There is more to the Master Emerald, and the Elements of Harmony, than anyone knows.
A desperate attack by Doctor Eggman on Sonic & Co. during a party lands them all in a new adventure, this time on a brand new world. With the Master Emerald shattered, and the Chaos Emeralds scattered, they must now band together with new friends to collect them all. But as always evil looks to gain control of the powerful gems, and this time they're backed already by incredible power. More than two worlds are at stake in the upcoming confrontation: Can the Mobians and Equestrians stop the evil Emperor and his minions? And who is the stranger that joins them in this quest? How will his appearance change the course of everything?
Angel Island was alive with visitors today, as a infamous band of friends and heroes gathered before the ancient shrine in celebration of their latest victory. The sun was bright and the sky clear of clouds - a perfect summers day for them all to party and catch up after the harrowing days only now coming to an end. For Dr. Eggman, mechanical genius and bumbling villain, had once again attempted to gain control of the Chaos Emeralds to power his mighty machines and take over Mobius. Yet as always Sonic the Hedgehog, along with his friends, had risen to the challenge and taken the egghead scientist down a peg - again. This time it had been relatively easy even, since for once the Chaos Emeralds had been gathered ahead of time for the blue hedgehog to use to take down the ultimate robot in Eggman's arsenal. Now, as he no doubt continued to putter away in retreat in his personal Eggmobile, the band of friends had decided to throw a party on Knuckles floating home.
The party was in full swing now, having started after dawn and still going strong at noon. Tails was cooking on the grill with a chef hat on, the main item being hot dogs to whip up Sonic's favorite meal of chili dogs. Knuckles was asleep, or perhaps meditating, against a nearby pillar on the outskirts of the islands shrine, his arms crossed and eyes closed in peace. Amy was dancing happily with Cream the Rabbit, the younger bunny splitting time between her fellow dancer and Cream the Chao, who happily flew around the pair chirping. Even Rouge, the elusive thief/ally was attending, seated at the large table in the center of the clearing and idly eating a salad. Occasionally her focus would shift between the Echidna across from her, or the giant emerald centered atop the shrine's steps, but then she'd flash a knowing smirk and return to her meal. Sadly most of Sonic's other friends couldn't attend, having previous engagements to attend to, but their presence even then was still felt in the balloons and decorations they'd given to the party goers to hang around the clearing.
And as for Sonic himself, the speedy hedgehog was happily napping away the day, laying back on the grass with the sun shining down on him. A large bubble was slowly bobbing on his nose and his arms rested under his head, the perfect picture of serenity and peace for once. Yet even in sleep the music playing on the radio called to him, because one of his legs was perched atop the other and slowly rocking to the beat.
Yes it was another happy day on Mobius for Sonic and co, but as often is the case with them, things don't always stay so peaceful for long.
Soon a new sound could be heard over the music, a long whistle that slowly grew louder. Knuckles almost immediately noticed its approach, and eyes snapping open he shouted, "Watch out!"
Rouge quickly jumped away, flapping her wings to ascend and move to the sides of the clearing. Just before she could clear however a rocket struck and blew the table apart, sending her and shrapnel flying. Amy and Cream screamed, terrified by the sudden attack, before more whistling could be heard and more rockets struck the clearing all around them. Woken from his nap, Sonic quickly sprung into action, dodging the rocket that struck his napping spot seconds afterwards and leaping onto another destined to hit near Tails. With long years of practice he titled the projectile up and into the path of another, before leaping off it and repeating the process again to another pair. During his aerial leap frog, Tails and Knuckles had already gotten the girls to the safety of the surrounding woods and were now doing what they could to stop the missiles from wrecking any more of the clearing. Tails emulated his best friends tactic by flying around the rockets and turning them against each other, while Knuckles took a more direct approach and carefully punched each one into the sky, exploding harmlessly above him. Soon the barrage died off, and the trio gathered before the steps up to the shrine, glaring at the now noticeable shadow in the sky.
"Eggman!" Sonic shouted. "I should've know you wouldn't give up that easily. Come for another round already?"
"Ohohohohoho! Indeed I have Sonic!" Shouted Eggman, floating down further inside his Eggmobile. With him came three floating platforms of similar color and build as his hovercraft, each unmanned but armed to the gills with rockets and lasers. Eggman himself looked a little worse for wear, still singed and wearing cracked goggles from the explosion of his last master robot. But there was no mistaking the devilish grin he had on as he gestured proudly at his guards. "I may be a little low on supplies, but rest assured that these will be more than enough to take care of you! Say hello to my Eggfighters: Mark I!"
"Eggfighters huh?" Sonic smirked. "Nice name I guess, but it looks like you're running out of ideas egghead if that's the best you can do." Eggman fumed at the jab, but then he grinned again, a knowing smile that spoke of something up his sleeve.
"Mock them as you will hedgehog, but I'll be the one laughing once they defeat you! Now Go!" He ordered. The three hover bots shot toward the Mobians at a surprising speed, but nothing could outpace Sonic, and his friends were no slouches either. Together they charged the bots and engaged them in battle; running, punching, and flying around every attack the bots could throw at them. Tails had pulled out a giant wrench from somewhere and had taken to swinging it like a club, doing little damage due to his lack of strength but also slowly undoing the bolts holding the frame and weapons together. Knuckles was faring the worst, being a close range fighter, but even he was scoring solid hits by deflecting his opponents rockets back at it, slowly wearing it down. As for Sonic, he was literally running circles around his Eggfighter, disorienting its sensors and causing error messages in its system. Soon it began firing wildly in an attempt to score a lucky hit, but all it managed to do was blow up one of its comrades and make Eggman scream like a girl as he ducked a rocket.
"Careful you fool, you almost hit me!" He screamed. The bot paid him no attention, still spinning wildly and beeping with smoke coming out of its joints. Several of its rockets blasted its final partner to pieces, while others forced Eggman to pull back lest he be blasted himself. Sonic wasn't even running around anymore; Standing below Eggman with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face, he looked up at the human doctor.
"Looks like you'll have to make a Mark II to stand a chance against me Eggman. Maybe you should go back to the drawing board?"
But Sonic's taunt seemed to hit fate instead of his mustached enemy this time, as finally one of the rockets from the last Eggfighter flew toward a target spot on, but not anyone had expected. Watching it fly off, everyone in and around the clearing could see it clearly fly over Tails and Knuckles head, up the stairs of the shrine, and detonate directly on top of the Master Emerald. To make it worse, it was at that very moment that Sonic remembered that he and his friends had placed the Chaos Emeralds around the base of the giant emerald for safe keeping during the party, a fact that became very, very important as the dust began to clear.
"Uh...whoopsie." Sonic muttered, knowing he'd be blamed for this somehow.
"THE MASTER EMERALD!" Knuckles screamed in shock.
"Uh oh..." Tails whimpered.
"Dohohohoho! How do you like that?" Eggman taunted back, once again confident.
As the last of the dust cleared, the extent of the damage could be seen. The Master Emerald was shattered, its pieces laying strewn across the top of the ancient temple with a black spot marking where it had stood previously. That in itself was odd though, as Sonic and his friends knew from past events that the Master Emerald didn't simply shatter - It blew apart, flinging it's pieces to the far corners of the world. Fearing something was amiss, Sonic raised a hand and began to step forward, but it was too late. From the blast zone the Chaos Emeralds, whole and unmarked, began to glow and float up into the sky. They pulsed with the great energy stored within them, and to everyone's shock, so too did the Master Emerald. Soon the shards of the great gem began to float, forming two circles that overlapped around the Chaos Emeralds and began slowly rotating faster and faster. A hum of energy grew louder in everyone's ears, until it was deafening and left them all clutching their ears in pain.
"What's going on Knuckles!" Tails shouted over the din.
"I don't know! The Master Emerald's never reacted like this before!" Knuckles replied, barely audible even though they were side by side.
"Amy, my ears hurt." Cream whimpered from the treeline. Knowing she wouldn't be heard, Amy carefully gathered the young bunny and Chao into her arms, the little critter whimpering pitifully as it squirmed in pain. On the other side Rouge, having barely recovered from the explosion, bared the pain even worse than the young girl. Her sensitive hearing was now turned against her and brought her to her knees, with blood slowly seeping from her ears.
"This...this can't be! Is this a higher form of Chaos Control?!" Eggman shouted, eyes wide in wonder and thoughts of escape gone.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Sonic gritted his teeth, knowing instinctively that something bad was about to happen. "HANG ON EVERYONE!"
Then, in a flash of blinding light, the Emeralds unleashed their mighty power. A dome of energy swept across the shrine and expanded until it encompassed the entire clearing. From there it stretched across the whole island, consuming everything in sight, until nothing could be seen of the land behind an orb of pure power. It remained a second longer, its intensity almost outshining the sun, and then...
It was gone, along with Angel Island and everyone on it.
In a location far from Mobius, a figure sat at his desk typing away on a small laptop. The screen flashed with text and reflected off the small reading glasses perched on his nose, and beside him sat a cup of hot chocolate (no marshmallows) that gently gave off steam in the chilly winter air. To the left of the desk, a large window showed a beautiful night sky clear of clouds and sparkling with stars, a vast forest filling the horizon in every direction. The moon, small but bright, hung high in the sky, and a brief glance to the computers clock showed it was well past midnight. He'd been up for some time now, typing away all the while, but felt little need to sleep still. Not while his ideas played in the back of his mind.
He was a writer, or so he would say to any who asked about his job. In truth he worked at a local bakery for actual money, and though he sent some of his more original works to publishing companies, he held little hope in getting them published. But he didn't mind if his work was rejected, because he enjoyed writing nonetheless, especially about things that interested him. Things often made by others, true, but still he enjoyed expanding on what they'd given already to the public.
Right now his brain was abuzz with an idea that had come to him around dinner time, changing his plans from eating out to instead reheating the food from last night so as to work on his writing. A smile crossed his face as yet another chapter was finished, and content, he leaned back and sighed.
"Another long night...but worth it." He whispered. Sipping at his chocolate, he began proof-reading his work for errors when suddenly he felt...something. Or rather he finally noticed something amiss.
Whatever he was feeling was incredibly strong - not just a gut feeling, but an actual pressure that pushed him to move. Frowning, he set his cup down and stood, walking over to the window and peering outside. The night was as clear and peaceful as it had been since sunset, but again following this feeling he opened the window and leaned out. Cold air blew across his face, sending a shiver down his spine. It was wintertime and though snow rarely fell where he lived, the wind could be as biting and fierce as a blizzard at times. Tonight it was only mildly strong, but he didn't want to keep the window open longer than he had to. He didn't even know why he needed to open the window, but as the wind died down, he took note of something else: the lack of sound in general.
The forest was silent, not a critter or owl uttering a sound. It was so still, that if not for the wind, he'd think that time had stopped somehow. He'd ventured through the wilderness more than enough though to know what this silence meant. Something was wrong, and nature knew it.
Closing the window as the silence grew unbearable, he turned back to his desk and took a long swig of his hot chocolate, ignoring the burning sensation as it went down his throat too quickly. Now warmed up, he glanced around his room to try and determine where else the sensation was present to him. Nothing came to him by the bed, nor at the tall bookshelf beside the door. Returning to his computer - and saving his document, just in case - he peered over the nick-knacks scattered around it across the desk. None of the figures or books caught his eye, and growing frustrated by this strange need to move, he turned toward the door and opened it to leave. What he saw on the other side, however, made him freeze in shock.
A wall of light completely covered the doorway on the other side, tiny tendrils wafting off and filtering into his room now that the door was ajar. It was bright, brighter than the moon, almost as if staring into the sun. He could not make out anything from the hallway beyond, or even the old height marks that he knew dotted the door frame from when he was younger. There was no heat to suggest it was burning, and as his eyes adjusted slightly he could see that it almost had a liquid quality to it, as if he could actually touch the light. It pulsed slowly, barely noticeable, but every time it did, that pressure he could feel around him grew ever so slightly before returning to normal.
As the shock wore off, he shook his head to clear it and gave the light a speculative look. He knew that something strange, otherworldly even, was happening. He didn't drink and certainly didn't do drugs, so it couldn't have been a hallucination. While aliens were in his realm of beliefs, he also didn't think this was the work of some extraterrestrial looking to kidnap him for science. But then a new thought occurred to him, and it was crazy enough to likely be true. But could he?
"Hmm..." He muttered, running a hand over his chin.
Keeping the door open and the light in sight, he turned toward his bed and picked up the backpack set at the foot of it. Carefully emptying its contents, he separated out the odds and ends that had been inside, keeping things he thought he'd need in one pile, before packing it again and walking over to his dresser. Grabbing two days worth of clothes, he placed those in a compartment before also walking to his bookshelf and desk, repeating the selection process. With some literature to keep him entertained, and his laptop turned off and stored with its power cord, he took a final look around his room to make sure he wasn't forgetting something. At the last minute he snapped his fingers, and kneeling at the side of his bed, he carefully pushed a loose floorboard just underneath aside and grabbed an old, well polished wooden box hidden inside. Lifting the lid, he retrieved the old army knife left to him by his uncle, and placed it and it's sheath onto the side of his belt.
A small precaution, he thought to himself
Finally satisfied, he grabbed the cooling cup of hot chocolate, downed the last of it in one gulp, and with an excited grin, walked forward into the light. He slipped through it as if it was water, ripples briefly covering its surface as he passed, before vanishing from his room. Seconds later, the light itself winked out of existence, no trace of its presence left behind. In the forest outside, an owl finally hooted as if in farewell.
The light, ever moving, continued across time and space, searching for its final target. Yet even as it felt the presence it sought, a great darkness came forth to bar its path. Relentless, it pushed onwards, but the darkness was unwilling to simply let it pass, and delayed it for as long as it could muster the strength to. Because the darkness had a master, and he was preparing with the borrowed time he had.
"We are pleased to see you all here."
The Emperor gazed down from his throne, eyes narrowed as he observed his most powerful subjects. Six of the greatest military, scientific, and magical minds stood before him; a stranger clash of personalities and sadistic minds there would never be found. Each held little to no loyalty to each other, yet it was by his power that they co-operated, and because of this his empire was ever growing. Sipping from his goblet, he let the silence his words had brought linger a moment longer in the dark throne room.
"A great power will soon come from beyond Our lands; a summoning that has long been awaited by Us." He told them. "There is no stopping it, and We do not wish to at any rate."
"What is this power, My Lord?" Asked one of his lords.
"Chaos." He spoke with relish. As if in response, he could feel the light push closer to his realm, and with a flash of annoyance he drew deep into his power to halt its approach. "We seek to claim it as our own, but to do so, a new yet ancient war must be fought."
"Who are our enemies this time?" Said another lord, eyes twin flames of anger. In his hand there was suddenly a blade of fire and steel, ready to be swung in battle. "They will fall like the rest of this world!"
"Still your blade for now, Lord of Wrath. The time will soon come for battle, but there is something you must all know more than anything. In this war, there will be others. People who draw power from similar origin as you all do." He paused. "We speak, of course, of the Sinerals."
His words had the desired effect, a shift in the stance and attitude of his audience. Where before they had only shown the tiniest bit of interest, the Emperors declaration had suddenly ignited a passion that seldom had been seen by mortals. The shadows of the room seemed to brighten as, subconsciously, each of them drew on the power they held. From within them came a terrible darkness, comparable to his yet nowhere near as deep unless combined. It sucked the light from all corners of the room, and were anyone but themselves there, they would have surely fallen to the corrupting influences that the Sinerals naturally exuded. In response to this he too loosened the hold over his power, and the many shadows of the room suddenly became his own, and even the lords and ladies shuddered in fear as his presence enveloped them.
As great as their power may be, it was his that dominated them all. It was his that made him Emperor of a frozen and damned land.
"Patience, my generals. Time runs short, and We require you to muster as much of Our forces as you can in preparation." Rising, he withdrew his power back into his body and slowly stepped down from his seat. Gesturing with a hand he said, "We hold back the approach of Chaos, but can only do so for a short time longer. Recall as much of the army as you can; fill this fortress to the walls with steel and flesh! Let Our army pour from the gates once we arrive, and sweep over our enemies before they ever think to resist Our power!"
"As you command!" They roared, rushing away through doors and portals to carry out his will. As shouts echoed from outside the throne room, he stood in contemplation, a hand on his chin.
Now begins my greatest conquest. What will you do, forces of Harmony, as my army bleeds your people dry, and my Lords end your companions lives? And what too, shall Chaos bring to this fight: an ally or foe? Perhaps even both? Chuckling, he returned to his throne and close his eyes in meditation. There was still a final step to his plans to prepare before they departed.
Hours passed, and from every corner of the empire his troops came. On foot, by air, and atop creatures of every kind they marched, eyes alight in desire for yet another war. They filled the massive castle of spires and black stone, the terrible blizzard that raged eternally outside doing little to hinder their mad rush to serve. Their numbers reached into the thousands by the time the light arrived, but even then the darkness had one last trick up its sleeve. Even as it settled in to retrieve its targets it was seized by the dark, but instead of hindering, it now helped by boosting the summon. Instead of seven individuals the entire castle was consumed in a flash of twilight, leaving only a crater to mark where it had been. Surrounding it, the remaining troops lamented the lost chance, yet even as they thought this they turned back toward their posts. After all, they all knew the cost of failing their Emperor, and none wished to befall that terrible fate when he returned.
Surrounded by light, he didn't know whether he was coming or going. There was no weight on his feet, no sound outside of his heart beating loudly in his ears, and any attempt at seeing with his eyes left eerie images behind his now closed eyelids. Left to the whims of the light, he began to doubt his sudden adventurous attitude and decision to step through the portal. However, he couldn't also help but think that, in the end, the light had perhaps simply given him the time to gather his things before whisking him away. He likely would have been given no choice as to whether he'd go or not if he'd tried to escape - it had appeared in his doorway after all, the only way out of his room besides a three story drop.
Then, without warning things changed around him. The constant glow outside his eyelids began to fade, and as the beat of his heart grew softer other sounds began to take its place. The whistling of wind, the ruffling of leaves, the chirps of birds and small animals. The warmth of the sun was unmistakable overhead, and opening his eyes, he drank in a sight completely opposite of his cold, midnight shadowed bedroom.
He stood in the middle of a dirt road, well kept yet clearly marked with the wheels of numerous carts. To either side of him stretched countless green trees, all tall and healthy unlike the hibernating twigs that the woods around his own home had been. In the distance toward where he'd been facing lay numerous mountains and rolling hills, a few even high enough for snow to cap them. Behind him rose more mountains, and to each side a field of trees stretched out of sight down the road. Not only was the scenery picturesque, but so too was the air he was breathing. Inhaling deep, he held his breath for a moment before exhaling again. It was as if all his life he'd been breathing stale air - perhaps a tank like from his short venture into scuba diving. The crisp, clean air invigorated him like nothing before in his life, and the taste! It was silly to say, but he would swear there was indeed a flavor to the air here, an indescribable blend of nature that filled his lungs and already began to purge the impurities inside him. Rarely did he experience this feeling, even on the numerous camping trips he made during the weekends.
Smiling, he closed his eyes and raised his head and arms to the sky, stretching as far as he could reach toward the noonday sun. "Aaaaahhhhhh." He sighed happily. Then he frowned and dropped back to earth.
"Wait a minute...what's wrong with my voice?" He muttered, noting again the strange change as he spoke. Raising a hand to his throat, he rubbed it gently before roaming over his face, searching for other unseen changes. A noticeable one was obvious within seconds as he felt his chin - rather, felt what wasn't on his chin. "My beard...where's my beard?" He said eyes widening. Now rushing, he flipped his backpack off and quickly scrounged around inside for the compact shaving kit he'd packed away, which included a miniature mirror. Quickly locating it, he pulled it out and raised it up to inspect himself.
What he saw nearly made him drop it.
As he'd noted already his beard was gone; it had been a one time joke that he'd come to love and somewhat cherish. He'd grown it in after one of his co-workers - a fellow Star Trek fan - had pointed out how similar he appeared to Commander Riker, and with Halloween a month away he'd decided to actually grow one and dress up as him for the holiday. Afterwards he'd kept it, jokingly saying that next year he'd dye his hair brown and go as Gordan Freeman with his reading glasses on. But with it gone, and while the resemblance still held, he felt silly and somewhat naked.
The other thing he noted was how young he looked. The loss of the beard could explain some of it, but not all. More importantly, what tipped him off the most was the missing pierced ears and earrings. If he had to guess, it was very likely that he'd somehow de-aged during his time inside the light. The missing earrings meant that, at least, he was now six years younger. The small amounts of baby fat that had reappeared though suggested younger, so perhaps somewhere in the range of eight to ten, making him either sixteen or fourteen. Looking down at the ground, he certainly felt the latter; his once tall frame was closer to the ground than he could recall being for quite some time. At best he was probably five foot eight, five inches now missing along with what muscle he'd built up during his hikes and camping trips in the woods around his home. At the very least he was still fit, thanks to having lived a healthy and exercise filled life since birth.
Sighing, he packed the mirror away and instead pulled out a compass. Pointing it toward the what he believed was east down the road, he stared in surprise as the needle focused, wavered, and then began spinning so fast he was afraid that it would somehow explode in his hand. Well so much for that, this place must be packed with minerals to make it jump this badly. He thought. Putting the useless bobble back, he instead decided to simply follow the road to whatever town or city it lead to. Hopefully such a peaceful place would hold peaceful inhabitants, and ones accepting of his (possibly) strange appearance too.
Much later that day as the sun began to dip toward the horizon, Twilight Sparkle was slowly winding down from a long and tiring day. Pinkie Pie had managed to find yet another reason to throw a party (a 'Super-Duper Pre-Suprise' party, whatever that meant) and had invited the rest of their friends over to the library. Of course she'd done it without Twilight knowing in advance, but once the pinky party pony had shown up it had been impossible to convince her to move it over to Sugarcube Corner or even the park. As a result, many of the books had fallen out of place, and there were miles of streamers and deflated balloons littered all around the main floor. To top it all off, all of her friends had left her and Spike to clean up the mess alone, each stating they had something else to do after the party and couldn't remain behind to help clean. It was only thanks to the heartfelt apologies that she wasn't as annoyed at them as she felt she should be. Still it had done little to speed up her cleaning, and since the books had become disarranged she'd decided to re-shelve the whole library ahead of schedule, much to her assistants dismay.
"And...done." Twilight said, levitating the last book into place. Behind her, Spike sighed in relief and fell onto his back, feather duster clattering to the ground.
"Finally! I thought we'd never finish cleaning!" He moaned.
"It wasn't that bad Spike, and besides now we don't have to re-shelve later this week like scheduled." Bringing a list over by magic, Twilight began writing something down with a quill. "Of course, now my checklist needs to be re-done...and I suppose we'll have to advance the next date to compensate..." She frowned in thought.
"C'mon Twilight, can't we just stick to the old schedule and just wait a little longer this time?"
"Well..."
"Pleeeeaaaase?" Spike popped up in front of her list, claws clasped together and his eyes wide. For added begging he even made his lower lip quiver. Twilight giggled at the sight and patted the baby dragon on the head.
"Fine, we can do it later like planned." Spike beamed. "Of course now we have a day off to deal with. Is there anything you'd like to do?" She asked.
"How about we go gem hunting? My stash is getting a little low."
"Alright sure, but afterwards we have to do something that I want to do, okay?"
"Deal!" Suddenly Spike yawned. "Aw man I'm beat, I think I'll just go and hit the hay. Goodnight Twilight."
"Goodnight Spike." Watching as the little dragon walked up to the loft, Twilight felt her own exhaustion suddenly set in. If it wasn't so early still she felt that joining her assistant would be best. But with her stomach rumbling she instead trotted into the kitchen to make a nice sandwich and do a little light reading before bed. As she settled in with her meal at the table, the sky outside darkened and became illuminated with Princess Luna's moon. Numerous stars filled the sky, and enraptured by their twinkling lights she felt her mind drift as she took the occasional bite of her sandwich. As usual these days, they eventually led her back to local events.
Ponyville had been very quiet recently; No monster attacks or sudden overblown crisis had struck the village, which sadly was more common than most ponies would want. And since Twilight and her friends were almost always involved, whether by choice or chance, it went without saying that the girls were always adventuring and learning something new about the magic of friendship. In fact, because of this peace, she had yet to send Princess Celestia a friendship report this month, and neither had any of her friends to her knowledge. Instead she'd simply been sending personal letters asking about her parents, Canterlot, herself, and her sister Princess Luna. The Princess had been delighted by the informal letters if her responses were anything to go by, and it was helping Twilight reconnect somewhat with her distant teacher. As much as she loved living in Ponyville, living most of her fillyhood in the castle with the Princess was something she missed dearly in the quiet moments she had nothing to do in. Like now really, as she subconsciously turned her head to look at the wall she knew faced towards Canterlot.
With the last bite done, Twilight cleaned up and moved back to the main room of the library. There she selected a novel (Enchanting Enchantments by Glitter Veil) and moved to the mid-level balcony, feeling in the mood to read by moonlight. Within minutes she was asleep before even the first chapter was finished, the warm night breeze having taken its toll on her. Unseen by her because of this was the faint glow that came from over the southern horizon. It lasted only a few seconds, but left something much more amazing behind in its wake.
As a new day dawned, he awoke to find that the fire he'd built had gone out, and that thankfully nothing had disturbed his little campsite off the side of the road. He'd made good progress since arriving in this land; the mountains towered over him a scant few minutes away on both sides, and there were the first hints of farmland up ahead. So far nothing had appeared on the road to greet him, but the few signs scattered along the way had shown that he was indeed heading toward civilization. In fact, he even knew where he was now, and recalling that revelation brought with it a surge of excitement and pure happiness that not even the sweetest candy could beat.
In bold black letters, the words 'Canterlot' and 'Ponyville' had been written onto two arrows pointing east.
He didn't know why he'd ended up on the world of My Little Pony, but the very thought of meeting the ponies -any pony really- made him feel as young as his body now was. But as much as he'd wanted to rush down the road all the way until the village was in sight, he knew better than to push himself so hard with little to no supplies. Setting up camp had been difficult with his thoughts tumbling over one another, but as soon as he'd laid down his wisdom had paid off when he fell asleep almost instantly.
Now refreshed, but hungry, he felt that he could manage the last leg of his journey and perhaps make it to the village in time for sunset. Scattering the ash and dusting himself off, he hoisted his backpack and stepped back onto the road. To his surprise he wasn't as alone as he thought.
A large wagon full of barrels was sitting on the other side of the road across from him, the back axle and wheels noticeably broken. A pony - male, with an orange body and red mane - was sitting on their flank next to the broken parts and attempting to repair it with some duck tape. The fact it had duck tape, oddly, was perhaps the strangest thing about the sight, much more than how an earth pony was managing to pull the tape and rip strips off the roll. As he walked closer, the ponies ears flopped and turned its head to look at him. Instead of shock or fear, it wore an exasperated look meant more for its task than the sight of a strange creature.
"Morning stranger, haven't seen something like you before." It informed him gruffly. "You any good at repairing wagons by chance?"
"Uh..." He paused, looking the wagon over, before turning back to the pony. "I'm afraid not. But I could take a look still, land a hand to help."
"At this rate anything you can do will only help." Snorting, the pony stood and tossed the duck tape over. "I've been fixing this darn thing since Vanhoover over and over again. Planned on buying a new one once I reached Canterlot - if only I can reach it that is."
Walking over and kneeling -and absently noting that the pony was about chest high to him - he asked, "Canterlot?"
"Probably never heard of it; I doubt you're from around here. That's the capitol of Equestria, the country you're in now. Beautiful place, but it's full of snobbish ponies - both the scholars and rich aristocrats. Still it's the best place to sell your wares if you can catch their eye, maybe even the princesses too if you're lucky."
"So you have royalty?"
"Mmm, you really are far from home aren't you?"
"Sorry..." He felt bad for lying, but the 'stranger from a far land' facade was a very useful alibi.
"Not your fault, and the name's High Road."
"Mine's Mark, Mark Magnum." Pulling a strip of tape off, Mark carefully wrapped it around the broken axle. "So what are the...err...princesses like?"
"Well, there's Princess Celestia of course. She's been ruling Equestria for over a thousand years now, and she moves the sun every day. Used to move the moon too, but now that her sister Princess Luna is back she's taken over her old duty and co-rule together again."
"A thousand years?!" Mark flinches as he realizes how weak his shocked exclamation sounded. Luckily High doesn't notice and just nods.
"Yup, she and her sister are immortal, one of a kind ponies. Have the traits of all three clans -Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Very beautiful too." He remarks with a blush.
"I guess there's a lot to learn about Equestria if I'm going to stay here for a while."
At this point Mark had managed to tape the parts all together again, and giving the wheel an experimental spin, he was happy to see it not wobble. Standing up, he hands the now thin roll of tape to High Road, who takes it with his mouth and places it into a saddlebag. Moving to the front, he positions himself into the straps and gives it a quick tug. A few feet with no sudden breakdowns and he stops, satisfied that it's fixed again. "Thanks for the hoof - or whatever it is you have. If you'd like, I could give you a ride to Canterlot in repayment."
"Oh no thanks, I don't think I could handle that kind of place right now." In truth, Mark had a different destination in mind. But how to... "Actually, I saw another sign saying that 'Ponyville' is also this way. What's it like?"
"Ponyville..." High Road mumbled something to himself and flicked his short tail. "Nice place, and the friendliest ponies I think I've ever met. Craziest too if I'm honest - beware any pink ponies you see there; she's a wild one." Mark doesn't try to cover his laugh, knowing full well who he's talking about. "Unfortunately that's out of my way, so while I'm happy to take you to the crossroad we'll have to part ways from there. Should make it there shortly after one, if you keep up the pace. Otherwise you can make it by sundown alone."
"Well, if you're sure..." Suddenly a loud growl comes from nearby, and blushing, Mark realizes it's his stomach. High Road chuckles, having heard it clearly from where he was.
"Tell you what, I'll throw in a snack too for the help. There's a barrel of oranges in the back and you can have two - but only two mind you, I need to sell the rest at market." High warned. With an offer of food, Mark really sees no point in declining the generous offer.
"Thank you so much High Road, you're a kind pony." Hopping onto the back of the wagon, Mark grabbed an orange and pulled out his knife to begin peeling it. "Can you tell me more about Equestria too?"
"Sure thing..." With a grunt High Road sets off down the road again, and begins telling Mark more about the history of Equestria.
To the far south of central Equestria, far beyond the Buffalo Tribe plains and the frontier town of Appleloosa lay the Neverstill Desert. Much like the Everfree Forest - and other wild zones - the desert was an anomaly of the world where things moved and acted on their own; nopony controlled the weather and oftentimes unnatural magic saturated the places. Such zones were the few remaining marks of a time when disharmony and chaos ruled the world, before the Royal Sisters arrived and brought Harmony to all of the races. The Neverstill, in particular though, was a tragic tale. Beneath the ever shifting dunes - which rolled like the ocean in a storm - lay the ruins of a lost city and its population. At times the dunes would dip low enough to reveal the top of pale towers and shattered stone buildings, but within minutes it would cover the landmark again. Nothing lived here, not even the stubborn and hardy dragons. It was quiet and (pun not intended) deserted save for the sigh of sand and the howl of wind, and nobody ventured here; anyone seeking to explore past the far southern edges of Equestria would often head east or west toward the sea.
Alone atop one of these dunes, however, stood a figure completely unaware of all of this.
Stumbling in place, Sonic the Hedgehog watched the tall dune he had been standing on sink down beneath the others. If it wasn't for the rough sand being blown into his face, he would think he'd somehow learned to walk on water and that this was an odd colored ocean. It even made him nervous, knowing he couldn't swim, but since he wasn't sinking after being here for over an hour he was fairly confident that it wouldn't happen.
"Where the heck am I?" He asked again. Zipping over to a better position, he peered across the desert in hopes of spotting any sign of life. "KNUCKLES! TAILS! AMY! CREAM!" He shouted.
Not even an echo replied, and sighing Sonic started moving to keep atop the wave crest he was on. "Not cool, whatever happened must've knocked us all over the place. But I've never seen a place like this on Mobius before. Are we on some kind of alien planet?"
It wasn't a happy thought, but while sometimes dense Sonic was smart enough to know that such things were possible. The Chaos Emeralds were as unpredictable as they were powerful, and more often than not he'd had to deal with a crisis even bigger than Eggmans robots thanks to some otherworldly entity seeking out their power - or worse, something from Mobius waking up and taking a liking to their power. He'd even been up into space above his home world a couple times, so he knew that traveling to the stars could be possible given the chance.
But what made this worse was the fact that he and his friends - plus Eggman, no doubt - were scattered. Most of them could handle themselves, but while Amy was loud and liked to swing that hammer of hers, she actually wasn't all that strong. Cream and Cheese were worse off though; the little bunny was an innocent sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly, and while Cheese was very protective of his friend, the little chao was a tough as a cotton ball. He had to find them and make sure they were okay, or he'd never forgive himself if something were to happen.
"Hang on guys, I'll be there in no time flat!" Sonic declared. Clenching his hands, he sped off in a blur of blue, a sizable wave of sand rising in his wake.
It was to the birds chirping that Twilight finally awoke. Yawning, she stood and felt something slip off her back, but chose to ignore it for the time being in favor of stretching. With only a quick glance she determined that she'd slept outside the whole night atop her balcony, her book becoming a improvised pillow. It was nothing new to her; back in Canterlot there had been many a late night study session that had ended the same way on the small balcony of her tower library. Feeling the last stiff muscle relax, she turned and lifted the blanket Spike had kindly laid over her with her magic, folding it neatly to be put back later.
He must've woken up for a midnight snack, the little sneak. Twilight thought in amusement. Walking back inside, she could already hear her assistant busily making breakfast downstairs, and so slipped into her room to clean up for the day. Several minutes later she walked down to the kitchen and entered, seeing Spike already seated with two plates on the table.
"Good morning Spike." Twilight greeted.
"Morning Twi." Spike muttered behind a gem in his mouth.
"Chew and swallow please, you know better Spike after what happened last time."
"Sorry." Spike swallowed. "So what's the agenda for today?"
Humming, Twilight dug into her breakfast. "Well Fluttershy said that one of her animal friends had found something interesting last night during the party. I think I'll go visit her. You can take the day off and do what you like in the mean time. Just be back before sunset so we can work on a few experiments okay?"
Eyes sparkling, Spike wolfed down the rest of his meal, and with a hasty goodbye dashed out of the library. No doubt he was on his way to Rarity's shop to help his crush out. Cleaning up the dishes, she grabbed a saddle bag and loaded a few books that she thought she might need (Floral Facts for the Floundering Florist, Exotic Beasts from Beyond Equestria, and Gems: The Complete Guide just to name a few.) before setting out herself. Along the way she greeted a few ponies already out and about, but mainly kept to herself as thoughts of Canterlot again occupied her.
I must be feeling homesick finally. Twilight mused. All this thinking about Canterlot...the Princess...maybe I should go visit my parents instead of take a day off later this week. Shaking her head, she thought, But I also promised Spike I would help him collect some gems. Maybe I could ask Rarity to help instead?
As she caught sight of Fluttershy's house in the distance, Twilight put aside her planning and instead focused on what her friend might have in store for her. Hearing someone singing, Twilight walked around instead of knocking and saw that the yellow pegasus was happily hovering from spot to spot. She was feeding her animals breakfast and entertaining them with her voice - a sound which made Twilight herself happy. The shy mare was truly gifted in not only looks but with her voice as well; Rarity would often lament over their friends shy nature and how, with more confidence, she would've really struck it big as either a model or singer. But after the first - and last - attempt at fame, everypony had decided it was better to leave Fluttershy alone about such things.
"Good morning Fluttershy!" Twilight called out. To Fluttershy's credit she didn't jump or flee at the surprise.
"Oh, good morning Twilight, I hope you don't mind, but, my little friends still need to eat. It won't take but a moment, if you don't mind waiting that is." Fluttershy said.
"Take your time Fluttershy."
Two minutes passed in silence while Fluttershy finished her chore. When she was done, she landed beside Twilight and smiled. "So, um, what are you doing here Twilight? Do you need help with something?"
"Actually, I came here about something you said you found? You mentioned it to me last night at the party." Walking toward the cottage, the two entered and sat down at the kitchen table. Levitating a book out, Twilight added, "I brought a few books that I thought could help us identify it - whatever it is."
"It's a very beautiful gem - Angel suddenly ran off and I was oh so worried he'd gone off the Everfree. But then he came back, and was carrying it with him. Poor thing could barely hold it." Excusing herself, Fluttershy quickly trotted upstairs and grabbed the gem she had been talking about and brought it back. Taking it carefully with her magic, Twilight slowly rotated it to inspect it.
About the color of grass, the green gem was cut perfectly along all sides into the shape of a nonagon pyramid. There were no scratches, blemishes, or discolored segments anywhere on it. Although she wasn't an expect like Rarity, even she could see that it was perhaps the most perfect cut gem she'd ever laid eyes upon. But what really mystified Twilight was that, in response to her magic, it seemed to give off a subtle glow. What's more, she could almost sense a power inside the gem itself. The last time she had felt anything like this...
"Oh my, it didn't do anything like that before." Fluttershy whispered. Mentally shaking her head, Twilight noticed just how bright the gem was actually glowing and set it down on the table. As soon as she withdrew her magic it stopped glowing, but now that she'd touched it with her magic, she could still feel the hidden power from the gem.
"This is really strange, I don't I've ever read about magical gems before." Grabbing Gems: The Complete Guide, Twilight quickly flipped through the book until she found the magical gem section. As she read she said, "Theoretically it's possible; there are numerous glyphs that can be inscribed on certain surfaces and infused with magic so as to react in certain rituals. But gems have often been ignored due to the difficulty of actually etching the glyphs onto the surface, not to mention the reflective qualities that they cause with magic..."
"Um..." Fluttershy stared at Twilight in hopes of understanding what she was saying. As Twilight continued to babble though, going even further into terms only a scholar would know, the pegasus finally decided to just let her friend go on until she naturally stopped. "That's...nice?"
"This is your stop, Mark." High Road said. Looking at the crossroad, it was a simple four-way intersection in the road that curved north, south, back west, and straight ahead east with a little sign in the middle. Gesturing to the south road, High said, "Ponyville's down that way, just be sure to take it slow when you get into town and you should be fine. They've seen weirder things lately than you - no offense."
"None taken." Mark replied. As a precaution he'd been lying down as they passed several fields and small farms along the way. So far nobody but High Road had actually seen him, but now it was time to see just how others would react. Hopping off the cart, he dusted his pants off and slung his backpack over one shoulder. "Thank you for the lift High Road, and for the oranges too."
Nodding, the merchant trotted off down the north road without another word. Waving until he was a speck in the distance, Mark glanced up at the distant castle along the mountainside and giggled. Then he stopped himself and blushed, realizing what he'd done. Let's try not to be too girly...even if this is My Little Pony, he thought. Facing the opposite direction, he could just make out the cluster of buildings that made up Ponyville, and with a large grin on his face he set off down the road.
As the minutes passed and his target grew closer, Mark tried to take in as much as he could of what the real Ponyville looked like. From this side it was rather organized; the buildings all seemed to be houses with thatched roofs like was commonly seen in the show. Over the roofs, he could just make out town hall near the center of the village, but otherwise he'd need to be on a hill to have a more aerial view of it all. From the little he could recall clearly, the major landmarks would mainly be either in the center of Ponyville (Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique) or be on the south and western outskirts (Sweet Apple Acres, the school house and market place). He could also see a few pegasi flying around and moving the clouds, while down among the buildings there was likely earth ponies and unicorns talking and walking about.
Finally, after a few minutes longer he reached the actual edge of the village. Following the main road, he noticed many ponies stop and stare, but luckily none of them were running for their lives. Whispered conversations broke out - mainly among the mares he noted - but a surprising number of ponies just looked, did a double-take, and then went about their business. It seemed all the adventures and near disasters really had mellowed the folks out - either that or the fact he was wearing clothes unlike most monsters clued them in to him being civilized. Rounding a corner, Mark saw that town hall was still a fair distance off, but he paused and thought about what he actually planned to do now.
I can camp out for a while to deal with sleeping arrangements. There's no need to try and bug one of the Mane 6 like most people would, he thought. But I still need money - or bits - to pay for things I can't catch or pick myself. Maybe I could...
A loud crash behind him caused him to jump. Turning, he saw that a crate alongside the road had broken, and that a grey pegasus was trying to unwedge herself from the wood pile. Some ponies likewise watching the scene were shaking their heads or already moving to help, but Mark beat them to the mare and carefully helped her out. Brushing off some slivers from her coat, he noted that her eyes were askew but mainly locked onto him.
"Thanks mister!" She chirped. Before he could reply she was already zipping off into the sky, her flight surprisingly straight.
Was that...Derpy? Mark thought.
Looking at the small crowd around him, he shrugged and received a few smiles in return before they went back to their business. They really are mellow about me being here. He noted in amusement. Suddenly, he had an idea. Of course! I could try to apply at Sugarcube Corner for a job - I'm sure even with Pinkie Pie helping they could use an extra hand, or the only hands really. Nodding to himself, he asked for directions from a passing pony, and in little time was heading down the street toward the bakery.
"...and although technically they're classified as magical, magic gems have no special properties besides how they're grown and-"
"Twilight?"
"Oh um, yes Fluttershy?" Blinking in confusion, Twilight noticed how in addition to the gem and book, there was now a slowly cooling pot of tea set before her. Fluttershy herself was calmly sipping a cup of it after finally getting her friends attention.
"Sorry to interrupt, but um, did you find anything about Angel's gem in your book?"
"Huh? Oh! Right, sorry...um..." Flipping through a few more pages, her eyebrows furrowed as she came up with nothing close to what the gem on the table was. Double checking, and then triple, revealed no missed nuggets of information. "That's strange - according to this your gem has never been discovered before. This is amazing Fluttershy, you might have the first recorded discovery of a new brand of magical gem! Do you know what this means?"
Fluttershy tried to guess. "Um...that Rarity can make a very special dress for somepony? I'm sure the Princess would love it perhaps."
"Actually Princess Celestia doesn't like jewelry all the much." Twilight replied absently, and not completely on topic. "What this means is that if we can determine how it was created, we can make a major breakthrough in the field of magic! This gem seems to have it's own magical signature - there's a power inside of it that's entirely it's own, I'm sure of it. If we could learn how to tap into it, harness it even...why, we could revolutionize magical energy use across Equestria! Maybe even make portable devices solely powered by similar gemstones like this one."
"Oh, that's amazing Twilight!" Fluttershy gasped, then titled her head. "Um...what does that mean?"
Rolling her eyes, Twilight nevertheless tried to simplify her explanation. It wasn't the first time her lectures had slipped over a friends head. "Instead of relying on say, the Ponyville Dam, to power the village and everything inside of it, we could instead use more gems like this to support smaller things. Like for instance your radio - wouldn't you like to take it out of the house, maybe all the way to the park and listen to music still? Right now you can't, not without a massive extension cable that is."
"Oooooh, I see! Sorry Twilight, but I mean, that really does sound amazing."
"I know right?" Levitating the gem up again, Twilight observed the faint glow that re-appeared. "Do you mind if I borrow this for a while? I'd like to run some tests on it and see if I can determine how it was made." There was a gleam in her eyes that Fluttershy recognized very well. Giggling, she nodded and watched as the lavender mare all but galloped out of the cottage, only throwing a hasty goodbye over her shoulder.
Approaching the center of town, Twilight finally began to slow down before her excitement caused her to crash into someone. Carefully tucking the gem into a saddle bag, she turned a corner...and promptly bumped right into somepony.
"Oof!" They both cried out.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you like that."
"Oh, it's no problem miss, I..."
The two froze, staring at each other in shock. Between them, the mysterious gem bounced to a halt and pulsed with light.
Miles 'Tails' Prower was a smart kid. Scratch that; He was a genius with skills in mechanics that even their biggest foe had to admire. After first befriending Sonic the Hedgehog he quickly found his niche in undoing the robots and devices under Eggman's control and building some of his own. While not physically powerful, Tails could just as easily whip up something new and shiny, not to mention destructive, to go toe-to-toe with the robots in their way, or solve a mystery that speed alone couldn't solve. From hoverboards to transforming biplanes, he's made almost everything under the sun, and still he works hard to further enhance his arsenal and the general technological levels of his friends and the world in general. In many ways he was the exact opposite of Eggman, furthering the life and living comforts of the world, instead of trying to rule the world and lord over others with advanced technology.
But perhaps the greatest work of his was the ongoing study of the Chaos Emeralds. Unlike Eggman, who simply used them for the infinite power they held, or Knuckles who only cared about protecting the Master Emerald and knew only that it could control the lesser gems, Tails was trying to understand them. Since first touching one and harnessing its power, he'd known that those magical gems would lead to great things...or terrible times. Time and time again he was proven right, as monsters and Eggman sought them out to bring the world to the brink of another disaster or conquer it with a machine of destructive power. And while Sonic, the world renowned hero, was more than capable of handling most threats, sometimes even he needed the boost they provided to counter the last, and greatest, threat at the time. It was from Super Sonic that Tails had theorized that there was more to the gems than a simple power source. Whenever he could get his hands on one during the times of peace between crisis, he'd tried to analyze and understand any secret that may lay within them. So far, he'd managed to create even more efficient generators and devices to power with the gems, but sadly the more mystical aspects of them eluded him.
Which was why, when Angel Island was engulfed in a strange new version of Chaos Control, Tails was both thrilled and upset that his research had never even hinted to this kind of power. It meant that there was indeed more to be found, but for now he first needed to survive this new twist.
Later, when he finally woke up, he didn't immediately remember how he'd fallen asleep. Then the overhead sun managed to catch his eye, and as it flashed across his vision so did the memory of the party. Sitting up, he let out a shout of surprise when he felt the ground underneath him suddenly grow soft. He started to sink, but at the last minute his tails started spinning and they managed to push him back up. Hovering above the ground, he looked down to see what was wrong, only to see a puffy white cloud beneath him.
"I was...on a cloud?" He breathed out in surprise. Slowly he touched the surface with a foot, and when he felt some resistance, dropped down completely. To his shock he didn't fall through.
"Whoa, I've never seen this before!" Poking at the cloud reminded him of a sponge, or a large pile of feathers, it was hard to tell which fit better. The harder he poked it the more its texture changed, going from near solid to almost gaseous. Feeling adventurous he started to bounce around, giggling as it started acting like a trampoline for him. For several minutes he enjoyed the strange but amazing cloud, until finally with a really big bounce it completely broke up underneath him. "Whoa!"
Regaining his bearings Tails hovered over what remained of the cloud, now a slowly dissolving bundle of mist. Guess I shouldn't have bounced so high..., He thought. Shaking his head, he tried to refocus on the problem at hand. But where am I? What happened to...?!
"Sonic! Amy! Knuckles!" Tails shouted, his voice echoing across the sky. "Cream! Rouge! Anyone?!"
His voice echoed lightly but there was no response. This high up allowed him to see the surrounding landscape for miles, and although there seemed to be civilization nearby in the form of a village or town, everything else was unknown to him. A thick and dark forest lay directly below him, but landing there didn't seem like a good idea. Mountains were scattered around the horizon, and what seemed to be a large orchard lay close to the forest edge. Knowing his tails wouldn't be able to keep up his hover for long, he made a quick decision.
"Well if they're anywhere they've got to be in town." He said out loud. Nodding his head, Tails slowly began flying toward the town, praying that he was right.
Miles were passing by in a blur as Sonic ran, a thick trail of dust following him. He'd been moving north after tossing a stick he'd found near the edge of the strange desert to pick a direction. So far it had only lead him from one empty land to another; deep canyons and open barren plains now stretched out around him, and he could've sworn there were wolves howling somewhere in the distance. No houses or towns were in sight yet, but the speedy hedgehog wasn't about to give up. After all, a few miles were nothing to a guy who could circle the world for fun!
I gotta be getting closer, I can feel it. He thought. Just hang on guys!
Putting on more speed, Sonic vanished from sight with a boom.
Sugarcube Corner was as teeth rotting to look at as in the show. Designed after a gingerbread house with two cupcakes on top, it sat on a fork in the road just off of the main road to town center. Each window had pastries and cakes lining the shelves, and the smell of freshly baked bread was wafting through the front flap doors. Taking a deep breath, Mark could just make out the scent of cherry, apple, and chocolate along with dozens more that he couldn't immediately identify. He loved that smell, more than the pages of a book or the burning logs of a campfire. It was why he worked in a bakery in the first place, although it hadn't been his first choice admittedly. Still he certainly wouldn't mind working in this bakery.
Right...just roll with it and hopefully the fourth wall won't come into this. He assured himself. Walking up to the door, he reached out to push it open...
...only to have it fly open by itself and send him flying back with a pink blob on his chest.
"SURPRISE!"
"GAH!"
Feeling the air leave his lungs, Mark tried to focus on the pink pony atop him. The bouncy mane, balloon cutie mark, and ear-to-ear grin was as recognizable as his own face and just as welcome. Pinkie Pie was practically vibrating as streamers and balloons billowed out of the doorway behind her - accompanied of course by kazoos and other party blowers just out of sight. But unfortunately, due to her size and his own reduced one, her weight was slowly crushing him and spots were starting to form around his vision.
"Hi there I was wondering when you'd show up because you see I had this really, really weird tingle yesterday and I was like 'Oh I never felt that before' and then I had this super weird combo with butterflies in my stomach, a twitchy eyebrow, and a poofy mane and so I was like 'Oh something new is coming to town, I've gotta get ready!' but then I thought maybe I should throw a party but you weren't here yet so I figured I could throw a pre-surprise surprise party with all my friends since I'm sure they'll want to meet you too and I was like 'That's a great idea Pinkie Pie!' but because I threw the party yesterday I was all out of supplies today - I know shocking right? - and so I figured I could just use a regular old surprise for you with what I have left and now you're here and I wanna throw you a party later to welcome you to Equestria and I really, really, really hope you can come 'cuz otherwise I'd be really sad and-"
"PINKIE PIE!" Mark gasped.
"Yes?" Eyes blinking innocently, the party pony finally stopped defying physics and took a deep breath. "Ohhhhhh, you're not supposed to be blue are you?" Jumping off, she backed off while he tried to breathe. "Hey wait a minute, how did you know my name?"
"Y...You just...said it..." Mark said in-between breaths. She didn't breathe once through that whole thing. What a pair of lungs!
"Oh right, teehee!" She giggled into her hooves. "So like I said, I'm Pinkie Pie and I know everypony in Ponyville, because everypony is my friend! What's your name and do you wanna be my friend too?"
"Mark...uh, Mark Magnum. Nice to meet you Pinkie Pie, and yes."
"Yay! You and I are gonna be great friends, I can tell!" With that she pulled the poor human into a hug, nearly crushing his ribs under the pressure.
I'm being hugged by Pinkie Pie! No wait, that's a bad thing because I'm being bear hugged by Pinkie Pie! Gasping, Mark said, "Air!"
"Whoopsie!"
"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing dearie?" An older mare walked out of the shop to find the pink pony, gently, patting Mark on the back. "Oh...oh my...um hello sir, I hope Pinkie Pie wasn't too energetic in welcoming you."
"Ah, uh, n-not at all ma'am. Actually I kinda liked it - you don't get that kind of welcoming just anywhere."
"Yes, well, would you like to come in? We've got plenty of things on sale if you're interested." Gesturing him to follow, Mrs. Cake walked back inside with the two following. The store was surprisingly spacious despite the small front room. A refrigerated display case stood next to the cash register, and a pair of door flaps lead into the back room where the huge kitchen obviously was. A set of stairs next to it led to the living quarters upstairs. Mrs. Cake walked to the register and smiling turned to Mark again. "So what can I do for you dearie?"
Looking at the selection, Mark fought back some drool at the sight of such perfect looking pastries. "Uh..." Shaking his head, he tried again. "Actually, I was wondering if you were hiring? You see I'm new in Equestria and I'm afraid I don't have any bits..."
"Where are you from?" Pinkie Pie asked from beside him. She was zipping around him peering closely at everything he was carrying. She seemed especially interested in the sheathe that held his combat knife, but he made sure to keep a hand over it to block her view.
"Far away to put it mildly." Mark replied with a smile. "I managed to get here by living off the land, and I had a few more bags with me full of supplies. Unfortunately I lost them a while back and...well..."
"Oh dear how awful. It's just good you didn't go and lose yourself now isn't it?" Mrs. Cake smiled in jest. "Well we can always use an extra hoof around when the orders start piling up, and sometimes we have to deliver some ourselves and leave the shop. Have you ever baked before?"
"I used to work at a bakery before coming here - I love baking actually."
"Yay! I knew we'd be great friends!" Pinkie Pie sneaked in a second bear hug, but thankfully it only lasted a few seconds. "You're hired!"
"Now Pinkie Pie..."
"Pleeeeeease?"
Oh god, Pinkie Puppy Eyes!
Mrs. Cake didn't last a second under her employees gaze. "Alright dear, you're hired!" Pinkie jumped in joy while Mark just smiled. "Honey, could you come here for a second?"
"What is it sugarbear?" Mr. Cake said as he came out of the kitchen. "Oh, well hello there stranger!"
"This is...oh uh...sorry but what's your name?"
"Mark, Mark Magnum."
"Mark here was looking for a job in the bakery. I just hired him to help out and wanted to introduce you."
"Well we sure could use the help. Name's Carrot Cake, and the misses here is Cup Cake. Pleased to meet you." He held out a hoof to shake. Mark took it and smiled.
"Nice to meet you too sir, and thank you for the job."
Behind the trio, Pinkie Pie grinned.
As Tails descended toward the edge of the forest he made extra sure that he stayed high above the treeline. Halfway to the forest edge he'd heard a terrible growl down below and had seen the leaves shuddering on several trees. It had slowly moved with him until, suddenly, it stopped, followed by another growl. Thankfully it had sounded sad instead of angry, but since then he'd known better than to trust these woods. As he set down on a grassy hill, he looked over his shoulder and shuddered at the sight of yellow eyes peering at him from the shadows.
I don't think I'll be going in there... He gulped.
From here it was another minute or two of flying to the edge of town, but as he'd never managed to strengthen his tails for prolonged flight he instead had to walk the rest of the way. It wasn't that much of a walk - only a few minutes more - but it made him anxious to get there if only because of his growing worry for his friends. He knew the odds of them all landing close by was slim; the Master Emerald had shattered before and had been scattered across Mobius, and there was little chance it wouldn't have happened to them as well. But a town meant supplies, and supplies meant he could probably make something to help speed up his search. If he was really lucky maybe there would be something he could fix up and get for free.
Finding a path leading into town, Tails followed it and eventually slipped onto one of the main streets. Looking around, he could see several equines walking on all fours just going about their day. A few took notice of him, but generally they either passed him by or said good morning if anything. The houses were all made of stone and wood and suggested they lacked high level technology like some of the bigger cities. That was slightly disappointing, but just because it looked that way didn't mean it was. Above in the sky he could see - to his surprise - several pegasi flying around and even moving clouds. Remembering the odd cloud he'd awoken on, he couldn't help but wonder if these people had some kind of magical control over the weather.
After noticing that a few of the horses had horns, Tails concluded they probably did.
I really must be lost if I'm somewhere on Mobius with magical equines. Magic is pretty rare these days. Tails frowned. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever seeing Mobians like these before...and why are they all quadrupeds? It was an odd trait for any Mobian to have. On a world where there was an endless variety of species very little was shared in common. Of those traits that were, bipedal bodies was a constant, along with a shared language that according to records had existed for as long as anyone could remember. For any Mobian to not exhibit a common similarity meant they were either very, very isolated or perhaps...
No way, it couldn't be. Tails shook his head, a hand coming up to rub his chin. Unbeknownst to him, several ponies were now watching the strange fox as he stood in the middle of the street thinking. But I don't know what happened with the Chaos Emeralds either. The Master Emerald broke...something like Chaos Control...and the dome of light that appeared...could they have done more than scatter us? But where to, or maybe when?! Oh man, is this the past? Is that why-
Suddenly he felt something slam into him from behind, sending him tumbling forward. "Oof!" He cried, hearing someone echo him from behind. Sitting up he rubbed his head and luckily didn't feel any bumps.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you like that!"
Still rubbing his head, Tails started to turn around and apologize. "Oh, it's no problem miss, I..."
The two of them froze, both staring toward the other in shock. A purple unicorn a few inches taller than him was sitting on its haunches staring back. Violet eyes, a shade darker than her coat, were scanning his body with the intensity he usually gave a new machine or mystery, marking her as an intellectual likely like him. On both flanks was a strange tattoo; a dark purple star with five white ones circling it. A couple of saddlebags were also on either side of her body, and filled to the brim with books. But after looking over the girl Tails finally looked down at what had really shocked him; a large gem roughly as big as his hand lay on the ground, its green surface faintly glowing. He'd recognize a Chaos Emerald anywhere, but the fact he'd found one so easily, and in this girls possession too...
"U-Um, I'm sorry for staring. I just, it's just that I've never seen anything like you before." The girl, or pony perhaps, now that he was close to one to judge said.
"Huh? Oh uh, it's okay miss." Tails replied distractedly. "Do you mind if I take a look at that gem of yours?"
"My what? Oh! I must've dropped it when I bumped into you. Sorry again for that." With an apologetic glance, the pony's horn lit up and suddenly a violet aura wrapped itself around the Chaos Emerald. Startled, Tails jumped when it began floating toward him. "Here, isn't it fascinating? Do you see how it glows like that? I think it might somehow be producing its own magical energy. Isn't that exciting?"
Taking the gem into his hands, Tails watched as the aura faded and the gem became dull once more. Now touching it, Tails could definitely sense the telltale power locked within. It seemed to warm in his grip even, perhaps sensing a familiar presence, and began to hum and pulse with light. This is really lucky, I can't believe I managed to find a Chaos Emerald already!
"Wow..." Jumping again, Tails looked up and saw that the unicorn was now peering closely at the gem, eyes alight in joy at what was happening. "It didn't do that before! How are you doing that - are you using a spell or actually tapping into the energy inside of it?"
"Uh...I'm just holding it really. The Chaos Emeralds usually do this when one of its brothers are around..." Trailing off, Tails looked back down at the gem. Wait...could there really be...
"Chaos...Emeralds?" The violet pony backed up slowly, a wary look now on her face. "Is that what it's called? How do you know what that is? None of my books had anything on it."
"You don't know what a Chaos Emerald is?" Tails asked in confusion. They were just about as infamous as his friend Sonic, since they tended to cause just as much trouble or good as both sides did alone in a crisis. They were practically international treasures, which alone sometimes caused problems on a lesser scale.
She opened her mouth to reply when-
WHUMP!
Crying out in shock, both Tails and the girl cried out as they were knocked to the ground by a massive wave of air. Around them ponies began screaming and more than a few windows shattered from the force. The sky grew dark and a loud rumble filled the air, drowning out the voices of the townsfolk as something massive began to appear in the sky. Stumbling, Tails managed to stand and helped his companion up before the two of them looked up at the sky to see what was going on. Their jaws dropped in shock.
"Is that..."
"...a castle?!"
Atop a crumbling wedge of land, floating high above the town, was indeed a castle. It's numerous towers were jagged and jutted out at every angle, the black stone of its walls so dark they seemingly absorbed the light of the sun. Its size was unknown but it easily dwarfed the town, casting a shadow over everyone. Because of their close proximity to the edge of town, however, Tails could see more than just the towers and upper ramparts. And what he saw was terrifying.
Thousands of soldiers lined the walls, towers, and even the sky around the massive monolith. Their armor came in variations of red, black, and gold, but all had their helmets designed after a roaring dragon's head and shoulders with wicked blades running along the top. Spears, swords, and maces were in every hand, all splattered with red and wicked sharp looking even from this distance. And beside the soldiers were various winged beasts, easily large enough to hold two soldiers atop it. They were like reptilian vultures, their tattered webbed wings flapping loudly in the air as they screeched and cawed. Some of the smaller, single mounted ones looked to be like bats, their gaping maws and wide yellow eyes making a horrid sight. Their numbers darkened the sky wherever the castle didn't, and more continued to fly out of the center of the castle and spread out. But the worst came as the massive front gate lowered, and from inside came two lumbering giants, each wielding a club with a spiked collar around their necks. Chains snaked down from it to numerous soldiers pulling on the ends to get them to move, and if Tails had to guess, just one of them was easily as big if not bigger than any of the houses around him.
"W-What is going on!?" The violet unicorn screamed.
"..." Gulping, Tails looked down at the Chaos Emerald. It was glowing brightly, and when he lifted it up to the castle, he felt it begin pushing away from the monolith. It's never done that before, so they can't have a Chaos Emerald. But then what-
His thoughts were interrupted as a horn was blown from somewhere inside the castle. As one the soldiers all raised their weapons and began shouting, their mounts and the two giants roaring alongside. Ponies began screaming again and fleeing in all directions, and like a flood the soldiers jumped down with seemingly no worry about how high up they were. As they began to land Tails ran in the opposite direction, knowing that above all, these soldiers couldn't get their hands on the Chaos Emerald. Beside him his new comrade followed, and even after a time began to lead him along somewhere. Trusting her native knowledge, he followed and sent a plea for help out in his mind.
Sonic...Help!
Less than a mile away, atop a mountain near Ponyville, Sonic the Hedgehog watched grimly as the floating castle appeared from thin air. He saw the evil design of the castle walls, heard and saw the numerous soldiers as they began attacking the town, and sighed.
"Oh man, this isn't good." Punching the palm of his hand with a fist, Sonic sped off to save the day.
Pinkie Pie was like having a kid drink several cups of coffee and then feeding them candy for about an hour. Endless energy and a mouth that could probably power a city if you could make it, literally, a motor mouth. But even she knew when to mellow for a moment and focus on something important, and Mark saw that a lot during their work together. She was always in the mood to talk, even as orders came in and baking needed to be done, but unlike many moments from the show it was slow and steady compared to the sporadic, random near-babble of many fanfictions and even reality. But even when calm she would be humming, bouncing, and always moving. One second rolling out a pie crust, the next cutting cookies out of the dough, and then another slipping something into an open oven and bumping it closed with her rear. There was no stopping Pinkie Pie from being energetic, but then again Mark liked her for that and enjoyed really seeing it face-to-face.
Having started as soon as he was hired, Mark had gone back into the kitchen and now some time later things were finally starting to hit a lull. Since he'd come to town around noon, they'd been filling out the quota for lunch and so far business was good. He imagined it had something to do with him being here; how often does a bipedal creature nobody had seen before come into town and suddenly get a job after all? Mr. and Mrs. Cake certainly seemed to appreciate his work and the small boon he was causing their shop, and already they'd once come in to praise him for one of his pies. That had earned another big hug from Pinkie, and together the two of them secretly shared a few spare cookies in celebration.
Now, in the midst of a small lull, Mark was listening to a few jokes from Pinkie while enjoying their snack of milk of cookies. They were both covered in flour, and the kitchen was a mess of bowls and ingredients, but that could wait for later while they worked on some friendship bonding. Chuckling, Mark saw a small spot of flour on Pinkie's nose, but chose not to comment as she neared the punchline. It was too cute to interrupt her for anyway.
"...and so then he said, 'That's not a sculpture, that's my laundry!'" Pinkie said, before breaking out into a fit of giggles and rolling onto the floor. Shaking his head, Mark chuckled and grabbed the empty plate of cookies and took it over to the sink.
"Heheh, good one Pinkie Pie. That really explains a lot of modern art I've seen actually." Dropping the dishes off, he wiped his hands on the apron he was wearing and then walked over to the still giggling mare on the floor. He offered her a hand up, and once she was back on all four hooves he looked around. "Well, I think that was the last order of the afternoon. Is there anything planned for the evening rush?"
"Hmmm, nope!" Bouncing in place, Pinkie smiled up at him. "This should do it for today. Anything we don't sell I get to take home, oh and of course you can take some too if you want Markie!"
"Don't you keep some to sell tomorrow?"
"Well only a few things, like pies and cakes. We don't want anypony getting stale donuts or muffins though, now do we?"
"Good point." That definitely hadn't been the way his old bakery had done things, although thankfully they'd only kept things for a day instead of like, a week for example. It had been a nice place, but very laid back in maintaining quality and order. Scratching his cheek, Mark thought on what to do next. "Well uh, now that we're done-"
"Oh i know!" Pinkie Pie interrupted. "Why don't I take you to meet all of my friends! I'm sure Twilight would love to meet you, and Fluttershy will be, well, shy duh, but once she gets to know you I'm sure everything will be fine. Rarity probably will ask you all about your clothes..."
Tuning Pinkie Pie out a little bit, Mark thought over her idea. He'd come to Ponyville not planning on actually meeting all of the Mane 6 like most fans probably would. Instead, he had hoped to simply settle in for a bit, casually meet them, and befriend who he could. He liked to think he was a decent guy that could get all six of the girls to like him, but at the same time he had little experience in actually befriending people. It wasn't even his fault, mostly; living in the wilderness in his parents old home had given him plenty of peace and quiet, but also few people to talk to and simply hang out with. All of the friendships he'd made over the years, what few there were, had all been spur of the moment, and generally revolved around shared likes such as baking, or being co-workers at the bakery. Whenever someone left their job, while Mark would still contact them from time to time, nothing really ever continued.
And then there was the problem of where he'd come from.
If anyone asked him about his past, he was prepared to go for the basic, and most possibly overused story imaginable. He would say that he was a wandering stranger from a faraway land, exploring the world in hopes of discovering new and exciting things. When he heard of Equestria and the strange magic they had, he'd decided to come here and eventually made his way into Ponyville. High Road got this answer when asked, and although he had no desire to form friendships with a big lie, it wasn't like Mark was going to say anything else untrue about himself otherwise, nor would he have faked any emotions or personality quirks just to get the ponies to like him. Plus, as long as he was careful on how much knowledge from the show he used, then nobody would have to suspect him either.
That didn't stop him from not feeling well about lying to anyone, period, but then again meeting Pinkie Pie and getting a job at Sugarcube Corner hadn't been on his original plan either. If anything life had taught him was that, for every plan he made in advance, there would be three that he made in a split second before doing anything that he would do instead.
"Markie? Hellooooooo, earth to Markieeeee."
Blinking at the pink hoof waving in his face, Mark realized that he'd spaced out longer than he thought. He looked down, seeing Pinkie staring at him in curiosity with her head tilted to the side and an ear flopping lightly. It was a cute sight, one of many that he knew would be in his future if he was lucky, and chuckling he waved a hand in apology. "Sorry Pinkie Pie, I was...just thinking about something."
"Thinking about what?" She asked.
"Mmm...nothing important. Come on, I'd love to meet your friends."
Pinkie Pie grinned, already bouncing in place in excitement, when suddenly there was a deafening boom from outside. On instinct, Mark grabbed the pink pony and dived to the floor, covering her head with his body as the windows shattered and sprayed glass all over the kitchen. Hearing her scream, Mark could also make out several other ponies outside doing the same, and when he looked up he realized how dark it suddenly was. Getting off of her, he checked her for any cuts, and then did so for himself, before carefully helping her up. "W-What was that?" She asked, looking very startled. "And why is it so dark? Did Princess Luna raise the moon too early?"
"I don't know Pinkie Pie, but stay here." Mark ordered, suddenly looking very serious. Walking over to one of the shattered windows, he carefully brushed any glass on the window shelf off before leaning out and taking a look at the street outside. Ponies were running to and fro, screaming their heads off and likely seeking shelter in their homes. But what all of them were doing was looking up, and doing the same Mark felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach. "That's no moon."
The sky was covered by what looked to be the underside of a mountain. Loose soil fell from around thick boulders and what seemed to be the broken remains of an underground structure, with pipes and other odds and ends hanging warped and incomplete. Its size was hard to tell, so vast and big as it was, but at the very least it covered roughly half of Ponyville, and if the lack of light was any indication, then perhaps it was even bigger than the whole town in diameter alone. There was no telling just how tall it was, and outside of the very obvious magic that had to be holding it afloat, Mark felt something heavy and dark when he gazed at it.
Then, from above the floating mass came the sound of a horn.
Wincing at the noise, Mark cupped one ear on reflex and listened with the other as thousands of voices answered the horns call. This caused the ponies in the street to panic even more, but it wasn't until a few minutes had passed before anything appeared to reveal the real level of danger. Dark silhouettes rushed across the sky, at first staying close to the floating mountain, and then swooping down at the town. When they closed in, Mark saw them drop something red and bright, before explosions blossomed wherever these objects landed and the light revealed giant bats and vulture-like beasts with mounted men atop it. They laughed and roared, chasing the pegasi still flying around, and flung nets at any that came close. From down the street, more shouting and yelling began to increase in volume, and Mark realized that these invaders had ground troops as well. Worse - he could hear more than just humanoid voices closing in. There were likely more creatures with them, just like the bats and vultures up above, and they sounded pretty big too.
Finally tearing his attention away from the view outside, Mark turned and saw Pinkie Pie sitting in the middle of the kitchen with a terrified look on her face. It was obvious that she'd been watching some too from over his shoulder, and the fires actually flickered as shadows across her face and from the other windows around the room. Stepping closer, Mark knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Pinkie Pie." When she didn't immediately respond he lightly tapped her cheek with his other hand. "Pinkie Pie!" Blinking rapidly, she looked into Mark's eyes and was surprised at how serious and intense they were. It reminded her of how she and her friends got when serious trouble cropped up, but none more so than Applejack, who was often the most level headed of them, beyond even Twilight. Seeing it on Mark's strange, almost alien face, made her feel oddly safe with him. "Go help the Cakes hide, possibly down in the basement if the bakery has one. Lock the door, don't go near any windows, and wait until I come back okay?"
"What?" Pinkie Pie shook her head. "N-No way, I've got to go find my friends! Twilight, and Applejack, and-"
"That comes later." Mark interrupted. "There are soldiers coming and we need- I need, to take care of them. Okay?" Pinkie Pie shook her head, opening her mouth to argue, but Mark clamped his hand down over her muzzle to silence her. He stared at her some more, a small caring smile on his face. "I can take care of myself, don't worry. Besides, I doubt the Elements can take out an entire army or whatever is invading the town. You need to wait for the bigger target to reveal itself."
"....O-Okay." She whispered once he removed his hand. Wrapping him in a hug, she squeezed him tightly before letting go. "Be careful Markie."
"Don't worry Pinkie, I will." Standing up, he glanced out the window, and after a moment of thought, looked back at the pink pony. "Actually, maybe there is one thing you can do to help. Got anything special lying around, say for big pranks?"
Pinkie Pie grinned from ear to ear.
Leading twelve men down the dirt paved street, the sergeant felt a rare surge of joy. Having served the Emperor for five faithful years, he'd been both fortunate and unlucky to rise to his position during a lull in rebellions and thus had seen little in terms of combat or conquests such a this. He relished every scream from the strange four-legged inhabitants of this village, and made sure that all of his men lit fires to ensure nothing would survive the bombing from the air support that had swept through the area ahead of them. This was sure to be yet another successful conquest by his Lord, and as he'd been chosen to lead a very important squad, he was sure to be promoted yet again once his task was complete.
Looking over his shoulder, he noted the man in the middle of their group. Clad in the same red armor as the rest yet carrying no weapon, he held in his hands a strange rod that glowed a toxic purple and waved it around at every house and captured native they passed. He was unsure what this man was doing, or why it required such a large group of soldiers to protect him solely, but the rod had noticeably darkened the further down the road they traveled, so obviously they were getting close to-
"There." The man spoke, lifting the rod that now pulsed slowly like a heartbeat. "Our objective lies within that shop."
Turning his head to face forward, the sergeant grimaced in disgust at what he saw. It was a bakery designed to look like a giant gingerbread house, with bright colors and confectioneries all over the outside of the building. All the bright colors of this place had already made him sick to his stomach, but seeing this bakery took his hatred of this place to a higher level than he thought possible. Unsheathing his sword, he grumbled, "Lets just get this over with then. Stay here men, I'll take care of this."
Shaking his head slowly, the rod-man watched as the sergeant marched forward with some swagger in his step. It was clear to him that the other man hoped for some kind of glory by obtaining the objective himself. He however, knew more than what the sergeant had been informed of, and unlike the other man had faced off against rebels and seen how desperate people could surprise even the most prepared offense/defense. Stepping back some out of the formation, he gestured for the other men to step forward to follow their leader. Nobody noticed because of this the strange green glow over his eyes, or how he tensed up for a few moments.
As the sergeant reached the front door of the bakery he noted with amusement that someone had clearly locked the door. Scoffing at the feeble defense, he kicked at the door and smiled a little as it nearly came off its hinges with just a single kick. "Feh, such weak creatures. Even their homes are as feeble as they are." Raising his sword, he aimed to strike the lock and march in, but suddenly from inside came a loud shout.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
BOOM!
The last thing the sergeant thought before falling unconscious, was that the doors were still sturdy enough to knock a grown man cold.
Coughing, Mark waved away the smoke from Pinkie's Party Cannon. "Ugh, I guess I used too much gunpowder. Where the heck did she even get this thing?" Still coughing, he carefully reloaded the cannon before pushing it back and stepping out into the street. The door lay off to the side next to a man in armor, with bits of a cake and other pastries splattered over both. Since Pinkie Pie had built the thing to, apparently, take all kinds of party supplies he'd gone and loaded everything he could so that it could pack a real wallop and floor whoever was on the other side. Unfortunately, as he looked around the street at the soldiers all still standing, it was obvious that he still had quite the fight ahead of him. "Well darn, and here I was hoping to take out more than one guy. What's wrong, didn't like him so you sent him in first?"
Taking their moment of disbelief to evaluate them, Mark saw that they all wore the same kind of armor. Red, spiky, with gold borders and a dragon head helmet and face guard that obscured everything save for their yellow eyes. All of their weapons were close-range and rather standard, with swords and hammers being the most common. They were very intimidating with most of the men standing around six feet or more, but the more he looked at them the more Mark realized how skinny they must really be. It gave him a little hope, as he'd need every advantage he could get against the dozen troops with his younger, less fit body. If he was his original age this would be almost nothing if he remained level headed, but now all he had was the little fitness he'd gained at this age, and the memories of all the combat and training to hopefully get his muscles to move the right way with.
Making a note to fully check out his younger body and its limits later, Mark raised the broom shaft he'd armed himself with, the bushy end snapped off to keep it balanced. Just in time too, as the soldiers finally came out of their daze and started walking closer to him with malice in their steps. This is going to get ugly.
"You dare strike one of the Emperor's forces?" One soldier yelled, stepping forward with his sword drawn quickly, In response the other men all drew their weapons, and the ring of drawn steel echoed around the street. One by one they circled around him, blocking any chance of escape. The talkative one stood in front of him, looking down and breathing heavily from only a foot or so away from Mark. "Have the rebels truly grown so desperate as to send children to fight their pointless struggles?"
Mark tilted his head, curious as to who these 'rebels' might be. "I think you've got the wrong guy mister."
"He's right," Another soldier remarked from behind Mark. "Just look at the boy - clean clothes and not a lick of dirt on his face. Pah! So weak and scrawny too! Hardly a rebel, more than likely a simple native humanoid."
"Hey now, I've got muscles. You don't have to be all bulgy to have them." Mark protested.
"He probably thinks he's being a hero." A third one spoke from beside the first soldier, contempt and mocking laughter clear when he spoke the last word. "Thinks he can take on the entire might of our Lord's army." That brought a round of laughter from all of them, and Mark lowered his head slightly so that his eyes were shaded by his hair. Inwardly he was smirking though, as they were falling easily into the second trick up his sleeve. After all, if all they thought of him fighting was that he stood no chance, then they'd underestimate him.
Nobody should underestimate Mark Magnum.
"Enough!" Ordered the lead soldier, and with a raised fist the men grew silent. Looking over them all, he turned his attention back to Mark and sneered behind his faceplate at the boys posture. "Any last words child, before I end this silly little resistance?"
Mark thought about it for a moment.
"...Your shoelaces are untied."
"Huh?" The soldier looked down, as did many of his comrades.
Quick as lightning Mark struck the faceplate of the lead soldier, the thin metal crumpling with surprising ease from the force of his blow. The man let out a muffled howl as most of his face was smashed in, hindering his breathing and staggering him, and Mark used that to spin him around and kick him into the three soldiers behind him, sending them all into a pile on the ground. The other soldiers, stunned by the sudden and violent turnabout, couldn't respond fast enough to stop Mark from repeating the face smash two more times and quickly disarming another two with sharp whacks to their wrists. Twirling his staff, Mark performed a leg sweep that almost got the men, but his initial window of surprise had closed and most of them stepped back in time save for those he'd already attacked. "Get him!" One yelled, before Mark zeroed in on him and got in close for a vicious upward haymaker with the center of his staff. The man fell to his knees choking and clutching at his throat, and with a solid punch to the side of his helmet he was knocked out as Mark spun to parry two swords that had been aimed for his back. Grunting, Mark quickly slid to the side to save his fragile weapon and kicked the legs out from one of the swordsman before kicking off from his stomach to knee the second in the face.
"Eiyah!" Mark yelled, rolling and performing a handstand. Swinging his legs, he forced off three more attackers as they charged at him long enough to push off and stand, before jabbing at one in the stomach and delivering two strikes with his 'staff' to the sides of their head. The other two, still stumbling back, were pushed forward by some of their comrades and they raised their weapons - an axe and a mace - to strike Mark down. However their swings were wide, and with a simple ninety-degree shift sideways they slipped past Mark's body and he dropped his staff for a second to deliver two palm strikes right at their faceplate as their heads leaned in close. Ignoring their muffled howls, his hands snaked around their heads and stepping back he slammed them hard against one another, knocking two more out before he quickly crouched and grabbed his staff again.
Five still stood, the rest out cold or too impaired to help. Eyes roaming over the remainder, he noted their cautious stances and how the two he'd disarmed earlier had reclaimed their weapons. Smiling, he twirled his staff and beckoned them to approach. "Come on fellas, I'm not getting any younger yet!" He taunted.
Two of them bristled at his remark and charged, the left with a halberd and the right wielding two small hammers he'd claimed from his fallen comrades. Jumping back Mark parried the hammer strikes and moved clear of any of the thrust attacks from the spearman. Eventually the halberd wielder overextended in one of his thrusts, and using the opportunity Mark slid his staff against the side of the haft and pushed it into the way of a double overhead strike by the hammer soldier. With a roar of pain the spearman's hand was smashed and his halberd shattered by the impressive strength of his comrade. Startled, the other man was caught off guard as Mark used the momentum of his staff as it had slid across the haft and deftly shot up and jabbed the man directly on the nose. The metal crumpled, blood splattering over the edge and into his eyes, and blinded the man couldn't defend against the second blow that actually broke Mark's staff and knocked him cold. Crouching to grab one of the hammers, Mark swung up and with a high pitched squeal the other soldier stood onto his toes as his privates were...yeah, it wasn't pretty getting those smashed. More out of pity than anything, Mark grabbed the second hammer too and quickly knocked the suffering fellow out, before standing up and looking at the remaining three.
Taking a deep breath, Mark closed his eyes for a split second and then opened them again. They danced in the flames of the surrounding fires, showing an intensity that belied his apparent age. Despite themselves, the trio stepped back once out of stunned fear.
"H...How is this possible!?" One cried out, lifting his double headed axe up like a shield before him. "One child...one scrawny brat took out over nine of us in such a short time!"
Smirking, Mark felt some sweat trickle down the sides of his face. He was a lot more exhausted than he was showing, the harsh reminder of his younger form. If he was older then fighting for this long wouldn't have gotten him even close to sweating. He was mentally thanking himself over and over that he'd started training in mixed martial arts at a young age, and that for the most part, he was plenty agile and flexible even now to keep up with his future training memories. "You're the one who said I was a hero, right?" Mark asked, nodding at the axe wielder. "Well, you know it's funny. I never thought I was one, but I sure have plenty as my role models. I always said to myself, 'If you don't train then you'll never stand beside them.' My dad said that too, and he was the biggest hero in my life." Rolling one shoulder, he casually lifted up a hammer and pointed it at the soldiers. His eyes narrowed and something flashed across them that wasn't entirely from the flames reflecting in them. "You scum are attacking Ponyville, harming the inhabitants of this peaceful world, and more importantly..." He intoned. "You were trying to come to my friends home, hurt her and the Cakes, and probably burn down Sugarcube Corner." Gritting his teeth, he slipped into a stance, ready to continue fighting. "As a man who dreams to bring hope and peace, a man who wishes be known as a Hero, I won't let you take one more step forward!"
Charging, Mark pivoted on his right heel as he got in close and swung wide with both hammers. Smacking the axe wielder across the flat of his weapon, sending him sliding back, he managed to disarm another of his mace and missed the third. Still spinning, he crouched and pushed off to dive at the axe wielder, and with a double hammering at his chest he knocked the soldier completely flat and stomped on the mans head once he was down. Turning, he threw one hammer at the advancing swordsman, distracting him by making him parry the projectile, and with a quick flick and shift of his foot he removed the helmet of the downed soldier and flipped it up into the air. "Catch!" He yelled, kicking the helmet at the mace wielder. To both of their shock, the soldier actually dropped his reclaimed mace to catch it with both hands, but unlike the dummy Mark charged forward and swung the hammer up to smack the helmet into the one he was wearing. There was a loud 'Clang!' as the two pieces of metal struck, and a faint cry from the soldier as his helmet crumpled, and with a palm thrust into his stomach Mark knocked him flat and out of the fight.
Turning to face his final opponent, he stumbled back and as a reward only received a narrow cut that sliced his shirt open and created a faint line of red across his skin from his left pectoral down to the right side of his stomach. Hissing at the pain, Mark clutched at the wound and parried several follow-up strikes, narrowly avoiding having more cuts added to his body. Glancing back, he continued to retreat until he was right at the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. He threw the last hammer at the man, which was easily blocked by the flat of the swords blade, but it bought him time to dive into the shop and out of sight. Predictably, the soldier followed, confident in winning, but like the sergeant at the start of the battle he was laid low by the Party Cannon as Mark tugged on the cord and fired the final salvo.
Boom!
Flying out of the bakery, the final soldier rolled for several feet before finally stopping against one of his comrades bodies, covered in cake and streamers. Silence filled the street for a few seconds, not even the bombing and fires making any noise it seemed, before at last Mark sighed and stepped out of the shop again. Patting his chest, he barely felt any blood and concluded that it was a shallow cut, hardly something to worry about. "Not bad for a first day's work." He said, before grimacing as his wound pulsed with pain. Shallow or not it hurt terribly, and he wasn't looking forward to having it permanently scar.
A slow clap caught his attention, and snapping his head up he gazed around the street for the source. There, in the shadow of one of the houses, stood another soldier. He was dressed the same as the rest, but clipped to his waist was a strange rod that pulsed steadily with a dark purple light. Just looking at it made Mark feel ill, and knew that it wasn't anything good for him or anyone else it might be intended for. "Impressive." The thirteenth soldier said. "You not only faced down a force greater in number, but succeeded, and at such a young age as well." Stepping closer, Mark finally noted something different about this soldier from the rest. His eyes were green, and his faceplate was missing. Because of this he could see the pale, almost albino white skin underneath, as well as the amused smirk on his face. "Such talent is worth saving from a painful death."
"Well, forgive me if I don't thank you for the compliment." Mark grumbled. The green-eyed man shrugged. "So who are you? You can't tell me you're just some two-bit thug like the rest of these guys. For one thing you're actually talking instead of just spouting threats."
"Indeed I'm not, in fact you can say I'm somewhat of a...Specialist." Lifting the rod off of his belt, he held it up and pointed it toward Sugarcube Corner. It reacted by changing the rate of its pulsing, and Mark was pretty sure that he wasn't just imagining the sound of a heartbeat as he stared at it. "Do you know what this is?" The soldier asked.
"...At first glance, I'd say some kind of magical dowsing rod." Mark answered warily.
The man looked impressed. "Correct! More specifically, it's attuned to the powerful energy source contained within that building. Or rather, the wielder of that power. My Lord was very clear that all sources of this power were to be eliminated, and the...Elements of Harmony? Yes, the Elements of Harmony, were to be acquired."
"The Elements?! How do you know about them, or that their wielders live here even?"
"My Lord knows more than you can imagine." The soldier let out a quiet chuckle, heavy with dark humor. "You do not truly understand the enemy you face. The cannon fodder might be within your range to defeat, but even taking a step above the rank and file...ah, now that would be an amusing fight to see! I wonder what would break first - your spirit or your bones?"
Gritting his teeth, Mark ran his eyes over the ground around him. There were several broken and discarded weapons lying around, but most were too big or heavy to wield easily, and or he had little experience with them. The only staff-like weapon had been the halberd, and that was lying broken in pieces and not even in usable chunks. Looking back at the strange soldier, Mark evaluated his chances on defeating this man, even with him appearing unarmed. Seeing what the boy was doing, the rod wielder chuckled again and wagged a finger.
"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't if I were you." He chided. "Remember, I am not some common 'thug', as you put it. Besides that, I have no desire to confront you." Still chuckling, he squeezed the rod until it shattered, disintegrating into dust as the power holding it together faded. Turning to leave, he began walking away at a casual pace. "You won this battle, and I see no reason to contest that fact. The Element you guard is safe for the time being."
"You're just going to leave?" Mark frowned. The way he and the others made this Emperor sound like, then failure surely would be met with more than a reprimand or even a light punishment. "I thought you had a mission to complete?"
"True..." The soldier stopped, humming in thought. Looking over his shoulder, his green eyes flashed in cruel amusement. "This body does have that objective...alas, since he has failed, I suppose I shall have to punish him." And then with another flash of his eyes, the soldier was suddenly smoking and vile green smoke began billowing out from the joints of his armor. Crumpling to the ground, Mark wasn't able to see from where he was standing but as the armor continued to smoke he noticed how it grew loose and then eventually rolled apart in places as the body inside disintegrated. Gagging, he walked over once the smoke stopped and lightly poked the helmet with a foot. It rolled over easily, revealing empty space where a head should have been.
"What the heck...?" He muttered in shock, before grimacing as his injury flared again. Hissing, he turned and headed back toward Sugarcube Corner to patch himself up. Just who are these people? And who was that controlling that soldier just now? Why would he simply let me go; he couldn't have been a pushover if the vibe I got from him was right.
"Mark?"
Looking up, Mark saw Pinkie Pie standing behind her cannon, a pie in her hoof as if she was prepared to throw it. She looked surprised to see him, but when her eyes trailed down to his ruined shirt, they grew impossibly big.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You're hurt!" She squeaked, rushing out of the room and coming back with a first aid kit in her mouth. "Don't worry, Doctor Pie will fix you up!"
"Ah, wait, Pinkie..." Mark opened his mouth to try and explain that it wasn't bad, but before he could blink she was all over him and his world was a blur of pink and white. "Mfffff!"
"Tadaah! All better!"
Blinking in surprise, Mark realized he couldn't move, bound by white gauze all over his body like a mummy. Only his eyes were uncovered, and sighing he stared at Pinkie with exasperation. Well, at least that answers my question on whether or not she really can pull off cartoon physics. Toppling over, he grunted and rolled, staring upside-down and wiggling like a worm to try and get free. "Mmm."
"Ah, whoopsie!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "Too many bandages...sorry."
"Nnn-mmm."
One soldier on the edge of town turned just in time to see a flash of blue before losing consciousness. Another, hearing the dull thud of his comrades body hitting the dirt, saw nothing still as he turned far too slowly to catch the red and white sneaker that swung and kicked him in the back of the neck. Shortly after, a low buzzing filled the air, and then with a faint gust of air a ball of blue spikes shot forward into the dense grouping of soldiers ahead.
Bowling over several soldiers at once, Sonic uncurled and hopped off another man before finally stopping to assess the danger. Eyes darting left and right, he saw the men all begin to notice him and shout for reinforcements. Smirking, he dashed off and rolled, swerving between sword swings and legs. He blasted through them like a wrecking ball when he saw them begin to clump up, and despite their greater numbers already the casualties began to pile up fast. Soon, the street was full of unconscious or groaning soldiers, and dusting his hands off Sonic turned to face the reinforcements that were coming by land and air. His smirk didn't waver a bit.
"Is that all? C'mon fellas, I'm just starting to warm up!" He taunted.
One of the strange vulture creatures screeched and dived, its brethren following in loose formation. Gliding across the ground, they were hopped over by the hedgehog and he hitched a ride on the last one to pass under him. The soldiers atop it barely had time to cry out before Sonic knocked them off, and taking the reigns he yanked the bird up into the air. "Giddy up!" Squawking, it fought his control until another vulture swooped into its chest, knocking the two down with a cry from the other mounts soldiers as they fell. Having jumped, Sonic curled into a ball and homed in on the next aerial monster, and then the next, ping-ponging around and quickly taking out the air support. Landing on a nearby rooftop, he turned and smirked at the next wave that was quickly coming in, this time with the bat creatures and their riders accompanying them. They all appeared to be loaded up with glowing balls, and when one was tossed in his direction there was a massive explosion that nearly took out an entire house.
"So that's where the fires came from." Sonic said, smirk vanishing quickly. "Guess I'll take those ones out first then."
There was a roar from the street below, and suddenly a massive club appeared from the side swinging at the roof. Jumping off, Sonic narrowly avoided getting turned to pulp as the house was crushed and splintered under the terrible strength of the lumbering beasts weapons. Sliding to a halt on the street below, he saw a massive creature with dozens of chains dangling from a spiked collar around its stubby neck. A few soldiers were walking behind it, but they apparently didn't care to restrain the beast in its attempts to kill its latest prey. He frowned, thinking of what to do, and then shot off toward the troll-like beast. It roared and stomped down at its prey, thinking it an easy kill, but the speedy hedgehog was too quick for it and easily zipped under before it even began to come down. Rushing into the crowd of soldiers, he circled them and kept them busy until the beast turned and smashed them all with its club. Rushing up the wooden weapon, Sonic punched and kicked at its face, but it only seemed to annoy it as it swatted him off and into the side of a nearby building. Grunting, he recovered and rolled out of the way of another attack, before curling up and slamming hard into its belly.
Stumbling back, the troll roared and flailed its club at the ball on its belly. It only managed to hit itself though, as Sonic rolled up its body and bounced off its face. It landed with a thundering crash on the ground, and landing by its feet he flicked his nose with his thumb and placed a hand on his hip. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You could lose a few pounds there tubby." He taunted.
Roaring, the troll slowly got back onto its feet, beady eyes bulging in rage. Heaving and panting, it began pounding the earth with its feet and club wildly, trying to kill the little blue blur that dodged all of its attacks. Craters filled the street and dust was kicked up all around the monster, until finally nothing could be seen above its stomach. Growling, it tried to find its prey, until Sonic solved the problem for it by latching onto the back of its head. Roaring again, it flailed and tried to pry the little hedgehog off, until finally at wits end it swung its club up and tried to squish him with it. Seeing it, Sonic dropped down, and with a loud meaty crunch the troll crushed the back of its skull with its own weapon and fell to the ground dead.
Frowning, Sonic waved away some of the dust and looked over the corpse of the beast. Killing living enemies always bugged him, but he couldn't deny that they always were beasts and monsters like this one. Hardly any different than the machines Eggman often tried to kill him with, but still it was more unsettling than the programmed, heartless robots of his old foe. Hearing the dull thud of explosions pick up nearby, Sonic turned and saw the bat bombers flying overhead and attacking the town once more. Leaping up to the rooftops, he shot off to stop the next wave of enemies, knowing that the battle was far from over.
After removing all of the excess bandages, and re-wrapping his stomach for a little extra padding to protect himself with, Mark tossed his ruined shirt aside and double checked his backpack for anything he might need in the upcoming fights. With only a combat knife and a shop full of pastries to rely on though it didn't look too good. Pinkie Pie meanwhile was trying to see if she could re-attach the front door. She seemed to be mostly doing it just to keep busy, as her smile was pretty fragile and her mane was a little less poofy than usual. He was honestly surprised she wasn't already racing out to try and find her friends or save the day. Then again, the stillness of the street outside was probably half the reason why not - the unconscious and now tied up soldiers too probably. And there was a heaviness to the air, like something malicious was watching them and waiting to pounce. Mark wasn't too sure it had been there the whole time or not, which made him suspect that he wasn't just being paranoid and that somebody really was watching.
Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid about being paranoid. It made about as much sense as everything else about today.
Sighing, Mark stood and dusted his hands off. "It's no good; I packed for comfort, not combat. Aside from my knife..." Trailing off, he looked out the window at the dark town and floating citadel overhead. At least the fires seem to be going out. Must be a brave soul or two dousing them and fighting back. I hope this means the other girls are okay. Glancing at Pinkie Pie, he stood and walked over to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he quickly caught the door with the other as she jumped and whipped her head around to him, forgetting to hold it up.
He smiled at her reassuringly. "I'll help fix this when I get back. But right now, I think we both need to do something to help out Ponyville."
Pinkie Pie nodded, her smile growing a little more organic and real. "Uhuh! What are we going to do Markie?"
"I'll head out and try to find the rest of the townsfolk. I think they were herding them somewhere, maybe the center of town." Mark glanced outside and saw town hall peaking over the rooftops. A number of flying mounts were circling the square around the building, and their numbers were too great to be anything but a guard against intruders. "If I'm lucky, I can free them all and maybe get away before I'm in over my head with bad guys. You meanwhile need to go find your friends." He looked back down at her. "Go to the library and find Twilight and Spike. Tell Spike to write a letter to the Princess and get the Elements asap. There's got to be a super villain running the show somewhere up there, and that's who you'll need to take out for Ponyville to have a chance."
"No problem-o Mark-o! You can count on me!" Saluting him, Pinkie Pie rushed out and headed down one of the alleyways nearby. Listening until he couldn't hear the clop of her hooves, Mark sighed and pulled out his uncles combat knife. He looked at himself in the dull reflection of its side, noting the still youthful face peering back at him. He still didn't know why he'd been de-aged, especially to a point where he'd be nearly too young to be any help. He was certain now that he was around sixteen years old at least - too young to have the physique he once had, but old enough to have all the skills. If he kept his fighting down to short bursts he wouldn't tire out too quickly, but on the negative side his punches and kicks would be a lot weaker unless he put his all into it, which in turn would tire him out faster. There was so much going on that he didn't understand...but right now the one thing he did needed his attention.
"Save Ponyville, beat the bad guys, and hope that nothing else will turn up before I can get some answers." Sheathing the knife again, Mark tucked his backpack out of the way and stepped back outside. Looking up, his eyes narrowed and he shot off down the street.
High up within the dark castle, a room was bathed in pale blue light from the massive pool elevated in the center of it. Surrounded by pillars, it shimmered and showed not a reflection, but the world beyond the citadel walls. Two men stood around it - one towering and thick with muscles, the other slim and hardly above five feet. Not only were they physically different but also horribly clashing in personality and temperament. While the smaller one watched the pool with a mysterious smirk and hand propped under his chin, the larger one growled under his breath and griped the silver colored ring of the pools edge enough to make the stone crackle and the metal bend.
"Careful, Lord Wrath, it wouldn't do to ruin my creation in your anger." The slim one remarked, green eyes flashing in amusement at their comrades anger.
"Perhaps then you would take its place, Lord Envy?" Lord Wrath asked. "I feel the need to wrap my hands around something, and your neck has always been a fond dream of mine."
"How amusing - you managed to avoid threatening me for exactly five hours this time. Your temper is surprisingly mild today."
Snorting, Wrath looked back down into the pool. An overhead view of a street rippled inside the arcane waters, with a lone figure running slowly down it. The 'camera' followed the figures movements, and with a light tap from Envy it zoomed in on the persons face. A humanoid, young and injured judging by the bandages around their chest, and with a face set with determination and calculating eyes. Seeing the young boy up close made Wrath growl again, as he'd watched earlier the fight with his troops. "This boy is strong, and skilled too."
Lord Envy chuckled. "A mere human against an entire army of our Lord's forces. As I said to him myself - to go beyond the rank and file is hopeless. One of Gluttony's commanders should take care of him easily enough, and keep me from having to sully my hands with his blood."
"You underestimate this boys resolve..." Wrath rumbled, before waving his hand and causing the image to shift. The view flew across town to another corner, where most of the armies forces were swarming to take care of a more immediate threat. A blue blur zipped and rolled around dozens of soldiers, and whenever aerial support came to bomb or pierce him with their talons and beaks he would simply hop up and eliminate them as well. The fighter paused long enough to reveal a blue hedgehog, smirking and looking as fit and healthy as when he'd first rolled into town. He dusted off something from his shoulder, and then zoomed off to continue the fight. Lord Wrath slammed his fist down, anger mounting at the casual demeanor of their foe.
"But who...who is this accursed beast?! To so casually attack my forces, and defeat them with a smirk on his face...!"
"An Avatar of Chaos." Spoke a new voice, slipping out of the shadows of the pillars. While clearly female, little could be seen of her appearance due to the all encompassing silver robes, hooded cloak and veil shrouding her body. What's more, her voice was deep and monotone, further hiding anything about her. It would be impossible to even say that the tall figure was female even, except for the noticeable mounds on her chest. "Free spirited, a warrior who fights only because there is nobody else who can. As impossible to predict as a leaf in the wind."
"Oh?" Lord Envy raised a thin eyebrow. "And what do we have to thank, to be blessed with your presence, Lady Sloth? Does your tower no longer interest you as it once did?"
Lady Sloth ignored him, gazing at the pool and the clenched fists of Lord Wrath on the edge. Wrath, feeling her unnerving gaze, turned slightly and caught her eyes with his own.
"Another prediction?" He asked.
"A bout of interest." She replied, hardly showing what she spoke of. "I wanted to see if you would do anything."
Snorting, Lord Wrath turned back to the pool and gazed at the now flickering images. Dozens of locations flew across the surface of the pool, showing others fighting back and repelling their forces to some degree. A farm, a cluster of rain clouds, an old tree that looked more like a house. The number was unsettling, as was the success of each group and individual who fought. What had promised to be an easy invasion was now turning into a mess, and so far the blame could be put squarely on the soldiers - Wrath's own troops. With another pounding of his fist it settled onto the familiar running figure of the young boy. He appeared to be closing in on the center of town, and unknowingly into just the kind of situation Envy was hoping for. His eyes narrowed, glowing brighter in the shadows that blanketed his face.
"The Emperor wants us to remain within the castle." Lord Envy reminded. Lady Sloth turned and gazed at him, and after a moment he had to turn away from her unwavering stare, teeth clenched and bared slightly in disgust.
"An army is lead by their General, and I am that man by the Emperor's own command." Wrath straightened up and turned. "It is obvious to me that there are some rebellious souls that need to be put down, and I hardly think he'd disapprove of a show of force to quell any more uprisings from the local beasts."
"The ponies, however, are not your target, are they?" Lady Sloth half asked, half stated.
"..." Walking out of the room, Lord Wrath's eyes glowed and flickered, his mind still back at the pool, at the lone human fighting against them. She is right, as always. He thought bitterly. That woman always knows what I'm thinking, clairvoyant powers or not. The beasts of this world will fall easily enough once the sources of their power are obtained. But that human...that hero...
"I will crush that look in his eye." He rumbled out loud, malice laced in every syllable. "That look of Hope..."
The long race toward the library had been tiring and riddled with too many close encounters. The strange warriors were everywhere; they came from the ground and the sky, roaring and setting fire to everything around them. Bombs detonated in the distance, and despite her best attempts Twilight more often than not lost ground with a teleport, as she would appear amidst the soldiers and then have to dodge their blades and weapons. Thankfully, her foxy new friend seemed to be rather skilled in quick escapes and keeping them distracted, and so with the aide of some simple magic tricks they'd avoided capture again and again. But it had taken what felt like hours for them to cross town, which was usually only a few minutes away at a casual trot. Her fox companion had more than a few bruises scattered over his body, and some of Twilight's tail had been hacked shorter by an inch or two after a close shave. She was also feeling the strain of using so much magic, and teleporting with a companion, that her vision was a little wobbly. If not for the danger everypony was in, she might have simply curled up to sleep once at the library.
Looking back at her companion, she also noted the magical gem still clutched tightly in his hands. He'd not let go of it, or even tucked it away out of sight for a second the whole time. It was obviously important - just the name itself was enough of a warning to Twilight. When he looked up after feeling her gaze on him, he smiled but also hugged the gem closer, perhaps to protect it or maybe as some kind of comforting gesture. It was hard to read him, since his face was flatter than any ponies and not a common trait even among the non-pony races bordering Equestria. "Are you alright?" She asked.
He nodded and gave her a thumbs up, which she didn't fully recognize the gesture as. "Uhuh, don't worry miss I can keep going." To emphasize this, he began twirling his tails and started hovering along above her. Having seen the odd feat before during battle, it only now registered to her that his anatomy was perhaps even more bizarre than she'd thought.
"How are you even able to do that? I've never heard of a flying fox before, much less a two legged, two tailed one that can actually speak Equestrian."
"Well, I've never heard of a quadruped, unicorn pony that can speak Mobian." He teased back, winking at her. Twilight giggled and shook her head.
"Okay, good point; I guess we're both a little strange looking to each other. You'll have to tell me more about yourself later..." Looking ahead, she saw the familiar turn that would lead into the library square. "...at least, once we're out of this mess." She finished quietly.
Reach the bend, they turned and slid to a halt at the sight awaiting them. There was the library, just ahead, but surrounding it was a pink barrier that shimmered and pulsed. The cause for those pulses were the numerous swords and hammers being struck against it by the dozens of soldiers along the front of the building, and barking orders behind them was one warrior wielding a strange purple rod. Twilight could sense dark magic emanating from it, but what chilled her the most was how it seemed to reach for her, tendrils feeling her out and clutching at the air around her. Instinctively she formed a barrier bubble to keep the magic out, but that seemed to just make it happy as suddenly the rod began pulsing madly, catching the eye of the warrior holding it. He turned, and upon seeing Twilight and her friend, roared at the other soldiers, "It's her! Leave killing the other beasts for later, she must not escape!"
His words made Twilight snap to the window next to the main door of the library. There, staring out, was little Spike, looking terrified and completely lost at what to do. Thanks to the shield runes she'd put in place after Discord's appearance the library was well protected, but that still wouldn't stop a dedicated force especially not with her outside and unable to refuel the magic. His eyes caught hers, and they got so impossibly small that his pupils were just little dots. He was very afraid - not only for himself, but for Twilight since she was greatly outnumbered. She could also see Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo pop up suddenly behind him, and together they were all banging on the glass yelling her name.
Seeing the fillies and baby dragon - and recalling what the rod-wielding man had said - made something inside of her snap.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" She screamed, eyes glowing with pure magic. In a flash her body and hair changed color, mane and tail aflame while her coat turned pure white. Still screaming, she whipped her head to the side and a wall of fire arose between her and the soldiers. They cried out in shock and pain, the closest being singed across their red and golden armor. The rod wielder however caught the full brunt of it, and crying out in pain he stumbled and began rolling on the ground trying to put himself out. Twilight growled and flung him aside with a quick levitation spell, before using the firewall to summon up hundreds of fire butterflies that swarmed and landed on all the exposed points on their bodies. Some soldiers tried batting them away or off of their bodies, but others fell as the butterflies super heated their armor and melted the metal down onto their skin. Not done with them by a long shot, Twilight called forth even more fire, and with a roar that shook the houses around the square, a great dragon of flames rose up behind her. It bellowed out streams of blue flame and singed the soil where it was standing, glaring over its summoners body at the huddled warriors. Stepping over her, it roared and swiped at them, burning and clawing many while its tail swatted some into the sky.
"Retreat! The Element user is too strong!" One smart soldier cried, before turning tail and running. Others began following his lead, but not without a parting shot by Twilight in the form of her dragon construct turning into a blazing fireball and blasting the street they escaped down. With a rumble the two buildings lining the path fell and closed it off, and with some more levitation magic Twilight tossed any soldier still lying in the square over the blockage, not caring if they were hurt by dropping several dozen feet after she let go.
Panting, the transformation faded and Twilight returned to normal, slightly singed but otherwise fine. Feeling her knees wobble, she was saved from face-planting by the fox who carefully supported her, even slinging a leg over his shoulder. "Whoa..." He said, looking over the battlefield. "T-That was amazing! I've never seen magic like that before."
"Me...neither..." She said between breaths. Although she had been in control for the most part, there had been a veil of anger that muddled her memories of what had just happened. All she knew for sure was that it was familiar, and that this time she couldn't ignore it like with Pinkie's doozy. "Got to...remember...to research later..."
"Come on, lets get inside." Carefully walking with her half on top of him, Tails moved closer to the pink barrier and sighed in relief when it parted slightly thanks to her horn lighting up. Reaching up to knock on the door, he almost fell forward when it opened on its own. A little lizard kid stood on the other side, eyes wide in awe with two young fillies behind him. When he caught sight of Twilight, his eyes watered, and then together all three dog-piled the exhausted duo.
"Twilight!" They cried out, before Spike said alone, "Thank Celestia you're okay! What did you do to those guys? You were all fire-y, and so cool, and warrior unicorn princess like, and-"
"Not now, Spike." Twilight said tiredly. "Right now I need to sit down for a second and figure out how we're going to save Ponyville." She looked around, smiling at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "Hey girls, did Rarity bring you here?"
They both nodded. "Uhuh, but Rarity went off trying to see if she could find you." Sweetie said. "I think I saw Rainbow Dash fly overhead too - probably kicking some serious tail!" Scootaloo exclaimed, miming punching somepony.
"I really wish she'd stayed here, but I can't blame her for wanting to find everypony else." Twilight sighed. "This is a disaster - how could we have been caught off guard so badly?"
"It's not like you were expecting to be invaded." Her companion argued. "Trust me, you never expect this kind of thing, no matter how often some crazy bad guy tries to stir up trouble. My friends and I never have at least."
"How would you know..." She blinked and shook her head. "Wow, I can't believe it but, I don't even know your name! How did I forget to ask that?"
"You were a little distracted." Tails said, smiling in good humor. "I'm Tails, full name Miles Prower, but everyone just calls me Tails. I'm a mechanic for my friends and I, and an inventor." He held out a hand to shake. Twilight raised a hoof, a sparkle of interest in her eyes at his profession, and together they shook.
"Twilight Sparkle, local librarian and student of Princess Celestia...and currently trying very hard to not freak out, excuse me." She finished weakly. Walking over to the bookshelves, she began pulling several thick tomes out and flipping through their pages. Her eyes flickering back and forth, she zoned out from the rest of the room and its occupants, leaving the others to watch her in worry and confusion. Facing Tails and the fillies again, Spike shrugged.
"Sorry, she gets like this sometimes." He said. "Don't worry though, I'm sure she'll find something that can help us save the town."
"Are you sure Spike?" Sweetie asked nervously. "There's an awful lot of monsters out there."
"They're not monsters Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo argued. "They're just a bunch of overgrown jerks in armor. We'll kick their tails in no time and save the town! Think about it - maybe we'll get Town Saving Cutie Marks!"
The two girls moved over to a corner, talking in excited whispers about things. Tails looked over at Spike, confused, and the little dragon shrugged in a 'What can you do?' gesture. "They get like that sometimes. As long as they stay inside the library though it should be fine...at least, I hope so."
"Well what can we do ourselves?" Tails asked. "I mean, we can't just sit here and let Twilight do it all by herself."
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm just a baby dragon. I don't even come up to their knees I think!"
"I really wish I had some of my equipment." Tails looked out the window, sighing as he thought about his hanger and all the gear stored inside of it. Of course, that was back on Mobius, and by now he was sure this was an entirely different planet. "I could probably get into the Tornado and take on most of these guys, or maybe the Cyclone."
"I dunno what you're talking about, but they sure sound cool."
Tails opened his mouth to explain some of his inventions, but there was a series of knocks on the door, startling the occupants of the library. It almost sounded like 'Shave and a Haircut', but before anyone could really figure this out the door slammed open and close, admitting a pink pony who was gasping for breath.
"Twilight! Emergency!" Pinkie Pie screamed.
"Pinkie?! How did you-"
"No time! Danger! Help! Save Ponyville! Friend in Danger! Letter! Message! Fire! Monsters! Incomplete Sentences!"
Giving her friend a deadpan stare, Twilight's horn lit up and there was the sound of things moving around in the next room open. When the door swung open, it revealed that the kitchen lay beyond, and a bucket of water floated through before being splashed in Pinkie's face. The pink mare sputtered and shook like a dog, but outside of her mane which bounced back fast she still remained drenched. Spike and Tails however weren't too happy with the splash getting both of them as well, the fox wringing his tails out and Spike snorting a few flames to quickly dry himself.
"Now...complete sentences please, Pinkie Pie." Twilight instructed. "And remember to breathe too - we don't want a repeat of the last time you tried to say everything at once." Nodding, Pinkie took a deep breath, but then a cloth that had sneakily followed the bucket wedged itself into her mouth. "Inside voice as well please; This is a library and we're also only a few feet away."
Nodding sullenly, Pinkie waited for the cloth to be removed and passed over to Tails to use before taking a calmer breath and beginning. "Well...me and Markie were making sweets in Sugarcube Corner and we were laughing and having a great time baking and then we were finished with baking so I said 'Hey lets go hang out with my friends!' And he really, really seemed to like that idea but before we could do anything there was this really big BOOM-!" Everyone jumped when Pinkie suddenly rose up onto her back legs, waving her forelegs in the air and shouting. "And then it was night but it turned out not to be nighttime but actually a really big spooky castle and there was screaming and scared ponies and horrible flying monsters and these wicked fire starting soldiers and Mark told me to go hide so I did and he went 'Hiya!' and 'Eiyah! and 'Wham! Boom! Pow! Bop!' and kicked all the soldiers butts I know because they were all knocked out and on the ground and then after we tied them up he came up to me and tried to make me happy again and I really, really appreciate that because I was feeling a little down because there's this horrible vibe in the air and then he sent me here to find you and send a letter off to the Princess and I really hope that the Elements can stop whoever it is that's behind all of this!" Pinkie Pie finally gasped for breath, her fur tone returning to normal after nearly reaching the same tone of purple as Twilight's mane. Blinking rapidly, she then said in normal speed, "Oh and did you know that you can just dig under that weird bubble out there to get in? Boy am I glad, because then how would I have ever talked to you like this?"
Tails blinked in shock.
Spike rolled his eyes and facepalmed.
Twilight gave Pinkie Pie a deadpan stare, before sighing and rubbing her forehead. "What did I just ask, Pinkie?"
"Oh...whoopsie! Sorry Twilight, I got carried away a little."
"It's okay, I at least understood most of that." She sighed again. "Okay...first question: Who's 'Markie'?"
"He's my new friend-"
"That's not surprising." Spike grumbled.
"...and he's a little weird looking, but like I said he saved me and is a really good fighter. He said he was going to go to the center of town and try to rescue everypony."
"All alone?!" Twilight asked in surprise. "How can one pony possibly fight against that...that army out there?"
"Oh he's not a pony. Actually, I'm not really sure what he is - he's kinda like those mean soldier guys but doesn't have any armor or weapons except this knife he tried to hide from me."
"What!?" Spike and Twilight shouted. Tails frowned, thinking a similar train of thought as the other two. Pinkie however was oblivious to their shock and fear.
"What's wrong?"
"Pinkie, if he looked like them, don't you think he might've been one of them? What if he was some kind of scout, or was supposed to infiltrate the village before calling the rest of them here?"
"Mark wouldn't do that." Pinkie said firmly, surprisingly serious all of a sudden. "Mark is my friend and he saved me, Twilight. He wouldn't have done that - he wouldn't be out there right now risking his life to save everypony - if he's actually a bad guy."
"Just because he might look like one, doesn't mean he is." Tails suddenly spoke up. As everyone turned to him he continued. "There was this one time, when my friend Sonic was accused of doing a lot of bad things by another hedgehog that looked like him. Everyone thought he'd turned bad, and nobody was willing to listen to him. It wasn't until after we saved the world and got the real bad guy to admit to everything that they finally apologized for saying all those things about him."
"When did you save the world? I thought that was Twilight's job?" Spike asked, raising one eye ridge in confusion.
"Uh..."
"Ask later Spike; We need to deal with these soldiers, and nothing's getting done by us just standing here." Twilight stepped forward and nodded at Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie, go find the others and tell them all to gather here right away. I'll send a letter to the Princess so we can get the Elements and hopefully some support from the royal guard." Pinkie Pie saluted and galloped out the front door. "Spike, write a letter to the Princess." Spike, having thought ahead, pulled a quill and piece of parchment out from behind his back and began writing fast. Nodding at the little dragon, Twilight finally looked over at Tails. "As for you Tails..."
"I wish I could help more." Tails said regretfully. "But I'm not really that strong physically, and all of my gear is back home."
"It's okay, I wasn't going to ask you to do anything you couldn't. For right now, it might be best if you just stay here and keep an eye on that...Chaos Emerald of yours. If it's really as dangerous as you say, then we need to keep it as far away from the soldiers as possible." Tails nodded. Turning around, Twilight opened the door to the basement with her magic and began heading down.
"Where are you going?"
"To get something a little more useful for a crisis like this."
Sending the message off with a puff of green flames, Spike looked nervously over at the basement door. The only two things stored down there at the moment was a lot of Twilight's machines and gadgets for research, and the Restricted Section. It was called so, because Twilight had been all but forbidden to read the subject matter stored down there, and had barely managed to even get permission to bring the books over from Canterlot. Only with permission from Princess Celestia was she supposed to read even one of those books, and yet it looked like she was planning to break a rule. If that didn't tell the little drake how bad things were, then he was scared to see what might instead.
Oblivious to his new friends and their thoughts, Tails stared out the window at the giant looming castle overhead. The Chaos Emerald in his hand pulsed steadily and continued to repel away from the castle, as if fearing what lay within. Never had he wanted Sonic to come and save the day more then right now. Instead, he was helpless and could only hope that these new friends - and their magic - could turn this bleak attack around. Clenching his hand tighter around the gem, he silently hoped that his best friend really was out there somewhere, in this new world, and that he was on his way.
Along one of the roads leading toward the central square of town, Mark slipped into an alleyway and tried his best to navigate closer and closer toward his goal. Ever since leaving Sugarcube he'd been zig-zagging all across town, trying desperately to reach Town Hall without further encounters with the invaders or positioned guards along the streets. Because of this it had taken several minutes longer than he'd expected, until over half an hour had passed and still he was only now reaching the edge of the square. Coupled with this was his lack of experience with stealth, and reduced stamina, leaving the younger than normal human panting faintly and scrapping his brain for any and all tricks he might know to keep himself hidden from sight.
It's only a block over or so. If I can just keep this going for a little longer.. He thought desperately, before ducking down behind a trashcan as the telltale whoosh of wings overhead caught his attention. Looking up, a trio of the strange bat-like mounted creatures flew past overheard, one of several patrols that had grown in number the closer he got to the square. Whatever was happening over there was obviously very important with the air and ground patrols covering all exits. Which made his need to go save the ponies and try and stop this even more important in his mind.
Patting the holster where his knife rested reassuringly, Mark checked both directions of the next street and dashed to the next alley. As he made his way around trashcans and a few discarded boxes, a low conversation caught his ears and he pressed against the nearest wall, sliding along it to the exit and raising a hand up to cup one ear. The words came into a little more focus; Two soldiers were apparently on guard duty outside the square and talking amongst themselves. With how empty the streets and how little the resistance was, it made sense that they were relaxing and letting their guard down.
"This place is actually not so bad looking." The first guard said grudgingly. "How long has it been since any of us have seen green grass and trees, or flowing water like that river over there?"
"Too long." The second guard agreed. "The wasteland back home is so depressing. Everything's always frozen, stripped by the winds and our conquests." A loud sighed echoed out from his helmet. "I love fighting and killing-"
"And conquering."
There was a silent eyeroll clearly present in the pause before the guard continued. "...and conquering, yes. But would it hurt to leave something alive still to enjoy afterwards? We don't even get to keep any of the prisoners for ourselves."
"The last time someone asked that of one of the Lord and Ladies, they were put on garden duty."
There was a moment of silence, which Mark imagined was both of them shuddering in revulsion or fear if their voices when they spoke up next were any indication. "I'd call that place a torture chamber more than a garden. Lady Lust is a sick, twisted woman to raise those...plants she keeps there."
"Yeah, a shame Lady Sloth only cares for her plants up in her tower. I hear she's actually quite skilled."
"I'm just amazed she actually cares about something enough to tend to it."
The conversation petered off from there with a quick chuckle and then silence. Pulling back into the alley some more to think, Mark rubbed his chin and thought over what he'd heard. Lords and ladies, which means that they have several leaders of some kind then. Lust, Sloth...those are the seven deadly sins - a title given to them, or actual names they've taken up? He shook his head and sighed. Either way that means there's probably about seven of them at least, maybe one more in the case of that Emperor. It was a logical belief at least, and Mark did like to try and use common sense more than go along with his gut or wing it. He did that enough while fighting! Which lead him to another, grimmer, thought. Which means that the Elements might not be enough! I have no idea what they can do in real life, and who knows how tired or distracted the girls will be after even one use. The best bet then would be...probably to try and strike the entire castle while the enemy is all inside. Banish it altogether, or whatever happens this time.
But saving the citizens of Ponyville had to come first in Mark's mind right now. Knowing this, he recalled the mentioning of a river somewhere nearby, and shoulders drooping he knew that it was the best chance he'd have at sneaking into the square unnoticed. Unfortunately, it also meant he'd get very wet. "At least it's summer here." He grumbled, before heading off in search of the river.
As the numerous heroes and fighters struggled to save Ponyville, a different kind of battle was being fought in Canterlot Castle.
Listening to her sister bark orders to the guards rushing by, Princess Celestia's gaze was fixed out one of the clear and open windows facing south. The two sisters were standing in the rarely used War Room of the castle, which although heavily reinforced and warded, also boasted some of the biggest and clearest windows of the palace. This was not only to allow quick flight by the pegasus guards, but also let them gaze across most of the countryside from their high vantage point on Canterlot Mountain. Right now, the southern horizon was mostly blotted out by the giant citadel that had Ponyville in the shadows of its underbelly, and Celestia had hardly turned her gaze from the sight ever since it had first arrived. While normally she wouldn't have been so worried about such a dangerous event - several millennium of living had done well in helping her understand what her little ponies could and could not deal with themselves - the very presence of the dark castle was unsettling in a way not even the darkest days of Discord's rule had been. What's more, there was also who was in danger to consider...
"Alert the Academy to prepare its most powerful casters for combat." Luna was saying to a lieutenant. "And see to it that the Wonderbolts actually have any of their old armor in storage - they may claim to be performers but I recall the days when they were to be respected for their feats in aerial combat."
"Yes your majesty." The lieutenant - Morning Star, Celestia recalled his name was - saluted and dashed off, leaping into the air and flying off to fulfill his orders. Feeling the heavy gaze of her sister on her, Celestia turned and saw that Luna's gaze was flickering between her, and the window facing south.
"You worry for Twilight Sparkle and her friends?" Luna asked, murmuring softly to keep their words between the two sisters.
"I worry for everypony in Ponyville." Celestia corrected her, also keeping her voice down.
"And yet no doubt your prized pupil holds the forefront of your heart sister."
"I...yes, but can you blame me? The Elements of Harmony-"
"Can take care of themselves, and their fellow townsfolk." Luna cut in quickly. "Really though sister, why must we stand back and order everypony else to action? Being a princess means little if we are unwilling to lift a hoof ourselves to help and protect our subjects when they are in danger."
"We've discussed this before Luna." Celestia sighed.
"I still find it to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard - and considering what I once thought was 'reasonable', that should say something." Luna replied with snark.
Rubbing her forehead, Princess Celestia didn't know whether to agree with or ignore her sister's old school of thinking. Despite having finally done away with her 'Royal We' phase, or the more infamous Royal Canterlot Voice, Luna was still hardly any better than when she ruled a thousand years ago. A time when the death penalty was still in effect, when the borders of Equestria were beset by raids and pillaging from numerous other races, and when being a Goddess didn't really upset things enough for either of them to curb their use of power. Nowadays, the true extent of Celestia's power was hardly known by the masses outside of her raising the sun -a task which once took a circle of the most powerful unicorns working together with a strong magical focus to do- and to use a popular quote: Ignorance is bliss. Most of the trickier truces and peace treaties she'd managed to form during Luna's absence had come from the careful editing of history to make her seem less divine - or even the blunt promise to not use her powers beyond what was strictly needed. Needles to say, upon her return and full recovery of all of her powers, Luna had been less than pleased with the sudden restrictions. Not that she actually knew that, technically, the laws and treaties only specified Celestia, not her sister. That was something the elder sister planned to keep under her wing for as long as possible...or until, admittedly, something exactly like this happened. But not yet, not when the fear of Nightmare Moon was still fresh.
Celestia had also hardly cared about being so restricted - being the more peace loving and compassionate sister, she had hardly objected to doing whatever was needed to avoid bloodshed and to bring about the now prosperous kingdom of Equestria. It had also led to a slow, but constant revolution in both magic and technology, since suddenly their Immortal Princess was only that and not their Immortal Goddess of the Sun. Suddenly she wasn't the answer to everything, and that had led to her ponies finding more practical and usable solutions to just about everything. And look what that had produced: airships, the train system stretching across all of Equestria, and a diverse library of magic that each generation could either learn for everyday use, or utilize their own special talents in a certain area to further for the next generation to learn about. None of which had been even in the imaginations of earlier generations, not when Discord's harsh reign had been fresh in their minds, or the bitter rivalries of the three tribes still painted their views of one another.
"The Royal Guard are more than capable of handling a threat, even of this magnitude." Celestia said firmly after a moment of collecting her thoughts and putting aside memories. "However, calling in the reserves and other forces as you have is the right thing to do - I too would have done the same, sister, and nothing you've ordered so far has been outlandish." Luna blushed faintly, which made Celestia smile a little. She had grown so much, and yet still praise from her older sister could make her as shy as a little filly at times. But then she frowned, and looked out the window again. She said in a whisper, "You can feel it too no doubt - the heavy and dark magic that lingers over that black castle?"
"It is like a fog over my senses." Luna admitted. "I have not felt such a thing in a long, long time Celestia. Not since we once ventured into Tartarus have I felt so...unnerved."
Celestia nodded. "Even so, I have faith that Twilight Sparkle and her friends will-"
Fwhoosh
Blinking, the two goddesses stepped back when a lick of green flame swirled into existence in the air between them. As it glittered and began to fade away, a rolled up parchment fell to the ground before it was picked up in the sun princess's magic, a golden glow covering it as it unfurled and she read it. Eyes scanning the letter quickly, they grew wide and then narrowed, before she unfurled her wings and turned toward the southern window.
"Continue with the preparations Luna, and do not hesitate to deploy once the guards are ready." Was all she said before teleporting away, making a quick stop at the vault holding the Elements, before flashing away again toward Ponyville. Princess Luna, still surprised at the sudden shift in her sisters actions, lifted the letter up in her own blue magical aura, and after reading it snorted in annoyance.
"It is amusing how she always makes the rules, and then goes and breaks them at her whimsy. Oh 'Tia..." She shook her head in amusement. "Never change dear sister."
Appearing in the small square outside of the Golden Oaks library, Princess Celestia's legs buckled for a few seconds as the heavy atmosphere of evil magic hit her senses from close up. Much like how Princess Luna had described it there was a thick fog-like presence all around her, and it was several times worse to her than most ponies due to her pure nature and heart. However, calling on her magic, the warmth and protection of the sun shielded her from its effects, and with a quick flap of her wings she recovered and stepped forward.
A giant bubble shield protected the tree from intruders, the faint pink sheen illuminating the area better than any street lamps in the darkness of the dark citadel's underside. With a quick probe of her magic, the runes and complex spell weaving that empowered and maintained the shield was revealed to her in ghostly white light across the surface of the wood. Scanning over them, a proud smile lifted her lips. Twilight was so incredibly gifted, to have made a spell worthy of Canterlot Castle's own high standards in defensive magic. To think she was capable of such a thing, and as young as she was...her smile growing, Celestia carefully slipped her magic through the barrier, following the telltale gaps only she as Twilight's mentor could find in the countermeasures. Activating one inactive rune, the same gap that had let Twilight and Tails in earlier formed for her, and slipping in she carefully re-set the defenses - even adding a few herself just to make sure.
Opening the door, she ducked her head slightly to walk in and closed it silently behind her. Looking around, she was surprised to not see Twilight immediately nearby - the young girl was predictable about her reaction to the sun goddess visiting. Instead, Spike appeared to be nervously walking back and forth in front of the open basement door, and there was a strange, young fox-like boy staring out the window, his head turned enough that he hadn't noticed her arrival. With none of the other Element bearers nearby, and the somewhat calm air of the fortified library, Celestia almost swore that she'd arrived just in time for the clean-up to commence. That changed though when she noticed something on the small reading table, propped up against the large horse head statue in the center.
It was a plain black book, with no title or writing of any kind on it. Average in size and average in the material that composed it, the only thing that marked its true nature was the discarded red cloth lying next to it. Black runes ran up the sides of the cloth, which Celestia knew were made to both keep the book sealed from curious readers, and when inside of the Royal Canterlot Library, to warn the librarian and herself if the books were forced open even for a few seconds. Alongside the first book she'd noticed were three more just like it, and seeing that one was lying open made her both concerned and upset.
Clearing her throat, Celestia watched as Spike and the unknown fox jumped and whirled to face her. Both of their eyes widened, although the young fox also said "Whoa..." under his breath. "P-Princess Celestia!" Spike blurted out, perhaps too loudly to just be pure surprise. There was a crash of metal and wood down in the basement in response to his shout, which made Celestia's lips curl up into a smirk for a second. "W-When did you get here?"
"Hello Spike," She said warmly. "I had just arrived in fact - it's very good to see you're safe my little dragon." There was a slight gasp from the stairs leading upstairs. Flicking her eyes over to them for a second, she saw two little fillies peaking over the edge, and when they saw her looking they gasped again and ducked back out of sight. "Is Twilight around?"
"Oh, uh..." His eyes darted back and forth between the basement stairs and the solar goddess. "Y-Yeah, she's just, uh, down in the basement for...some reason..."
There was a series of rapid clops, and then Twilight's head popped up from around the corner of the basement door. Her eyes widened at the sight of her mentor in the room, and although she smiled it was hardly full of confidence and innocence. "Princess Celestia!"
"Hello my faithful student," Celestia said softly. Although unhappy about what her student was most likely up to, it still relieved her immensely to see her safe and unharmed. "I see that you've taken up a bit of light reading."
Flinching, Twilight slunk out from the relative safety of the doorway and moved closer to the princess. Rubbing one foreleg over the other, her gaze stayed away from the small table in the middle of the room. "I..."
Princess Celestia raised one eyebrow.
Seeing the familiar gesture, Twilight's ears flopped back and she caved. "I-I know you said I wasn't supposed to read about Battle Magic without your explicit permission and presence, a-and that I was to never bring them out into the main library for any reason, but-"
"But suddenly, there's a giant castle floating over Ponyville." Celestia gently interrupted, voice carefully neutral to hide her feelings. Twilight nodded glumly. "I suppose that makes this any different from the numerous other disasters and dangerous events that both Ponyville and yourself have dealt with?"
"..."
"You and your friends have faced the likes of Nightmare Moon and Discord, to say nothing of the natural dangers that the Everfree have and can bring. Even in the face of an Ursa Minor rampaging through the town you didn't try to utilize Battle Magic, Twilight Sparkle, so why is it that now is different?" She asked. "Granted, there is perhaps more time to prepare to use such complicated magic - for which I am relieved that you are doing instead of charging straight ahead into an unknown field - than before, but that does not excuse your blatant rule breaking. Especially since you are very well aware that this rule, above almost any other, was not to be broken."
Frowning, Princess Celestia let a silence grow in the library after her words. Twilight looked very upset and it tugged hard at her heart strings to see her beloved student like this. But Battle Magic was truly the most dangerous magical field of all; there were many accounts of the lost lives of countless unicorns even in the more experienced past of the old wars and harsher way of life long ago. While she fully believed that Twilight could handle both the taxing cost and the required concentration, it would only take one slip-up to spell disaster.
Walking closer, she gently placed a gold adorned hoof under Twilight's chin, and brought her head up until they were looking each other in the eye. Everyone else in the room seemed to be waiting on bated breath on what she might do to the young prodigy. "Just please, tell me Twilight." She murmured. "Why did you break your promise?"
"B-Because they were going to kill my friends." Twilight answered, her voice filling the room despite having barely spoken above a whisper.
Blinking, the goddess was startled with how calm her student was in answering. Her voice had been steady and her gaze unwavering as she looked up at her mentor. That is, until they flickered briefly over to Spike. "I-It...those soldiers out there..." She continued. "They were attacking the l-library, and I saw Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all inside. They looked so scared...l-like how I felt the whole time I was running here with soldiers after me and Tails the whole time." Sniffling, her eyes watered although she didn't cry. "A-And Pinkie came by and said they were after her too - I can't imagine that the others aren't in danger either - and that if it wasn't for her new friend they might have...might have..."
"Oh, Twilight." Pulling the smaller pony into a hug, Celestia craned her neck down and let Twilight bury her head into the crook of her long neck. Unsurprisingly, the princess felt and saw the little dragon join in their hug, hugging tightly to his best friend and wrapping his little tail around one of her own legs. "I understand my faithful student, more than you know."
"B-But I broke a rule..."
"To save your loved ones, everypony must accept that there may come a point when the rules must be broken. Or that sometimes, you must do something that will hurt you very much, for a long time, even if it's the right thing to do." Celestia explained. She felt the unicorn stiffen, likely understanding what she referred to. I can never forgive myself for what I did Luna, but neither would I have ever chosen the alternative. She swore to herself mentally. "However, for the time being please put aside these books and let us try a different approach. I am here now, and have brought the Elements like you asked." Untangling from her student, Celestia stepped back and lit her horn up. In a flash of light the jeweled box containing the Elements appeared from the small pocket dimension she'd stored them in temporarily. Opening it, she levitated out the Tiara of Magic and placed it gently atop Twilight's head behind her horn. Eyes rolling up to look at it, Twilight smiled at the comforting weight, before frowning and looking back at the solar princess.
"Actually, Princess Celestia, I wasn't the one who technically wanted to send that letter. I mean, I was planning to, but in my panic I'd forgotten and went immediately to...uh, studying." Celestia raised an eyebrow, glancing at the young fox nearby. Twilight noticed her gaze and shook her head. "It wasn't Tails either. Pinkie Pie showed up a little while ago and asked for us to send a letter, but apparently it was her new...friend...who asked for the Elements."
The way she said 'friend' implied something bad, but there was enough confusion mixed in her words to not make the princess worry right away. "Well, I don't see what's wrong with that. It's good that somepony at least had the forethought to send for them regardless. I must admit, the stress of this invasion has had me somewhat preoccupied. The Royal Guard should be here soon by the way."
The news sent a wave of relief through the room, Spike even rubbing at his forehead with one claw as if to wipe some sweat off of it. Twilight though still looked worried. "I'm not sure it's wrong, but what worries me is that...well, Pinkie said that her new friend was...different. As in he looked very similar to those soldiers out there. She says that he isn't like them - and apparently he saved her life so I can't deny the possibility - but..."
"I see." This certainly added a new spin to what Celestia knew about this invasion. Had they sent a spy ahead to assess the defenses of Ponyville? Did his closeness to Pinkie Pie mean he had plans for her and the other Harmony Bearers? Could he be a runaway, rushing ahead of the invasion force to try and warn them but was too late? Shaking her head, she put such thoughts aside; they had spent far too long thinking and talking, while the forces outside continued unopposed in their ransacking of her kingdom. They had time thanks to the large scale of this operation, but using it frugally was only going to hurt them in the end. "Regardless of this new friend, there is still a threat to everypony in Ponyville that is quite real so long as that castle remains overhead. Where are the other Element users Twilight?"
"Pinkie Pie should be here with them shortly Princess."
"Very good. Spike, please send a letter off to my sister. Tell her I will be creating a summoning circle in the square outside for the Royal Guard to arrive from momentarily. She and the unicorns from the Academy can create the counter-part on their end quickly enough - she knows my methods well enough to create the correct copy." Nodding, the little dragon rushed off for another scroll and quill to write with. After making sure the little drake got all the words spelled correctly, there was a brief moment of silence before a knock sounded from the door. Opening it with her magic, Twilight beamed at the sight of her friends as they all rushed in, the barrier having recognized them as being allowed in. They all looked somewhat haggard from a no doubt harrowing run through town - Applejack especially with a scorch mark on the brim of her stetson and Rarity actually having a cut along her cheek. Spike immediately rushed over to see to his crush, but was crushed in-between all of the ponies instead as they gathered into a group hug.
"Oh girls it's so good to see you're safe!" Twilight exclaimed, rubbing her cheek against Fluttershy's.
"Oh Twilight, it was terrifying!" Fluttershy not-shouted. "That terrible castle appeared, a-and then there were these scary monsters attacking everypony..."
"Darn things made a bee-line straight fer mah farm!" Applejack said, anger making her grind her teeth as they all stepped back to talk more. "Me an Big Mac were fighting them overgrown tin soldiers right up until Pinkie Pie came and sent 'em running with some kind of cannon. Had some kind of funky rod doohickey with them too that gave me the shivers just looking at it."
"The same thing happened with me as well." Rarity confessed. "A group of those thugs came around my shop and broke down the door. Thankfully I'd been in the kitchen preparing some tea and was able to escape out the back door, but then they followed! I swear they hadn't seen me and yet they pursued me right up until the others came around the corner and chased them off." She shivered dramatically, one hoof to her forehead as Spike came up beside her and helped her stay upright. "I too saw a horrible device in one of their hands - it was like I was becoming filthy just by being near it! It was just awful!"
"Did all of you encounter such a device?" Princess Celestia asked, walking closer to the group and accepting their bows with a nod of her head.
"I-I saw one too...I mean, at least I'm pretty sure I did." Fluttershy said.
"Can't say that I have - oh! Maybe Markie did but got rid of it before I could be creeped out by it like everypony else! Awww, that was nice of him!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, smiling happily despite the frowns and confused looks directed her way.
"Then most likely those rods were somehow able to track you all down, perhaps because of the connection you all share as the Element Bearers." Celestia explained, sharing a look with Twilight who had also come to the same conclusion. "It is a good thing you are all safe and...and..." Pausing, she suddenly realized something was wrong; rather, that somepony was missing. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"
Looking around, the girls were shocked to see that their rainbow maned friend was indeed nowhere in sight. "I was wondering why it was so darn quiet." Applejack muttered. Rarity nodded next to her, before gasping and covering her mouth with a hoof. "Oh my goodness, what if she was captured!"
"Oh Dashie's alright girls don't worry. She just said she was busy and would meet us in the town square to beat up all these bad guys." There was a loud exclamation of 'What!?' by everyone in the room, even the Princess looking shocked. Pinkie Pie blinked in surprise. "What, didn't I tell you girls on the way over?"
"This is not good - without aid, Rainbow Dash could possibly be captured or overwhelmed by the invaders." Celestia murmured to herself. "If she is, then you will all be unable to utilize the Elements to stop them and restore peace to Ponyville. I really wish she had not rushed on ahead, or that you had tried to stop her Pinkie Pie."
"I'm sorry..."
Twilight shook her head. "Rainbow Dash is stubborn and very hard headed Princess. Even if you told her to come she still might have rushed to the square anyway, especially if she knew her friends and the rest of Ponyville's population was in danger. She is the Element of Loyalty after all."
"That is true enough, and hardly something I can disapprove of even in such a dangerous situation as we are in at the moment." Sighing, she pulled out the remaining Elements and gently clasped them around the necks of the other four mares. As each of them smiled and rubbed at their necklaces, she used her magic to open the door and walked outside, her subjects following until they reached the edge of the barrier. "Here's the plan my little ponies: You all must head to Town Hall and do your best to re-unite with Rainbow Dash and use the Elements to defeat whatever evil is behind this attack. Twilight can hold onto the Element of Loyalty until then." Twilight nodded, and taking the necklace in her own magic she clasped it around her neck. "In the meantime, I shall be constructing a summoning circle to bring the Royal Guard here swiftly to deal with the soldiers and other troops within the village. There is no guarantee that they will disappear along with the castle, so keep your guard up even after using the Elements."
After a round of nods from everypony present, Celestia smiled and dipped her head toward them. "Then make haste, my little ponies. I have faith that you will defeat this new threat to Equestria, just as you have with all the others. Good luck." With a bow they all turned and bolted down the street, determined looks on all of their faces. Only Twilight paused just before turning down the next street, looking back at the library and the barrier, and of course the Princess of the Sun. Celestia smiled back at her pupil, warmth and love in her gaze, and with a similar smile of her own, the lavender mare shot off to catch up with her friends.
"Be safe, my faithful student."
Along the riverbank, a thick hollow reed slowly glided against the flow of water as it closed in on a small bridge running over the river. None of the soldiers patrolling across the square and sky noticed the small oddity, nor would they have thanks to the thick shadows hanging over the entire area save for small patches of light provided by torches. Here, so far under the citadel floating overhead, the sunlight was all but gone. And Mark knew to use this to his advantage, reaching the bridge at last and coming up underneath silently with only a slight trickle of water sounding as he rose.
Made it! He silently cheered. I can't believe that actually worked, but I'm not about to look a gift-horse in the mouth. Chuckling quietly at the small horse joke (and the second, unintentional one), he shuffled slowly over to the bank nearest to the Town Hall and tilted his head out enough to see if anyone was nearby. A pair of soldiers were marching this way to cross the bridge, and after ducking back to let them pass, Mark looked out again and saw nobody coming around. Thinking the coast clear, he was halfway out of the water when a loud, hoarse caw made him hastily scramble back and scowl up at the sky. A squad of those bat and vulture birds flew by overhead, and after a few tense seconds, a second group appeared from a different angle.
Scowl turning into a frown, Mark settled back more into the silt and mud of the riverbank and tried to catch the pattern of overhead patrols. After two minutes he quickly decided that no pattern was being used, because the number of riders present simply prevented any gaps from forming around the building he needed to get into. On top of that, a second ground patrol finally appeared three minutes in, so while he may have a large gap against the soldiers, the fliers weren't going to let him capitalize on it anytime soon.
If I run fast enough, maybe the darkness will hide me from sight. Except...those bat creatures probably are bats, which means echolocation. I'm just lucky the bridge is blocking me from their sights then. Mark concluded, sighing softly at this latest roadblock. Fighting here was completely out of the question; the number of soldiers present was unknown, but just before entering the river he'd managed to see the shoddy wooden cages holding the ponies in and the soldiers guarding them. There were far more here than back at Sugarcube, and fighting them all would be suicide, especially now that he only had a knife to fight with.
Snorting, he found it funny that he was being far more cautious than usual now that he was so young, when it had been the exact opposite when he was first sixteen, or even older. Sure he was smart and liked to think before leaping, but sneaking around and trying to predict the enemies patterns and actions was something not even twenty-four year old Mark Magnum had done. He would have called some of these guys off, or had made a dash for the cages while fending them off, trying to free the ponies and then use the chaos to take more out. But he couldn't now, as not only was he unarmed for the most part, but his stamina and strength were greatly reduced. Gone was the built woodsman/baker, and in his place was a kid. Fit, and trained yes, but still a kid.
If he wanted to survive, he would need to think. If he wanted to save everyone, he'd have to keep hoping that something would come up that he could use. And if he wanted to get into Town Hall to do any heroics, he'd need a distraction.
Suddenly from above a loud, pained squawk sounded, making Mark look up just in time to see an injured bat flap rapidly into the town square. Several of the patrols turned to surround it and question the rider, and although he couldn't see much or hear anything over the loud flapping of multiple wings, it was clear that the soldier being questioned was asking for backup. To the young human's shock, not one, but all of the patrols left in a hurry in the direction the injured flyer had come from, reducing the sky patrols to two that only circled the outer ring of building around the square. Even the injured bat turned and left again, which Mark followed with his eyes before slumping back for a second against the bridge support. "Well, I wanted a distraction, so yay." Mark muttered in surprise.
Shaking his head, he climbed out of the water and rushed over to the porch that ringed the entire Town Hall, launching over the railing with a soft squelch of wet clothing before he located an open window to use. Climbing in, he finally took a moment to wring out the excess water in his hair and clothes, and once suitably dry enough, he glanced around the room he found himself in. By all appearances it seemed that he'd luckily found the Mayor's office; the few pictures on the desk showed Mayor Mare and some other ponies that were either friends or family. There was even one with Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, with the mayor looking a little nervous surrounded by them both. The door to the room was slightly ajar, letting light from the hallway lights filter in, but thankfully it was closed enough that nobody would see him in here unless they specifically came in here to look.
Giving the room a few more sweeps, he pocketed the heavy paper weight for use later and then crept over to the doorway. Looking out into the hallway, he saw nobody in sight, and so moving slowly he took a left and followed the curved hallway to a pair of curtains that apparently separated the main hall from the more administrative offices in back. As he approached the curtain, a series of barked orders and the loud clinking of metal told Mark that a lot of soldiers lay beyond, and so he slightly opened the side of the curtain to sneak a peek and see what he was facing.
Beyond lay a large, open room. A small elevated stage filled one corner of the room, and overhead there were several balconies with curtains closed over the openings. In all, it looked more like a theater than a town hall, and perhaps had originally been so a few years ago. However at the moment it was swarming with soldiers, all of whom were busy cutting, painting, and inscribing what appeared to be jagged runes onto the stage floor. A single man stood with his arms crossed down and off the stage overlooking the work, and unlike the rest of the soldiers his physical build and appearance was more akin to an overweight noble than a fighter. With his back to him, Mark couldn't make out many details. However, his armor was a simple golden breastplate that bulged around his wide stomach, wide white pants, a dark grey sash that seemed to strain against his waist, and what looked to be a silver domino mask with little pig ears that fanned out to either side of his face.
"Work faster!" The man barked, his voice oddly high pitched and somewhat squeaky. It, like the mask, made Mark think of a pig. "The Emperor is expecting this circle to be complete within the next half hour! I will tan all of your hides if you even think of making me look bad to our Lord!"
The soldiers didn't seem especially happy with being bossed around by this man, but still their tempo increased and the air was filled with the loud scraping and scratching of chisels and knives. Frowning, Mark stepped back and rubbed at his chin. There's a lot less in there than outside. He mused. Perhaps if I can draw them back here, and then take a few out I can-
A hand shot through the curtain, clutching at Mark's throat and cutting his thoughts off. "Ack! Wha-" He cried, before the world spun and he felt himself go flying through the air. Landing in the middle of the room, he rolled and hit one of the soldiers, knocking him down but stopping his momentum. He coughed and grasped at his neck, before looking up to see who had attacked him. The pig-like man was turning from the curtained hallway, his hand still extended and cracking as he flexed it. Finally seeing his face, the young hero noticed that he also had a double chin and a large, curly handlebar mustache. Despite how ridiculous he looked, there was no denying that the man was incredibly strong, having tossed Mark halfway across the room with one hand and even then, only stopping because of interference. "S-So strong!" Mark muttered to himself, his voice raspy.
"Well, well, well, a little rat it seems has come out of hiding." The man sneered. "Another rebel spy, hoping to thwart the Emperor's will once again? Hah! You just stepped into a world of hurt, scum!"
Hearing something behind himself, Mark spun and decked the rising soldier with the paperweight he'd palmed while recovering from the throw. The metal of his helmet buckled easily, knocking him out, but it broke the stunned soldiers around him out of their daze, and suddenly the air rang with the sound of drawn steel. Gritting his teeth, Mark raised his hands and dropped the smooth rock as he was surrounded by numerous swords. "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm no rebel." Mark replied. "I am however, very interested in what you guys are doing to this town. I'd like it if you stopped."
Snorting, the gold soldier stepped closer and crossed his arms, looming over Mark after making his men part for him. Only now did the young hero notice that the Pigman was easily seven feet tall in addition to being so fat. "Stop? You want us, to stop?" He said, a sneer on his face. Without warning his leg lashed out, kicking Mark down to his knees, followed by another in the face, making his nose bleed. "Scum like you have no say! You dare speak to me, as if you were fit for more than licking my boots?!" Shaking his head, Mark glared up at the man, which only made him get another kick in the face. "Who said you could look at me with such a face!" The man roared.
His head was ringing from those two kicks alone, but Mark refused to roll over after only a few hits. Trying to stand up, the swords all closed in and one soldier behind him roughly shoved him back down to his knees. Glaring at the one who did that, Mark then faced the leader again and spat out some blood at his feet. This got him a punch in the gut, doubling him over the big meaty fist, and he collapsed to the floor amidst the loud laughter of the man and his underlings.
"Pah! It seems we have a rebel with fire!" The man said, his gut jiggling madly in his mirth. "Step back men - I will deal with this rat myself. His blood will be an excellent medium to bind the circle once completed." The soldiers all obeyed, sheathing their weapons and moving to the far corners of the room. The stage was now completely clear save for Mark and the fat brute, who cracked his knuckles to intimidate the boy. "Get up...get up! Let's see how long you last before I break you over my knee, scum." He taunted.
Pushing himself up slowly, Mark was worried by his wobbling vision and dull pain in his chest. What worried him more than the possible concussion and bruised ribs, however, was the fact that he knew this Pig Commander, or whatever its name, had been holding back. It was in how he smiled at Mark after every punch, that sadistic smile saying he wanted to do more, and for a long time. He knew that there was no winning in terms of strength or endurance, and that this soldier wouldn't hesitate to call on his henchmen to attack should things not go his way. The only problem with that, was in order for Mark to win, he'd have to make a clear and concise strike that left this man with no choice but to send his hounds at him. Spitting more blood out, Mark wiped it away with the back of his hand and leveled a steely glare at his opponent. He had only seconds to decide what to do.
"One thing before we begin." Mark said, grateful that his voice was calm and steady. "How did you catch me? I was doing a pretty good job in stealth if I do say so myself."
The Commander scoffed, his mustache twitching comically. "I saw the curtain flutter as you closed it. Some may have simply thought it to be a puff of wind, but I knew I'd smelled something foul in the air." He grinned at Mark, taking pleasure from the slight flash of anger in the young mans eyes. "I am a Commander of his Majesty's forces for a reason. No lowlife rebel scum like you can get past my keen eyes!"
Rolling his eyes, Mark smirked as the commander visibly bristled from his action. "So you got lucky, good. Nice to know you're just an overgrown musclehead after all."
"I will take pleasure in crushing your skull!" The man roared before charging like an angry elephant. Smiling, Mark rolled out of the way of the first wild swing, being missed by a mile due to the lumbering speed of the large man and the painfully obvious and telegraphed moves. Pulling the knife from his sheath, he held it up in a reverse grip, while his other hand lifted into a loose stance.
"See? Musclehead." Mark taunted, much more confident now in his chance of victory.
He paid for it though in the next instance, as with a loud snort the pigman turned to the wall behind the stage and grabbed at it. Eyes widening, Mark watched as his meaty fingers dug into the wood and plaster like it was nothing, and ripping off a large chunk threw it at the young man, forcing him to roll out of the way. The paperweight came into range of his reach, and picking it up he tossed it and got a satisfied impact against the side of the Commander's head. That though made him angry, and with a heavy stomp he cracked and shattered the stage, sending a fissure of jagged planks and splinter flying toward Mark who rolled out of the way.
"Ah! Commader, you destroyed the circle!" One soldier cried out from nearby.
"Silence!" The pig roared, before punching Mark who had tried to rush him while distracted. Rolling back, he fell off the remainder of the stage and felt his nose flare in pain, having broken it in the fall. Hissing, Mark set it back in place as best he could and got up, blinking back tears. The commander was already moving closer, so without any aiming he threw his knife, hoping to buy time. To his luck it hit the unprotected upper bicep on his right arm, making his opponent squeal in pain and stop to remove the blade. The man then threw it back, trying to skewer its owner, but Mark in surprising situational awareness, flipped up two pieces of stage floor and caught the knife as it buried into them. The first shattered from the force of the throw, but the second held long enough for Mark to duck his head, and then grab the knife back up as it fell from the now ruined wood.
Now! Mark shouted in his head, seeing his only chance. Turning his combat knife around to face forward, he rushed toward the overweight soldier, aiming low and rolling as he got in range. Rolling around his back, Mark kicked out at both of his knees, making the man stumble, and then stabbed him in the back of his left foot, cutting the achilles tendon. Like he hoped the man collapsed onto one knee, but before he could take out the other foot a backhand forced him to roll back and hastily get to his feet.
"Gah! Men, finish him!" The commander ordered, his entire demeanor shifting as his face paled and sweat broke out over his body. Getting to his feet, he began to limp away as fast as he could, while the ten or so soldiers around the room unsheathed again and charged at Mark. Smiling grimly, he tightened his grip on the knife and settled into a new stance. He'd wanted this outcome, but it was still going to hurt a lot.
"Come on!"
As the shouts of pain and battle rang out behind him, the Commander made it over to the main doors of the town hall and leaned against the door frame. He was panting and sweating bullets, knowing just how close he'd come to being almost completely disabled and cut down by the, apparently, stronger young boy. Despite being a powerhouse who could crush buildings with a few good punches, like his brethren he was a utter coward when outnumbered or shown to be too weak.
"H-How could a mere brat...be so skilled?" He muttered to himself, wincing as his foot twisted wrong. "I-I am a commander of the emperor's army...a servant of Lord Gluttony! He cannot have beat me!"
"Yet here you stand, whimpering like the sniveling pig you are."
Face loosing whatever color it hadn't already, the man looked up and squealed like the pig he was at the sight before him. Obscured almost entirely by the shadows of the porch roof and dim lighting of the square, the behemoth before him towered over even the seven foot soldier, and had not a lick of fat over his broad, muscular and armored form. "L-L-L-Lord Wrath! What are you-!"
There was a wet squelching noise, followed by the crinkling of what seemed like tinfoil. Looking down in shock, the commander saw a sword nearly as wide as his entire body run through his stomach, piercing the golden armor like tissue. "What...?"
"You failed, and worse, were running away like a coward." Lord Wrath rumbled, his eyes glowing in the shadows of his face. "You know the penalty for this. Grunts like you should know better by now, yet always your pathetic cowardice shines through without fail." Placing a hand over the one holding the grip of his broadsword, Wrath's hand began to flicker with red fire that slowly consumed the hilt of the blade. "Burn."
There was a flash of fire, and the square echoed from the Grunts howls of terror and pain.
Panting, Mark had gained several cuts along his arms and legs in the minute or more that the brawl began. The knife was barely large enough to deflect some of the heavier and sharper weapons, and as such they'd been able to whittle away at him bit by bit. But he'd given as well if not better than what he got. Four of the men were out of the fight permanently, while three more were wounded enough that their fighting was seriously hampered. Plus, he'd managed to nab a mace from one of the fallen, and so was now duel wielding it along with the knife placed in his left hand to defend.
"Is that all you've got?" He taunted at the soldiers. "Those other soldiers a while back put up a way better fight than you."
Hearing them growl, Mark lifted his weapons a little higher to defend. But then a horrendous howl filled the air, and turning his head he stared in shock as the Commander was burned alive, a blade running through his stomach seeming to be the cause. The soldiers across from him seemed to be watching too, and even they appeared nervous judging by their stances. Within only a few seconds, the now charred corpse fell to the ground and shattered into ash, a wisp of energy floating up from the remains and then there was silence. The blade disappeared behind the shadows of the doorway, and then there were loud, thumping steps as the weapons owner ducked and walked into the town hall.
"Hmmph, pathetic." The...man, growled. He was a massive pile of muscle reaching eight feet in height, the muscles noticeable around the armor bulging with veins. His armor closely resembled that of the soldiers all around Ponyville that Mark had seen so far, a bit more blood red perhaps but still accentuated by gold along the joints and sides. However instead of spikes, the pauldrons were matching roaring lion heads, the mouths and eyes glowing with a faint fire that hovered inside. The helmet was different too; the upper half of a lion's face rested atop his forehead, with either a decorative mane or perhaps even his own golden hair billowing out from behind it and trailing down his back. His face, although uncovered, was partially obscured by shadows that let his glowing yellow eyes flicker within unnaturally, only his mouth seen on a square jaw that had numerous small scars across it. Another change was the addition of a cape that was pinned to the left side of his chestplate by a piece of iron shaped like the male gender symbol; the symbol of Mars. It billowed down back to his knees and was white with gold borders, and very tattered around the bottom no doubt from long use and combat. Oddly, as Mark finished observing this new opponent, he could not see that incredibly large broadsword anywhere, which made him even more wary. "Has inactivity truly led my men to become the weaklings I see before me? To be so easily defeated by a mere boy?"
"L-L-Lord Wrath," One soldier stuttered, stiffening up into a sloppy salute and posture. "W-We were..that is the Commander...he..."
"Silence!" Wrath growled, his eyes flashing. "I will deal with you fools later." The soldiers all stepped back, leaving Mark alone after they dragged off their fellow men. Turning his gaze from the cowering soldiers, his solid yellow orbs flashed as they focused onto the still tensed young man. The intensity of his gaze made Mark break out into a cold sweat along the back of his neck, but despite the fear gripping his heart he kept his face as neutral as possible. "I was hoping you'd be here, boy."
"..." Slipping a little out of his tense stance, Mark kept his eyes steadily on Wrath's own, knowing that things were about to get a lot more complicated. "No offense, but I was really hoping you wouldn't." He replied.
