonder your Queen!” said Sparda with a smile, to which Queen Faust giggled. “But how are you gonna return?!” asked Celestia, to which caught the attention of the other two. “Well, I have an extra Key here!” answered Sparda as he magically summoned a key to show them. “This’ll be my key, so that I can come back here, but when I leave for my own world, I’ll leave it in the Tower that I made, so that I won’t accidentally lose it.” “Tower?” said Luna, Celestia and Discord in unison. “Well, I’ll let Lauren explain that for you” said Sparda as he looked at Queen Faust, to which the trio turned their attention. “Well, I guess this is Goodbye, for now” said Sparda. And as Sparda turned his back and started to walked away, going to the way he first arrived, he raised one hand and waved them dismissively giving one last farewell to the ones he grew attached within a month and thirteen days. And as Discord saw Sparda’s image slowly fading in the Everfree forest, he thought to himself that, he will forever be remembered as the one who helped Equestria in one of its Dark times, more importantly, He will never forget his very first Friend