> Other Wanderings
>  by ed2481
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Intro
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“There comes a time in every man’s life when he really just needs to shoot someone,” the brown haired man said with a small chuckle.

“And that time comes for you about twice a day right?” the purple alicorn asked him as they walked along the destroyed stretch of highway.

“Na, you're short-changing me again Sparky,” he said as he playfully muffled her mane. “It’s more like three to four times a day,” he added with a chuckle.

“Somehow, I can’t muster up any surprise to that statement,” the mare said dryly.

“Hey, when you live the life I do then you pick up some quirks,” the man defended. “It’s not like you’re perfect, are ya Sparky?”

The alicorn looked at him for a moment before responding. “Yeah, well at least mine aren’t focused on murder.”

“Oh no, just making Sunny beg for mercy, eh?” he asked her with a smirk as he twirled a blue bladed bowie knife between his fingers.

“Well... not beg,” she replied with a slight blush. “Anyways, what were we out here to do again?”

“Kill some Legion leftovers who survived the last few purges,” the man answered.

“Oh right, fun,” the mare said with a slight chuckle, then she let out a slight sigh and looked up at the man. 

His eyes were still bright and merry as the first day she’d met him... on the outside. Underneath that there was a firm layer of hardness and even a bit of sadness lurking within. His brown hair was beginning to grey a little and the lines on his face were getting deeper.

“You know Ethan... we’ve done a lot in the last ten years,” the mare said, her tone nostalgic.

“Yeah tell me about it,” Ethan agreed with a small chuckle. “You and I have come a long way Twilight.” He put a hand on her head and a grin appeared on his face. “And you know what?”

“What?”

“We’re going to keep going farther and farther,” he answered. “And good fucking luck to anyone who gets in our way or tries to stop us.”

Twilight looked over at him and grinned. “Well then, let’s get going eh? We’ve got Legion to kill.”
	
> Highschool Wanderings Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So... how’s Star doing?” Ethan asked, his voice full of concern.

A pained look appeared on Shining Armor’s face, but he quickly smothered it. Ethan saw it anyways and sighed.

“Yeah... that’s what I thought,” Ethan said with a sigh of his own as the two walked along the hallways of the Crystal Palace. “Where is Star right now anyways?”

“He’s off with Cadence at the therapist's office,” Shining said, a neutral tone in his voice. “He’s getting better... but it’s... it’s slow.”

Ethan put a comforting hand on Shining’s shoulder. “Shining... just do your best. Be a dad, it’s been working for me so far,” the man told him, giving the stallion a smile.

“You know... when I first met you... I would never have imagined that you were capable of being so rational,” Shining commented, a small wry note in his voice.

“Yeah, you and me both Shiny,” Ethan replied, earning a slight chuckle from Shining. “So Shiny... why am I here exactly? I mean, Sparky said it was something about defending the Element of Magic... but that doesn’t make sense because Sparky can kick the ass of pretty much anyone out there,” the man asked, giving Shining a raised eyebrow.

“That’s true... Twily has become quite good at combat,” Shining agreed with a nod. Over the last two years speaking about his sisters killing prowess had become a lot easier. “But she wants you here in case something unexpected happens.”

“Eh, fair enough,” Ethan said with a shrug. “I’m always good for stopping the unexpected.”

“Yeah,” Shining agreed. “That’s an understatement.”

“I just hope that this thing happens soon,” Ethan replied, looking out the window at the setting sun. “Because I promised Cassie that I’d be around to watch the kids by the day after tommorow so that she Boone, and Cass can make a trip to the NCR and set up a business deal.”

Shining nodded. “Hopefully it won’t take that long. If it seems like it will, you’re free to go,” the stallion replied. “It’s not like we’re going to keep you prisoner.”

Ethan grinned. “Thanks Shiny.”





“So... Tia, you sure this is going to work?” Twilight asked Celestia slowly from where she was positioned curled up against the alicorn who was resting a white wing over her back. 

“I believe that Sunset Shimmer will make an appearance, yes,” Celestia replied before giving Twilight a small loving nuzzle.

“And you’re absolutely sure that Ethan needs to be here?” Twilight asked.

“To be honest I am not positive,” Celestia answered with a slight sigh. “Of course, if he needs to be then he will be so it’s better safe then sorry.”

“You do realize that he might kill Sunset right?” the purple unicorn asked her lover with a raised eyebrow.

“I know that it is a possibility... but I would like to capture her before she does anymore harm,” Celestia said with a small sigh. “If he does end her life then... well... it is better than allowing a unicorn who absorbed almost as much knowledge from me as you have to rise to power.”

Twilight nodded her head. “I understand Tia,” the mare said with a soft sigh before she gave the alicorn a gentle kiss. “Now... we should probably go to bed.” She levitated the Element of Magic off of her head and onto the nightstand beside her

“Agreed,” Celestia replied, giving the mare a gentle kiss of her own before she turned the light off with a small flip of her golden magic.





A cloaked figure ghosted silently through the halls of the Crystal Palace, her horn’s glow dim against the background. Sunset Shimmer let out an internal egomaniacle laugh, she was sooo close. Her ultimate victory was mere hours away, she would rule over Equestria with an iron bound magic with her army of slaves! The mare was so busy grinning that she didn’t notice the human until she ran into his leg.

She stumbled back, in surprise and then looked up at the tall imposing man looking down at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Hiya, are you lost?” the human asked in a chipper voice.

Sunset stared at him in surprise for a moment longer and then shook her head.

“Sorry... I didn’t see you there,” she said.

“Eh, that’s fine, it’s pretty dark out in here,” the man replied with a shrug. “So, what’s your name miss?”

“My name is Sunset Shimmer,” the mare replied, though she was beginning to get annoyed with the man, something about him was just... annoying. Not only that... what in the heck was a human  doing in Equestria? The only way that she knew that was possible was through the Portal... and it didn’t let you keep your shape. Sunset’s brow furrowed beneath her cloak but she shook her head, she had more important things to do than talk to the monkey.

“Cool, I’m Ethan,” the man replied with a grin. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yes yes, would you mind moving?” Sunset asked, gritting her teeth slightly.

Ethan raised an eyebrow at her. “Sure I guess, you one of the maids or something?”

Sunset shot him a glare, but nodded. “Yes, I’m a maid or something,” she growled. “Now get out of my way.”

“Fine, fine,” Ethan replied, stepping aside and allowing the mare to continue on her way. “I’m not here to hold up the help, even if they are bitches.”

Sunset stopped in mid stride and shot the man a glare, silently thinking. When I return with my army you will be the first to die! 

Luckily for her, Ethan couldn’t read minds and had stopped worrying about her, continuing his rounds. Beneath her hood Sunset smiled wickedly, now was the time to get the crown!

“Hey,” Ethan’s voice suddenly called to her making her freeze again. Sunset slowly turned to look at him.

“Yes?” she asked, her voice a bit strained from the level of annoyance he was causing her.

“It’s impolite to wear hoods indoors,” Ethan told her with a small chuckle. “At least that’s what Sparky tells me.”

Sunset stared at him blankly for a moment before shoving her hood off, revealing her crimson and and yellow mane before stalking off in a huff. 

“Huh, wonder what crawled up her ass and died,” Ethan muttered before shrugging and walking off.

Once she was out of his sight, Sunset pulled her hood back up over her mane and continued through the Crystal Palace, following the weak tracking spell she’d established on the Element of magic. Quiet as a racoon she walked down the corridor until she came to a large door with a sun painted on it. Sunset frowned... she’d been expecting it to be with the Element of Magic herself... but it made more sense from a practical standpoint for Celestia herself to keep track and protect it, she supposed.

She eased the door open, casting a quieting spell on the hinges and walked in to see a sight that she wasn’t exactly expecting, in fact, it dumbfounded her enough to make her halt in her stride. Lying asleep atop the bed was her ex-mentor Princess Celestia... that was the expected part. The unexpected part was the purple unicorn who was currently spooning the elder alicorn. Sunset’s jaw dropped at the sight and it took her almost a minute to recover.

“Guess you’re not such a virginal old nag anymore are you Celestia?” Sunset whispered to herself as she crouched and quickly snuck over to the nightstand where the Element of Magic was sitting in a small case. With ease Sunset swapped it with the duplicate she’d stolen. However, as she did so she couldn’t stop a small maniacal giggle from escaping her mouth.

IT’S FINALLY MINE! she mentally cheered to herself. ALL MINE! 

Suddenly, the purple unicorn stirred slightly in her sleep, roused by the mare’s giggle. Her eyes opened blearily and Summer found herself staring into one purple eye... and one terrifying robotic blue one. Sunset stared for half a second, before turning tail and fleeing out of the room. 

Twilight separated herself from Celestia’s sleeping embrace and took off after the mare. “Get back here with my Element you bitch!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, rousing Celestia from her sleep with a start. 

Sunset ignored the coarse language being directed at her and teleported several dozen feet ahead of the mare who responded by firing a blast of force strong enough to make Sunset stumble a bit even though it had hit where she’d been before she teleported. Fortunately for Sunset, the hall of the Mirror wasn’t too far away, and through a combination of skill and luck she made it to the room without being hit by any of the mare’s blasts.

That’s where he good luck ended. Standing just through the doors was Ethan, an annoyed frown on his face. Sunset tried to run past him, but he grabbed her by the tail and roughly pulled her off  of her hooves.

“Hi again,” Ethan said with an unamused look. “Remember me?”

“Let go of me!” Sunset shouted at him.

“Na, just not feeling it,” Ethan replied as he continued to hold her. “Hey, Sparky, I caught her,” he called down the corridor to the rapidly approaching mare who was still yet to round the final corner.

“No you didn’t! I won’t let my dream end here!” Sunset growled, teleporting out of the man’s grip and running straight through the portal before Ethan had a chance to react.

Ethan let out a low growl. “Stupid cheating unicorns,” he growled as he walked towards the mirror. Twilight came to a stop in front of him and gave him a dry look.

“She teleported out of your hand, didn’t she?” Twilight inquired with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Ethan grunted. 

“And she went through that mirror didn’t she?” Twilight asked, pointing towards the mirror.

“Yeah,” he grunted again. “We have to go get her don’t we?”

“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “She stole my Element.”

“Great, let’s go,” Ethan said, gesturing towards the portal as dawn’s light began to fill the hall of the Mirror. 

“You can’t, or not yet at any rate,” Celestia told them as she walked into the room, she’d only been a few meters behind Twilight in her run. 

“Why not?” Ethan inquired. “It’s just a portal right? Kind of like the ones that I use to get to the Wasteland or here, isn’t it?”

Celestia sighed. “In a way, but it takes a little bit more explaining than that...”

Ethan and Twilight both waited paitently as Celestia filled them in with the backstory of Sunset Shimmer along with the way the Mirror worked and when she finished Ethan shot her a glare.

“You know Sunny, if you had just told me who to watch out for then I could have saved as an assload of trouble right now,” he told her. “I bumped into SS earlier this evening and if I’d known that she was the one you were watching for I could’ve just knocked her out.”

“I realize that,” Celestia admitted with a frown. “But I didn’t want you accidentally attacking one of the help.”

Ethan gave her an unamused look. “Oh come on,” he grumbled.

“You did last time I told you to be on the lookout for anything suspicious,” Celestia replied. “That poor mime will never speak again.”

“Hey, he shouldn’t have been wandering the castle at night,” Ethan replied with a grumble.

“That’s no reason for you to punch him in the throat and stuff him in a closet until the Guard arrived!” Celestia retorted.

Ethan crossed his arms over his chest but shrugged. “Fine, maybe you’ve got a point, still you could have at least told me her name.”

“We’re wasting time,” Twilight said, stepping in between the two. “The longer we stand here and argue the longer Sunset Shimmer has to escape.”

“Very true Twilight,” Celestia said, giving the younger mare a warm look. “I agree, you must both leave at once. Though Ethan, you must leave your weapons here.”

“What, all of them?” Ethan asked her, an outraged tone in his voice.

“Yes, otherwise you may draw unwanted attention to yourself,” Celestia said. “And Mother knows you don’t need help doing that.”

“What can I say, it’s my raw animal magnetism,” the man told her with a smirk causing Celestia to roll her eyes.

“Duly noted, now, your weapons,” she said. 

Ethan grumbled as he pulled his combat shotgun, red bastard sword, and anti-material rifle from his back. Then he reached to his belt and pulled his favorite 12.7mm pistol and submachine-gun from his hip holsters. The man’s hands then reached into his pockets and he pulled out around two dozen grenades, a mixture of plasma and pulse. Finally, he reached into his boot and yanked out a bowie knife.

“There, that’s everything,” he grunted. “Happy now?”

“Extremely,” Celestia replied, giving the man a smile.

“Good, at least one of us is,” he replied with another grumble before turning to Twilight. “You ready Sparky?”

“Yes, one second please,” Twilight answered. She stepped up and gave Celestia a deep, passionate kiss. She pulled away and gave Celestia a smile. “Something to remember me by.”

Celestia chuckled. “As if I could forget you,” she said, a note of amusement in her voice. “Stay safe my Little Sparkle.”

“Always do,” Twilight replied with a smile. “Besides, I’ve been to the Wasteland and I really doubt that anything where I’m going can measure up to that.”

“Yeah, and she’s got me too,” Ethan added with a smirk as he ruffled Twilight’s mane. “Nothing bad happens to Sparky when I’m around.”

“Besides losing an eye, a leg, a-” Celestia began to point out.

“Thanks Sunbutt, but she’ll be fine,” Ethan replied flatly. “I promise.”

A small smile appeared on Celestias face. “I know, I just worry about her.”

“Well, like I told you; you’ve got nothing to worry about,” the man told her before turning back to Twilight. “Let’s light this candle and capture this bitch eh?”

Twilight chuckled. “Yes, let’s, no one steals my Element and gets away with it,” she agreed, walking for the mirror. Ethan gave Celestia a last wave, and together the two walked through the portal.

There was a swirling flash of light, suddenly he was lying flat in the green grass on the other side. Ethan felt... different. With a groan, he pushed himself to his knees and shook his head to clear it before slowly turning around and looking into the mirror. What he saw made his stomach drop.

It was his face sure enough... but it looked... much younger. There was no pain in his eyes, no lines on his face, no scars blemishing his cheeks, forehead or lips… and it was covered in zits.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” he shouted, his voice cracking. 

That was when he noticed the shape on the ground beside him. It was a purple haired teenager wearing a blue shirt and a lavender skirt. She groaned and looked around blearily for a second before trying to rise onto all fours, and failing horribly.

“Owww... what the hell?” the girl asked in a familiar voice.

“Sparky?” Ethan asked slowly, looking down at the woman.

“Ethan?” Twilight asked, turning her head up to stare at him, Ethan noticed that her mechanical eyes was missing, as was her leg. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I think the more important question here is what the hell happened to you,” Ethan replied, wincing at the voice crack.

“You look and sound like... like... like a teenager,” Twilight muttered.

“Yeah, and you grew actual boobs,” Ethan pointed out. “Nice rack Sparky, heh,” he added with a chuckle.

Twilight finally got herself together enough to take a look down at herself and her eyes widened in surprise. She promptly faceplanted.

“This is going to be a pain in the ass, isn’t it?” she groaned as she tried to rise up to her feet, failing.

“Probably,” Ethan replied, offering her a hand and pulling her up. The teenager stumbled forwards and ran into Ethan’s chest, grabbing onto him for support. Her face ended up inches away from Ethan’s and they locked gazes. The man’s eyes widened and a fierce blush crossed his face. “Hi...Sparky.”

Twilight blushed as well and looked away. “Hi... Ethan,” she replied, peeling her face away from his and taking an unsteady step back. “We umm... should get going,” she said, her blush deepening. “You know... looking for Summer.”

Ethan coughed and looked away. “Um yea, right,” he agreed while thinking to himself and looking at Twilight. I’m a married stud, I’m a married stud, I’m a marrie - oh god her rack is amazing! The man shook his head, doing his best to clear it of ‘bad thoughts’.

Twilight had caught his look and her blush deepened as she followed his thoughts. “Right... I-we should really get going,” she said again. How did I never notice how sexy he is? she wondered to herself. Even with the zits he’s still a total hu - stop it! You sleep with a goddess! she thought angrily to herself but she couldn’t totally suppress the feelings raging through her. Instead she turned on her heel and fell flat on her face.

Ethan grinned at the sight despite himself, and walked around to offer her his hand again.

“It’s going to be a long day,” Twilight groaned.

“Yes, yes it will,” Ethan agreed. “Still, let’s have fun with this.”

“How?” Twilight asked.

“Oh you know,” he told her with a sly grin.

“No, actually I don’t,” Twilight replied, narrowing her eyebrows at him.

“Good, because neither do I,” he told her, smirking as Twilight groaned in frustration. 

Twilight looked over at him and gave the man an annoyed look to which he simply smirked wider and despite herself, Twilight found herself smiling back... maybe this would be fun after all.
	
> Highschool Wanderings Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So... want to start looking at that place?” Ethan asked, nodding his head in the direction of the large building in front of them.

“Seems like a likely place to go...” Twilight mused, still slightly distracted by Ethan’s hand which was firmly gripping her own, allowing a warm sensation to spread up her arm.

“Right,” Ethan said with a grin as he led the way.

“By the way Ethan, you know that your duster changed right?” Twilight asked him. 

“What?” Ethan asked in confusion before he looked down at himself. 

Instead of his normal elite riot gear armor reworked with a layer of mithril chainmail, he was wearing a dark leather jacket and a pair of dark green military pants, the steel toed combat boots however had stayed. He paused for a moment to further inspect the attire, and he grinned as he discovered that a layer of kevlar had been worked into the jacket’s inner lining, as had the mithril chainmail.

“Huh, that’s convenient,” he mused with a chuckle. “I won't stand out as much I bet,” he added.

“You know... I’m kind of surprised that no one noticed us fall out of the mirror,” Twilight said, frowning. “I mean, look around, there are plenty of people out here.” She gestured around at several people who were walking their dogs or simply walking towards the same destination as them.

“Remember the rules of the Wasteland Sparky?” Ethan asked her with a raised eyebrow. “When something bad doesn’t happen, don’t question it. If you do, the Wasteland will bitch slap you.”

“But Ethan... I really doubt that we’re in the Wasteland,” Twilight pointed out.

The man frowned for a moment before reflect that was true. As the pair made their way forward towards the strange building, the man had noticed that their surroundings, at least to him were rather... alien in a surreal way. For starters, there was almost nothing brown and for some reason, the lack of that color made Ethan feel homesick. 

For another... the world around them appeared to be modeled after Springvale or one of the other prewar neighborhoods which had been destroyed in the war... which led Ethan to assume that the building they were heading towards was a school. This theory was backed up by the multitude of teanagers walking towards it.

Finally, Ethan shrugged.

“Well yeah, I guess... but still, would you like to be bitchslapped by whatever this place’s equivalent is?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Twilight blushed a little. “I guess not,” she mused. “It’s just... I feel like someone should have noticed us.”

“Don’t question a good thing Sparks,” he told her, shrugging again.

“I thought my nickname was Sparky,” Twilight said, looking over at the man with a small frown.

“It is, Sparky,” Ethan said. “Do you not like being called Sparks?”

Twilight looked down, a small blush on her face. “Umm... I’d prefer Sparky, I like it more,” she said.

Ethan chuckled, a little bit of nervousness in his voice. “Alrighty then, Sparky,” he told her as he led her carefully up the steps, which she almost face planted on three times.

“And they say chivalry is dead,” Twilight said with a small chuckle.

“Hey, I’m an honest to god Paladin. I can be as chivalrous as I damn well please,” Ethan replied with a smirk before he walked up to the door and held it open for her. “After you, milady,” he said in a very bad cockney accent. Twilight blushed again, but walked through the door regardless with Ethan following close behind. 

“Wow... this is really underwhelming,” Twilight said as they looked around the near empty hallway. It was fairly plain, a few banners adorned the walls and there was quite a lot of horse imagery floating around. Other then that, there wasn’t much to make note of. 

Suddenly a loud ringing noise rang out, causing Ethan to fall into a fighting stance and pull Twilight behind him. This proved unnecessary, as soon as the bell rang, the hallway was filled with teanagers and Twilight was jostled to her knees; or she would have been at any rate if Ethan hadn’t kept a firm grip on her wrist and kept her from falling. The purple haired girl shot him a thankful glance and through a combination of artful dodging, precise elbows, and a few more ‘interesting’ swears the two made their way out of the main thoroughfare. A teenager with spiky blue hair passed them by without comment.

“Well, that was annoying,” Ethan grumbled.

“Yes... very,” Twilight agreed. “Thanks for getting us out of there Ethan,” she told him with a smile.

Ethan smiled back before looking away. “Eh, you know I’ve always got your back Sparky,” he told her.

“Still... thanks,” she said. “Now... let’s find my Element and get back home shall we? Tia and I have... things we need to do.”

“Together, or to each other?” he asked her with a smirk.

“Both,” she answered, a small blush on her face once again.

“Oooh, maybe I can j-” Ethan cut himself off and facepalmed. “Sorry...”

Where the hell did that come from? he mentally asked himself, confused by the odd turn of his thoughts... he’d never really thought of Twilight that way.

Twilight looked down, her blush getting deeper. “I’ll... ask Tia.” 

Wait... what am I saying? she asked herself, equally confused.

Ethan paused for a moment, stunned. “Really?”

“Maybe,” Twilight replied before setting off at an increased pace, forcing Ethan to take several long strides before he could catch up to her. The two continued down the hallway, encountering several people who looked very similar, if not identical to ponies they knew.

“Am I the only one getting a really weird feeling about this place?” Ethan asked Twilight.

“You and me both,” the teenager replied as perfect replicas of the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran past them.

Suddenly, they heard a pair of familiar voices from up ahead.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. I-I just found it and I thought I should give it to her,” a voice suspiciously like a certain yellow mare’s stammered from up ahead. “I didn’t know you had dropped it.”

“Well, I did,” a bitchy voice replied. “And I was about to get it before you swooped in and ruined everything!” Twilight and Ethan rounded the corner to see a humanized version of Sunset Shimmer angrily scolding a humanized version of Fluttershy who looked extremly nervous. “You shouldn’t pick up things that don’t belong to you!”

“It-it doesn’t really belong to you either,” Fluttershy’s double said, unable to make eye contact with Sunset. 

“EXCUSE ME?!” Sunset suddenly exclaimed, lurching forward and trapping Fluttershy against the wall between her arms. “What did you just-”

She was interrupted by an enraged, if extremely clumsy, punch from Twilight which caught her in the side of the face. Sunset staggered back from the blow, a look of confusion on her face until she regained her balance and saw Twilight glaring daggers at her.

“Leave her the hell alone you bitch!” Twilight exclaimed angrily, her hands bunched into fists. “What the fuck gives you the right to speak to her of all people like that you red haired skank?!”

Sunset stared at Twilight for a moment before an arrogant smile spread across her face. “Ha, you think you can take me here little Princess?”

“I don’t really give a shit,” Twilight replied with a glare.

Meanwhile, Ethan helped Fluttershy to her feet. “You should probably get going Flutters, or watch if you’re into that type of thing, this is going to get good,” Ethan suggested.

Fluttershy looked at him in complete and utter confusion, though there was a large amount of fear in her gaze.

“How... how do you know my name?” she asked, and then a blush crossed her face. “And... um no... I’m not into ‘that’ type of thing.”

Ethan shrugged. “I get around,” he replied before turning back to Twilight and Sunset who were still squaring off, a large crowd was beginning to assemble. The chant of ‘cat fight’ was beginning to fill the air.

“Give me the crown,” Twilight muttered beneath the growing noise. “And I won’t have to hurt you.”

“I don’t have it, and as if you could,” Sunset replied with a smirk.

“Bring it on!” Twilight replied angrily.

“Fine, have it your way!” Sunset replied as she stepped and threw a punch at Twilight’s face which the teenager fumblingly tried to block. The punch connected, and Twilight stumbled backwards. In response, the purple haired teenager threw herself at Sunset. The two girls collided, and Twilight knocked the unprepared Sunset to the ground.

Ethan watched this with mild amusement which warred with his protective instincts... however  this was Twilight’s battle to fight. That, and he knew that if Twilight really needed him then he’d step in.

Twilight and Summer exchanged several punches, a kick or two, a bit of hair pulling, and even a little scratching with neither side having much luck in damaging the other. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Twilight was definitely on the receiving end of most of it, her lack of coordination costing her crucial points, but if there was one thing besides magic that Twilight had in spades it was endurance. All the while, the crowd had grown bigger and shouts of ‘get her’ were flying from all sides along with the aforementioned ‘catfight’ chorus.

“What in God’s name is going on here!?” A familiar maternal voice suddenly shouted over the noise of the chanting children who, much to Ethan’s surprise, fell completely silent as their eyes turned to two women who were rapidly approaching.

Perfect replicas of Celestia and Luna were walking down the hallway,righteous anger in their eyes. Ethan’s eyes ran over them before his teenaged brain thought several very impure thoughts involving them, Cassandra, a bed, and a lot of sweat. Twilight looked up in surprise at the voice, her fist in mid punch towards Summer’s nose. As she gazed over the Celestia replica her mouth began to fill with saliva. The massive breasts, the firm athletic body, the full lips... she was gorgeous.

“Tia!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise, gaining a confused look from the woman which was quickly replaced by one of irritation.

“That’s Principal Celestia to you,” the woman said in a severe voice before looking at the other students in the hallway. “Everyone get to class or you’ll all get detention!” she added at a louder volume.

The crowd dispersed with a surprising amount of speed, leaving only Ethan Twilight, Sunset, and the two older women in the hallway. Fluttershy had also stayed behind, but she was hiding behind Ethan’s considerable ‘bulk’ to avoid detection, too terrified to leave.

“Now...” Celestia said looking back down at the two girls. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked in a severe voice.

“This... girl attacked me without provocation!” Sunset exclaimed, rolling away from Twilight and rising to her feet.

“Bullshit!” Twilight exclaimed, spitting a bit of blood on the floor, drawing stern glances from both of the Principles, though Ethan wasn’t sure if it was for the language or for new blood stain on the floor.

“Watch your mouth or I’ll give you a detention!” Principal Celestia scolded her. To Ethan’s immense surprise, that cowed Twilight into silence. “Now... you’re both going to come with me to the nurse’s office, and then you’re going to be speaking with me separately in my office.”

Twilight nodded meekly and Sunset shot her a smug smirk.

“I’m sure you’ll find that I’m in the right,” the redhead said.

“That remains to be seen,” Celestia replied with a shrug. “Now come,” she said, gesturing at them with a hand. The two followed her off down the hallway while Luna turned to Ethan and Fluttershy.

“Are you both okay?” she asked, more speaking to the timid pink haired girl. 

“I... yes, thanks to that purple haired girl,” Fluttershy said in a low voice. “She was just defending me from Sunset... she won’t get expelled will she?”

“I do not know, Fluttershy,” Luna answered with a frown. “We will have to review the video recordings to know for sure; but your approval means a great deal. I have never known you to lie.”

“Oh... thank you,” Fluttershy replied, looking down.

Luna then turned to Ethan who was taking a nice look at her cleavage.

“And you are?” she asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Ethan Smith... new student here,” Ethan replied smoothly, offering the Principal his hand. “And I’ve got to say Lu, this is a good look for you,” he added with a grin.

Luna stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. “You will address me as Principle Luna, and... thank you,” she said before frowning. “You should both get to your next class.”

“Umm yes,” Fluttershy said nervously. “Umm... let’s get going... Ethan,” she said grasping the man’s wrist.

“Right,” Ethan said with a nod before giving Luna a wink. “See you around Lu,” he added before walking off with Fluttershy

The Principal stared at the man’s retreating back and shook her head before walking off back towards her office. The paperwork alone from this was going to give her a headache. Besides... she didn’t want that type of trouble springing up on her again... even if he did look eighteen 
	
> Highschool Wanderings Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight sat in a nicely appointed office across from Principal Celestia, her eyes were firmly locked on the desk in front of her, mostly because she knew that if she moved them upwards she’d spend the entire time ogling the woman’s impeccably firm breasts. Celestia for her part, was rather confused by the situation. The file that they’d sent about Twilight hadn’t mentioned that she was prone to violence, or swearing for that matter. No, Twilight was a straight A student who’d never had a disciplinary problem in her entire school career.  

“Now... Miss Sparkle I’ve already talked with Miss Shimmer and she seems to want you expelled, effective immediately,” Celestia said at last.

“That’s not fair, you can’t listen to just her because she went first it’s bu-” Twilight began angrily, still averting her eyes.

“However because it is I who am in control of this school and not Miss Shimmer, no matter how much she would wish it otherwise, I’m willing to let you off with a stern warning against doing it again,” Celestia stated firmly, cutting the teenager off mid curse. 

Twilight looked up swiftly, her eyes gliding over Celestia’s chest before making it to her eyes. “Wait, what; why?”

Celestia allowed a small smile to appear on her face. “Now after speaking with several witnesses, it is clear that you were defending Miss Fluttershy Miss Shimmer. I cannot abide bullies like Miss Shimmer in my school and it is my hope that your rather unorthodox method of dealing with her taught her a lesson,” the woman said, giving Twilight another small smile. “That, coupled with your previous lack of disciplinary infractions means that I’m letting you off easy because this is your first offense... any more and I will have to assign punishments.”

A smile spread across Twilight’s face. “Thank you Tia!” she exclaimed.

“Once again it is Principal Celestia to you,” Principal Celestia affirmed, though for some reason she enjoyed hearing the girl call her ‘Tia’. “Now, you should hurry to lunch, wouldn’t want to miss it.”

Twilight grinned and almost leaned over to kiss the woman out of reflex, but stopped before she’d even finished the thought, a hot blush spreading over her face. “Umm... thank you Principal Tia... I should go,” she said hurriedly before rushing out of the office leaving Celestia behind with a frown on her face.

“That was... strange,” she muttered. 





“So... you said your name was Ethan right?” Fluttershy asked the leather bound teen sitting across from her.

“Yep,” the man replied. “Ethan Smith, also known as the Lone Wanderer, at your service,” he added with a chuckle.

Fluttershy frowned for a moment and ate a little of her burger before looking back up at him. “That sounds familiar... but I can’t imagine why,” she said, still frowning.

“Eh, it’s a common name,” the man replied with a chuckle before glancing down at the soda he’d picked up. “This stuff is good... but it’s not blue enough for me,” he stated.

“Blue soda?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nuka Cola Quantum,” Ethan answered with a grin. “Best stuff in the world.”

“I’ve... never heard of it... is it a foreign brand?” Fluttershy asked him with a curious expression on her face.

“I guess you could say that,” Ethan said, chuckling to himself. “So Fluttershy, what was that Shimmering Bitch threatening you about?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the man’s language, not being the type to appreciate it, but answered all the same. “She umm... wanted to know what I’d done... after I found the crown for the Fall Formal.”

Ethan frowned. “Crown... gold thingy with a six pointed star on it?”

“Yes... that’s it,” Fluttershy said with a nod.

“Do you still have it?” he asked her, his gaze turning surprisingly intense.

Fluttershy looked away, scared by the intensity. “No...”

Ethan deflated. “Oh... alright. What happened to it then?”

“Well... this morning I was passing out flyers for the local animal shelter like I do every Wednesday... and suddenly the crown hit me in the back of the head... I have no idea how it got there,” she said timidly. “I didn’t want anything to happen to it so I decided to give it to Principal Celestia.”

“Huh,” the man mused with a frown. “I wonder if old Sun Butt would give it to me if I asked nicely.”

Fluttershy blushed at the name. “I don’t think she’d appreciate you calling her that... or mentioning her tattoo...”

“Hmm... I’ll see about that later,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “After Sparky gets out of her office and all.”

“You know... if you two really want the crown... your friend Twilight could always run for Princess,” Fluttershy said with a small frown.

“Or we could steal it,” Ethan replied with a smirk. “I can lockpick my way through almost anything...” He trailed off when he noticed Fluttershy staring at him. “Or... Sparky could be Princess, that works too,” he admitted with a chuckle.

“I could do what now?” Twilight asked from behind him causing Ethan to jump in surprise, followed shortly by a deep blush. 

“Oh, h-hey there Sparky,” he said in an attempt to sound casual. “Me and Fluttershy here were just talking about how you could get the Element-crown by being voted Princess...”

Twilight sat down beside the man and put her hand over top of his, causing a light blush to play over both of their faces. “Really now?” she asked, looking at Fluttershy. 

Fluttershy nodded swiftly. “Yes... that’s the best way to do it,” she said.

“Well then... how would I go about doing that?” Twilight inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“You’d have to talk to the planner of the Fall Formal... she should be in the gym,” Fluttershy told her, though there was an odd note of... anger in her voice.

“Alrighty then,” Ethan said, getting to his feet. “We know where we’re going.”

“But I didn’t even get a chance to eat anything!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Food is for the weak!” Ethan exclaimed with a grin. “Besides, considering how much you probably ate last night I’d be surprised if you’re hungry for a while.”

Twilight slapped him, leaving a large red imprint on on the man’s face. Fluttershy flinched back from the conflict, but Ethan for his part only laughed. 

“Fine Sparky, get some food, I was only joking,” he replied with a small chuckle. “I’m going to scope this place out, see what I can see.” Then, to his surprise, he bent down and gave her a peck on the cheek before a deep blush covered his face and he quickly strolled away.

Twilight stared at the retreating man’s back, half frozen in surprise. Her hand moved up to where he’d kissed her, and a crimson blush covered her face.

Fluttershy for her part looked at the girl across from her with a confused expression.

“I thought you too were just... friends,” she said with frown.

“Yeah... me too...” Twilight said, still rather shocked by what had just happened. Then she frowned, and began to eat in silence.





What the hell was I thinking? Ethan asked himself as he strode down the hallway. I just... kissed Twilight... what the hell? He shook his head. I mean... I’ve liked her from the day I first found her on that random blood stained mattress... but never like that... he looked down at his teenaged body, which up until just a minute ago had been enjoying the warm sensation that came from kissing Twilight. Fucking hormones, he grumbled to himself. Oh well... maybe when this is all over I can ask Cassie and Tia if we can do something... all together.

He continued to walk down the hallway, occasionally glancing down at the watch which was all that was left of his Pip-Boy. He’d been at it for around twenty minutes when he suddenly felt as if he was being followed. He looked over his shoulder to see several overly buff guys in athletic shorts walking towards him, looks of menace on their faces.

A wry grin appeared on Ethan’s face. Oh lookie, someone to punch. Good, I was in the mood to do a bit of that.

Ethan stopped in the middle of the hallway and let the jocks surrounded him. They appeared to be confident in themselves and their superior numbers, large grins on each of their faces. A blond one stepped forward.

“You Ethan?” he asked with a grunt.

“That’s me yeah, Ethan Smith, the Crazy Son of a Bitch,” Ethan answered with a smirk. “Who are you?”

The jock sneered at him. “I’m Steven, and I have a message for you from Sunset Shimmer,” he growled.

“Oh, and what’s that?” Ethan asked curiously. 

“Just wait and see,” the jock replied with a dark chuckle. Ethan tensed himself and waited for the blow to come.

“Hey, what are you guys doing!?” a new voice shouted, everyone turned to see some blue haired guy yelling at them. 

“What do you want Flash?” Steven sneered at him. “You’re a rocker, not a fighter.”

“Well I can’t just let you guys gang up on this guy,” Flash answered, cracking his knuckles. “So, why don’t you back off?”

There was a moment of silence before Ethan began to chuckle.

“Kid, I appreciate what you’re aiming for, but honestly, I don’t need your help,” Ethan told him with a grin.

“But there are ten of them!” Flash protested. 

“Yeah, and?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow. “I eat douchebags like this for breakfast,” he added with a smirk towards the jocks who bristled angrily. 

“That’s it; you’re dead!” Steven shouted, bringing his fist slamming into Ethan’s chest. 

Ethan didn’t flinch, and the jock’s fingers crumpled against the armored leather jacket. Steven’s face contorted in pain and Ethan took the initiative. He darted forward and drove his knee into Steven’s crotch, the man let out a whimper. Steven didn’t have time to do anything else because Ethan brought his elbow down on the man’s head and he fell weightlessly down to the ground where he crumpled in a heap. 

“Okay, next,” Ethan said with a chuckle as he surveyed the jocks who were eying him in surprise and fear.

Then, two of them stepped up and charged at Ethan. The teenager let out a happy chuckle and simply stepped back, allowing them to ram into each other. As they tried to collect themselves, Ethan darted forward and knocked their legs out from under them and then as they tried to struggle to their feet he kicked them in the stomach with his steel toed boots. They too crumpled.

“Hmm... this is getting boring, next?” Ethan asked the jocks who were staring at him.

“ARRRGH!” a particularly large jock shouted at him as he charged Ethan. The teenager looked over in time to see the gargantuan grab him and tackle him to the floor. Ethan hit the ground with a thud, but before the jock could do anything else he brought his forehead up to deliver a ringing blow to the jock’s. 

The gargantuan blinked back stars, and Ethan delivered a pair of quick jabs to his face, one landing on his nose and breaking it. The jock let out a cry of pain as blood poured down his face and Ethan kneed him in the crotch, forcing the air out of his chest. Ethan capitalized on this by delivering another pair of rapid jabs with his elbow to the jock’s face. As the other teen recoiled off of him, howling in pain Ethan maneuvered himself out from under him and swiftly got to his feet before bringing his steel toed boot slamming into his chest again. The large jock collapsed to the floor, moving no more.

“Okay that was a bit better,” Ethan said with a grin as he cracked his neck and surveyed the stunned jocks who were staring at their four downed ‘teammates’ in shock.

“What... are you?” one of the six asked him.

“Ethan Smith, aka the Lone Wanderer, aka that Crazy Son of a Bitch,” Ethan answered with a grin. “Now then, shall we continue?”

The jocks took one look at him, and charged.





“Two cases of cracked ribs, four concussions, three broken noses, four broken arms, five bruised kidneys, and ten young men who are even now on their way to the hospital,” Vice Principal Luna listed off to Ethan as he sat in front of her, twiddling his thumbs. “Just what were you thinking?”

“That there were ten of them and if they wanted to try and beat me up then I’d make it difficult for them,” Ethan answered with a shrug. “I mean, it’s not like I went looking for them.”

Luna stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “Still... you put ten people in the hospital.”

“In self defense!” Ethan protested. “The bastards are lucky that I didn’t kill them.”

“Do you realize how many parents I’ve had to talk to today?” Luna inquired angrily. “I’ve barely managed to keep them from collectively suing the school!”

“I honestly have no idea why you’d think that matters to me,” Ethan replied with a shrug. “Like I said, I acted in self defense, that Flash guy can back me up here.”

Luna placed a hand over her face and let out a small groan. “Yes... Flash Sentry has indeed backed you up on your claim... and I see no reason to doubt him.” She removed her hand and looked into Ethan’s eyes. “You are very lucky young man... were it not for his support I would be forced to expell you.”

Ethan shrugged. “Hey, don’t worry about it Lu, I know that you’re just doing your job,” he told her casually as he got to his feet. “See you around Lulu,” he added, leaving the office before Luna had a chance to stop him.

"Wait you can't just-" the door slammed shut and the woman let out another groan. “What is happening to this school?” 
	
> High School Wanderings Part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Twilight Sparkle walked into the school gym where she’d been told the ‘planner’ would be. The entire room looked like it had been hit by an artillery barrage of party supplies. Standing in the center of the madness, pulling a balloon off of her skirt and blowing it into a real balloon, was a strangely familiar pink haired girl.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked as she closed the distance with the girl. The reaction was immediate, and completely Pinkie. The pink haired girl grabbed onto her shoulders and brought her face within centimeters of Twilight’s.

“Are you psychic?” she inquired eagerly.

“Nope,” Twilight replied. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Pinkie let go of Twilight with a slight shrug. “Not really,” she said with a small shrug. “I was just hoping that you were is all.”

“Oh, okay,” Twilight said as she ran a hand through her hair. “So... I’m here to sign up for this Fall Formal thingy... you’re the one I talk to, right?”

Pinkie grinned, her hair seeming to somehow get even more excited then normal.

“Yep a dep dep,” she said with a smile. Then an interested look crossed her face. “Oh that means that you’re actually considering running against old Nazi Girl herself,” Pinkie exclaimed, grinning widely.

“Nazi girl?” Twilight inquired, confused.

“Yeah; she wants to take over the school, she’s trying to make us goosestep by her, and her name can be shortened to SS so I call her Nazi Girl,” Pinkie explained with a giggle. “She doesn’t like it much.”

“Bitch deserves it,” Twilight stated.

Before Pinkie could respond to that, another familiar face entered the room. To Twilight’s surprise, it was Ethan.

“Hey Sparky,” the teen said with a smile as he walked up to her. “What’s up?”

“Oh nothing, I was just talking with Pinkie here about me becoming the next Princess,” Twilight said with a slight shrug, meanwhile, Pinkie was closely examining Ethan.

“OOooh are you LARPing as Dresden?” Pinkie asked the teen with wide eyes.

“Who... and what are you talking about?” Ethan replied, confused by the name and the activity.

“Well, LARPing means dressing up as fantasy characters and pretending to be them,” Pinkie listed off before she effortlessly blew up a balloon. “And Dresden is a character from a book,” she continued. “I just assumed because of the leather and chainmail, along with the gun in your back pocket...”

Twilight turned to give Ethan a glare.

“You brought a gun?” she demanded. “How? Tia was very thorough!”

Ethan smirked and reached into his back pocket and pulled out a vaguely slingshot-looking creation.

“It’s my dartgun Sparky, never leave home without one when I can avoid it,” Ethan told her with a chuckle. “It’s mostly non-lethal... kind of.”

Twilight gave him a long look before shaking her head. “Fine, you can keep your ‘dartgun’,” she said, shaking her head before she turned back to Pinkie. “Anyways, sign me up for this Fall Formal thing I guess...”

“Alrighty,” Pinkie chirped with a smile as she wrote Twilight’s name down in mid air. “There we go.”

“Should I question why you didn’t actually write it on a piece of paper?” Twilight asked.

“Probably safer if you didn’t,” Pinkie replied, though Twilight couldn’t quite tell if she was serious.

Twilight shrugged slightly and turned to Ethan who’d stuck his dartgun back in his pocket, which swallowed it. Without thinking he’d took hold of her hand as he stood next to her. Twilight blushed, and looked down at their hands. Ethan followed her gaze, and a matching blush crossed his face... but he didn’t take away his hand.

“Cassie’ll understand,” he told Twilight with a small shrug.

“So long as she doesn’t castrate you,” the girl replied jokingly.

“Na, I don’t think she will,” Ethan said, shrugging his shoulders. Pinkie was looking between them with the oddest ‘knowing’ expression on her face.

“You two are adorable,” Pinkie informed them. “Though I don’t think castration sounds like a normal ‘couples’ thing to do.”

“Umm yeah,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “Anyways, we should get going... we have this... thing to do. Right Twilight?”

“Umm... right,” Twilight agreed. “The... thing.”

“The third closest on the right after you leave the gym is always unlocked,” Pinkie informed them with a wink before she skipped off.

Twilight and Ethan exchanged another glance. “Should we?”

“Na, don’t want to make it too weird,” Ethan replied with a slight shrug. “I mean... me... kissing you... that would just be... weird... right?”

“Right... it’s not like I’m... attracted to you normally... right? It’s just this... body,” Twilight said slowly.

“Yeah... that’s all it is,” he said, his face getting a little closer to hers. “You’re a pony after... all. Nothing... attractive about that.”

“Shut up and kiss!” Pinkie suddenly exclaimed from beside them, hurling confetti in the air.

Out of reflex, Ethan’s fist launched out and nailed her in the eye. Pinkie let out a squeak of surprise as she fell on her ass.

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight exclaimed in shock as she let go of Ethan’s hand and knelt down beside Pinkie Pie. “Are you alright Pinkie?”

“I...owwww...” the puffy haired girl said before looking at Ethan, displaying one eye that was already beginning to bruise heavily. “You have a mean right hook!”

Ethan looked down at her and winced. “I’m sorry Pinkie...  I didn’t mean to punch you... but you should never surprise someone when they’re trying to decide whether or not to kiss someone.”

“Eh, it’s alright,” Pinkie said, hoping to her feet, swollen shut eye not seeming to bother her all that much. “I’ll just head to the nurse, this isn’t the first time someone has accidentally punched me in the eye.”

“Somehow... I’m not surprised,” Ethan mused. “Sorry again.”

“I’m fine,” the girl said with a slight shrug. “See you later,” she added with a wave before she walked out the gym.

“You know... I’m surprised you were able to actually hit her,” Twilight said with a frown. “Our Pinkie would’ve dodged it.”

“Yeah... so, you’re going to be a Princess?” Ethan asked her.

“Looks that way, yes,” Twilight replied.

“Okay... how do we do that?” the teenager asked.

“I have no idea,” Twilight replied. “Why don’t we go to the school library and do a little digging?”

“You just want an excuse to read books from an alien world, don’t you?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Twilight frowned at him and put her hands on her hips, she didn’t know why, but it just felt right. “I am going to be doing research on how to win the Element of Magic. Not reading random books on a whim!”

“Mhm,” Ethan said, clearly not impressed or convinced.

Twilight let out an annoyed huff. “Fine then, let’s just go, alright?”

“Sounds fine to me,” the teenager said.

“You...” Twilight trailed off, shaking her head. “Alright then, let’s get going.”

“Lead the way ‘Princess’ Sparky,” Ethan replied with a small smirk.

Twilight shot him a sidelong glance, but strode off, the man following just a bit behind her, tracking her hips with his eyes. Mmm... very nice, he thought to himself, no longer banishing the thoughts out of reflex. I wonder how she looks without that skirt on... probably drop dead sexy.

Twilight for his part, had noticed the man’s gaze, and decided to sway her hips just a little as she walked. This feels so... strange, she thought to herself. And yet... it’s so natural that it’s almost scary. She looked back and gave Ethan a seductive wink.

Did she just wink at me? Ethan asked himself. Oh my God, she winked at me! This was quickly followed by the thought, God damn hormones!

“We’ve got to do something about this,” Ethan grumbled aloud.

“The sooner we get this done... the sooner I can get rid of the images in my mind,” Twilight replied, a bit distractedly as a blush touched her face.

“Are they good images?” Ethan asked her eagerly.

Twilight was silent for a moment before she turned on her heel, grabbed his waist, and pulled him in for a deep passionate kiss. Ethan’s body reacted instinctively and his hands reached under the bottom of her dress and traveled upwards as his lips eagerly met hers.

“What in God’s name are you two doing?!”

Twilight and Ethan separated with a wet pop and turned to find Principal Celestia glaring at them, hands on her lustrous, shapely hips.

“Making out,” Ethan answered simply, his hands remaining inside of Twilight’s dress, gently fondling her. “Want to join in?” As he looked around, he also noticed that there were also several students staring at them.

Principal Celestia was dumbstruck by that response, he’d said it so simply and so unabashedly that a part of her brain had run into a wall, head first.

“I-um-NO!” Principal Celestia exclaimed as she shook her head. “What could possibly possess you to do such a thing in the middle of the hallway?!”

“Um, hormones?” Twilight hazarded.

To their surprise, as well as the surprise of every student in the hallway, Principal Celestia facepalmed.

“I... don’t even have the words right now,” she groaned.

“Cool,” Ethan said before he gave Twilight another kiss, this one a bit less passionate. “We’ll just be going then.”

Before the stunned woman’s eyes, Ethan started to walk away, pulling Twilight along with him, a hand on her hip. Celestia watched them leave, her mouth moving up and down.

“Wait... does that mean we can make out in the hallway?” One of the students near her asked suddenly.

That snapped Celestia out of her funk. “No, no you may not!” she turned on her heel to face them. “Anyone who I see repeating that kind of conduct will find themselves in my office immediately and I will call your parents as well!”

There was a collective ‘aww’ from the student body as they dispersed.

“I... just don’t know what is going on today,” Celestia said with a sigh as she leaned back against the nearest locker. “Everyone is going crazy...”





"So... that happened,” Ethan said as he and Twilight walked along, his hand still on her hip.

“Yes... it did,” Twilight agreed with a slow nod.

“Want to write it off as these bodies being hormonal as all fuck?” Ethan asked her.

“I was thinking so, yeah,” Twilight agreed. “Still... it was nice... so thanks.”

“Hey, I aim to please,” Ethan replied with a small chuckle. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, giving him a soft smile. “Tia always says so.”

Ethan let out a small chuckle and the hand around her waist dropped a bit lower gave her a squeeze making her let out a small yelp of surprise. “Hey!” she protested.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “Damn things just don’t know how control themselves.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure that’s the problem.”

In response, he gave her another squeeze, this one a little sharper. Twilight gave him an unamused glare and slapped his hand away before continuing forwards, this time her stride angry.

Ethan let out a small chuckle, and followed her as they entered into the library. Much to their surprise however, it wasn’t the books that took up their attention, instead it was the strange... computers which were sitting in the center of the wooden tables in the middle of the room.

“Is that... a computer?” Ethan asked with a frown as he walked up to it, pushing one of the keys. Much to his surprise, the screen emitted a beep, and went from black to a blinding white in under a second. “Ah!”

“Ethan... it’s just a computer,” Twilight said, giving the man a strange look.

“It doesn’t look like any Robco computer I’ve ever seen!” Ethan protested. “Also, it beeped at me!” he added indignantly.

“Ethan... you honestly astound me sometimes,” the girl said with a shake of her head as she walked up to the computer and began to type. She frowned when nothing seemed to happen. “How does this thing work?”

“Fuck if I know,” Ethan replied with a slight shrug. “You’re the ‘smart’ one, figure it out.”

“Watch your mouth young man!” a feminine voice exclaimed from behind him. Ethan looked back to see a replica of... some pink mare he’d seen before glaring at him.

“Hard to do that without a mirror,” Ethan replied before shrugging, and walking off. “Call me when you figure it out Sparky,” he called over his shoulder.

“Fine, I will,” Twilight grumbled as she looked over at Cheerilee. “Can you tell me how to-” she cut herself off and shook her head. Bad idea, she thought to herself. “Ma’am, would you tell me what I’d need to know to win the Fall Formal?”

Cheerilee frowned, but took pity on the poor girl and began to explain.

Meanwhile, Ethan walked around the library, not really paying attention to his surroundings. Not paying attention that is, until he saw two rather stupid looking kids pointing a metal device at Twilight. The girl was was at the moment, attempting to type something... using the edge of her hands.

“Oh man this is golden! She’ll never win if this gets out!” one of them giggled darkly.

“Yeah... Summer’ll blow us for this!” the other agreed.

“I wouldn’t take her up on that,” Ethan mused from behind them. “She’d probably bite your cocks off.”

The two younger boys jumped in surprise, letting out gasps.

“You-you-you’re the one who beat up the football players!” the one on the right, the taller of the pair stuttered.

“Yep,” Ethan answered with a smirk. “Want a demonstration?”

“Um... no!” the shorter one exclaimed after thinking for a second.

“Well then, give me whatever the hell that thing is,” Ethan demanded, pointing at the phone.

“But-but! Summer would kill us!” the tall one exclaimed.

“I don’t know about that,” Ethan replied with a small frown. “I don’t think she has the balls.” He let out a dark chuckle. “Whereas I do,” he finished, staring down at them. He didn’t even put any real anger into them, only a cold... detachment that chilled Snips and Snails to their cores.

“One,” Ethan began to count.

Snips and Snails exchanged a look.

“Two,” he continued.

The two suddenly came to one conclusion. No amount of free blow jobs was worth the pain that Ethan would deliver if they didn’t comply.

“Fine! Take it!” Snips exclaimed, thrusting it into Ethan’s outstretched hand. To his surprise, and horror, the older boy snapped between his hands and then stuffed in his pocket.

“Thanks boys,” Ethan told them with a smile. “Now, you guys should get going and tell Summer that that’s what I’ll do to her spine.”

The two let out terrified shouts, and went tearing out of the library. Ethan looked at the destruction he’d created, and smiled.

“It’s a good day,” he said cheerfully.
> Drekzone Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preface:

Ed2481: Omega and I have been feeling down lately (and I’ve had a bit of writer’s block as well when it comes to the ‘equestria girls’ story) so we decided to do a bit of an experiment together, let us know what you think. (We know it’s a bit cliche, but the whole thing reeks of Ethan)

Omega_Code: Yep, how many of you can guess which material we stole were inspired by to form this little crazy miniseries


Experiment Part 1


Ethan strolled down the cracked Mojave highway, whistling along to the tune of ‘Ain't that a Kick in the head’. Slung across his back was his red glassy bastard sword, on either hip was a 12.7mm submachine gun along with a pistol, one deadly plasma pistol known as the Novasurge, the other a large magnum loving called the Blackhawk. Worn across his shoulders was his heavy armoured duster, its mithril link lined interior and ballistic armor reflecting nicely in the sunlight. 

He’d just finished murdering his way through a raider camp and was on the way home to see his wife and take his daughter out on a hunting trip. 

“Ethan Smith, I presume?” a male voice asked. Ethan raised an eyebrow and turned to see a dark tanned male dressed in riveted black combat armor with a strange pistol and a sheathed sword hung by his many pocketed belt. The other man’s features was that he was lean, tall, well fight, and his face was a bit odd...with a some sort of tattoo-like black marking that seem to grow out of his left eye and down his neck. 

“Yeah, and who the hell are you?” Ethan asked the man, his hand reaching for the sub machinegun. “I swear, if you’re another person here to try and ‘make a name for yourself’ by killing me I’m going to shove my sword up your ass.”

“I’m here to inform that you will be coming with me to participate in Chairman Drek’s Worlds Battle Tournament,” the man instead replied. 

“I’m married with children, jackass, I’m not participating in some stupid sounding tournament,” Ethan told him flatly. “Now fuck off or I kill you.”

The man shook his head. “You are coming whether you like it or not,” he replied. “Don’t try to fight, this will be a lot easier on you if you cooperate.” 

“Fuck you,” Ethan said, drawing the sub machinegun and unleashing a hail of 12.7mm bullets at the man. The man just stood as the bullets rained down on him, yet not one bullet was able to hit its mark as they impacted a thin force field. 

The man shook his head. “They always fight back...” he muttered to himself. “Flechette ammo,” he said out loud, reaching down and drawing out his gun. He then fired once and the bullet hit Ethan in the leg. As it did, instead of just piercing through the flesh, it exploded into dozens of razor sharp slivers of metal. The slivers ate through the man’s armor and leg, making it look like a deathclaw had just torn into it.

Ethan winced at the pain and fell to his knee. “Okay... now I’m going to shove my sword down your throat and pull it out your ASS!” he shouted at the other man as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pulse grenade, throwing at the man.

The grenade went off, engulfing the man with a pulsing EMP field, yet the man didn’t seem all that worried. He fried again, hitting Ethan in the shoulder blade. This time the armor did its job, though the leather and mithril were badly torn, allowing some of the slivers to bounce off and into the side of Ethan’s neck. 

Ethan winced yet again but clamped his teeth together, pulling what looked like a scroll of some sort out of his pocket. He flung it open and a magic doorway appeared hovering in mid air.

“Sparky, code 97!” he shouted through it. Just then something landed beneath him and he glance to see a small orb. It blew up into a powerful pushful force, sending Ethan flying backwards and onto his back, several feet away from the portal. 

There was another sound the man’s gun going off, and a red hot orb hit the scroll, setting it alight. The scroll began to burn up, causing the portal to close and the ashes fall to the ground. 

“Like I said, you’re coming with me, like it or not,” the man said as he walked up to Ethan. “Don’t make this hard on yourself, I’ve fought beings like you before and more...I will win.” 

“Boom,” Ethan replied, right on cue for four plasma grenades to go off right underneath the man’s feet. The man was sent up into the air and flying backwards, landing on his back. However in mere seconds was on his feet, with a small frown towards Ethan. 

There were clear signs of burnt flesh on his hand and face, but the man didn’t seem to care. “So be it,” he told Ethan. He reached down, grabbed three orbs and flung them towards Ethan. 

The Wanderer dodged to the side, having stealthfuly injected a stimpack into his wounded leg returning him to near full mobility. He charged out of range of the orbs heading towards the other man, drawing his sword as he did so. Then a hissing sound emitted behind him, causing Ethan to glanced back to see a thick cloud of grey smoke growing behind him. He then felt and flurry of solid punches land on him as the man ran by him and into the covered of smoke. 

“Yeah, I’m not following you into that,” Ethan said, wincing slightly from the blows. He then began to back away from the smokey cloud, keeping his head on a swivel. He then tossed a plasma grenade at the man’s approximate position for good measure. It went off, making a flash of green erupt inside the cloud of grey; though if it hit the man, Ethan had no idea . 

Just then a loud shot rang out and Ethan felt his right arm literally be shredded to the bone. Another two shots rang and the man’s legs followed suit. He had only a moment to stare at the blood covered bones, muscle tissue still attached in places, before he felt something stab through his back. He glanced down to see a thin steel sword with a glowing blue edge piercing right through his heart. 

“I told you, I would win,” the man’s voice whispered neutrally next to Ethan. The sword was cleanly pulled out and there was a loud ‘thunk’ to the Ethan’s skull before the man blacked out. 

Two minutes later, Twilight Sparkle appeared, armed to the teeth, Vengeance floating beside her head. Unfortunately, all she found was a patch of blood stained ground along with several plasma signatures. The mare glanced around before her ears fell back against her skull.

"Damnit! Not again!”





Ethan’s eyes shot open and his body jerked and he unleashed several rasping coughs if he hadn’t breathed in a long time. When he finally regained control of himself he looked down to see that instead of his armour he was wearing a plain set of dirty tan clothes, as well as his hand were bound together with energy chain handcuffs. Thankfully, he still had his pip-boy on his arm and according to the readout he was still irradiated. Good. Ethan grinned, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about that. Then he frowned for a moment, remembering what had happened to him. 

Then he began to examine the ‘cuffs’, attempting to find a way to remove them, breaking his arm if needed. This was hardly the first time he’d been handcuffed to something. Of course, he didn’t have Cassandra distracting him this time, so his mind was much more focused.

“Don’t bother,” a scratchy male voice spoke across from him. “Tamper with them and they disintegrate you in a heartbeat.” 

Ethan looked up to see a rather odd sight. A green scaled reptilian looking humanoid was sitting across from him, wearing the same set of clothes and bound the same way as Ethan. He was holding a large metal pan in one of his hands, scraping a finger across the edges for the last bit of what Ethan assumed was food. The reptilian man glanced up to Ethan with his red colored eyes, giving the man a quick studying look. 

“So, you’re the new meat to ‘liven’ up this complex huh? You don’t look like much,” he muttered as he glanced down at his pan to see if he missed any bits of food. 

“No offense dinoman, but neither do you,” Ethan replied with a shrug, having already adjusted to the odd setting he’d found himself in. “Where the fuck are we?”

“You are in the competitor’s living quarters for the lowest ranking members of Mr. Drek’s Worlds Battle Tournament,” the dinoman replied as if he’d done it a thousand times. 

“Right... that’s what the jackass said,” Ethan mused with a frown. “I take it that any escape attempts are pretty much pointless?”

“Not unless you’re asking for an early death,” the dinoman answered. 

“Well then, fanfuckingtastic,” Ethan said with a roll of his eyes. “Guess I’ll have to survive until Sparky gets here and busts me out.”

The dinoman began to chuckle. “Heh...you don’t get it don’t you?” he asked the man. “The only way to get out of here is becoming chow for the dogs.”

“That’s pussy talk,” Ethan replied with a shrug as he got to his feet and stretched. “Nice talking with ya dinoman, but I’ve got to find a weapon, or at least a bathroom.”

The reptilian man shook his head as Ethan got up and walked out of the small room he woke up in. Ethan looked around and saw a large multilevel room, filled with alien beings ranging from more reptilians, to insectoids, furry, and all other kinds that even Ethan had never seen before, conversing with one another. Placed around the room at various intervals were large vid-screens displaying what looked like a gladiator match between two aliens. 

As Ethan looked around a variety of new, and for the most part rank, smells assaulted his nose and it took him a moment to truly adjust. At the same time, thousands of conversations reached his ears as did the roar of what he could only assume was a crowd which came out of the vid-screens above him.

The man looked around for a second and then nodded to himself before saying. “I don’t suppose any of you nice random aliens would happen to know where I can find a weapon would you?”

Many eyes looked at the man before several aliens rang out in laughter. 

“A weapon he says,” a deep throated male called out. 

“Ha, what a fish,” another agreed.

“Won’t last a single round I say,” a shrill voice stated out. 

“Dibs on his clothing!” someone shouted out. 

“Dibs on his body,” another shouted out, it sounded feminine. 

“Wow, fun group of assholes you lot are,” Ethan stated, rolling his eyes. “I’m Ethan the Lone Wanderer, aka that Crazy Son of a Bitch, now who the fuck is the biggest, baddest motherfucker in here? I’d like a word.”

“A word he says,” the deep throated male stated. “Hehehe, this human thinks he’s already at the top of the food chain.” 

“Fucking moron,” a dismissive voice, the second, stated with a chuckle. Ethan turned in the being’s direction to see a chitinous insectoid man partnered with a large fat pale round headed ‘man’ though his proportions were off. “Who do you think you are?” the insect added.

“I just told everyone,” Ethan stated with a shrug as he walked up to the two. “Didn’t you hear me buggy? What about you lardo, are you hard of hearing too?”

“All I heard was you blabbing out some useless title human,” the fat man replied with a chuckle. “Human’s title don’t carry any weight around here.” 

“Really now? And what does?” Ethan inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Wins,” he replied with a devious grin. “And so far, you have zero while I have seven under my belt.” 

Ethan frowned for a moment and turned to the insect. “How about you, how many do you have?”

“Six,” the bugman stated.

“Well then, I guess I have thirteen,” Ethan stated. 

In the blink of an eye he’d closed the distance between himself and the bugman, his hands wrapping the energy cuffs around his neck and using them to snap the insect’s neck with a swift jerk. The fat alien bellowed out an angry cry as he charged towards Ethan, giving a powerful shove with his elbow into the man’s gut. Ethan grunted as the elbow landed but let out a chuckle as he drove his knee into the fat being’s crotch. The fat alien let out a small grunt but chuckle amusingly at Ethan. 

“Wrong spot,” he told the man as he threw a heavy punch towards Ethan’s chest. 

“Bloody alien anatomy,” Ethan cursed as he recovered from the punch and dodged another. “Let’s try this then lardo, I’d tell you I used it on your mother last night, but to be honest, I wouldn’t go anywhere near something that disgusting,” he added as he danced around the being and punched him hard in the side.

This time the punch hurt the fat alien a bit as he winced away but just gritted his teeth and threw another punch at Ethan. The man deflected it to the side with his wrist and danced around the alien, throwing a hard elbow into his other side. The alien winced away, but he lashed out with a kick, which was a big mistake. Ethan grinned and dodged the kick before closing the distance between the two of them and slashing his leg out at the alien’s remaining leg before he could recover. 

There was a satisfying crack of bone as Ethan’s foot landed into the fat alien’s leg, and the alien let out a wail of pain as he collapsed to the ground. Ethan calmly walked over to his fat alien’s neck and sent his foot slamming down, causing alien's neck to break, immediately killing him. 

“Well that was fun,” he observed. “Anyone else want to crack jokes about the ‘little human’?” he asked, scanning the room of newly silent aliens. “Because honest to God, I’m not in the fucking mood for it, kay?”

No one spoke up as the whole room of stared at him with small awe and fear. 

“Now look, I’m not a bad guy,” Ethan continued, taking their silence as a cue to do so. “But I’ve got a wife and kids who I’d really like to see again, so if I need more kills to get respect then I won’t hesitate to get them from the people who mock me pointlessly,” he stated, his eyes scouring the room. “Other than that, feel free to talk to me, I’m a nice guy,” he added with a shrug before he turned his back on the stunned crowd.

The crowd began to murmur to each other in low voices. 

“He’s not like those other humans.”

“He fights like Kharon, do you think he came from the same world?” 

“He’s got to be, no regular human fights like that.” 

Ethan just smiled to himself as he listened to them speak as he walked over to the side of the room where there was a small table with a pair of chairs. He’d made his point, now he just had to find a way out of the hellhole.

“You fight well for a human,” a female voice spoke out. 

Ethan looked up to see a brown coated pony mare with a hazel green mane covering the left side of her face. Ethan examined her silently for a moment before smiling.

“Thanks,” he replied. “So, what’s an Equestrian doing in this little slice of ‘paradise’? You get tired of Sun Butt’s rules or something?”

The mare raised her right eyebrow at the man. “No...I got pulled here the same as you,” she replied as she took a seat next to him. “I was scavenging the ruins of Manhattan before I got pounced on my way back to Tenpony Tower and was knocked out by someone,” she replied. “Didn’t have a fucking chance to fight back.”  

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘ruins’? I know that Tia said that she needed to get the place more funding, but I didn’t know it was that bad,” he said, a bit confused.

The earth pony gave Ethan a muddled look. “Who the hell are you talking about?” 

“Princess Celestia, Aka Sun Butt, aka Sparky’s Favorite Fuck Buddy,” Ethan answered with a frown. “Although she doesn’t like that last one as much.”

The mare shook her head with the same confused look. “Princess Celestia is dead dude,” she replied. “Just before the whole world got fucked up by the mega spells from those zebra basterds.” 

“Nah, Tia’s alive,” Ethan said with a frown. “Or, she is where I’m from anyways,” he added. “I was just in Equestria... about two days ago.”

“Pfft, then it sure as hell wasn’t my Equestria,” the mare informed him. “Mine’s a radioactive wasteland filled to the brim with death every five feet.” 

“Wow, deja vu,” Ethan muttered. “That’s what my home used to be like, the Capital Wasteland in case you’re wondering.”

“Heh, small universe ain’t it?” the mare said with a small chuckle. “Though it does make sense with that crazy title of yours, hehe.” 

“Want to know a secret?” Ethan asked her, chuckling as well. The mare’s ears perked up with some interest. “I didn’t even come up with it, Three Dog the neighborhood Disc Jockey did,” the man told her with a smirk.

The mare frowned. “I have no idea who that is...but he must have one crazy mind to come up with a crazy name,” she said with a small chuckle. 

“He’s a pretty fruity guy,” the man agreed. “So, what’s your name? I mean, I could just call you ‘earth pony’ but that doesn’t have the same ring to it does it?”

“Glen,” she replied. “And no, it doesn’t.” 

“Well then Glen, want to help me get out of this shit hole; or failing that, wait till Sparky comes to spring me?” Ethan asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Glen chuckled. “Ah, new blood always thinking there’s hope for escape,” she said slowly shaking her head. 

“Glen, if I can fight my way out of a base full of power armor wearing Enclave soldiers in nothing but my underwear and then blow the fucker sky high, then I can handle this place,” Ethan told her with a small shrug.

“Maybe...but you've never met Drek have you?” she asked. Before Ethan could answer a familiar male voice spoke out behind. 

“Chairman Drek wishes to see you, Ethan Smith,” the dark tanned man spoke out. 

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Well look who it is,” he said casually. “You know, I think I’ll stay here. If this ‘Drek’ guy wants to talk to me he can haul his ass down here and suck-”

A high voltage shock coursed through Ethan, causing his whole body to stiffen and his muscle to tense.

“That wasn’t a suggestion,” the man informed Ethan flatly. 

“You know junior, you should buy a guy dinner before you make him get hard,” Ethan told the man, only wincing slightly at the pain coursing through his body.

“Go with him Ethan, you do not want to start a fight with Kharon,” Glen muttered to Ethan with an edge of fear mixed into her voice. 

“Well, who said anything about fighting,” Ethan asked as he rose to his feet and put an arm around Kharon’s shoulder. “I’m just chatting with my friend Kharon here, he’s kind of a tool, but you get used to it.”

Kharon gave Ethan a flat stare before his right hand reached over and shoved Ethan’s arm off his shoulder. “Let’s go,” he told him, reaching his left arm over towards the man’s chain and snapping on a electrical leash. 

“I’m not into bondage Kharon, at least not on the first date,” Ethan informed him, though he didn’t struggle. “Besides, I’m a married man, it would be scandalous.” Kharon just rolled his eyes and gave one hard yank on the chain to drag Ethan along with him. “Later Glen, don’t die without me here,” Ethan called over his shoulder.

Glen just let out a sigh, both out of relief and of small disappointment as Ethan and Kharon walked through the room of aliens and onto a small lift, heading up to who knows where. 
> Drekzone Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight was pacing back and forth frantically beneath the worried gaze of Celestia.

“I just don’t get it!” Twilight growled, not for the first time, angrily as she paced. “Gone without a trace, my tracking spells have been cut, even the one I attached via the crystal I installed in his chest!” 

“Twilight, you need to calm down and think about this rationally,” Celestia said, placing a calming hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. The young alicorn shook it off. 

“Calm down? Ethan’s been kidnapped-”

“Hardly a new occurrence,” Celestia pointed out, cutting her off. “And we will find him, I’m sure of it. I already have my mother looking into the matter. I’m sure she will be able to find him soon, she is a member of the Divine Court after all. They are adept at solving this sort of issue.”

Twilight let out an explosive breath and deflated. “I... thanks Tia,” she said, giving the white alicorn a nuzzle. 

“You’re very welcome My Little Sparkle,” Celestia replied, giving her a soft, comforting kiss on the lips. A sense of warmth and calm spread through Twilight and she felt the rage and anger that had been racing through her blood begin to subside. Celestia broke the kiss and looked down at Twilight, despite being an alicorn, the mare was still quite a bit shorter than her. “Now... have you told Cassandra about this?”

“Yes... she’s angry at whoever took him, but is confident that he’ll fight his way out eventually,” Twilight replied with a small nod.

“Well then... I suppose there is nothing we can do but wait for my mother or her contacts to locate him, is there not?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow as she walked over to the bed and sat down upon it.

“I guess not,” Twilight grumbled as she joined her and curled up next to the elder alicorn. “I just don’t like it.”

“I do not expect you too,” Celestia stated softly, leaning over to give Twilight another soft kiss.

Twilight sighed and leaned her head into Celestia’s neck. “I just hope he’s doing alright... I know that it’s Ethan but still...”

Celestia let out a slight snicker. “Twilight dear, it’s Ethan. I almost pity his current captors.”





“So, what’s your story?” Ethan inquired of the man leading him, they were walking up a featureless grey corridor. “I mean, you don’t exactly strike me as the ‘I’m evil’ type and you're not the stupid ‘MOVE’ type... so...”

“I work for Chairman Drek under contract,” Kharon replied. 

“Ah, so you’re a mercenary,” the Wanderer said with a small nod. “Shitty kind of guy to join up with if what’s going on is any indication.”

“It’s none of my matter to judge,” the merc replied. “I just do the work to keep agreement of the contract up.” 

“Huh,” Ethan mused. “So, who’s he got over you? Wife, daughter, husband? I don’t judge.”

“You’ll find out,” Kharon replied as they neared a large pair of black doors, with a pair of heavily armed robotic guards on each side. Ethan looked at the guards for a moment and then chuckled.

“He’s insecure enough to need that kind of security outside of his office?” Ethan inquired.

“No,” a smooth male voice spoke through a set of speakers. “More like just not wasting a gift given to me. It makes a bad image you know?” he explained with a small chuckle. The doors opened and Kharon lead Ethan through. 

On the other side was a high class fancy room, with velvet rugs covering the metal floor and a minibar set up on one side of a room that was just a wall of glass that over look an arena below. There were also dozens of vid-screens showing different battles going down on each screen. 

Overlooking it all was a willow thin almost man shaped being, his skin was pale as snow and had a head so bald that it was almost blinding. He was wearing a high end black business suit with a glass of brown liquid held between his four finger hand. He turned his head to glance over at Ethan, giving the man a good look at his face.

A pair of squinty bright golden eyes looked at Ethan from below hairless brows and instead of a real nose, he simply had a pair of slits for nostrils. He smiled slightly, stretching his inhumanly thin lips taught till they looked like they’d break. The alien did have ears, though they were rather pointed and obviously not human.

Ethan took one look at the ‘man’ and started to chuckle.

“So, is everyone of your species evil, or were you just trying to be edgy?” Ethan asked the being.

Drek, as it was clearly obviously, chuckled lightly as he swirled the glass cup in his hand. “Ah, so this is the wit of the famous Ethan, nice to know it didn’t fade away during your recovery,” he said before gesturing towards a oaken like desk at the other end of the room. “That would have been such a pity,” he added as he walked towards the desk. 

“You know, as much as I enjoy having fans, this is a bit too stalkerish for me,” Ethan replied. “Please tell me you don’t have a shrine built to my ‘honor’ somewhere at home and you’ve been waiting for some of my hair to sniff.”

“No, I don’t have any such thing,” the pale alien replied. “Though I do have your name already registered for fights and have high hopes you’ll bring in a lot of money, as well as lot of excitement to the torments.” 

Ethan frowned for a moment and tapped his chin. “Huh, you know, this whole place is really nicely appointed,” he complimented, looking around the office.

“I’m glad you approve,” Drek said. 

“Which is going to make it a real shame when Sparky gets here and tears the place down all by her lonesome,” Ethan continued with a chuckle. “Now neither of us want that, so I’d suggest that you let me go right about now because I’m sure she’s already on her way.”

The alien smiled deviously at Ethan. “Ah yes, your magical friend,” he said, chuckling a bit. “You don’t think this is my first time-”

“You sure look like a virgin,” Ethan quipped.

“I see...well, let me tell you, you are gone from the face of the world, literally,” Drek informed him. “You have no magical trace. False trails and hints of where you are have been spread throughout the universe, and you are in a zone where the only laws are made with the ones who have the most money, power, and leverage.” Drek tilted his head up with a pondering thought. “Which just so happens to be me,” he said with smile. 

“Neat,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “You do realize that I’ve done this song and dance before right? I’ll get out of here somehow, always do, and when I’m free I’ll kill you. Like all the others, simple as that. So how about we skip it and you just let me out, kay?”

“And let a criminal into the streets? Then I’d be a very bad warden,” Drek said. He then pointed towards a screen showing Ethan fighting and killing the two aliens. “Killing inmates is a very serious crime here, and mostly is punishable by death.” 

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Huh. So I either do what you want or you have the ‘right’ to kill me, eh?”

“That and other things,” Drek said, pointing towards another screen, showing Ethan’s browned Earth. “You see, I do a lot of things other than conduct this tournament. I also give suggestions on where some weapon company friends of mine can test their new bombs.” 

“You’re a little late to the party there tall pale and penis shaped,” Ethan replied casually. “We kind of already got bombed.”

“True...but there’s still people you care on that world, am I correct?” Drek asked. “Like your lovely little wife, and child I presume you talked about while killing two inmates?” 

Ethan’s eyes darkened. “Of course you realize that if you do hurt my family in any way I’ll tear off these cuffs and strangle you with them; right?” 

“And if you do that, my dear friend Kharon will take you down before you get the chance,” Drek saiding, pointing at the man standing behind Ethan. “And you know how well he can fight.” 

“Hmm... well because this is what all this really boils down to, I’d just like to go on record and say that I’m bigger than you... then again, your whole body looks like a penis, so I’m not sure if it really counts,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “As for your little merc, he took me by surprise.”

Drek chuckled lightly. “So you say, and the rest of the heavy hitters he brought here too,” he told Ethan. “Still, you know the conditions now, and your match is going to start in thirty minutes. So you better get ready.”  

"Alrighty then, I look forward to destroying your leverage and killing you,” Ethan told him cheerfully with a smile before looking over to Kharon. “Come on Steamboat Captain, lets get out of here.”

Kharon just stared at Ethan flatly before turning around and guided Ethan out of the room. 

“He is going to make me so much money,” Drek chuckled to himself as he took another sip of his drink and turned towards one of screens. “Not only that, but I might have new top gladiator...if he plays along.”  





“You actually work for that talking penis?” Ethan asked Kharon incredulously.

“So do you now,” the man replied. “As well as does everyone else here on this station.” 

“Na, I’m just biding my time,” Ethan said with a slight chuckle. “The second I see an opening, I’m taking it, just like I’m sure you are.”

“The only opening you’ll have is death,” Kharon said. “Else I would’ve done it long before you.” 

“Eh, I’m not sure, you’re kind of too normal to find the right type of opening,” the man said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m no more normal than you are Ethan,” the man stated. 

“Then you’d have already left,” Ethan pointed out with a smirk.

“No, because there’s no way out,” Kharon stated firmly. 

“Give it time,” Ethan said casually. “There’s always a loophole to this type of thing.”

“I've spent thirteen years working for him,” Kharon said in a low and harsh voice. “Bringing chumps like you in. There is no loophole that Drek hasn’t already filled.” 

Ethan shrugged again. “And that’s quitter talk, or pussy shit, whichever you’d prefer,” he said.

Kharon rolled his eyes. “I can see that lump in your brain is already affecting your thoughts.” 

“Na, that’s just the radiation,” Ethan replied. “I’m probably going to be a ghoul one of these days y’know.”

“My point exactly,” the man said as they reached a lift and Kharon shoved Ethan on to it. “Your match is an advancement round, meaning you’re fighting the heavy vets of this tournament. Don’t take this lightly.” 

“Aww, Kharon I didn’t know you cared,” Ethan said in a sing-song voice. The lift began to go up, cutting Ethan’s vision of Kharon off; though as he rose Ethan caught the man just shaking his head before he completely lost sight of him. 

“Well... this should be interesting,” Ethan mused to himself as he leaned against the side of the lift. “I hope they give me a weapon of some kind.”

The journey on the lift went for another three minutes before it came to a stop and opened into a completely dark room. Without thinking Ethan flipped on his pip-boy light and walked inside, but as he did the lights were turned on and in front of him were his armor, sword, and weapons sitting on a table. The energy chain in the hand curf also turned off, giving the man full range of arm motion again. 

“Now aren’t you guys a sight for sore eyes,” Ethan chuckled as he quickly pulled on his armour, letting out a sigh as the comforting feeling of his forty pound duster settled over his shoulders.

Ethan then drew his sword from its sheath, making sure that it was still good to go. It was, flawless as always. He kissed the blade lightly before sheathing it again and putting it across his back. As for the other weapons, he picked up a 12.7mm submachine gun and the Novasurge, foregoing the Blackhawk and the second submachinegun. Ethan stretched his back and did a few more little routines before looking around. 

“Okay, let’s kick some ass,” he said with a small chuckle.

Another door opened, allowing a large a very bright room and the roar of a crowd to seep through. Ethan also heard an enthusiastic voice shouting.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” the voice roared. “ARE YOU READY TO SEE THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH?” The crowd roared their approval. “WELL THEN YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE! AND OH BOY DO WE HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU TONIGHT?!”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “When the hell did I get so famous?”

“HE’S THE MAN WHO STOPPED A LEGION OF POWER ARMOURED BOY SCOUTS IN HIS UNDERWEAR, HE’S THE ONE WHO LED AN ARMY AGAINST A NECROMANCER, HE’S THE ONE WHO ROUTINELY MOCKS A MEMBER OF THE DIVINE, FAUST HERSELF! HE’S....” 

The floor beneath Ethan began to rise and came to a stop, depositing the man in a large circular arena. The edge of the circle was ringed by lava and above that were stands full of millions of spectators, most of whom Ethan didn’t recognize, but he did spot a few humans among the audience. 

“ETHAN SMITH!” the announcer roared, and getting a roar of response from the crowd. Ethan stood there for a oment, gathering his wits about him before he took a deep bow to the crowd.

“Well it’s nice to know I’ve got fans at least,” Ethan mused. “Question is, do I have any fan girls yet?”

“ETHAN SMITH, ARE YOU READY TO FACE THE FOUR ARMED BUTCHER!” The announcer shouted at him. Ethan raised an eyebrow, but gave the crowd a thumbs up, eliciting what sounded like a squeal of awe from several female members of the crowd.

“God, I am sexy,” Ethan grinned.

Another lift rose up on the other side of the arena, bringing up a creature that caused Ethan to raise an eyebrow slightly. The alien was clearly near seven feet tall, with bright red skin, four arms nearly the size of cannon barrels and four yellow pupil-less eyes. It wore heavy power armor for protection and held two curved sword in its lower hands. The other hands were wielding a pair of large metallic guns with glowing spots on their tops, each weapon bigger than an anti-materiel rifle.

“AS YOU KNOW THE FOUR ARMED BUTCHER HAS OVER THIRTY KILLS TO HIS NAME AND IS LOOKING FOR HIS THIRTY FIRST. HE’S SMOTE SUCH FIERCE WARRIORS AS  ULFRIC STORMCLOAK, THE NINJA TURTLE DONATELLO, AND THE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL; THE MIGHTY SNARF WHO COULD KILL WITH THE POWER OF HIS VOICE ALONE!”

The crowd roared a cheer at the four armed alien who didn’t really acknowledge it but was cracking his neck side to side and rotating his arms. 

Ethan observed this for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “So, do you have four of all appendages?” the man asked the alien with a chuckle.

“Humph, you humans are all alike, you talk big but are truly small,” the Butcher scoffed. 

“Heh, small eh? I don’t remember your sister complaining last night,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “Of course, that may have been because of all the bondage stuff, hard to scream with a bit in your mouth.”

The Butcher just snarled at the man as the crowd, the women in particular, cheered their approval.

“GLADIATORS, FIGHT!” the announcer shouted. 

The Butcher made the first move, both of his machine guns firing simultaneously, unleashing fast bolts of hot burning plasma towards Ethan. Ethan nimbly strafed around the incoming bolts, sending a stream of 12.7mm rounds into the gun in the Butcher’s right arm. Half a dozen or so bullet impacted the gun, but the Butcher held his gun firmly in his hand and it continued to fire as he trailed the man with it. 

Ethan weaved in and out between the blasts of plasma, firing his own gun at when he had a good shot, the bullets hit the Butcher’s armour, not doing much damage. Then, the man got closer to the four armed being and reached into his pocket with his free hand, drawing out a pulse grenade and throwing it at the Butcher. 

The grenade went off, causing a small shock to course through the four armed being, but he shook it off; however his guns seemed to stop working. The red man snarled harshly at Ethan. 

“Aww, what’s the matter Butchy, your fancy guns not working right?” Ethan cooed at the being, letting out a chuckle. “What a shame.”

The Butcher just charged towards the man instead of replying, bringing both his swords down in matching overhead swings. Ethan just chuckled again and sidestepped, causing the swords to slam into the ground. 

“Come on Butchy, you were talking all that good shit a second ago,” Ethan mocked, holstering his submachine gun and drawing his red bastard sword off of his back. “Aren’t I ‘all talk’?”

The Butcher recovered from his failed attempt and quickly went into an assault of deadly duel swings coming in at every sort of direction at Ethan. The man blocked one blow after another, throwing in a parry or two as well just to keep things interesting. However, he was being slowly forced back across the arena floor, closer and closer to the lava. The crowd oohed and there were several nervous titters from among them as they saw the man being pushed back. 

The pair of sword clashed vertically against the red blade and then came at Ethan from both sides, forcing the man to jump back away from it. The Butcher grinned and slashed again, Ethan parried the first blade and then the second before closing the gap between them and slashing the Butcher across the chest, earning a few drops of red blood. The Butcher snarled and sent his blades flaring out at Ethan who was once more forced to jump back.

As he did so Ethan realized that he was almost at the edge of the metal floor, the heat from the lava nipping at his heels. The Butcher smiled as he unleashed a hard horizontal swing and went to slice into Ethan’s chest. The blades slammed into him, going straight through and coming out Ethan’s back.

The red blade fell from Ethan’s hand and he slumped against the blade. The Butcher didn’t stop as the other bade went in for a stab and pierced into the man’s guts. The four armed alien raised Ethan up and over the lava. 

“Where’s your talk now huh?” he asked with a chuckle as he was prepared to dump Ethan’s lifeless body into the lava. 

PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW!

The Butcher collapsed backwards, his head melting into a gooey ball of plasma which dripped down his shoulders. Ethan pried the sword out of his chest as well as the one in his stomach and chuckled before kicking the Butcher’s body into the lava.

“Well, that was fun,” he said with a grin as the holes in his chest closed up. The holes in his armour did the same, thanks to a particularly helpful enchantment from Rarity... along with bottomless pockets, he loved that one. “Really had you guys going there for a moment with the possum act, didn’t I?” he added, looking up at the crowd with a smirk on his face.

“THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH IS VICTORIOUS!” The announcer shouted, followed by a cheer from the crowd. Ethan took a bow and blew on tip of his Novasurge before holstering the pistol and giving the crowd another bow.

“Thank you, thank you all, you’re all beautiful,” Ethan said with a smile, playing to the crowd. 

“HEAD BACK TO THE LIFT NOW VICTOR; ENJOY THE FEELING OF LIVING ANOTHER DAY!” The announcer shouted. 

Ethan did so, and as he stepped onto the lift, gave the crowd a final wave. The lift began to lowered as the crowd gave the man one final roaring cheer chanting his name. 

“ETHAN! ETHAN! ETHAN!” 

If only I was a narcissist, the man thought with a small chuckle.

A door closed, cutting nearly half of the sound off and the lift brought Ethan back into the room where he geared up. 

“Please return your gear,” a female synthesised voice spoke through a set of speakers. “Or face imminent disintegration.” 

“Aww, and here I was thinking I’d stroll into Drek’s room and shoot him in the face,” Ethan grumbled as he stripped out of his armour and then put the brown clothing back on. “Good?”

A thin blue line of line started to slowly scroll over Ethan’s body. Once it was done a green light flash. 

“You are clear to proceed, have a nice day,” the voice said. A set of doors open to show another lift and the man got on to begin the slightly long trip back down. In order to entertain himself, he tapped a few buttons on his Pip-boy, and ‘Let’s go Sunning’ started to play.

“Best twenty minutes of figuring out how to copy files I ever spent,” Ethan mused as the bright song played.

Three minutes pass before the lift stop and opened to the shared living quarters. There was a small group of aliens who, when they saw the man on the lift, began to mutter to whoever was next to them. 

“That was some damn fight there,” Glen’s voice spoke from the side of the lift. 

Ethan looked down to see the dark brown earth pony with her hazel mane covering the right side of her face standing against to the wall. “Meh, I give it a three, I baited that moron and he didn’t even notice it. But thanks.”

“Hell, I didn’t notice it,” the mare said. “Taking a sword in the gut and being able to shrug it off like nothing? Hell, you must be mutated or something.” 

“You think that’s impressive?” Ethan asked with a small chuckle as he started to walk away from the lift, walking at an easy pace so that Glen wouldn’t have to work hard to keep up with him. “I’ve been bathed in dragon fire, fun times.”

Glen let out a low whistle. “Dang, that’s bloody impressive,” she stated. “I’ve never seen a dragon, but heard about their fire. Could melt steel like it was plastic.”  

“Yep, lost all my skin,” the man agreed with a nod. “Most of my organs too. Then me and Jonathan, the dragon, drank mead and told awful jokes.”

“Heh, that’s one way to make things up,” Glen said with a small chuckle. “Still, it’s pretty sweet you got that ability of yours. Kind-of make sense why Kharon was the one who got ya. He mostly deals in bringing in the high end ‘volunteers’ to this little home of ours.” 

“I guess,” Ethan replied. “Is there any food here, or do I have to sleep with someone first?”

“Nah, food should be arriving for you shortly since you won and all,” she replied. “Though if you’re looking anything for the latter, be careful who ya choose,” she said with a small chuckle.  

“Meh, I’m married,” Ethan said, shrugging. “I only sleep with other people when my wife is around to join in; that’s our rule.”

“Smart rule,” Glen said with a smile.  

“I’ve always enjoyed it,” the man agreed as they arrived and took seats at the small table he’d been walking towards. “Even got to sleep with Tia and Sparky once... strange night.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” the mare told him. “Though speaking of nights, got a bunk yet?” she asked. 

“Nope,” he answered. “You got a free one?”

“Yep,” she replied. “Previous owner got a different place to sleep as he lost his Offworld Event.” She shook her head slightly. “Takes the saying sleeping with fishes to a new level.” 

“Neat,” Ethan mused. “And convenient.” He then let out a sigh and brought his pip-boy up to his face for a moment, flipping to a particular picture before a determined look crossed his face and he lowered it back down. “So, when do we break out and kill our way to the living penis?”

Glen gave Ethan a flat look. “If that was possible, I doubt you’d be down here boy-oh,” she told him. 

“Hey, status quo only lasts for so long, and I’m one for destroying it,” the man replied with a shrug.

Glen scoffed slightly. “Then I’d like to see you come up with an idea that hasn’t already been thought,” she told him. “Cause I’ve been down here for a year probably, and seen several attempts to get out of this hell hole and seen the same amount of failures.” She shook her head. “Hell, even I tried and got lucky in the punishment, not like the others...” she said slowly with a sigh. 

Ethan reached over and gave the mare a scratch behind the ears, to which she responded to by letting out a soft pleased humm before her eye snapped open and she shook her head. She glanced over at Ethan. 

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.   

“Scratching you behind the ears,” Ethan answered innocently with a shrug. “Sparky always liked it.”

“Well...stop it...I’m not some filly who needs to be coddled,” she said, though not sounding as if she fully meant it.

Ethan gave her a raised eyebrow. “Come on Glen, you know you liked it,” the man said, giving her a grin.

The mare rolled her eye. “Well...your food’s here,” she said, pointing a hoof over the man’s shoulders. Ethan turned to see a very simple robot hovering next to him holding a large pan filled with oatmeal looking food.  

“Thank you kindly,” Ethan said as he reached around and grabbed the pan and a small spoon that lay next to it. 

The robot turned around and flew away with any words and Ethan inserted the spoon into the slop and brought it up to his mouth. He chewed for a moment and then swallowed before casting a slightly baleful frown in the direction of the plate. 

“It tastes like molerat ass,” he grumbled before taking in another few spoonfuls and glancing at Glen and moving the plate between them. “Here, have some, that way we’ll both get food poisoning.”

“Nah, already ate,” she replied with a small shake of her head. “Plus you’re going to need all of it to keep up your strength. You won’t get any more food till you win your next round and who knows when that will happen tomorrow.”

Ethan looked over the mare, she didn’t appear to be wasting away, though she was obviously a little underweight. 

“No, I insist,” Ethan said. “I don’t really need much to keep up my strength. I took over an alien mothership surviving off of nothing but snack cakes because I couldn’t stand their food.” 

Glen raised an eyebrow at Ethan. “Really? You’re just giving some of it away to a mare you barely know?” 

"Yep,” the man replied before taking another spoonful. “It’s what friends do.”

The mare gave the man a long studying look. “You know...you’re not exactly the person I thought you would be,” she said. 

“The best people usually aren’t,” Ethan replied sagely. “Now eat up.”

The mare nodded her head. “Hope you don’t mind me eating it straight up, can’t really hold a utensils,” she asked the man. 

Ethan shrugged. “I spent the last twenty years of my life living in the Wasteland, I’m not afraid of a few germs or a little pony spit.”

“Fine by me,” Glen said as she leaned her head down and lapped up a bit of the food into her mouth. 

The two shared the meal together in relative silence as overhead beings died for the entertainment of the crowd.





Drex studying a screen as it show him the result of Ethan’s fight. The ratings were the highest they’d been in years, the betting quardirible in proffitt, and the crowd were demanding more. The pale alien chuckled delightedly as he took a sip of his drink. 

“Oh how plentiful you are Ethan,” he whispered to himself. “And how potent you are going to be to my tournament.” He tapped a button to bring up a screen of the man eating with the pony. “And I know just how to do it,” he said with a devious smile.  
> Drekzone Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Well, here it is, my home in this little hell hole of ours,” Glen told Ethan as she lead him to a small featureless room with a single double bunk bed and a toilet. 

Ethan looked around the room for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, I’ve lived in worse.”

“So have I,” Glen agreed. “Heck this is better than most places in the wasteland, sides for the whole ‘got to fight in a insane tournament almost every day’ bit,” she added. 

“Yeah, about that,” Ethan said as he walked over to the bed and tossed himself onto the clearly unused top bunk. “Why the hell does the talking penis need us here?”

“Heck if I know,” she replied with a shrug. “Money is my best guess with those fancy clothes of his.” 

“Probably,” Ethan mused with a frown. “By the way, how in the hell do I have fans out there in the audience? I’ve only been here a day... and I know that I’m amazing, but I’m not that amazing.”

Glen shrugged her shoulders again. “Don’t know, but you’re not the only one who had sudden ‘fans’ popping up before,” she informed him. “Others have found themselves having other people call out their names or have the announcer call out facts from their past. How Drek does it, prfft, fuck if I know.” 

Ethan frowned but nodded. “Oh well, I guess I can’t complain about having fans, and more importantly fan girls, everyone needs fan girls,” he said.

“Enjoy them while ya can,” Glen said. “Fame here doesn’t last long unless you’re one of the top gladiators.” 

“And you think I won’t be?” the man asked her playfully.

“Meh, maybe up to the gladiators who got fifty to seventy wins...but the top ones have at least over a three hundred, or five,” she said. “And those guys are basically a death sentence if you have enough wins to challenge them.”  

“Trust me little mare, I’m more than capable of surviving a death sentence,” Ethan replied, chuckling. “Speaking of which, how many wins do you have?”

“About a hundred or so,” she replied. “Got the scars and gruft to prove it,” she added with a small sense of pride. “Probably the only pony to make it this far...and hopefully I’ll get far enough to win out of this hell hole, or least to get to a better one.”

“Right...” Ethan frowned for a moment. “You do know that there’s probably no way out of this right, and anything that the suit wearing dick says is a lie, right?”

"Probably,” she agreed with a small sigh. “But it’s the best hope to look for in this dark pit of ours...and at least it keeps me breathing another day.” She got on the bottom bunk and laid down on it. “And that’s almost the best thing to fight for down here in this tournament.” 

Ethan nodded and tapped his Pip-Boy and a new sound filled the air. It was dark and eerie yet full of joy and hope despite the sadness that filled every note.

The mare’s ears perked up and her head glanced at the top bunk. “What is that?” she asked. 

“An old friend,” Ethan answered simply. “She never gave up hope... even in death she inspires it through the music she loved.”

Glen frowned a bit. “Well...it’s nice music...” she replied, not truly knowing how to reply to something like that. 

Ethan chuckled, his mood changing a bit. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah...never heard anything like it before,” the pony stated. “It’s kind of...enchanting,” she added. 

“I always listen to it when I’m depressed,” Ethan said. “It makes me... happy.”

The two faded into silence as the sound of the violin played softly in their ears. 





A magnificent white alicorn with a long brown mane stood on a barren planet, her features set in a frustrated grimace. Yet another dead end. Faust paced back and forth, growing more and more frustrated with every passing second. 

Ethan had for all intents and purposes disappeared. She’d been searching for the past week and there was not a single thread of real evidence to be found anywhere. All she’d found were fake trails and decoys set up to infuriate her, and it was working.

Faust spotted a nearby boulder jutting up out of the scenery not twenty feet away from her and she sent her red glasslike blade, Shatterglass, flying at it. The sword sliced straight through the solid rock, which then split and fragmented into a million different pieces of rubble. It didn’t help anything, but it made Faust feel marginally less likely to do it to the next person she saw, so that was a plus.

How Did Wanda let this happen? Faust silently fumed. Ethan is living on her world, under her protection, and she should have at least some idea of what happened to him! 

It was true, the Divine of the Wasteland should have been able to give her at least a hint of what had happened but no. Instead, someone had somehow managed to steal Ethan been without the Divine Court even noticing until she’d been contacted by her daughter. 

Faust spotted another boulder and it too met the fate of its brother. He wasn’t in the Void, she was sure of that much, voidlings and their Lords left a trace behind in the form of void energy. Not only that, but it was impossible for Ethan to have even have alerted their attention in the first place. Another frustrated grunt later and yet another boulder was shattered.

“Dammit!” she shouted, her voice echoing out over the empty planet.

“Having a bit of an anger issue I see,” a old cheery male voice spoke out. 

Faust turned to see an old caucasian with neck long white hair and a very neatly trimmed beard wearing a green suit with gold trimmings. His right hand was resting on a sliver white cane that was crowned by a diamond the size of his palm and his fingers were causally tapping on it. 

“You should speak to a counselor about that, and it so happens I know one of the best in the multiverse,” the man continued to said with a wide smile. 

“Thank you Diz, but no,” Faust replied with a slight snort. “I’m perfectly fine. Any news on your end?”

Diz let out a small sigh and shook his head. “No, not yet, but give little old Vexy another week or so and she’ll find out exactly where your friend was taken to,” the man replied. “Also, I go by the name Simon now.” 

Faust frowned. “I quite liked Diz,” Faust said with a small frown, then she shrugged. “But I suppose I can adjust... and thank you my friend... this entire situation is very irritating.”

“Don’t mention it,” Simon said. “What’s the point in leading a multiverse organization if I’m not going to use them for reason like this.”  

“True,” Faust agreed with a small frown. “Well... I had best get back to tracking now; have to make sure that all of these leads are false... let me know if you find anything.” A small concerned frown formed on her face. “Also... how is Wisty doing?”

Simon smiled softly. “She’s doing great. She and her new bonded are doing wonderfully together,” he replied. 

“Good... she deserves that,” Faust replied, a small smile appearing on her face before she gave him a slight nod of her head and vanishing. The man smiled a bit more before he too vanished in a flash of bright light. 





Ethan let out a chuckle as he paired aside a downwards slash from a fully armored ‘man’s’ halberd and then lashed out with his red blade, dragging the incredibly sharp point across the front of the armour and drawing several droplets of blood from where the tip encountered skin. He withdrew it, and dodged another swing before bowing to the audience and back handedly blocking yet another slash. The crowd cheered at the theatrics and Ethan chuckled again as he sidestepped the man’s next slash.

This was Ethan’s first match of the day, and so far it was going well. 

“Come on clunky, you’ve got to have more skill than that,” Ethan taunted, swinging away from the next blow. “Seriously, why are you even here?”

The armored man didn’t answer, only swinging his halberd around, causing it to shoot a bolt of lightning, which hit Ethan square in the chest. Ethan stumbled back, caught off guard by the sudden bolt of lightning, then he grinned. 

“Oh, so that’s why you’re here,” the man said with a chuckle. “Well then tin man, let’s play.” Ethan darted forwards and ducked beneath the halberd's swing, dodging a blast of magic as he did so and delivering a long slash to the armoured man’s stomach. It sliced through the metal and caused a splash of blood to fall to the ground.

Sadly, the man didn’t seem all that affected and twirled his halberd around, hitting Ethan in the side with the hard wooden shaft. Ethan was knocked to the side and rolled to his feet, coming up with the Blackhawk in his hand. The gun exploded and a bullet slammed into the knight’s armored helm.

The man’s head reeled back, but it straightened up showing red liquid running down, but he still stood. The armored man slammed the butt of his halberd into the arena metal floor, creating a large shockwave of electricity. Ethan jittered in place for a moment as the electricity ran over him but he shook it off. 

“You’re boring, you know that tin man?” Ethan asked the man rhetorically. With a frown Ethan holstered his gun and charged at the other man, closing the distance between the two of them and bringing his red blade slashing through its arm, or would have if the shaft of the halberd hadn't effortlessly moved to intercept it. 

The armored man quickly retaliated by shoving Ethan’s blade up out of the way, following it with swing at the man’s stomach. Ethan grunted as the blade bounced off of his armour and let out a small snarl as he brought his blade at the man vertically, landing a heavy slash across the armoured man’s chest. It created a small gash, bringing more blood out, but again the man seemed to be ignoring his wounds. 

The armored man lept back, and then gave a ruthless assault of attempts to pierce the tip of his halberd into Ethan at speeds abnormal to a human. Unfortunately for the armoured man, Ethan managed to deflect the blows, and then followed it by bringing his sword slashing through the man’s main hand, dismembering him.

The hand flew off in a shower of red blood and sparks....wait, sparks? Instead of seeing flesh and bones popping out of the man’s arm, it was an array of wires and a metal joint. As that happened, the halberd fell to the ground as well.

“Oh, so you’re a robot,” Ethan deadpanned. “That explains things,” he added before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a trio of pulse grenades which he then threw in a clump at the ground beneath the robot’s feet.

All three went off, causing the robot to jitter a bit....however it still stood. The armored robot just ‘glared’ at Ethan before it’s right foot kicked the halberd into the air where it caught it in its left hand, twirling it around a bit before taking a fighting stance. 

“Yeah, fuck that,” Ethan said snarkily as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a green grenade.

The man sprinted at the robot, the robot doing the same. Ethan smirked at the game of ‘chicken’ and, instead of moving to the side, simply tackled the robot, surprisingly knocking it onto its back. Ethan then pulled the pin on the grenade, and shoved it deep into the gash he’d created on its chest before leaping clear.

The grenade went off, causing a shower of blood like goo, and twisted metal to rain down around the man. Ethan stood there for a second, then grinned at the audience, giving them another bow. He then walked over to the decimated robot, whose entire upper half was blown clear off, and slammed his sword into its crotch.

“AND WE HAVE A WINNER! THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH IS VICTORIOUS! THE ARMOURED HALBERD IS DEAD; I’D LIKE TO SEE IT ADAPT TO THAT!”

Ethan withdrew the sword from the robot’s crotch  and in a single motion brought it up to salute the crowd. The crowd for their part, let out a thunderous roar of approval making the man grin. He spotted a particularly beautiful alien woman, whose skin was blue and had a pair of long almost tentacle like growths growing out of her skull, in the crowd and winked at her. The alien blushed, and turned away while several of her ‘girl friends’ twittered or gave her jealous glances.

Hmm... I wonder how Cassie would take me bringing a blue skinned alien to our bed... have to ask once I get out of this shit hole, Ethan mused to himself as he gave the group a wave.

“EXIT THE ARENA ETHAN AND REST, YOU’VE EARNED IT!” the voice of the announcer added, interrupting any more crowd/Ethan interaction. Ethan chuckled and gave the crowd one last bow, and then walked over to the lift as they began to chant his name.

Ethan went through the same motions as he had the previous day putting away his equipment back where he’d gotten it, though this time, he pulled a toy car out of his pocket and held it up.

“Mind if I take this with me?” he inquired.

“I’m sorry, but competitors aren’t allowed to bring anything back to their living quarters,” the synthesised female voice stated. 

“Aww, but it’s just a toy car,” Ethan pouted. “It’s not like I can do anything with it.”

I’m sorry, but competitors aren’t allowed to bring anything back to their living quarters,” the voice stated again. 

“You’re no fun,” Ethan replied with a sigh as he stuck the car back into his duster pocket before getting scanned and allowed to exit the room. He stepped onto another lift which presently took him back to the main room where he found Glen waiting for him.

The mare smiled as the man entered. “Nice job taking the Armored Halberd down,” she said. “Never knew the silent tin man was a robot, though it makes sense now when you think about it.” 

“Thanks,” Ethan nodded with a shrug. “He wasn’t too difficult but he was way more advanced then the robots I’m used too.”

“Still, not bad for your second round,” Glen said. “Keep this up and you’ll be doing off-world matches in no time.” 

“Sounds fun,” Ethan stated with a slight sigh. The two walked over to the table that they’d effectively claimed as their own the previous day, and sat down. “By the way, how do you fight without any hands or magic? I mean, I know that Applejack can knock down a house... but that doesn’t work against people with guns,” he asked her.

“Well duh,” the mare said with a small chuckle. “I got a battlesaddle fitted with a .45 machine gun and my most valuable find in the wastes, a magic energy rifle,” she told the man. “And to add to that, I got some custom made shoes that have a pair of spikes in them to give my kicks more bite to them.” 

“Ah... what’s a battlesaddle?” the man inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“They’re saddles...with guns on them,” she explained, a small confused look form on her face at the question. 

“Makes sense,” Ethan said with a shrug before he tapped his pip-boy and the sound of ‘Jingle Jangle Jingle’ began to play.

Glen’s ears perked up to the song. “Heh, you sure have a lot of songs on that Pip-Buck of yours,” she said. 

“Firstly; it’s Pip-Boy, and secondly, of course I do,” Ethan replied with a slight chuckle. “I’ve been a lot of places and I spend most of my time either traveling or killing people... so it’s nice to have music.”

“I’ll say,” Glen agreed. “I used to carry a portable radio before to listen to PON-3, but it kept getting busted in every other fire fight I got into.” 

“Yeah, I’m just glad I’ve got my Pip-Boy; he’s the only one that’s been with me through everything,” Ethan said, tapping the supercomputer affectionately.

“I could’ve got my own on the few times I’ve ran across a few dead Stable dwellers, but I could never could get the Pip-Bucks off,” Glen commented with a small shrug. 

“If they’re anything like my Pip-Boy, then you’d need a lot of tools to do it, so I’m not surprised,” Ethan said with a slight nod. “By the way, is there anything to do here other than fight to the death, eat, and sit in these chairs and talk? Not that I don’t like the talking bit but...”

“Watch others fight to the death,” Glen stated with a small chuckle. “But there a few things to do...there’s a gym, running track and other exercises thing, and there’s also the room with a view of space. Other than that...nah, not much.” 

“That’s... stupid,” Ethan muttered. “It means that a bunch of restless killers have nothing to do but exercise or look at space... how hasn’t there been a mass rebellion yet? You can’t keep that many bored killers in one place without something to do...”

“Well, having shackles that can disintegrate us if we do rebel helps,” the mare said, holding her right hoof up. “Other than that, everyone fights at least one to three rounds per day. So either you spend your energy defending your life or are dead.” 

“Ah,” the man said, tapping his chin. “Still, you’d think that there would be a virtual library or something.”

“Pfft, maybe if you’re Drek’s personal toy, other than that, why waste the space?” the mare scoffed. 

Ethan shrugged. “Sorry, just shooting the shit. I get bored easy sometimes... and I see that happening a lot here,” he said.

“Meh, you get used to it,” Glen said with a shrug. “Breakfast is here by the way,” she informed him. Ethan looked behind him to see a robot hovering with a plate of the same slop as the day before. He grabbed it, and brought it down between them, along with a spoon for himself.

He began to eat, and nodded for her to as well. “Like I said yesterday, I don’t need much,” he added, before she could protest. The mare nodded her head and began to chow down on one half of the pan. 

They ate in silence, the only sound coming from the two the sound of Ethan’s music and their eating. Once they were done, Ethan pushed the tray to the side and frowned at Glen for a moment.

“Glen, why do you always keep your mane over your other eye?” he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Because that’s how I like to wear it,” she simply replied, rather quickly. 

“Mhm,” Ethan said skeptically. “You didn’t lose it, did you?”

“Hmm?” the mare questioned. 

“Sparky lost hers,” Ethan said with a shrug. “So I’d find it ironic if you did too.”

“Lost what?” Glen asked, clearly acting like she didn’t know what Ethan meant. 

“Her eye,” Ethan said, poking his eye.

Glen’s left eye shifted right and left before she let out a sigh. “Remember what I said about how I was part of a failed attempt to escape? Well...” she lifted her right hoof to brush some of her mane back to show an empty eye socket. “This was my ‘punishment’ instead of death.” She lowered her hoof back down and shook her head a bit to adjust her mane.  

“Ah... sorry,” Ethan said with a slight sigh. “Remind me to get you a replacement when I get us out of here.”

“Nah, I’m fine, I’ve got used to it a month or so after I lost it,” she replied. “Besides, I still don’t see how you plan on escaping this hell hole.” 

“Oh ye of little faith,” Ethan smirked. “I’ll figure some way out. This kind of shit is my bread and butter.”

“Hmph, you act like this happens to you a lot,” the mare remarked. 

“Well... let’s see,” Ethan mused. “First was when I had to fight my way out of Raven Rock half naked, I already told you about that. Then I got taken to the Pitt where I was forced to fight my way to freedom from inside an arena... then came Point Lookout, I got grabbed and almost raped by giant mutated fucks.... after that I was abducted and probed by aliens before I broke out and took over their ship, I still have it...” the man trailed off for a moment. “After that, I met my wife when we woke up strapped to a log and were sent over a waterfall... then it’s a bit of a blur because it happened so much... and then I went to Equestria with Twilight and got kidnapped and tortured by Blueblood and then got him changed into a mare, I could go on, but I think you get the point,” he explained with a shrug.

Glen stared at the man with a baffled look. “Wow...that...is a lot...” she said with a dumbfound tone. 

“Yep,” Ethan answered with a chuckle. “See why I’m so chill about this?”

“Yeah...I can see why,” the mare said with a small shake of her head. 

“Besides, I’m friends with four demigoddesses, along with Tia and Lulu’s mother who’s supposedly even more powerful,” He added. “We’ll be out of here within two weeks, or less.”

“We’ll see,” Glen said. Her ears perked up a bit as she turn to see a robot hovering next to them. 

“Competitors, Ethan Smith, and Glen Stonecutter, please report to the lift to begin your next match,” it said with a monton and sexless voice. 

“Together, or apart?” Ethan asked it.

“Together, your next match is a two on two match,” it replied. “Please report to the lift now, thank you and good luck.” It turned and flew away, leaving the mare and the man alone. 

“Well...this is interesting,” Glen muttered. 

“Looks like we get to team kill some poor fuckers,” Ethan said with a chuckle as he got up from his seat. “Try not to slow me down, kay Glen?” he asked her jokingly.

“Pfft, please, try to not slow me down,” the mare replied back with a wide grin. 

Ethan chuckled and together they walked over to the lift.
> Drekzone Part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So; question,” Ethan said as the two geared up for the upcoming match.

Glen was beside him at another table, fitting on a suit of brown combat armour and a large... saddle with a pair of guns on it. One reminded Ethan very much of a .45 submachine gun and the other was very similar to a plasma rifle. Ethan for his part was already ready to go and leaning against the wall. Glen looked up from what she was doing and looked at him inquisitively. 

“Hmm?” she asked.

“If you’ve been here for a year, and there are one to three matches a day... then how do you only have a hundred wins?” the man inquired. “Shouldn’t you have 365 wins, at least?”

Glen blinked a bit. “Well...I was out most of the time recovering from getting my eye pulled out,” she replied. “Drek didn’t want a competitor to be half baked to fight in his tournament.” 

“Ah,” Ethan shrugged and then went back to examining his sword. “So, how do you fight?”

“I usually rain a ton of bullets mixed with some magical shots in either the face or legs, then I normally finish it off with a buck full of spikes in the face if I can,” she replied as she got on her last piece of gear, two metals shoes with two inch spikes arranged on the back of her hoof. “If that doesn't work, I improvise,” she added with a small shrug. 

Ethan glanced down at the mare with a chuckle. “A mare after my own heart,” the man told her, ruffling her mane. “Now, let’s go kill some idiots.” Glen smiled widely and the two walked to the lift to begin their ascent to the arena. As always, they were greeted with the roar of the crowd and the loud voice of the announcer. 

“PEOPLE OF GAMMA-10, WE HAVE A TREAT FOR YOU TODAY!” The announcer shouted, causing the crowd of people to cheer loudly and Ethan waved to the crowd, giving several winks as well. “THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH HAS A NEW PARTNER! YOU KNOW HER, YOU LOVE HER, GLEN STONECUTTER!” The applause for Ethan was dwarfed by the applause for the mare who seemed a bit shocked at the encore but smiled and waved a hoof at the crowd. 

“And here I thought you said you didn’t have fans,” Ethan whispered.

“Well, I didn’t know I got that famous,” she answered with a small chuckle as she lowered her hoof down. 

“Must be the cute flank,” he replied.

Her face turned a very light shade of red but she cleared her throat. “So, who are the dweebs we-”

“AND THEIR OPPONENTS, THE ONLY TAG TEAM WITH THREE MEMBERS; THE FROG WORMS!” the announcer roared, cutting off Glen as another lift on the opposite side of the arena rose up out of the ground.

Standing upon it were three large creatures. One was a distinctly frog-like brute... though to be honest it almost resembled a dinosaur wearing a suit of smooth armour then an amphibian. The armor it wore was red and tinged with black lines while the weapon it held in its grasp looked to be like the largest shotgun Ethan had ever seen, and that was saying something.

The other two were extremely similar to each other, looking almost like twins... or brothers. They towered over the ‘dinosaur’ by at least a foot and their purple armour looked to be about the thickness of a space ship’s outer hull. Each carried a thick shield in one hand while the other arm ended in a large... gun type thing that had several green protrusions. Twin lines of spikes ran up their backs and what little skin was visible was green.

“THE FROG WORMS HAVE CLAIMED THE LIVES OF SEVERAL DOZEN COMPETITORS AND THEIR FEROCITY IN BATTLE IS UNMATCHED! IN THEIR FIRST FIGHT THEY KILLED THE MIGHTY RADITZ AND A PAIR OF CYBERMEN AND SINCE THEN THEY’VE NEVER SUFFERED DEFEAT!” The announcer shouted into the microphone.

“Well, that’s comforting,” Ethan mused. “You know anything about these assclowns?” 

“Frog face is a heavy hitter, likes to run up and blast people in the face with that shotgun of his,” Glen infromed the man. “The other two fight as a team... one attacks while the other defends. Their guns shoot exploding plasma projectiles that bounce and the shield can block damn near anything.”

“Huh,” Ethan said as he looked over them. “I’ll take the brothers, you can take the froggy, sound good?”

The mare nodded her head. “Yep,” she replied with a small smile as she focused on the frog-faced alien . 

“Goodie,” Ethan said with a grin. “Let’s groove, ya dig?”

Glen frowned slightly. “Groove?” she asked. 

Ethan’s answer was preempted by the announcer’s shouting. 

“COMPETITORS, FIGHT!”

The enemy team started the fight off immediately, the two hulking hunters  leveling their arm cannons on the pair and firing off several blasts of exploding plasma. Glen’s eyes widened as she bolted into a gallop to get out of the way while Ethan raised his sword and ran at the pair, dodging the incoming bolts like a pro.

As Ethan ran at them, the pair of hunters locked their weapons on him and fired again. The man’s sword flashed out, deflecting the blasts away from himself, or it would have if it hadn’t caused it to explode. Ethan was launched backwards, his duster a bit singed while red hot plasma dripped down his face.

Ethan fell and landed hard. It took him a moment to regain his senses through the pain over through his face as well as to catch his breath. Fortunately, he recovered in time to see one of the hunter’s half ton form lumbering towards him at an incredibly surprising speed. The man barely had time to roll to the side as the hunter brought its shield slamming down on the spot he’d just vacated.

Glen was safely away from the first volley of exploding plasma, taking a quick breather before her ears perked up to the sound of heavy foot stomps. She turned around to see the krogan charging towards her ready to smack the side of his shotgun into her back. The mare jumped back just before the alien could complete the swing and she bit into the mouth guard that fired her .45 machine gun. 

The gun unleashed a volley of screaming bullets at the krogan; unfortunately his armour was too thick for the bullets to pierce through and the few ones that did hit the alen’s big head, didn’t seem to do that much damage at all. In fact, it only seemed make him very, very, very, pissed. 

“Fuck,” she muttered as she turned around as the krogan lifted his shotgun and fired at the fleeing mare. Pain flashed in Glen’s mind as she felt several dozen small object slice through her armor and skin. “SHIT!” she nearly shouted as she did an about face and fired her magical rifle at him. The purple bolt darted out and hit the krogan square in the chest. This time, leaving a large burn mark on it’s armor. 

Meanwhile, Ethan rolled to his feet and drew his Novasurge from his pocket and unleashed five shots in quick succession. The bolts were easily absorbed by the heavy shield, and another stream of plasma launched at him from the other hunter. Ethan barely had time to dodge before the plasma soared over him. The man let out a growl of annoyance as he holstered his plasma pistol and drew his sword again. He charged at the nearest of the hunters.

The hunter brought up its shield to block the blow, and much to Ethan’s dismay, the shield blocked the blade. The blade did dig in around two inches before emerging on the other side, unfortunately that left the monster completely fine. Ethan had around a second to react as the other large alien tried to sandwich him between itself and his brother, barely dodging to the side in time. He came up in a roll and was forced to roll again as the hunters charged at him together.

“Oh for the love of GOD WILL YOU JUST FUCK OFF!” Ethan shouted at them as he drew a plasma grenade from his pocket and rolled it at the approaching hunter pair. To the man’s dismay, the pair managed to bring their shields up in time to block the plasma blast, deflecting away most of the damage. Though, as Ethan watched, a piece or two of armour fell off of their backsides.

“So that’s it huh?” he mused speculatively as an idea formed in his head, it was crazy, but that was his bread and butter.

The krogan charged towards Glen, taking the hot bolts of magic that she was firing head on. The bolts seared into his armored and thick hide, yet the alien was able to close in on the mare and delivered a heavy kicked in her side.  A painful grunt left Glen’s lips as she felt one or two of her ribs snapping in half and agony screamed in her mind. 

Glen gritted her teeth and a continued to fired her rifle at the krogan who was in point black range. The pink energy impacted several times into the krogan’s burnt chestplate, which was already beginning to melt. The lofty alien stumbled backwards a bit, grunting as his armor was slowly cooking the top layer of his skin. He snarled at the pony before bringing his shotgun up and firing it at her. 

The mare saw the move and side stepped away, barely avoiding getting a load of super heated grains plowed through her muzzle like butter. Glen retaliated by continuing to fire her rifle into the krogen’s chestplate, causing the hole in the armor to grow bigger and deeper. 

“HOW YOU LIKE THAT!” she shouted, despite the pain in her lungs. However, her rifle suddenly stop firing as a loud hissing noise buzzed in her ears. She glanced at the rifle to see she had overheated it and the cooling vents were open as wide as they could to expel the heat, but the rifle was cooked for now. “FUCK!” she cursed at her luck as she glanced back at the krogan, seeing him preparing his shotgun for another discharge into her face. 

He would have too, if Ethan hadn’t chosen that moment to run by and smack him on the back of the head. “Hi Glen, bye Glen,” Ethan shouted as he ran bye the mare, “Also, move!” Glen looked up to see the two hunters thundering after the man and she was right in their path. The mare broke into a gallop without a second thought, her wounds in her chest, legs, and back flaring up with every step she took. 

“I hope you got a better idea than running!” she called to the man, glancing back to see the krogan was also in the chase after them. 

“Oh Glenny, you’re doubting me again, stop that,” Ethan called back, pulling a bit more ahead of her. “I do everything for a reason!”

The two ran from the three monstrous pursuers until they came on the very edge of the arena floor. Ethan turned and looked up to see the krogan and the two hunters hurtling towards them. Glen looked at the lava and at the trio aliens. 

“Realy? This is your plan!?” she asked. 

“Yep,” Ethan said as he fiddled with something in his hands.

“You know while they’re brutes, they’re not stupid!” Glen shouted at Ethan. 

“Yep,” the man replied, still fiddling.

“HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU THINK THIS WOULD WORK!” she demanded as she glanced at the three nearing tanks of death. 

“I’m crazy,” Ethan told her, smirking widely at her. “Didn’tcha hear?”

“NOT THIS TYPE OF CRAZY!” she replied as the krogan and the two hunters were a mere hundred feet away. 

“Oh Glen, you shouldn’t doubt me,” Ethan said with a chuckle as he finished what he was doing with his hands. Ethan then tossed an assortment of objects at the krogan and the hunters who were no more than twenty feet away.

The krogan was leading the way when the first object landed a little behind him. The armoured amphibious dinosaur was launched off of his feet and sent pinwheeling through the air with a blast of green explosive energy that sent him flying into the lava behind them. It sank in head first and there was only a moment or two of struggle before he sank beneath the surface.

The hunters however, stayed firmly on the ground as the plasma washed over them. Though they did let out cries of anger at their killed ‘friend’. Thankfully, the blast seemed to have knocked off quite a bit of their armour. Ethan grinned and ran at the two, sword drawn. They pointed their guns at him, still running. 

The man closed with them and ducked beneath the pair’s arms ending up behind them. His red blade darted out and sank into one of their backs as it tried to turn and kill him. It let out a howl of pain and Ethan twisted the sword deeper. The other hunter turned to attack him, leaving its back exposed to Glen who unloaded a barrage of bullets into its back. 

The hunter Ethan had impaled fell to its knees, and then lay down dead on the ground while the one Glen had fired upon let out an unearthly scream as the plasma ate through the worm colony maintaining the shape before it too fell dead. Ethan cleaned his sword on the beast’s back, it was covered in yellow green blood, and then turned to the crowd and bowed to thunderous applause.

Glen was heaving in and out as blood soaked down her fur. “We did it...” she stated in small disbelieving whisper.

“Course we did, told you it would be fine,” Ethan replied as he walked over to her and jabbed a syringe in her neck and pushed down the plunger. 

Glen winced a little, but she let out a small relieved sigh as the stimpak slowly began to mend the inside of her body. “Yeah, but do you think you could dim the risk down just a bit?” she asked with a small chuckle, only to wince as pain shot up in her ribs. 

“But then it wouldn’t be exciting,” the man replied before shouting at the audience. “What do you guys think? Was it exciting enough for you?!” 

The crowd roared their approval and Ethan saluted them with his sword before turning back to Glen.

“See, no complaints from them Glen,” he told her with a small chuckle. The mare rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“I’VE NEVER SEEN A KROGAN FLY; I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE BUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL FROM WHERE I’M SITTING!” the announcer shouted. “IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE PAID YOUR MONEY FOR? HAVE THESE WARRIORS PROVED THEIR WORTH?”

Instead of simply roaring back an answer the crowd took up a chant. 

“ETHAN! GLEN! ETHAN! GLEN!”

Ethan grinned and gave them another bow before nodding to glen. “Come on, wave or something,” he whispered, somehow managing to get her to hear it above the chanting.

“I’ll pass. Maybe when I don’t have several bones nipping into my flesh,” the mare stated. 

“Wimp,” Ethan replied before shrugging slightly and turning back to the crowd, blowing a kiss to a blonde who blew one back.

“GO BACK TO THE PIT, CHAMPIONS, YOU’VE EARNED YOURSELVES A MEAL!” the announcer shouted.

Glen started to move back, her body hurting with every motion until Ethan unexpectedly, and gently picked her up between his arms and set off towards the lift. The mare let out a small yelp of surprise and pain within the man’s grasp. 

“Careful there budo,” she remarked. 

“Shush,” Ethan replied, making sure that he wasn’t jostling her. “You’re hurt, and I don’t let hurt friends walk. At least, as long as they’re your size.”

Glen frowned a bit and glanced down. “Thanks...” she said. 

“Anytime, it’s what friends do for each other,” the man said as he stepped onto the lift and it began to descend, the crowd’s chanting fading as it did so. They ended up preparation room, being asked to remove their gear like before. Ethan frowned. 

“If Glen takes off her armour, then she might get hurt. Heal her first,” Ethan demanded of the voice.

The blue laser light flash to life and scanned the mare in the man’s arm. 

“Contestant, Glen Stonecutter, is over fifty percent of healthy statues. Please remove weapons and a med-bot will be dispatched,” the female voice told Ethan. The man gently lowered Glen to the floor and removed his weapons as well as the mare’s saddle and deadly hoofwear.

“Good?” he inquired.

The blue light scanned the two before it flashed green. “Med-bot is being dispatched. Please be patient as it heads towards your location,” the voice told them. 

“You know I would’ve been taken care of in the living quarters,” Glen said. 

“In front of everyone else?” Ethan inquired with a raised eyebrow. “Na uh, that would’ve made you look weak. And that’s something that no one can afford here, obviously.”

Glen emitted a single chuckle. “Yeah...well surviving a round with those three is more than proof than I still got it.” 

“Meh,” Ethan shrugged. “You still need to make up for the whole ‘I’m a fuzzy and adorable pony from the land of magic’ vibe somehow,” he told her, chuckling slightly.

The mare frowned and gave the man a queer look. “What?” 

“You’re adorable,” Ethan simplified. “Well, besides the whole ‘empty eye socket’ but still, adorable.”

Glen blinked a couple of times. “Well...that’s a first...” she muttered. 

“Hey, it’s a compliment,” Ethan told her with a chuckle as he began to stroke her behind the ears. “Adorable is good.”

Glen’s eye closed and unknowingly began to lean into the man’s stroke. “Well...it’s not like I chose to be,” she said. 

“Eh, it suits you,” Ethan replied as the medical bot entered the room and hovered over to Glen. 

“Please step away from contestant, Glen Stonecutter,” it told Ethan in a sophisticated male voice. 

“Have at her,” Ethan said, stepping back to allow the bot to work, beneath his watchful eyes. Its several medical arms poked and prodded into Glen, injecting different liquids into her while a glowing rod slowly swept over her. In but a minute the med-bot did a final scan of Glen before announcing. 

“Contestant, Glen Stonecutter, is now at one hundred percent health; have a nice day.” It hoovered up and over the mare, heading back towards the lift.  

“Please remove all gear before exiting,” the female voice reminded the two

“Okay, okay, we’re on it robomom,” Ethan said as he stripped down to his standard uniform. “Need any help Glen?”

“No, I’m good,” she replied, coughing a bit. “Gah, those med-bots always leave a bad feeling inside ya.” 

“Probably the rod, too much probing,” the man said with a chuckle. Glen shook her head, but couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. She got her battlesaddle off along with combat armor, shaking her body and stretched out her hooves. 

“Next time you got a crazy stunt like that, can you at least warn me or fill me in?” she asked the man. 

“And ruin the fun?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow. “I’d never dream of it.”

Glen shooked her head. “I have a feeling this won’t be the last time you’ll be acting like this.” 

“Nope,” the man agreed. “Now, are you as hungry as I am? Cause I could eat a horse.”

“As long as I’m not on the menu,” the mare replied back with a small chuckle. 

Ethan looked at her speculatively for a moment before shaking his head. “Nope, I could never eat anything so adorable.”

Glen shook her head and chuckled some more before she and the man headed for the lift to take them back down to the rest of the gladiators.
> Drekzone Part 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Cassandra Smith sat behind her desk, quietly splitting her time between a dozen or so screens, she was doing what she always was. Running New Vegas. However, at the moment she was unable to fully devote herself to that pursuit. Instead, her mind was once again with her oft missing husband.

The Courier had long ago come to accept that her husband would never be the type of man who could be expected to avoid hair brained schemes and insane adventures... to be honest, she would prefer it be that way then to have married a logical stick in the mud kind of man... but still; Cassandra wished Ethan could go a damn month without someone kidnapping him.

It had stopped being a source of real stress to her a while ago, but in the back of her mind she always worried that maybe one of these days he wouldn’t come back. There was a knock on the door, and Cassandra looked up from her work to see her son, Ash, standing there.

The boy’s well kept red hair fell slightly into his green eyes and he puffed it out of the way with a slight frown of annoyance. He was wearing a much smaller duster that befitted his ten years of age much more then one of Ethan’s or Cassandra’s would and beneath it he wore a black undershirt and a pair of clean jeans. Sheathed at his side was a thin long sword and at his other hip was Maria.

“Hey mom, I’m going to go to Equestria for a bit,” Ash announced, the boy had a small frown on his face. “I’m going to do some research.”

“On what?” Cassandra inquired with a small smile as she looked over her son.

“Runes,” Ash answered. “I want to see about inscribing some in my duster to make it a little more durable.”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at that. “Is it not holding up? If you want, I could always add more armour to it” she asked him, a small affectionate smile on her face.

“Umm... no mom, it’s fine,” Ash said, his little cheeks blushing a bit. “I just want to... experiment a little.” 

The woman got up from her chair and walked over to her son before kneeling down beside him and giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Okay Ash, you can go. Just be careful please. Remember our rule; no cybernetics until you’re older, and if you blow your hand off then I’m making you live with it,” she told him, lying through her teeth.

Ash’s smile could have illuminated the room. “Thanks mom!” he said before running out of the room. Cassandra chuckled at the enthusiasm, her son was certainly as passionate about dangerous things as Ethan was, even at the humble age of ten. 

Before she could get back to work though, her other child walked into the room. Shade smiled at her mother.

“Hey mom, heard anything about dad yet, or is he still off in wherever it is he’s been taken this time?” Shade inquired, though there was a slight hint of worry in her voice. No matter how much the elder child, by all of a few minutes, hated to show it, she was still worried about her father.

“Still gone I’m afraid,” Cassandra answered with a slight sigh. “But knowing your father, I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.” The woman held out her arm and Shade, dressed similarly to Ash, walked over and gave her mother a hug. 

“Yeah... I hope he gets back soon... he was supposed to take me and Ash hunting,” the girl said with a slight sigh. “I’d ask you too... but I know how it is.”

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Cassandra said, tightening her grip on her daughter. “I’d love to take you both hunting.... but someone has to keep Vegas running.”

Shade nodded her head slightly and leaned up to give her mother a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks mom,” she whispered before squirming out of Cassandra’s grasp. “Now, I think I’m going to go for a walk... I’ll be careful.”

Cassandra smiled. “Good, please don’t leave the city though... I don’t need two missing family members to worry about.”

“I will, bye mom,” the girl replied before making good her escape.

“Yes Man,” Cassandra said.

“Yes Mistress Cassandra?” the A.I. inquired in a cheerful voice.

“Make sure that Shade doesn’t get into any trouble,” the woman answered.

“Affirmative,” Yes Man stated. “You can count on me Mistress Cassandra!”

Cassandra smiled as she walked back to her desk. “I know I can Yes Man, I know I can,” she said before her smile faded and she found herself looking into Ethan’s smiling face, projecting at her out from the small picture that she kept on the desk. The woman scooped it up and held it up to her face for a moment before slowly putting it back down. “Be careful Ethan...” 





Ethan watched the fight currently going on through one of the screens as he and Glen awaited their breakfast. At the moment a red scaled female dragon, who was capable of shifting between a dragon form and that of a naked red haired woman, was in the process of killing her opponent after having first immobilized it with venomous fangs. Ethan watched for another few seconds before turning to Glen.

“So, you feeling better now?” he asked the mare, a touch of concern in his voice. “I know that it’s probably not that big of a deal for people to break limbs here... but that’s my job and I don’t like my friends doing it too.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied cracking her neck. “It’s not the first time I got some bones broken in here or back home.” 

“Good to hear,” Ethan mused as his gaze returned to the match playing out above. The dragoness seemed to be enjoying herself and taking her time to kill her opponent. “Wow, whoever that is sure knows how to play the crowd... almost as good as me,” he added.

“Yeah, she’s one of the tournaments favorites,” Glen informed him. 

“I can see why... never seen scales as sexy before,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But in this case... I think I’m willing to experiment.”

“You and the thousands of others who want to,” the mare stated with a chuckle. 

“What can I say... I like redheads,” Ethan replied shrugging his shoulders. “I’m sure Cassie would agree...” he trailed and shook his head, looking at his Pip-Boy for a moment and then sighed. “So, you have any family Glen?”

Glen glanced down. “Well...I wouldn’t call what I have as a family...a family,” she replied. “More like just...very distant acquaintances.”   

Ethan nodded slowly. “So, when I get us out of here... would you prefer to come to the normal non-destroyed Equestria?”

“Hmph...maybe, but you first got to have a plan to escape,” the mare commented. 

“Look, I’m already assuming that I’m going to escape,” Ethan replied. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure it’ll happen eventually, always does. So I’m just focusing on the important things. Such as what I’m going to do with you.”

“I just want to get out of this hellhole,” she replied. “Into either a nicer hellhole or into something completely different, it doesn’t really matter to me.” 

“Alrighty then,” Ethan said with a small nod. “I’m sure you’re just desperate to get out of here.”

“I think everyone here has the same idea, it’s just really hard to do so,” she replied. “Drek is a bastard, but he’s crafty in keeping his ‘toys’ under his control.” 

“Eh, just give me time, I’ll get him,” Ethan told her with a light chuckle as he flipped off the nearest ‘invisible’ camera. “Just wish he wasn’t watching me when I sleep, probably stays up all night touching himself to my face.”

Glen shook her head and chuckled. “Or counting his money he made because of you while rubbing it all over his body,” she commented. 

“Yeah, that’s a possibility too,” Ethan agreed. “Also, everything in here is bugged, so there’s no point in me telling you anything specific Glen... word to the wise, I wouldn’t talk about it,” he added with a slight shrug. “Also Drek, if you’re listening to this conversation through the mini speaker in this table top to my right, go suck a dick.”

Glen glanced at the spot Ethan pointed out, but she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Well... I doubt Drek listens to every conversation personally, probably got some robots to do that for him.” 

“Or Kharon,” the man agreed. “Speaking of the merc, what do you know about him?”

Glen shrugged her shoulders. “Not much...there’s rumor of how he was once a top gladiator and was later brainwashed to obey Drek’s every word. Other than that, he’s mostly the reason why many of us are here now.”   

Ethan nodded slightly. “Not brainwashed, he’s a merc,” Ethan replied with a slight shrug. “And one that Drek’s got leverage over.”

“Well whatever he is, he’s one tough son of a bitch,” the mare stated. “A high ranking member once challenged him thinking if he won he would get his position...hard to say but Kharon floored him down...literally.” 

“Huh, neat,” Ethan mused. “Any idea how strong his regen abilities are?”

Glen shrugged her shoulders. “I think I’ve heard some other competitors compare how he took a sword to the gut and got up like it was nothing to your stunt back in your first round.”

The man frowned. “Interesting...” he then shrugged. “So, can I request weapons? I miss my shotgun.”

“I think so...” the mare replied with a small frown. “You just have to ask for it from the computer lady as you geared up...I think.” 

“Great, because like I said, I miss my Terrible Shotty,” Ethan said with a small chuckle. “Nothing beats that baby, even if I use the riot more because it’s faster firing. Got her from a raider who I killed, still has a smiley face imprinted on the butt.” The two lapsed into silence for a bit until Glen broke it.

“So...do you have family?” she asked. “Outside your wife that is...” 

“Two great kids,” Ethan answered with a smile. “Ash is going to be the best swordsman in the universe and his sister Shade is going to be the most badass girl ever,” he said with an affectionate smile. “Beyond that... I spose Sparky is my family too.”

“Sparky?” the mare inquired. 

"Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn Princess of Equestria, fuck buddy of Princess Celestia... and probably my best friend in the multiverse,” Ethan replied. “Didn’t I mention her before?”

“Maybe...probably slipped past my mind,” she replied with a shrug. “Also...she’s an alicorn?” 

“Yep, used to be a unicorn, then she and Tia got really freaky one night and out popped a pair of wings,” Ethan answered. “Cute purple mare in case you’re wondering, six pointed star on her flank. Element of Magic too.”

“She’s the one always telling us to read books in those pre-war posters!” Glen nearly shouted as she finally clued in on who Ethan was talking about. 

“Yep, that sounds like Sparky,” Ethan nodded. “Anyways, she got sent to my Wasteland by accident and we took down an army of super mutants together with my awesome power armour... I don’t use that suit much anymore come to think of it... I think I lost it somehow.”

“Power armor, never could quite understand it,” she stated. “Never figured out how someone could stay cooped up in that walking metal casket for more than a day.” 

“It stops bullets and plasma,” Ethan answered practically, shrugging his shoulders slightly. 

“Yeah, but they’re a bitch to keep working if they get damaged too much,” Glen added. “Parts for working power armor is rare enough as it is, so you’re screwed if something happens to cause you to be trapped in there forever.” 

Ethan shrugged. “I don’t think that ever happened to my Brotherhood pals,” he mused with a small frown. “Besides, I’ve got hundreds of the suits in my house thanks to taking down the Enclave.”

“Hundreds?” Glen asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“If not thousands, though I keep most of it on Zeta,” Ethan answered. “Add probably millions of plasma rifles and such lying around not to mention all the alien tech.”

The mare gave the man a queer look at the numbers Ethan was giving but shook her head. “Yeah, well not in my world. You’re lucky to find a working piece of power armor that isn’t in the Steel Ranger’s grubbly hooves. Luckier if you actually use it.” 

“Rangers... I’m just going to assume that they’re like the Brotherhood on the West Coast? Or at least before the NCR killed all of them?” Ethan inquired. “Only caring about tech and such?”

“Pretty much; once had to smuggle my magic rifle out of their sight. Not an easy thing to do, but I did it nonetheless,” she stated. 

“Good for you,” Ethan congratulated her with a smile. “So, any more questions about me?”

Glen pondered for a bit. “Yeah...where did you pull that grenade from? It wasn’t on your belt and it sure as hell couldn’t fit so easily into a pocket.” 

Ethan shrugged a little. “A good magician never reveals his secrets Glen,” he replied with a chuckle. “Learned that from an act in Vegas.”

The mare frowned a bit at the reply, but shrugged her shoulders. “I can respect that.” 

“Thanks,” the man said with a smile. “No offense to you Glen... but I’d rather keep some things in reserve.”

“I understand, everyone needs to have a few aces in their hands concealed now and then,” Glen commented. 

“Yep, and up their sleeves and in their pants too,” the man agreed with a nod. “Also, where the hell is our food?”

“Don’t know,” the mare replied. “But I’ve been wondering that too...” she muttered. 

“Think we’re going to be thrown into our next match without getting any nourishment?” Ethan inquired, raising an eyebrow at her. “Make us easier to kill?”

“I don’t know...never heard of someone getting their meal skipped,” Glen stated. “Then again...I never heard or seen a meal take this long to be dished out.”  

Ethan looked over his shoulder at a nearby service droid. “Hey, tinny, can we get some service over here?” he called. The droid turned to them and hovered over. 

“How can I be of service?” it asked. 

“Can we have our food?” the man asked it flatly. “We’ve been waiting for at least fifteen minutes here.”

The robot ‘stared’ at them for a moment before saying. “Apologies, there has been a glitch. Cake. Will return shortly with your food.” it then hovered off promptly.

Ethan frowned for a moment and then turned to Glen. “Just our luck eh?”

Glen chuckled lightly. “Yeah, guess even Drek’s money can’t buy a system that doesn’t have a few bugs in them.” 

Ethan smirked. “Told you.”

Glen shook her head. “Just a very dim light coming from a very small crack in a still huge wall.” 

“And a small crack can be turned into a wide canyon if filled with enough dynamite, and I am living dynamite,” Ethan replied with a chuckle.

“Maybe...but I don’t think you can hack Drek’s network from in here,” the mare said flatly. 

“My point went right over your head didn’t it?” Ethan asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“No...it’s just this isn’t a physical wall...it’s a digital one too,” she replied. 

“Glen... I’m not talking about the glitch and the robots,” Ethan said with a slightly exasperated sigh. “You said it yourself, even with all his money, he can’t buy perfection and there will always be cracks. It’s our job to exploit them, or in my case widden them.”

“Ah...” Glen said with a small nod. “Still, that’s the only screw up I’ve seen during my time here. So I doubt there that many cracks for you to exploit.” 

Ethan smiled knowingly. “Oh Glen, you just don’t know where to look,” he said before giving the nearest ‘invisible’ camera a wink.





“Man, am I glad I brought my shotgun,” Ethan mused as he looked around the rusting ruins all around them while his hands glided over the Terrible Shotgun’s stock. The man’s breath steamed out of his mouth and snow flurries streaked across his vision. “And man am I glad that this thing’s first outing was when I had to kill Sombra...” he added, patting his duster slightly. “Keeps me warm. How’re you doing Glen?”

The mare’s teeth where chattering and her whole body was shivering. “It’s fu-u-c-cking cold,” she replied. 

Ethan frowned. “Think you can still work that mouth trigger?” he inquired.

“I sho-o-uld,” she answered. “Just don’t stand in my way,” she added. 

“Not like it would do much to me anyways, but I’ll keep that in mi-”

“COMPETITORS!” The announcer announced, interrupting Ethan in mid sentence. “YOUR GOAL FOR THE DAY IS TO GET OFF OF THIS INDUSTRIAL DUMPING GROUND TO THE OTHER SIDE OVER A DEEP CANYON!”

Ethan looked over to Glen. “You ever seen anything like this before?”

Glen looked around over the snow covered buildings as well as the dozen of snowy hills scattered all over the field. “N-o-o, not really,” she replied. 

“Oh goodie, we’re going in cold and blind, just the way I like things,” the man said with a chuckle before he patted her on the side. “So, want to get things moving?”

Glen nodded her head. “Yeah, let’s get off of this bl-l-oody cold planet,” she stated. 

The man chuckled a little at the pony’s distress, but also frowned faintly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pony sized scarff. “Here, I keep it around on the off chance that Twilight ever uses up all her magic in the middle of a snowstorm.” He then reached over and wrapped it around Glen’s neck and a small feeling of warmth spread through her body, it wasn’t enough to kill the feeling of chill, but it was enough to keep her from suffering from hypothermia.

“Thanks,” she chattered out. 

“Anytime,” the man replied as he began to walk down the ‘street’ before them. Glen followed, her eye glancing all around for the look out of anything suspicious. 

“So...whatcha think they have in store for us?” she asked Ethan. 

“Who knows, yetties or something? Evil snowmen? Ice monsters? Evil ice monster yetties?”  Ethan guessed with a small shrug. “Yeti ice monsters of evil?”

The mare glanced over at Ethan with a skeptical look. “Now you’re just making stuff up.” 

“I’ve been accused of worse,” the man said, shrugging slightly.

Glen rolled her eye before her ears suddenly perked up. “You hear that?” she asked as she faced toward her left at a small pile of snow covered rusting metal, her ears scoping out the area. 

Ethan paused in place and then turned in the direction of the pile and glanced down at his wrist. “Hmm... not picking anything on my HUD... but I did hear it,” he whispered.

In the silence that had suddenly settled over them a new set of noises was easily discernible. 

*Twing*

*Clank*

*Crunch*

It was the walking of metallic feet and as he listened Ethan reached into his pocket to pull out several pulse shells and fit them into the shotgun’s barrel.

“Robots,” he whispered to Glen.

“Yeah...lots of them,” she whispered back as her ears continued to turn in all sort of directions. “They’re approaching from...everywhere.”

Ethan frowned for a moment. “So, find a high place and shoot at them until they’re all dead?”

“Or until we run out of bullets,” Glen replied. 

“So we run then?” he inquired, a small look of eagerness coming to his face at the prospect of the upcoming challenge. It had been a while since he’d gotten to flee in terror from something instead of the opposite.

“That’s sounds like a good plan,” the mare stated with a quick nod of her head. “Like let’s run to the other side shall we?” she suggested with a small unease cold chuckle. 

Ethan smirked. “I was waiting for you to ask, think you can keep up?”

“I might be half blind, but I’m still a pony,” she told him as the noise of metal feet crunching in snow became louder. “Let’s go,” she urged. 

The man rolled his eyes but began to jog. “No need for the urgency, I’m sure that we’ll be fine. I’ll keep ya safe Glen,” he told her confidently as he increased his speed.

“I’ll believe ya once we off this world!” she replied as she ran beside him. 

“Trust me,” he told her, his voice softening a slight bit and despite the speed he was running at Glen still heard him perfectly. “I’ll die before anyone hurts you, I promise.”

Glen glanced at the man with a puzzled look before she glanced back at the path in front of them and saw something was in their way. Robots....dozens of them. However, something  about them was a bit off.

All of them were missing parts in some way or another, legs, arms, even a head. Some were even rusted beyond belief, yet they were still working and slowly lurching towards them. Ethan’s shotgun roared four times as they came into range with the robots and eight of them fell to the ground, blue pulse energy running over their frames. Glen also opened fire, biting down of the right side of her mouth trigger letting her magic rifle to spat out hot bolts of pink plasma. The bolts hit several robots legs, making them stumble to the ground. 

The other robots continued their stride towards the two, not caring about their fallen but instead walked over them. 

“So, are these guys an actual threat?” Ethan inquired, his shotgun roaring again, felling another two of the robots walking towards them in twin piles of twitching metal.

“If we let them gang up on us, yes,” the mare replied, her rifle cutting down a robot with each shot. 

“So we keep running and don’t stop for nothing,” the man nodded as they leapt through the gap they’d created in the oncoming group of robots and continued through.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Glen stated as she followed the man. 

They continued running, mostly focusing on either avoiding or killing the robots which had begun to surround them no matter how fast they ran or how many turns they took. Ethan frowned as he kept looking around them for their goal, but saw nothing. It was a good thing that he’d had so much practice running, otherwise he’d have been out of breath long ago. 

Glen for her part was keeping up with man easily, her rifle firing almost continuously as she help mowed down robots. “Agh, where the hell are we going anyways?” 

“Wherever the wind, and the shrieking groaning robots, lead us,” Ethan answered nonchalantly as he reloaded his shotgun.

“They could led us to a bloody dead end!” the mare shouted out in protest. 

“Duh,” Ethan replied with a shrug.

“Do you have a death wish or something!?” 

“No, should I?” he inquired innocently, turning a corner.

Glen’s only reply was grunting out in irritation at the man. 

Ethan chuckled. “You sound a bit like Sparky when you do that, Glen,” he told her, ducking beneath a robot who had decided to leap at him from atop a stack of metal.

“I bet you do that to everyone with your bloody logic,” she replied as she continued to follow him. 

“What’s wrong with my logic? My logic works fine,” the man replied with a laugh, blasting away a robot which had been about to land on Glen’s head from behind. “After all, you’re still alive aren’t you?”

Again, the mare just grunted out more in annoyance as she continued to fire upon the robots. “Let’s just get the hell to the other side already.”  

“Yes, let’s,” Ethan said.

The two continued to fight their way across the snow covered field as more and more robots popped up from the ground and strode towards them. They fought and fought until they reached the edge of the canyon that they’d been told to cross. The canyon was at least a mile deep, as well as a hundred yards wide. 

Ethan glanced over the edge, frowning when he couldn’t find any suitable edges to climb down from, knocking the hope of a quick climb get away. However, as he reeled his gaze back up he spotted something further along the edge. It was a drawbridge, retracted, but looked to be in working condition by the hint that that it was barely covered in snow and didn’t look to be majorly rusted. 

“So, how much you want to guess that thing is our way out of this hole?” Ethan inquired with a small frown as he glanced over the drawbridge, backhandedly smacking away a smaller robot who leapt at him.

“Consideringly how conveniently it’s placed, highly,” she replied. 

“Well then, let’s not waste any time, all this snow is messing up my hair,” the man said with a chuckle, running a hand through his soaking hair.

As he said that, there was a loud whirling behind them and he suddenly stumbled forwards as several dozen large holes appeared in his chest, apparently unhindered by the armour. Blood squirted out of the wounds and some of it splashed down onto Glen’s face. Ethan didn’t fall, he only winced.

Glen only blinked as the man’s blood rolled down her face. She turned around to see half a dozen of robots with miniguns as part of their arms. One turned to face her and she shouted. “FUCK!” 

Before it could fire, Ethan stepped into the way and took the bullets for her and more of his blood splashed across her face.

“Glen, get to the bridge please,” Ethan said, his voice calm and decidedly deadly.

The mare’s eye widened a bit, but she didn’t question as she turned and ran towards the bridge, occasionally shooting down robots in her way. Meanwhile, Ethan let out a loud cackle.

“Come get some you metal sons of bitches!” the man shouted as he charged towards the robots. Their bullets impacted into him, some but not all penetrating his armour as he did so. He closed with them and the shotgun roared four times. Four of the robots staggered back underneath the assault and Ethan fired another four shots into them for good measure.

The bots fell, jittering a bit as the last of their power seeped away. However, another volley of bullets hailed down on Ethan as a different set of robots assaulted him. Ethan snarled through the pain, holstering his shotgun and drawing his red bladed sword. He charged the bots and as he reached them he and the bots became a veritable blur of red and black as he slashed into their oil filled bodies.

“Locked on,” a male voice spoke out, catching the man’s attention before he felt a huge amount of force impacted into his back. Ethan felt his spine snap in half and was sent flying a couple of yards before falling face flat into the snow and scraps of metal. 

Ethan grunted as his spine knitted back together and he flipped onto his stomach to see a four legged mech, as big as three roboscorpions (thankfully the relatively small kind) stacked on top of each other. It had one long arm that looked like an extremely enhanced railway rifle, as well as missile compartments resting on it’s head, and another arm that was holding a gatling gun. 

There was red glowing ‘eye’ that was looking at him. “Zarian trooper sti-i-ill alive, initiate pha-a-a-ase two,” it said in a clearly glitchy voice. 

“Oh, well you can go straight to hell,” Ethan grumbled as he rolled to his feet. Also, what the hell is a zarian? he added as an afterthought as he began to straff towards the thing.

The mech’s gatling gun roared to life as a stream of bullets stormed right at the man. Ethan straffed around the incoming bullets and felt their hot wind growing steadily closer and closer to his face as he got closer and closer to the mech. Luckily, he managed to close the distance before he could be hit and his blade lashed out, slashing through the nearest leg before a blast of bullets crashed into his chest and sent him skidding away through the snow. 

The mech stumbled a bit under the sudden loss of support, but it didn’t fall down. Instead, it just lowered it’s broken leg to the cut off part and in mere seconds the two ends merged back together. Good as new.

Meanwhile Glen fought her way to the drawbridge’s control room. She frantically looked around for the switch to make it lower down. She grinned a bit when she found it and closed her teeth around it before yanking it down. 

*Click*

The mare let go and glanced out a window. “Fuck!” she cursed when she saw the bridge stubbornly staying upright. She glance back at the console of buttons and switch. “What the hell did I do wrong?” she muttered to herself. Glen study the set up for a bit longer. “Ah to hell with it, I’ll just pull switches until it works,” she said as she started hastily pull different switches. 

Ethan grumbled under his breath, cursing incoherently at the large walker which despite his best efforts appeared to still be perfectly fine.

“Alright you overgrown fuck-bot, I’m gonna turn you into a god damned desk lamp!” he shouted at it as blood rolled down his chest.

“You zar-ar-ar-ins will not win,” it replied. It lowered it’s head down a bit, and its missile compartments started to glow a faint hue of blue as the hum of energy building filled the air. Then before Ethan could question what was happening, dozens of glowing blue orbs shot it the air and streaked towards the man. 

Ethan looked up at the orbs for a moment before letting out a ‘war cry’, though it may have sounded a bit closer to the noise a dog makes when kicked, a short yelp, before charging headlong at the mech. The orbs continued to streak at the man, some missing him and hitting the ground, creating small explosions everywhere they hit. Ethan didn’t fall and adjusted usted to the exploding ground, instead he continued forwards until he yet again reached the mech. This time, he dove beneath the legs and brought his blade stabbing up into the center of its ‘ass’.

However, it did nothing except make the sound as if the sword was eating through rock solid stone. The red eye on the mech turn a full 180 and glared at Ethan.The man looked up at it with a slight blush on his face.

“Hia... this isn’t doing much for you, is it?” he asked it.

In response, it’s gatling gun bent around and pointed towards him, quickly whirling to life. 

Ethan, and his sword, were sent flying away, rolling end over end with a bright flash of blood. He came to rest several meters away, his body soaked in blood and his organs shredded. The man’s chest began reknit itself and he achingly got to his feet.

“Yeah... that’s not happening,” he muttered as he looked at the completely unharmed robot. Then there was the faint sound of big gears grounding and excited voice of Glen shouting. 

“FUCKING FINALLY!” 

Ethan glanced back to see the drawbridge was slowly beginning to descend. The man let out a sigh of relief through his still healing lungs and looked back at the mech.

“Hey robot, look, zarians!” Ethan shouted, pointing behind the mech.

“You’re par-ar-ar-lor tricks won’t work zarian,” it said as it lowered its railgun at the man. 

“Umm... look pretty robots!” he shouted after a second of thought, pointing in the other direction.

Its railgun began to hum as it pulled up power, still pointing at the man. 

“Fine, you know what?” Ethan called to it.

“Wh-wh-what?” the mech asked glitchially.

“Suck on this!” he shouted, pulling a plasma grenade from his pocket and launching it into the rail-gun’s barrel. The gun went off, causing a huge explosive of red and green to sprout from it’s arm. The mech stumbled away from the blast, it’s whole left arm missing, yet refusing to go down. The man could see it’s arm already began to regenerate, but didn’t stay any longer as he took off towards the drawbridge at a sprint.

“GLEN START RUNNING!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Glen was holding her ground from a couple of robots but took a glance at the bridge that was still in the process of lowering. “IT’S TOO STEEP!” she shouted back. 

A blue orb went off beside Ethan making him stumble a bit but he kept his balance and continued running. Unfortunately, one of the blue orbs also slammed into underside of the still lowering bridge. The drawbridge shook violently, but thankfully it didn’t collapse; it did however stop lowering and at an angle too steep to climb by foot. 

“Oh fuck you!” Ethan shouted over his shoulder at the mech, giving it the finger.

“Now what?” Glen asked as the man ran up to her. 

“Well, I can’t kill it,” he confessed. “So... we either face death with dignity...” he continued as he scanned the area... his gaze settling on what appeared to be a motorcycle like machine of some kind... though it lacked wheels. In their place were two blue discs parallel to the ground. “Or we improvise!” Ethan exclaimed, running towards the bike.

Glen looked at the bike then at the steeped bridge. “Oh...I’m not going to like this,” she grumbled. She let out a small sigh. “Is it even working?” 

Ethan didn’t bother answering, instead he was too busy scraping snow off of ‘bike’ and running his hands over the controls. It took him only a matter of seconds before the bike jumped off of the ground and started hovering in place. He grinned and grabbed Glen around the waist before throwing both of them onto the bike, her behind him.

“Do you even know how to drive one of these things!?” the mare asked nervously. 

“Fuck no!” Ethan replied with a grin as he gunned the throttle. “Want to find out?” 

“N-” was all the mare got to say before the hover bike roared and shot forwards. 

It took Ethan a moment to learn how to steer the beast, and in that time they almost shot over the edge of the cliff, causing Glen to scream loudly while Ethan let out a laugh of excitement. He pulled the bike away from the cliff at the last moment and caught sight of a blue orb falling towards them. He did a 180 spin, and launched in the other direction causing the bike to roar happily as the blue orb exploded in the background.

“THIS IS AWESOME!” Ethan shouted over the noise.

Glen didn’t say anything as she tightly clutched her hooves around the man’s waist. 

“Come on Glen, it’s like being on a giant vibrator! This should be awesome for you!” Ethan added, lowering his voice a little.

“Just get over the bloody bridge already!” she said with her eye firmly shut. 

“Fine,” he replied as he ducked beneath a string of automatic fire and gunned the hover bike towards the bridge. 

The bike climbed the steep angle with ease and before long they shot up and over the gap between the two bridge while Ethan shouted with excitement. In fact...Ethan was going so fast, he overshot it and missed the other half entirely, instead landing ‘softly’ on the snowy ground. The back half of the bike hit the ground first, the hoover disk barely keeping it from smacking right into the ground as the front half shortly followed.

The two were thrown off the bouncing bike, and Ethan landed on the bottom as Glen landed atop him, the man was laughing outrageously. Glen however was shaking, more from the adrenaline withdrawal rather than the cold. 

“Let’s hopefully never do that again,” she said shakily. 

“Are you kidding me?” Ethan asked her with a wide grin as he pushed her off of himself and walked over to the bike, quickly climbing back on. “That was so much fun!”

“For a manic,” the mare whispered to herself. 

“Hey, I’m crazy, remember?” he inquired, patting the seat behind him. “Oh please let me keep her, she’s so sexy,” he added, looking beggingly at the nearest hovering camera.

“YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!” The announcer shouted in response. “CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR VICTORY; PREPARE FOR TRANSIT!”





“Whose idea was it to give him a hovercycle?” Drek mused to himself, then he smiled. “Oh my... think of how marketable his action figure will be now...” He tapped his glass for a bit before taking a sip. “Hmm… But now I need to amp the difficulty to compensate his new toy… hmm… death races anyone?”
> Drekzone Part 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey Glen,” Ethan said with a wide grin as they sat at their usual table. “Guess what.”

“What?” the mare asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I got a hoverbike!” Ethan said enthusiastically.

Glen rolled her eye. “Yeah...only for off world matches and the rounds that allow vehicles,” she remarked. 

“It’s still a hoverbike! Hoverbikes are cool!” he enthused. “You can’t deny that!”

“I can deny it for not being hoof friendly,” she replied. “Other than that, you’re not the only one who has access to a vehicle for off world matches.” 

“And?” the man inquired with a raised eyebrow. “It’s still a hoverbike! I bet once I get home I can put some plasma cannons on it and get from the Mojave to D.C. in a few hours!”

“If you get home,” Glen stated. 

“When I get home,” Ethan corrected. “And I’ll take you with me too.”

“You keep saying that, yet I haven't seen you even try to escape here,” the mare commented. “I’m starting to believe you’re just bluffing.” 

Ethan chuckled. “Oh Glen, I’m not escaping,” he said enigmatically.

The mare shook her head. “You know, I think you have a few more screws loose than you think.” 

“Eh, I just prefer to think that I live my life without strings attached,” the man replied, smiling at the mare. “Everyone should try it sometime.”

Glen stared at the man a bit flatly. “I think if everyone tried what you do, there’d be far less people left in the universe.” 

“But the quality of people in the universe would increase dramatically,” Ethan replied with a smirk.

Glen’s right hoof smacked into her forehead and she rubbed it profusely, muttering something under her breath. 

“What’s that?” he inquired playfully. “I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of you giving yourself a concussion.”

“Nothing,” she replied grumbly. 

Ethan just smiled and leaned back in his chair, things were good... for the most part. As his eyes looked out among the crowd of aliens, strange anthropomorphic creatures, and the occasional robot looking thing, he let his mind wander slightly.

I wonder what’s taking Sparky so long, he thought to himself, not beginning to worry yet. Whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll find a way to get us out of this hole. And kill Drek, man I can’t wait to get a chance to whale on that dick.

He smiled at the thought. Wonder if they’ll send Faust... this is more of her kind of gig anyways... which will be interesting. Never seen her fight before and from everything I’ve heard, it’s an awesome thing to see. The man then let a small frown slip across his face. Man... I just hope that Drek doesn’t realize that I can’t fight dragons or the like without a little help... that robot was a bit beyond me too... 

The man slumped forwards a bit on the table, leaning on the table with his elbows as he looked at his favorite picture on his Pip-Boy. It showed his family, Cassandra and him standing with each others arms around their waists. Shade and Ash were in it too, the girl antagonizing the boy and teasing him silently.

I’m going to come home, Ethan promised them. And I’ll do anything to. He looked over at Glen and gave her a soft smile. The mare gave the man a small quer look, glancing sideways before looking back at him. 

“What?” she asked. 

“Eh, just thinking about stuff,” Ethan answered with a small shrug.

The mare opened her mouth slightly to ask, but shut it and shook her head, thinking otherwise. She didn’t want to risk another headache. Ethan smirked at her with a raised eyebrow and then chuckled slightly before looking back at the crowd.

There were so many races here, so many far flung travelers from distant suns and planets. An uncountable number really... and here he was, a boring old human from the Wasteland. 

Okay, not boring, he amended with a small mental chuckle, of course it was rather... hollow sounding, even with his own head. Even after all he’d done... it would never be able to make up for the things he hadn’t or didn’t get the chance too.

His gaze drifted among the crowd until he spotted someone coming in their direction. The someone was definitely a female, with the curve of her body and the obvious signs of breasts, yet it wasn’t human. She had dark green skin and stood roughly six foot tall, her arms showing firm, strong muscles. 

Her face had some unique characteristics too, with slightly pointed ears, her black hair braided into a ponytail that swung behind her head, two small tusk jutting out from her lower jaw, red triangles tattooed under her dark blue eyes. She also had a metal collar around her neck, though it didn’t look like a normal bomb collar the man knew, since it was far thinner and had a small circle plate center around her voice box.  

All in all, she was fairly intimidating, to most people anyways. For his part, Ethan just shot her a smile.

“Hiya, want a place to sit?” he called to her in a friendly tone.

The ‘woman’ smiled back. “Sure,” she replied, taking a seat across from the man. 

Ethan smiled a little and offered her his hand to shake. “You’re the first person here beside Glen here to actually come up to me, the name’s Ethan Smith, The Lone Wanderer,” he told her.

The woman reached over and accepted the hand. “Well, not many like to converse with a man who killed two people a few moments after he woke up,” she replied with a small chuckle. “Anyways, the name is Veira Jurgmen, Dragonborn,” she informed him. 

Ethan shook her hand, feeling an equal if not great greater strength than his own behind it, though neither of them bothered to show off.

“Well Veira, it’s nice to meet you,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “Besides, you and I both know that those two were wastes of space, food, and brains. More importantly, they proved a point and in a place like this that’s important.”

Veira shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe, though you could’ve proven the same in a match; like you did with ‘The Butcher’. And those two? They wouldn’t last too much longer in their rounds anyways.” 

“Yep, obviously,” the man replied with a slight shrug of his own. “So there was no real loss,” he said. “Where I come from, they would’ve been raiders, and that means I would’ve killed them eventually anyways.”

“Right...I’m a bit surprised you weren’t vaporized when you did it. Since fighting in the quarters are illegal,” Veira stated.

“Eh, Drek wants me here for some reason,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “I think he’s using me to make himself lots of money... so that he can fuck it all night.”

“Ah, you’re one of those gladiators, huh?” Veira asked the man. “So I guess you had a small bout with Kharon if you’re one of Drek’s money squeezers.” 

Ethan nodded. “Yep, the bastard shredded me down to the bone with some pistol-shotgun thing of his. Fun times,” he said. “And yeah... I’m his ‘money  bitch’ at the moment. Bastard.”

“Huh? Shredder rounds? That’s a new one,” she mused. “Normally he doesn’t cause that much harm to his targets.” 

“I may have hit him with three plasma grenades at once... think it made him angry, poor prick,” Ethan replied. “That... or I’m just hard to capture... nah that can’t be it.”

“Either way, Kharon once again proves his title of Elite Gladiator,” Veria said with a small scoff. 

“I guess,” the man replied before turning to the quiet Glen who’d been watching the two interact. 

“What?” she asked Ethan. 

“You’ve been quiet,” the man said with a shrug. “Figured you’d have something to say.”

“Other than the fact that he is the one guy you don’t want to fight, not much,” the mare replied. “Matches against him are literally a death sentence...not like the others aren’t too, but at least you have a chance to come out alive in those.” 

Ethan shrugged slightly and turned back to the green skinned woman. “So, no offense, but what race are you? In my head I keep referring to you as the ‘green skinned woman’ when I don’t use your name and it’s starting to get annoying.”

Veira raised an eyebrow at the man. “I’m an orc,” she informed him. 

The man’s brows furrowed together for a moment. “Orc... hmm... shouldn’t you be working for some guy with a ring obsession?”

Her brow rose in a questioning expression. “I have no idea what you're talking about...” 

“Sorry, read it in a book,” the man explained, waving away the whole comment. “So what’s your story Veira?”

The orc shrugged her shoulders. “It’s pretty long...but let’s just say I’m some prophesied hero that saved the world and such and got dragged in here one day exploring the ruins of an ancient city.” 

“Huh,” Ethan mused with a small nod. “I can’t claim to have saved the world, but then again, the world would need to be put together enough for me to save it in the first place.”

“Oh?” Veira inquired. 

“Yeah... let me tell you about the Wasteland...”





Massive surges of power flowed through the walls and the air was abuzz with the sound of ‘beeps’ and ‘boops’ emanating from a set of holographics buttons being rabidly pressed. 

Standing behind a tall sand-ish colored stone counter working on a glowing light blue floating keyboard was a bipedal creature barely four foot tall. Its light grey skin gleamed in the soft glow of the light while her white braided bands of hair hung across her slightly oval shappedhead. A pair of long floppy of ears hung down in concentration, trying to minimize the noise level. Large emerald eyes were rapidly scanning the screen before her reading the data from her current scan. 

Many would probably call her a goblin at first glance, other would say she was some sort of gnome. But she was an asura, and proud of it, since her genius level was far superior to any of the ‘other’ races in the multiverse.

A smile grew across her lips, slightly showing her point row of teeth. “Ha, got ya,” she said to no one but herself. “You were smart in using theta radiation to hide your path, but you forgot to compensate the echoing effect the void does whenever someone used a natural bridge.” She pressed in a series of buttons causing the display to show a large branching network of lines. “Now all I have to do is to get rid of the junk and find similar paths and pinpoint your origin... too bad there are several thousands worth of data to sift through.” 

She cracked her neck left and right. “Well, it’s a good thing I rarely sleep now a days. So I should have it done in two or three days.” 

“Burning the late night oil tonight, huh Vex?” a male voice spoke out. 

The asura, named Vex, glanced up to see a tanned caucasian man with a small black scaled dragon wrapped around his shoulders. His brown curly hair barely visible in the dark as he rubbed a hand through it, repressing a sigh with his other hand. 

The asura glance back down at her work. “Shouldn’t you be in bed bookah?” she asked the man. 

“Shouldn’t you?” he asked back. However he held up his hands to stop her from answering. “No, let me guess, ‘This type of work need my genius’, right?” 

“As always,” she replied. 

“Figures,” the man said with a light chuckle with a small shake of his head. “Anyways, to answer your question Wistala and I were going to visit the Resonate Cave to do a bit of training. And since the sun needs to be out for the cave to do it’s magic, we had to wait till it was dark over here.” 

“Ah, I see,” Vex said, paying only half attention to the man’s explanation. “Well have fun, and don’t run into a wall too fast. Hate to scrape you off the walls.” 

The man chuckled lightly. “Come on Vex, it’s me. It’s not my first time going at supersonic speeds,” he told the asura with a smile. He glanced up at the screen, glancing at the scrolling data. “So...whatcha working on anyways?”  

“Trying to pinpoint a trail of some kidnapper,” she replied, pausing in her calculation and glancing up. “Simon gave it to me and told me to work on it. So it has top priority on my things to do.” 

The man frowned slightly as he glance at Vex. “Kidnapper? Why would Simon be interested in something like this?” 

“Don’t know, but I’m getting this done no matter what,” she replied as she glance back down at the keyboard. “This kidnapper was no amature in dimisonal traveling. He covers his trials very well...but not enough to escape from a genius like me.” Her fingers began to dance across the holographic keyboard and her focus was tuned in on the screen. 

The man glanced up at the screen one more time before turning around and leaving the asura to her work. 





“And that’s how I fucked an entire alien spaceship out from under their control,” Ethan finished with a smirk. “Green bastards the lot of them.”

“Huh...that’s...a very impressive feat,” Glen commented. 

“Yeah, though to me they sounded nothing but weaklings to me,” Veira stated with a small chuckle. “I bet I could’ve handle them before getting caught up in this tournament.”  

“They were pretty weak, I’ll give you that,” Ethan replied. “But the shielded ones were a pain in the ass. Took a full six shots from my Blackhawk to take one down and those bullets are big.”

“Why didn’t you throw an EMP at it?” Glen inquired. 

“I don’t know, I was young and stupid, never bothered to carry them on me,” the man admitted with a slight flush. “Damn...I was still with Sarah back then...kind of,” his eyes trailed up the ceiling, apparently lost in his memories. “It was only a year after I’d got out of the Vault... and right after putting down the Pitt’s slave rebellion...” 

“You’ve been a busy little bee huh?” Veira observed. 

“Always,” he said, his eyes slightly unfocused as his fingers danced over the table, tapping it here and there.

Veira raised an eyebrow at the man’s behavior, but didn’t have time to question it as a robotic male voice spoke out. 

“Contestant, Veira Jurgmen, you have a match that will begin in five minutes. Please get ready.” 

The orc glanced up at the hidden set of speakers and rolled her eyes. “Well, duty calls,” she said as she got up. “It was nice talking to you, hope we aren’t matched against each other. Shame to kill ya.” 

“Likewise,” Ethan replied, a small fierce smile appearing on his face. “Stay safe Veira, I have the oddest feeling we’ll need you when we spring this coop.”

The orc gave the man a queer look before waving goodbye and walked towards the lift. 

“There you go again with the whole escaping bit,” Glen commented at Ethan, giving the man a small unamused look. 

“Would you prefer me to be quiet and brooding?” the man asked her with a raised eyebrow. “Or maybe you’d prefer me to be a blood thirsty killer who screams and roars as he drinks the blood of his enemies? Oh, or maybe you’d rather I rape you and wear your vagina as a condom? Would you prefer any of that? Or would you rather have me stay positive?” his blue eyes had narrowed to frozen blue icebergs and he glared into her eyes with a new ferocity that Glen had never seen before. “Because at the moment Glen, I’m honestly not in the mood for you to tell me not to be positive. We’ll get out of here, and that’s final.”

The mare returned the look with her dark yellow eye, showing little fear. “Then how about you show some actual proof of doing so instead of just blabbing your mouth out. Cause it’s really getting annoying of you yapping of escaping but sitting on your ass all day.” 

“Because we’re being watched constantly you dolt,” Ethan growled at a whisper. 

“Exactly,” Glen stated with clenched teeth. “Yet you keep on persisting it, so stop it.” 

“Have I been saying anything?” he asked her, suddenly looking a bit startled. “Becuase... I don’t remember saying anything.”

Glen blinked blankly for a few seconds before frowning at him. “We were having an argument on your constant referring of escaping after that little threat speech of yours,” she replied flatly. 

“You’re not listening,” Ethan told her with a small sigh. “I haven’t been saying anything.”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!” she said in a loud whisper. 

“Do I need to beat you over the head with it?” he inquired with a raised eyebrow. “It’s about layers Glen. Like an onion, except each layer is different than the last.”

The mare gave the man a flustered look. “You know...sometimes I question your sanity...and I think this is one of those moments...” 

“You and everyone else,” the man said, chuckling softly. “Did you think I got the title of ‘Crazy Son of a Bitch’ for my amazing knitting skills?”

“Yeah...now I’m wondering why people still trust you,” she stated with a small shake of her head.

“Because I go above and beyond to keep those who I call my friends safe and alive,” Ethan said softly. “Because I save people Glen, even when they think they can’t be saved.”

Glen looked at the man with an irritated look. “Yeah, well, prove it. For all I heard are words...and one’s words are never good enough.” She then got up and off the chair, heading off in some random direction. 

Ethan watched her go as he leaned back in the chair and let out a large sigh. This was going to be difficult... but he was sure Twilight would get him some help, she always had, and always would.	
> Drekzone Part 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“And that Ash is why it pays to be careful when you’re working with runes,” Twilight scolded the boy whose fingers and forearms were covered with soot. Ash blushed and looked down at the floor, his ears turning red.

“Sorry Aunt Twilight,” he mumbled in a low tone.

“What was that?” Twilight inquired.

“I’m sorry Aunt Twilight,” Ash said, his tone clearer. 

Twilight smiled and nodded approvingly. “Good,” she told him. “Honestly Ash, you really need to be much more careful with magic. You’re not your father and you can’t regrow any of your fingers if you lose them,” the mare told the boy.

“I know,” Ash muttered. “I still don’t know what went wrong... I did everything that the book told me,” he said, frowning a little. 

“You drew a line wrong,” Twilight replied. “Magic is like that Ash, I’ve told you this before. Everything has to be just right or else it blows up.”

Ash frowned for a moment and then looked at Twilight, a scandalized look on his face. 

“Did I really?” he asked her.

“I’m afraid so,” Twilight answered with a soft look. “You just need practice, and you need to practice on runes that aren’t designed to make things catch on fire.”

“But fire is supposed to be the easiest one!” Ash protested.

Twilight looked over at the boy. “That’s true I suppose, but weapon runes are hardly the easiest ones, you should practice your technique on the easier defensive type ones. That way the worst you can do is create a faulty shield,” she told him.

“Fine, I guess,” Ash said, looking down once more. “Is my dad okay?” he suddenly asked her, looking at Twilight with his large green eyes.

Twilight let out a small sigh and leaned over to gently nuzzle the boy on the cheek. “I’m sure your father is fine Ash. You know how strong Ethan is.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with a small sigh. “Auntie Tia’s mom is helping look for him too right?”

“Yep, Faust will find him, trust me,” Twilight said. “And then we’ll bring your dad home.”

“Thanks Aunt Twilight,” Ash said with a smile, leaning over and hugging Twilight. The mare wrapped a wing around the boy and pulled him close to her chest, putting her chin on his head.

“You’re welcome Ash,” she said softly.

The boy held onto her for another few seconds before letting go of Twilight and blushing slightly.

“Thanks,” Ash said, looking away and striding forwards.

“Anytime,” Twilight replied while suppressing a chuckle at the boy’s pink ear tips. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the quiet researching boy was Ethan’s son at all. Then she frowned slightly. “Don’t worry Ethan... we’ll find you,” she murmured.





Ethan stood alone in the armory, checking over his weapons. He’d decided to forego his Blackhawk yet again in favor of his Novasurge, he’d found that it just worked better in an arena environment. The Terrible Shotgun rested across his back and his red bladed bastard sword was sharp as ever as it lay in its sheath beside it.

He nodded to himself as he did a final equipment check, making sure that all of his ammo was in place along with his explosives. Then, he walked towards the lift and began to rise up into the arena. A fake smile appeared on his face.

I wonder if it’s odd that this whole situation is already boring me, he mused idly as he waved towards the crowd of spectators, winking to the occasional hot babe who caught his eye. You know me; sometimes I wonder why the hell people would come to something like this place, and then I remember that the majority of people are bastards, he added sourly.

Wonder how long till Sparky shows up, he mentally added, still feeding the audience what they wanted to see. When she gets here, we’ll shove Drek’s dick down his throat... and put an end to this bullshit.

“CITIZENS DO WE HAVE A MATCH FOR YOU TODAY?” the announcer roared. “THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH HAS HAD TO FIGHT MANY ROBOTS IN HIS DAYS, BUT NONE LIKE THIS!”

The lift on the other end of the arena rose a tall seven foot humanoid robot, its parts an odd color pattern of red and orange. Two large swords, which were oddly wide, rested across his back as he flexed his mechanical fingers around. Two glowing orange eyes stared through a red helmet that bent up and around the face, almost like a mask.

“THIS BEING HAS FOUGHT AND LED HIS TEAM OF HEROES AGAINST THE GREATEST EVIL IN HIS WORLD AND EMERGED VICTORIOUS TIME AND TIME AGAIN!” The announcer for lack of a better word announced. “HE IS AN EXPERT SWORDSMAN AND LAVA SUFFER AND HOLDS POWER OVER THE ELEMENT OF FIRE; HE IS TAHU THE EX-TOA OF FIRE!”

Tahu smiled as he reached behind his back and pulled out his two swords, their edges instantly igniting up to a cherry red color. 

“I’m getting a definite fire motif here,” Ethan said aloud with a raised eyebrow.

“That won’t be all you’re getting,” Tahu said with a sneer. 

“Oh right; I forgot, I’ll be getting my next victory too and some more food to boot. Thanks for the reminder,” Ethan replied as he unsheathed his sword.

Tahu chuckled darkly. “That’s what you think, little man. You’re going to be the main course for some dogs soon...but not before I cook you first.” 

“OOOH, scary and unoriginal,” Ethan mocked. “I’m quaking in my boots over here.”

“Then let me help ease your nerves,” the toa said, flipping his swords downward and stabbing them into the arena floor. Flame spurted up and rushed towards Ethan, the man sidestepped them, apparently unphased by the heat.

“Hmm, good try,” Ethan said. “Think ya missed though.”

“I’m just getting warmed up first,” Tahu said as he pulled his swords out of the ground with ease and slashed at the air. A wave of fire soared out at a wide angle and growing larger with each passing second as it flew towards Ethan. 

Ethan frowned at the incoming waves of of fire and broke into a sprint directly at Tahu, the first wave reached him and the man fell forward, rolling beneath it and coming out on the other side unphased yet again. The man closed the distance between himself and the ex-toa and made a lightning quick slash at his armpit.

However, as the blade was about to make contact, it bounced off a shield that spontaneously erected itself around Tahu. The toa smiled and returned a slash at the small opening Ethan made, nicking the man in the stomach. The blade bounced harmlessly off of it, though Ethan did grunt at the blunt damage. 

The man recovered in half a second and brought his blade slicing down at Tahu’s legs. Again, a shield popped up to prevent the man’s swing from making contact. Ethan’s blade bounced off and Tahu took the opportunity to give a double whack with both his blade in a smooth flow of motion. To the Toa’s slight surprise, Ethan parried away the blades with ease and the man’s foot lashed out and slapped against Tahu’s ankle. 

Tahu stumbled back, caught off guard by the unexpected attack and Ethan followed through with a powerful overhead slash. Unfortunately that was blocked by the invisible force field, causing the blade to bounce off and over Ethan’s head. Tahu retaliated by bashing the hilt of his blade into man’s gut and followed it up with a heavy sideways slash of his own. 

Ethan recovered from the bash and ducked beneath the slash before jumping back and retreating slightly.

“So, you shoot fire, have really heavy blades, and I can’t get you with anything you see coming,” Ethan said almost conversationally to the ex-toa.

“So what? I’m still going to finish you off,” Tahu said with grin. “All you’re doing is prolonging your fate.” 

“Hmm... I think I remember a proverb about bright flames,” Ethan replied. “Something about you dying early the more you bragged or something of that nature.”

“It’s a good thing it’s not bragging, but more of stating the fact!” Tahu rushed forwards, his two heated blades swinging in a flurry at Ethan. The man weaved like a willow branch around the attacks, ducking here, dodging there. Then, his Novasurge appeared in his hand mid dodge and he fired off a shot into Tahu’s face.

Annoyingly, Tahu’s shield popped up, causing the plasma shot to bounce back and into Ethan’s face. The man face burned with pain as the plasma seeped down it, but he ignored it.

“Thought you might try that with your primitive weapon,” Tahu said with a small chuckle. “You’re not the first to try that you know?” 

"Don’t really care actually,” Ethan replied, shrugging his shoulders through the pain. “I mean, does it really matter what my ‘primitive’ weapons can and can’t do to you? I’m obviously better then you.”

“It should matter when you won’t be able to lay a single attack on me,” the ex-toa said with a dark smile. 

“Already did that actually,” Ethan replied. “You’re not too bright are you?”

“I’m brighter than you think,” Tahu replied. 

The the arena floor suddenly shook as metal panels started to move away from each other all across the arena to reveal boiling lava beneath. The lava pits were scattered around the arena at random intervals and the heat coming from them was intense.

“TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT ON THIS BBQ!” the announcer spoke out to the two gladiators and to the cheering crowd. 

“For instance, you’re out of your playing field,” Tahu said with a dark smile. 

“Eh, the playing field is what you make of it,” the man replied as he danced back from an enthusiastic swing of Tahu’s blades. “You just have to know how to play on it.” Ethan darted away from Tahu and into the center of a formation of lava pits.

Tahu closed with him and delivered a powerful slash to Ethan’s chest before he could get his guard back up. This time the large sword tore through the leather and the chainmail underneath and still had enough momentum to crash into Ethan’s flesh, sending him stumbling backwards, the place where the sword had slashed reducing the skin of his chest to the texture of molten plastic.

Tahu followed through with another swing, aimed at the man’s leg, the toa’s large blade slicing through the combat pants deeply into the leg below, the flesh boiling away down to the bone. Ethan ignored the pain, but Tahu continued his flowing assault, this time the slash catching him across the cheek and shearing away the skin.

The molten flesh dripped down Ethan’s face and his eyes narrowed with pain. Tahu ended his assault with an overhand slash... however he suddenly found he couldn’t move his wrist any further.

He stared at Ethan who was holding onto his wrist with his opposite hand, the man’s muscles bulging as he kept the blade at bay. Then he caught sight of Ethan fishing in his duster pocket for something and before he could react there was a loud flash, blinding him. 

Tahu suddenly found himself yanked off of his feet and slammed face first into the arena floor. The ex-Toa rolled onto his back, blinking out and distantly saw Ethan’s silhouette, it was a face of nightmares as the skin boiled and reformed. The man’s eyes appeared to be closed, protecting them from the flashbangs. Before Tahu could act, another flash went off in his face and he was blinded once more. 

Ethan let out an angry roar and fell upon the Toa, slamming his fists into the synthetic’s face with enough power to slam his head back into the ground each time he tried to rise. With each punch blinding spots danced over his eyes.

“I AM-FUCKING DONE-WITH YOUR-FUCKING FIRE!” Ethan shouted at him in-between punches, the still healing flesh giving him a truly menacing appearance. “YOU THINK-YOU’RE-HOT-SHIT?” The man demanded, his fists working like pistons. “HOT? I WITHSTOOD-DRAGON’S FIRE YOU-STUPID FUCKING-ROBOT! YOU DON’T-KNOW THE DEFINITION-OF THE-WORD HOT!” Ethan punctuated the final word with a strong punch to the bottom of the ex-Toa’s chin and a final flashbang to the face.

Tahu blindly threw a hard punch upwards and connected with Ethan’s chest, sending him off of the ex-toa. Ethan rolled to his feet as Tahu sluggishly did the same. The man quickly darted and retrieved his sword from where it had fallen, while Tahu quickly blinked his eyes and shook his head to shrug off the dazed state of mind.

“You want hot? I’ll give you HOT!” Tahu shouted at the man as his vision quickly returned to him. He twirled his swords around and snapped the two ends together, creating what look like a surfboard. The ex-toa then ran to the edge of the arena, tossing the surfboard into the large pool of lava and jumped onto the board, gliding across the molten earth. 

Ethan just cracked his neck and readied himself for whatever was about to happen. Tahu surfed across the lava, causing a large wake to tail him, then without warning the toa banked and jumped over the edge near Ethan. The wake followed, splashing over and towards the man, bringing with it searing heat and one pissed off ex-toa. 

The man stared down the ex-toa as he neared him and a thin smile appeared on his face. Ethan leapt backwards, away from the oncoming wave of lava and as it crashed down on where he’d been standing. As Tahu’s body flashed by him, Ethan’s sword swept out and there was a chink.

The lava splashed down on the arena floor, stopping inches away from Ethan’s toes, the boiling heat alone almost eating through the man’s boots, enchantment or not. Tahu’s head landed in the lava and Ethan sheathed his sword, turning his back on the boiling lava and fallen ex-toa. Tahu’s body fell into the small pool of lava, his body slowly beginning to melt. 

Ethan turned to the crowd and gave them a small smile.

“Well, I guess he wasn’t that good of a surfer after all,” the man stated.

The crowd went crazy and Ethan mechanically waved and smiled.

“AND THAT SPELLS AN END FOR EX-TOA TAHU! HOISTED BY HIS OWN PETARD!” The announcer roared over the noise as Ethan walked back to his lift and began to descend, injecting a stimpack from his pocket for good measure.

If Glen is still pissy with me I’m going to be annoyed, Ethan mentally grumbled to himself as he rubbed his perfectly reformed face, it was still rather hot, but not intolerably so. He glanced down at his leg and chest, and found that both his skin and his clothing had repaired themselves.

That guy was a bloody amateur...  he added to himself with a shake of his head. Someone needs to tell these kids that one fucking gimmick doesn’t make you invincible. It just makes you exploitable.

The lift reached the armoury and Ethan deposited his weapons and armour in the right place, not before quickly injecting himself with another two stimpacks to be safe, and then stepped onto the lift to bring him down to the main level. 
> Drekzone Part 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The lift stopped and opened its doors, showing Ethan a room he was not expecting to come up in. It was the hallway that led to Drek’s personal room, and standing in front of the doors waiting for Ethan was Kharon. 

“Mr. Drek would like to speak with you,” the merc said. 

“And if I told him to suck my dick instead?” Ethan asked the man with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a fifty floor story drop down from there,” Kharon replied flatly. 

“Hmm... not sure which sounds worse honestly, he’s probably awful with his tongue,” Ethan mused with a slight frown. “Do you happen to know?”

“No,” the man said humorlessly. “Now are walking off or not?” 

“Oh, I thought you’d be throwing me,” Ethan mused before shrugging and walking off the lift. “Alrighty then, you lead, I’ll follow.”

Kharon turned around and walked down the hallway, Ethan following along behind him.

“You know, you need to grow a sense of humor,” Ethan commented. “I mean, I’m sure you’ve got this whole ‘I’m a quiet badass’ thing going on, but you’re not going to pick up any chicks if you’re stiff as a board.”

“I do not need to pick up women like you do,” Kharon replied. 

“Technically speaking, I don’t need to, and I usually don’t,” Ethan replied. “Married, remember?”

“Yet you flirt with every female you make eye contact with when you step out onto the arena,” the mercenary pointed out. 

“Of course,” Ethan answered simply. “I’m making your boss money that way. That’s what he wants, right?”

“That’s what he wants, and you’re giving that perception to him,” Kharon stated. 

Ethan shrugged. “You said it, not me,” the man replied.

“No, that’s what I’m reading from you,” the merc remarked. 

“Read what you want, I won’t stop you from drawing your own conclusions,” Ethan said with a chuckle.

“You need a better face before you start grifting me,” Kharon said, glancing his head at Ethan. “Because you’re very poor at hiding your intentions to everyone.” 

“I don’t know,” Ethan shrugged. “It’s worked out for me so far. Besides, you’re not that great at it yourself.”

“It’s not the right stage nor the right time,” the man replied. “For both me and you,” he added. 

“Heh, well then, Kharon, I suggest that the pair of us wait for the time,” Ethan said with a small smile. “Of course, I’ll keep mine up, getting chicks is fun, even if I’m not going to do anything with them.”

Kharon rolled his eyes as they continued to walked down the hallway. The two reached the doors leading to Drek’s office, still guarded by heavily armed robots, and the merc stepped up to the door and pushed a button on a panel beside it. The door opened to reveal the fancy interior of the business alien’s room. 

Ethan stepped inside and saw that Drek was sitting behind his desk, toying with something. The alien glanced up at the man and then back down at what he was toying. 

“You know? You’re becoming quite the popular gladiator during these last few days,” Drek said become he stood up and tossed the thing in his hands at Ethan. The man caught it, and held it up to his face. It was an exact replica of himself, complete with red duster, bastard sword and Novasurge. “So much so, these things are selling like hot cakes,” the alien continued on, turning his back and walking up to his minibar. 

“You know Drek... I find it a bit creepy that you’ve got a mini-me up here and that you’re playing with him,” Ethan said as he continued to examine the action figure. “It’s disturbing really.”

Drek chuckled lightly. “I was only examining my products, making sure it’s up to my standards,” he explained as he poured himself a drink. “Beside, it shouldn’t be as disturbing as what some of your ‘fans’ do to them,” he added, turning back around to face Ethan, a glass filled with red liquid swirling in his hand. “Especially the mix gender ones,” he concluded before taking a sip. 

“That’s... odd,” Ethan mused. “Please tell me you’re not making full sized robot models...”

“Oooh, now that’s a thought,” the alien pondered with a small smile.

Ethan sighed. “May I keep this?” he inquired, holding up the action figure. “It’ll make a nice souvenir to give my son once I kill you and escape.”

Drek chuckled lightly once more, swirling the glass around. “You know, Glen was right. You talk a lot of escape, yet you don’t do anything about it.” He took quick sip. “I guess that’s why she’s a bit steamed about you huh? All talk, very little work?”

“Eh, Glen’s just adjusting; it’s hard to deal with my raw animal magnetism for the unversed,” Ethan replied with a chuckle. “Sparky took almost a week.”

“Yet that’s what you do a lot of times,” Drek stated again. “Talking without really thinking,” he clarified before taking a small sip. “For instance, thinking that some form of help is coming for you instead of accepting the inevitable.” 

“Just a question, but do you have any idea who I’m friends with?” Ethan asked the man, raising an eyebrow slightly. “No no, seriously, do you have any idea?”

Drek chuckled lightly. “You’re friends with people who think they rule the multiverse, yet they can’t even manage to keep control of their own planets,” he answered. “They think their ‘flawless’ system doesn’t have a few holes in it to allow things like this -” he gestured around the room, especially the view overlooking the arena “- to happen. You have friends who have no idea where you are nor will they.” He leaned in a bit. “You have friends who are like other people’s friends that I haven't duped.” He leaned back and took a sip. “That’s what you have, Mr. Smith.” 

Ethan actually chuckled at that. “Actually Drek, I have friends who are even now undoubtedly searching every bit of the multiverse for me and will eventually find me. I have friends who can shift celestial bodies with their minds alone, and they’re just the daughters. I have friends who can obliterate you so easily that to them, you’re nothing but a botfly,” Ethan explained in a casual tone. “They’ll get here soon, and when they do they’ll get me, Glen, and probably Merc boy over there out too. So, in closing, it’s in your best interest to release me now before they get here.”

Drek swirled the liquid in the glass. “Answer me this. Would your so-called friends risk the lives of other innocents to rescue you?” he asked, glancing up at the man. “Because, at the slightest hint of trouble, all I have to do is make one quick call and hundreds of worlds will burn.” He lifted up the glass and took a sip. 

“Well you see, that’s actually a mistake on your part,” Ethan replied with a slight chuckle. “By taking me, you’ve alerted everyone to what you’re doing here. I kind of doubt that your friends have the power to fight my friends, and now that you’ve taken me, they’ll be on alert.” He then raised an eyebrow at Drek. “As for my friends, do you really think Twilight Sparkle would consider the consequences of her coming here and destroying your whole operation if she didn’t know the whole score?”

“Then I guess she won’t be able to help you out then,” Drek said. “For she doesn’t know it, nor will she.” 

Ethan shrugged. “So you say,” the man said. “Now, are we done comparing dicks yet? I mean, we both know that I’m going to win this, it’s only a matter of time.”

Drek stared at Ethan for a while before a thin smile form at his lips. “Well… I guess we should get to the true point why I call you here. Though I’m starting to know what your answer is going to be.” 

“Oh?” the man inquired.

The business man took another sip of his drink. “You see, you’re starting to quickly move up the ranks of both my tournament and in popularity with fans. Which is why these fights of yours are quickly increasing in difficulty,” he explained to Ethan. “And it will continue to do so, if you stay where you are that is,” he added, giving the man a small glance. “Join the ranks of my top gladiators, and well-”  

“So, would you like me to suck your dick as well, or will whoring myself for money be enough to get a rise out of you?” Ethan asked him with a scoff. “Go fuck yourself.”

"Thought so,” Drek said with a small uncaring shrug. “Well, if you won’t join I’ll just continue with the current process you’re undergoing, until you eventually meet your end.” 

Ethan shrugged. “No offense Dreky, but at the rate I’m going there won’t be anyone left to fight me.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Drek replied with a small chuckle. 

The man let out a slight sigh of boredom. “Can I go now? Your voice is giving me a migrane.”

Drek shrugged. “Go ahead, it’s break time for you anyways. You might as well relax before your next match,” he replied, waving the man off and turning around to face the view of the arena below. Ethan pivoted on his heel and offhandedly gave the alien the middle finger as he walked out of the office, Kharon behind him.

The two entered the hallway and walked their way back to the lift. 

“So, you going to help me when my friends get here?” Ethan asked casually. “There’s a free ride home in it for you.”

“Your friends won’t be able to get here you know,” Kharon replied. “That and are you really going to let them risk the lives of millions for yours?” 

“I trust them,” the man answered simply.

Kharon remained silent for some time. “Then you better hope your friends live up to your trust, else you will have innocent blood on your hands that will never wash clean.” 

“Like I don’t already,” Ethan replied, a neutral expression on his face. “What’s a few more oceans of it?”

“An ocean can drown with a crashing wave other than a simple pool,” the merc replied. 

“Well, I’m a good swimmer,” the man stated. “Besides... I’ve got my family.”

“And even family tend to drown with the person they are trying to save,” Kharon replied. 

“Know this from personal experience, do you?” Ethan inquired.

“More than you know it,” the merc answer, still keeping his natural tone and expression.  

“Sorry for your loss then,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “But honestly, my family are good swimmers. My wife knows what it’s like to kill innocents, far better than I do. No offense, Kharon, but I doubt those you lost had carried the destruction of their entire home and the future of the world with them.”

“Then you know nothing about my world,” the merc replied. 

“Nope, not a thing,” Ethan replied. 

“Then you should have not make idle comparisons between our two worlds,” the merc said.

“You brought it up,” The Wanderer stated. “Now, I’m tired so I’ll be seeing you next time Biggus Dickus wants to compare shaft size.”

Kharon glanced at the man with a small flat look as they reached the doors to the lift. The merc went over to press a button to call the lift. “Don’t doubt him,” he told Ethan. “He has more teeth than you think,” he added  as he turned and walk away. 

Ethan shrugged and stepped into the lift.





The dark blue cloud of the nebula swirled in front of the mare as she gazed at from inside the station. The patterns her mind picked up from the mass of dust absorbed as she was oblivious to what was around her. So oblivious in fact that she didn’t notice Ethan sit down beside her and begin to stare out the window as well.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked her quietly.

Glen’s body jumped a bit at his voice as she glance at him with slightly narrowed eye. Yet, her harsh expression softened and she turn back at staring at the nebula. “Yeah...if there’s one thing Drek is good at is picking a beautiful spot to put this bloody hell hole in,” she commented. 

“Yeah,” Ethan nodded as he leaned back and put his hands out to either side. “Sorry about earlier.”

“Finally learned to accept the fact?” she asked as she continued at staring at the swirling blue cloud. 

“Not in the least,” he replied. “I meant sorry for getting mad at you for getting mad at me.”

The mare scoffed slightly. “Well how else was I supposed to act when you’re acting as if you were going to escape with no sort of plan and basically waiting it to be handed over to you on a bloody silver plate,” she stated with a low mutter. 

Ethan chuckled softly. “Look Glen... just trust me okay? I save people, it’s what I do. I save those who can’t save themselves, and I save people who are stuck in impossible situations...” he trailed off and glanced at her. “But more than any of that; I keep my friends safe.”

Glen glance at the man for a few seconds before glancing back. “I ask again....prove it, for all I hear are words....and they aren’t worth much of a lick of salt around here.” 

“I’m friends with a literal goddess,” Ethan said with a slight shrug. “She’s friends with hundreds if not thousands of other gods all of whom control at least a planet. And at the moment, they’re all looking for me.”

“Again, prove it,” Glen ask, her voice sounding agitated. “You can’t just say something without physical proof. I learned that much at least in the wastes,” she told the man. 

Ethan nodded slightly, and then tapped his Pip-Boy a few times until it came to rest on a rather crowded picture. Standing in the center of the picture was Ethan himself, on either side of him was a large alicorn, one white with a rainbow mane, the other blue with a starry mane. On the white alicorn’s side, practically hugging her was a shorter purple alicorn with a lavender mane. On the blue alicorn’s side was... another white alicorn with a brown mane. However, as Glen looked at the picture, it seemed that particular alicorn was... different. Power seemed to exude from her even though she was captured within the image.

“Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and Faust,” Ethan stated, pointing to each.

Glen stared at the picture for a while before turning away. “So what? Alicorns are part of my enemies, and my Celestia and Luna are dead. That doesn’t bring me much confidence to me in your escape plan.”

“Fine, believe what you want,” Ethan told her with a small shrug. “It’s up to you Glen. You can keep on believing that things aren’t going to work if you really wish too, it’ll just make my ‘I told you so’ taste all the better in the end.”

The mare chuckle lightly. “And when you figure out your friends aren’t coming, the truth will finally sink into that thick skull of yours.” 

“Alright, you know what; let’s make a bet,” Ethan said, leaning forward a bit. “I bet you that my friends will get us out of here within two weeks. If it takes longer then that, I won’t say a word about it ever again.”

Glen glanced over at Ethan. “And if they ever do ‘pop’ up, what then?” 

“You have to apologize for being snippy,” he said.

The mare raised an eyebrow, but nodded her head. “Okay... that sounds fair,” she replied. 

“Good,” Ethan replied with a chuckle. Then he took out the action figure and showed it to her. “Hey Glen, check it out, I’ve got my own action figure. It even has ‘kung fu grip’.”

Glen glanced at the toy and emitted a single chuckle. “Huh, only been here a couple of days and you have a toy line already,” she mused. “That must mean...” 

“Yeah, Biggus Dickus already made his little offer, I told him to fuck himself,” Ethan said, picking up on where she was going.

The mare smiled slightly at the statement. “You do know those who deny his offer tend to not live very long, right?” she asked, mostly just to inform him. 

“And yet you’re still here eh?” he replied, raising an eyebrow at the mare.

Glen’s eye widened at the sudden question, but she chuckled lightly. “Well, I guess some sayings aren’t all true, eh?” 

“S’pose not, otherwise I’d have died a long time ago,” Ethan replied, chuckling as well. “Maybe Drek just likes you too much to put you up against anyone too difficult,” he added jokingly.

“Nah,” she replied with a short shake of her head. “Just some wasteland luck, I guess.” 

“I can relate,” the man said. “Wasteland luck is all that’s kept me from being strapped to a table and having my organs removed.”

Glen slightly shuddered a bit. “I know the feeling… just wish it’d extend to things other than just staying alive,” she muttered. 

“Well, if you’re looking to get a bit more lucky in another way then I could help you out; I doubt Cassie would mind in this case,” Ethan suggested, grinning goodnaturedly at her.

The mare chuckled lightly. “Don’t know, last time somepony offered me that I woke up with all my caps missing and an aching headache,” she told the man with a small smile. “That and he wasn’t that good in general.” 

Ethan gave her a look of mock indignation. “Are you suggesting that I’m not only not good in bed, a complete fabrication as it is, but also that I’m a thief? Glen, I’m hurt, truly,” he said, holding a hand up to his chest and giving her his most hearbroken expression.

“Well, maybe I am,” she replied slyly. 

“I guess I’ll just have to prove otherwise, eh?” Ethan inquired, wagging his eyebrows at her.

“Probably,” the mare answered with a small chuckle. “After all, proof speaks louder than words, eh?” 

“It does indeed,” Ethan agreed. “So, where and when would you like to get this proof?”

Glen chuckled some more before shaking her head. “I don’t...maybe if your other statement ever comes true and we get out of this hell hole, otherwise this is the only place you can give your proof,” she replied. 

“And it would be a horrible place for you to experience something so undeniably wonderful,” the man said with a chuckle. “Plus, when we get out, Cassie can join if you don’t mind.” The man smiled a little, and then scratched behind Glen’s ears a bit. “And don’t you worry, you’ll get your proof, for both.”

The mare’s head tilted towards the man’s hand before pulling away. “We’ll see,” she told him. “Until then...they’re just words.” 

“But they’re good ones aren’t they?” he asked rhetorically before returning his gaze to the view of space.

The mare remained quiet as she gazed out into the swirling cloud of dark blue sparkling dust. “They’re the only good ones around here...” she muttered out softly as the two sat and stared into the nebula. Ethan put a comforting arm around her shoulder and pulled her a little closer to him. Time seemingly flew by as they spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around, doing nothing except enjoying the view. 
> Drekzone Part 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ethan rose up out of the arena floor on the lift and looked out around the arena, finding it to be the same as last time, though without the lava pits. He waved to the crowd and blew a kiss or two at the nearest women, meanwhile the announcer was babbling in the background though Ethn had decided to simply tune him out.

The man let out an internal sigh at the sheer monotony of it. He’d killed four opponents solo and two others with Glen since his fight against the fire robot guy, but none of them had been worth talking about. Now, it was his second fight of the day and he hopped to to hell that it would be over with quickly. Mostly because he’d heard his next match would be an off world challenge and he would be able to use his hoverbike. It would be a welcomed relief from the boring stadium rounds.

“AND NOW INTRODUCING OUR NEWEST CHALLENGER, PLUCKED OUT OF HIS HOME AND BROUGHT HERE FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF OUR ENTERTAINMENT. HE FLEW PAST HIS ENTRY ROUNDS, AND ADVANCEMENT MATCHES. LADIES, GENTLEMEN, OTHERS, PUT YOUR APPENDAGES TOGETHER FOR THE ONE, THE ONLY, MASTER KAWAZOE!’

Ethan looked over to the other side to see the lift bring up his opponent. It was a male human being, wearing long flowing white cloak that cover black metal looking armor. Hanging from a red belt was a long sword that look it could be wielded with one hand or two. Kawazoe look at Ethan with his ageing brown eyes, they were eyes that had seen the world in all its glory and all of its ugly truth. The man stared into Ethan’s hard glaciers and the Wanderer suddenly felt a great wave of... sympathy extend from the man.

“GLADIATORS, FIGHT!” the announcer roared.

Ethan put away his pistol, he was honorable about certain things and if the man was like someone he was thinking of, he would appreciate the gesture. The Wanderer drew his blade and walked a bit closer to Kawazoe. He then gave the man a bow, learned many years ago.  

Kawazoe raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but smiled and returned the bow. “It’s nice to see someone with some form of honor here,” he stated, his wisened voice spoke out softly to Ethan. 

Ethan smiled a little. “I’m glad you appreciate it, I learned a bit of  your system from an old friend of mine,” he said before he returned to his normal fighting stance.

The old man closed his eyes and nodded his head while he bent back up and let his right hand wrap over his lower chest to grab the hilt of his sword. “Well, I hope he taught you more than just the honor system of a samurai,” he asked as his fingers lightly wrap around his sword’s hilt. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the man. “Else this might a short fight.” 

“Oh, he did,” Ethan replied. “Though I don’t use your style very often.”

Kawazoe chuckled softly. “Then I guess this fight won’t be as quick as either of us thought it would be,” he stated. 

“GLADIATORS, FIGHT OR BOTH OF YOU FORFEIT YOUR LIVES!”

“Fuck off, we’re talking,” Ethan grumbled before he took a step forwards and sent a light blow at the old man. Kawazoe’s blade snaked out and knock Ethan’s swing to the side with on fluid stroke. “Sorry about this in advance by the way. Would you like me to take your blade with me after this? Better than leaving it here for these people to pawn it.”

The samurai gave his own light swing at Ethan, who deflected it in a fluid parry of his own. “To my son, if you can; so that I might still be with him in spirit to help,” he replied as he and Ethan began to exchange easy to counter blows. “And your blade?” he asked. 

“My wife so that she’ll know that even though I’m dead she’ll still have something of me,” Ethan replied. “Cassandra Smith, Mojave Wasteland. If you can’t find that, then look for a Divine named Faust, she can help from there,” the man added, blocking another strike.

“I will remember the names,” the old man said, paring a swing. “Sadly I can’t say how you can find my son...my knowledge on what lay outside my world is bare to none.” 

“I just need a name and a location, Faust can work it from there,” Ethan replied.

“Kondou, he and the rest of my family live in the outer fields of Daerazu,” the samurai replied as he easily blocked a swing from the man. “Now, I think we need to drop our act before neither of us will be able to complete the other’s wish.” 

“Fight well and good luck,” Ethan replied before he brought his bastard sword sweeping down at angle, looking to decapitate the old man.

However, Kawazoe’s blade easily deflect the red edge of the sword away and the old man sidestep away. Kawazoe then glided forward and his katana swung fluidly in a series of strikes in an attempt to pierce into Ethan’s chest. Ethan blocked each swing with his blade and the two fell into a rhythm of blows and counter-blows, each testing the other for weakness. 

The ring of the two swords clashing echoed through the stadium, the audience had fallen into a quiet hush as the two bladesmen fought.

I hate killing good men, Ethan thought to himself in a low tone as he parried another slash and spun around a second. It always makes me think of dad and what he’d say.

The two continued their dance of death, the rhythm of their swings increasing faster and faster, and their swords become a blur of red and grey. Then, with a sudden change of motion, Kawazoe paired a swing from Ethan and retaliated with a quick slash cutting deeply through the man’s leg and arm. 

Ethan winced, but continued fighting regardless as the slashes began to heal. “First blood goes to you then,” he stated.

“I don’t take any pride in it,” the samurai stated back as he readied his blade for a counter attack. 

“Nor do I in this,” Ethan replied as he brought his sword up from below and avoided the older man’s blade to slash him across the chest, his blade coming away dripping red.

Kawazoe winced slightly at the wound in his chest, but he continued to stand and held his blade firm in his hands. He took in and let out a deep breath before his blade lash out several times at Ethan. The man blocked some of the samurai’s blows, but four still made their marks. Two pierced into the man’s gut, one in the shoulder and another slicing behind the left thigh of leg.  

Ethan frowned in pain, but continued to fight on, the wounds beginning to heal the moment the blade left the skin. The man pivoted and brought his blade slashing hard at Kawazoe’s side. The samurai's katan swooped down to parry the blade away, but Ethan’s blade met with the katan’s edge, bending it dangerously causing it to snap in half. Ethan’s blade continued forward and chopped into the samurai's side. Kawazoe grunted as his arm carrying the hilt half his broken blade swung wildly upward, causing blood to pour out and over Ethan’s bastard sword. 

Ethan pulled his sword out of the samurai and Kawazoe fell to his knees, a loud strained sigh left his lips, his eyes gazed outwards in a daze. The old man’s let go of the hilt, letting the broken blade to drop and bounce lightly on the arena floor. Blood continued to seep out of his side at a fast rate and Ethan stooped down beside him.

“You fought well,” Ethan murmured as he began to gather up the pieces of the other man’s blade. “I should have died three times.”

Kawazoe chuckled painfully. “And I only one,” he told him with a broken voice and smile. “Give me an honorable death,” he told Ethan.  

“As you wish,” Ethan said, rising back to his feet. The man raised his bastard sword high, and then brought it down, stabbing through Kawazoe’s gut before withdrawing it in a clean motion.

The old man emitted a soundless grunt before life left his eyes and his body limp forwards. Ethan finished gathering up the pieces of the samurai's katana as the crowd went wild. However, Ethan didn’t hear any of it. He didn’t hear the women swooning, the men cheering, or the announcer roaring, instead all he heard were the words “Kondou, he and the rest of my family live in the outer fields of Daerazu,” endlessly repeating in his head.





“You sure Vex got the right coordinates?” an anthropomorphic male arctic fox, wearing a white leather long coat, dark grey pants, and white steel cover boots, asked a tanned caucasian man with a small black scaled dragon wrapped around his shoulders. 

“She’d stake her asura genius on it, so yeah, I’m sure she got it right,” the man replied as he and the dragon glanced around at the fancy neon lighten two floored promenade filled with booths for food, souvenirs, betting booths, and a screens showing people duking it out to the death. 

The fox glanced around, a small frowned forming on his face as he watch one of the screens. “Well...I think this became a bit more complicated than a search and rescue for one man,” he stated.  

“Yeah,” the man agreed with a small frown. “Not only do we have to find this man, Ethan, but we’ve also got to free everyone else.” He rubbed his chin and tilted his head sidewise. “That is, if we can do it without causing a massive riot and innocent loss,” he muttered.

"That shouldn’t be too hard,” a female voice spoke out from the dragon perched on the man’s shoulder. “We just have to hack into their systems and cause the right amount of chaos to shut this place down.”

“Easy for you to say, Wistala,” the man told the dragon with a small flat look. “You’re not doing most of the work,” he added with a small chuckle.

“Give her a break David,” the fox said. “At least it’s should be easy for us with the skill set we got. for a thief and a technician that is,” he stated with a small shrug. 

“True,” David agreed with a small nod. “Well, I guess we better make sure Ethan is still alive and start planning a break out.” 

“Right,” the fox muttered as he glanced around the room. “I guess you’ll need some time to hack into their network huh?” he asked. 

“That would be very helpful,” the man replied with a small smile as he glance towards the fox. “I’m sure a Chaos Knight such as yourself could easily do that, right Omega?.” 

Omega smiled proudly as he reached down to pull out a small deck of sliver white cards from a deck holder hanging off his belt. “Please, I’ll have them paying attention to me more than to the screens in a matter of minutes,” he stated as he shuffled the deck in his furry hands. 

“I know you will,” David replied with a small grin as he held out both of hands out, interweave together and crake his fingers. “Now, let’s go bring down this illegal fighting ring to an end, eh?” 





Ethan sat in his chair, at his table, his food untouched. He didn’t feel like eating. Instead, he scowled at the plate and the tasty looking meal that had been prepared for him in celebration of his latest ‘victory’. 

God fucking damnit I’m killing Drek for this, the man mentally growled to himself. That god damn mother fucker.

He saw Kawazoe lying on the ground, his lifeblood pooling out around him, his blade shattered. His son would never see his father again, and Ethan was the one who had made it that way. Ethan knew it was either himself or the samurai and that if he’d died then Ash and Shade would grow up without thier father... but that was never a good justification in his mind. Never had been, never would be.

Not again, Ethan murmured in his mind. I am never doing Drek’s dirty work for him again... his thoughts trailed off and he pushed the tray away from himself so that he had room to rest his elbows and chin against the table. The question is... how?

The man ponder this thought for quite some time. His mind wander through idea after idea, rethinking everything he learned during his time here, especially his short conversations with Drek. The man pursed his lips, and nodded to himself, a slight glimmer appearing in his eyes as the solution materialized.

Oh, that, that’s good, Ethan thought to himself. Perfect.

Are you Ethan Smith? an unfamiliar female voice suddenly echo in his mind. 

Who wants to know? Ethan inquired. And be quick about it, I’m not in the best of moods at the moment so if you’re another one of those telepathic multi-gendered sex fiends you can fuck off.

My name is Wistala, I’m part of a group here to help get you out of here and bring this tournament to an end, the voice replied. And I am not a multi-gendered sex fiend, I’ll have you know...technically I don’t even have a gender.

Oh thank God, yesterday I almost got mentally gangbanged by a group of those ‘guys’ it was truly one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever experienced, Ethan said, letting out a mental sigh of relief.

I can’t share the feeling, Wistala replied. 

Well then you’re lucky, Ethan stated. Now, did Fausty send you or are you one of her friends’ people?

Wistala remained silent for a second or two. Simon...was the one who sent us, she replied with in a bit of distracted tone. 

Huh, don’t know him. Must be one of Faust’s friends, you don’t happen to know Lulu or Tia do you? the man asked her.

Again, the voice remained quite. No...I do not, she answered in the same tone as before. We are part of a multiversal order who was task in finding you. Our search led us here and now we need to break you free while doing the same for everyone else, she explained, her distracted tone quickly leaving. 

Well good, it’s about fucking time you got your lazy asses here, Ethan grunted before he let out a mental sigh. Sorry...I’ve had a tough week.

It’s okay, we’ve heard more verbal complaints, Wistala replied. Besides, the person in charge of running this tournament knew how to erase his dimensional trails well...it took our main scientist some time to piece it all back together. 

Yeah, Drek’s a piece of work alright, Ethan told her. Can’t wait to run my sword through his chest, the bastard... Also, I’m not your only priority here right?

You were till we found what this dark nebula held, Wistala replied. Now it’s freeing everyone and bringing this tournament to an end without too much chaotic bloodshed, she informed him. 

Good, now pay attention, there are three people who I want you to make positively sure make it out of here alive, Ethan informed her, his ‘voice’ growing serious. One is a brown earth pony with a hazel mane named Glen, she’s been my friend through all of this and I can’t wait to rub it in her face that I was right about Faust sending help, he explained. You know what an earth pony is right?

Of course I do, the voice replied. 

Nice, the other two are a female orc named Veira, she’s something called the ‘Dragonborn’ and she was nice, Ethan told her. The last one is a bit of an odd choice, but I feel for the guy so I might as well include him. His name’s Kharon, he’s a mercenary working for Drek because the bastard’s got something over him... I think he’s human but he’s got a regeneration rate right up there with me, so it’s hard to tell. Got all that, Wisty?

I do...and don’t call me that, only my bonded has the right to use that nickname, Wistala said flatly at the man. 

And here I thought you were genderless, Ethan said with a mental chuckle. And now I’m hearing about bondage.

It’s a different form of bond than you think it is, Wistala stated pointedly. Now, keep this conversation to yourself, that last thing we need is this station go to red alert and have escape for everyone near impossible.  

Please, I’m not an idiot, I’m just crazy, Ethan replied with a mental chuckle. Now get me the fuck out of this pit.

We’re working on it; my bond is still trying to hack into the central mainframe, and it’s proving to more of a challenge than he thought, Wistala replied. I will come back when we make any major progress. 

Thanks, hurry, Ethan replied, his spirits lifting a bit. Wistala didn’t reply leaving Ethan to be alone with his thoughts once more. 





“Well?” David asked as Wistala phase through a wall and landed onto his shoulders, though the man took little notice as he was messing with a small holographic screen being emitted in front of him.

“He’s alive and well,” she replied. “Sharing what we discussed,” she informed him. 

David tilted his head up a bit and nodded his head. “Sounds reasonable enough, I’ll go look for these people in the betting restoray. That should give us a good picture on what they look like,” he said as he went back to work on the screen. 

“Any success in hacking deeper into Drek’s mainframe?” the dragon inquired. 

The man frowned. “Yes...and no,” he replied. “I have full access to the public domain of the network, and that’s pretty much this whole promenade area and every assess the spectators have access to. Problem is, I some, if not very much control of anything here. Drek has his network split up into three separate domains servers, and each port linking them is heavily protected by firewalls.” 

The man lifted up a hand and rubbed it on his chin. “Another problem I see is that only two of the servers are located here...running the station. The last one...is somewhere else, not far, outside the nebula, but what it does...I got no clue for now.” 

Wistala glance at David with her emerald eyes. “So...I’m guessing we’re going to check this mysterious location?”

“Pretty much,” the man replied with a short nod. “Something’s telling me we need to deal with that first before bringing this house of cards down.” 

The dragon nodded her head. “Very well,” she stated before glancing over at Omega. 

The fox was standing behind a counter with a large crowd gathered around him. “Find the lucky red lady and win big!” he told the crowd as his hands shuffled three cards around on a table in rapid motion.  

Omega, we’re going out to check something. Be ready for anything, especially the breakout, she mentally told the fox. 

Right-o, he replied as he continued to play his rused. Already got some of my cards mix into the playing field, so I should be ready when things start crashing down. 

Good, the dragon said with nodded. Also be on the look out of our target, the last thing we need is to lose him, she informed him while sending a mental picture of Ethan’s face. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Omega drone out. Not my first time you know? Lucy got my back, this should go down easy peasy. 

Should is the word, David mentally commented. 

Omega rolled his eyes. Well when you put it like that, he said with a small smile. Now, don’t you two have somewhere to be? 

Right, the man stated as he dismissed his holographic screen. I’m leaving a virus behind in hopes I can use it to break into the main server to this station once I gain control to the other one out there, David told Omega while he crack his neck slightly. Be back in a jiffy, he said before leaning against the wall behind him and quickly phased through it and vanished from sight. 

Omega glanced behind him at the empty spot the man was currently standing before looking back at the crowd. “And here, we, go,” he muttered to himself as he continued running his game. 
	
> Drekzone Part 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ethan walked up to Glen, who was once more stargazing and tapped her gently on the shoulder.

“Hey Glen,” the man said, his voice a bit more serious than it usually was.

“Hmm?” she muttered as she glance over at Ethan. “Oh, hey,” she said as she got up on her hooves. “I guess our off world match is about to start?” she asked, stretching her body out. 

“Oh right, I’d forgotten about that,” Ethan mused with a small chuckle. “I can’t wait to use my hoverbike again... freaking love that thing.”

“Yeah you sure do,” the mare commented with a small chuckle. However she frowned mid-stretch and glance over at the man. “Wait… if you forgot about that… then what were you going to originally tell me?” she asked. 

“I honestly have no idea,” the man said, chuckling. “The second you mentioned our match, it went away and was replaced by images of my hoverbike,” he told her, grinning.

Glen gave the man a small flat look but shook her head and went back to finish her stretches. “So, how did your solo match go?” she asked. “Easy as the rest?” 

Ethan let out a slight sigh. “Kind of... yeah,” his voice had an odd... sad tone to it. “I got something else I need to do once I get out of here though.”

The mare glanced back at the man once more with her eye at the man’s tone, but before she could question what he meant, a voice spoke through a set of speakers. 

“Contestants, Ethan Smith, and, Glen Stonecutter, please make your way to the lift. Your match is about to begin,” a synthetic woman’s voice informed the two.  

Ethan smiled. “Well that’s our cue, come on Glenny,” he said with a chuckle.

Glen nodded her head and stood full straight on her hooves, though her questioning look never really did leave. Ethan glanced down as they walked on their way to the lift and saw her look.

“I killed someone, now I have a sword to reforge and then return,” Ethan explained.

The mare tilted her head sidewise. “Why is that important? Isn’t it just a sword?” she asked. 

Ethan shot her an offended look. “It’s never ‘just a sword’ Glen. Especially to a swordsman,” he replied.

“Well, sorry,” she replied. “Not a ‘swordsman’, so I don’t see the meaning.” 

“It’s fine, I didn’t really expect you to get it in the first place,” Ethan replied. “It’s just something...I need to do.”

“Whatever...it’s just this is the first time I’ve seen you act like this,” she commented. 

“This is the first time I’ve killed someone who I actually respected here,” Ethan said with a small sigh. “Poor old man, just wanted to get back to his family...”

Glen glance upward at the man as they reached the lift. “So do a lot of people in this hell hole,” she told him. 

“I know, but he was the first I’ve fought who didn’t enjoy what he was doing,” Ethan replied.

“Well expect more of it here… ‘cause that’s life here in this hole of ours,” she told him as they step into the left and it began to descend. “Thanks to our ‘glorious’ leader,” she muttered with a quick scoff of breath. 

“I know,” Ethan answered shortly. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“You and me both,” Glen agreed with a short nod. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll kill Drek in the end,” Ethan said as they entered the armoury room and the man began to get dressed.

“I still don’t see how that’s possible,” she stated as she began to equip her combat armor. 

“Neither do I, but it’ll happen eventually,” he replied. “I trust my friends.”

“Yeah you keep saying that,” Glen commented casually. “But how soon is eventually huh?” she asked with a small glance. 

“Eventually is eventually,” the man answered with a shrug. “There’s no rushing eventually Glen, she comes and goes with the wind like a leaf in the hands of lady luck and mother nature.”

“Yeah, well… the wind never blows in this direction,” she stated as she began to put on her battle saddle. “It’s been a nasty drought of just bad luck in general for the lot of us.” 

Ethan didn’t bother replying and instead strapped on his sword and his pair of pistols. He also chose to take both his shotgun and his pair of 12.7mm submachine guns, essentially turning him into a walking armoury.

Glen gave a quick look at the man’s armaments. “That’s a lot more than you normally carry,” she observed. 

“After the last time and that giant robot, I think I’d rather be safe then sorry,” Ethan replied with a slight chuckle. “Besides, it’s not that much. I don’t have my anti-material rifle do I?”

Glen gave the man a small bemused at his statement look before shaking her head. “Why do I even ask.” 

“Cause you love my answers?” he asked with a chuckle. “You done loading up?”

“Yeah, all geared up and ready to fight for my life,” she replied. “Shall we head for the teleporters?” 

“Yep,” the man said, already heading for them.





David stood in the void of space, his bare arms crossed as he stared at the floating station in front of him. 

That’s a communication array, he mused to Wistala whose body was wrapped around his neck. Her neck stretched out right next to his head as she too stared into the station. 

It’s small...but it’s heavily staffed, and I see some of them carrying serious armaments. Not only that, but this station is equipped with heavy duty turrets and shields, she listed off to the man. 

Not just for easy broadcast huh? David commented as he raised a hand and rubbed his chin.

No, it’s not, the dragon agreed. This is for something else entirely. 

Then let’s go in and see what this little station actually is, David stated as he unfurled his arms and flew towards the station. His body passed through the shield as if it wasn’t there and once he reach the side of the station, he just phased through the metal. David emerged into an empty hallway, which he double checked to make sure. 

Satisfied upon seeing no one coming, David passed through the nearest door and entered into what look like a small utility room. It had a few metal shelves holding bits and pieces of spare parts and tools, but most importantly it had a small junction terminal for David to hack into. 

The man smiled as he walked over to it and wave his right arm over it, causing a red gemstone on a metal bracer to flash. A holographic inference popped up the man began to let his fingers dance over it as he hack into the stations mainframe. 

Suddenly the door opened and the man glanced over his shoulder to spot a large plum, dark blue alien wearing brown overall and dirty white t-shirt. The alien was dragging a small cart with him and he gave David a small sideway glance before double taking with a highly shocked expression plastered on his face. 

“You’re-You’re not supposed to be here!” he stated. 

“I know,” David causally replied, still working on the holographic interface. 

The janitor began to frantically reach down for a small black metal device before a black blur phased through his chest. Wistala glided easily back onto David’s shoulder while the alien janitor stood with wide eyes and his body stiffen. His eyes slowly rolled upward and his body slowly began to tilt downwards before plummeting to the ground; however, an invisible something grabbed his knocked-out form before it hit the ground. He and the cart was dragged to the other side of the room. 

David, who was holding a hand out to guide the body, turned it to the open door and flicked his hand to make it close. He glanced back at the alien body, seeing him softly soaring and muttering in his sleep. The man smile slightly before looking back at interface. 

“Now, let’s see what secrets this places holds,” he muttered as he worked on getting through security clearance to enter into the main frame. 



    

Glen and Ethan gazed around the barren rocky world they were transported to. The wind whispered by them, swirls of sand flaring here and there in the endless horizon. The man’s hoverbike was waiting patiently a few feet away from the two, looking to be in better condition than when Ethan used her last time. 

A fresh coat of light blue paint had been applied, and all the dents and scuffs were buffed out. The handle bars were refurbished as well as the seats with fine pressed leather, and the glow from both of the disk look brighter than ever. 

“Oh my God, I think I’m in love,” Ethan said as he rushed up to it and began to examine the machine.

Glen also walked up the bike and examined it as well. “Drek sure didn’t spare the expense on restoring it huh?” 

“No, no he didn’t,” Ethan replied as he mounted the blue beauty. “Hop on Glen, let’s go for a ride and see what this little minx can do!”

“And crash and die in a horrible explosion? Nah-uh,” she said with a shake of her head. “Beside, how do you even know we-” 

“WELCOME TO THE DEATH RACE!” The announcer shouted, overriding the mare’s sentence. “IN ORDER TO WIN THIS YOU MUST COMPLETE THREE LAPS AROUND THE CANYON BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, ONLY THOSE IN FIRST PLACE WILL EMERGE WITH THEIR LIVES!”

“YAY!” Ethan cheered. “This sounds fun!”

“Or very unfun and very sickly,” the mare commented with disappointed frown. “I’m going to hate this...” she muttered with a downed sigh. 

“Well, I don’t think Sexy here has a cannon on her so...” Ethan said as he looked at Glen expectantly.

Glen blinked blankly before sighing once more. “I’m the one that needs to cover our asses, huh?” 

“Yep,” the man said, patting the seat behind him. It turned out that there was a conveniently placed set of straps there just for that purpose. “Try to kill as many of the bastards as you can, I won’t be able to do much other than drive...” he trailed off for a moment, tapping his chin as if he’d forgotten something. “Oh yeah, and try not to throw up on the nicely painted bike.”

“No promises for the last part,” the mare commented as she walked up to the bike and host herself onto the seat. She began to fasten the straps across her, making sure they clicked in frimley and were tight as they could be. Glen took in a deep breath, closing her eye and slowly let her breath out. “Alright… I’m ready,” she informed Ethan.  

“Awesome,” Ethan replied before turning around to pet her on the rump. “Don’t worry Glen, we’ll kick their asses.”

“It’s not their asses I’m worried about,” she muttered. “Just don’t lose control...the last thing I want is to be some red paste splattered across this desert.” 

“Oh ye of little faith,” Ethan said with a smirk as he cranked the handles and the bike roared to life and he drifted them sedately forwards. Ethan guided the bike through the endless fields of sand and rocks, the blazing sun seething into their backs. 

“Bad time to wear combat armor,” Glen commented, painting heavily. “I’m being cooked in this heat.”   

Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a water bottle. “Here, this should help,” he said as he handed it back to her.

“Thanks,” the mare stated as she reach for the bottle with two hooves and grabbed it. She tilted the bottle up and open her mouth, but just then the bottle suddenly burst open causing water to spill everywhere. With that also can a rain of bullets being fired from their left side. 

Ethan looked to the left to see another hoverbike rushing towards them, this one a different model than the one he was driving. The bike was sleeker and had mounted machine guns. It also had only one rider, some armored humanoid dude, but it was much smaller than your average human. 

“FUCK!” Glen shouted as she was temporarily blinded by the water splashing into her face. 

“OI! STOP SHOOTING AT SEXY!” Ethan shouted at the asshole as he accelerated forwards, passing the other bike. “Glen, fuck him up!” he added over the roar of the wind

The mare shook the water out of her head before opening her eye and focused on the bike gaining on them. She shifted her body slightly as she aimed her magic rifle down the range and aimed for the other rider. Reaching her lips over, she grabbed the trigger and bit down, causing her rifle to spit out several bolts of burning pink plasma. 

The bolts soared through the air and a couple of them hit the other bike and its rider. Luckily a couple was all it took. Once the rider took two hits in the chest, he fell off his bike and tumbled around in the ground. His hoverbike zoomed sideways out of control as it zigzagged here and there before tilted down and getting caught by a rock. It did a flip and crashed onto it’s back, ceasing to move another inch.  

Ethan let out a whoop and guided the bike across the desert, accelerating faster. “Nice shooting Glenny!” he shouted over the wind and the bike’s engine as he zigged and zagged around rock formations.

“Thanks,” she called back. “But think next time you don’t put me in their line of sight huh?” she asked. 

“Going to be difficult if you’re wanting to shoot them,” he replied. “You don’t have a lot maneuverability back there you know.”

“I know...but the last thing I want is to end up swiss cheese back here,” she replied. 

“You’ve got armour dontcha?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah...armor for slow-moving and low caliber bullets. Not for rifle rounds moving at supersonic speed,” the mare remarked flatly. 

“I’m a great driver, you won’t get shot... much,” he countered, narrowly avoiding a large rock. “Besides, getting shot is good for you, it improves the blood flow!” 

The mare glanced back at the man, her eye giving him an unamused glare. “Not funny,” she told him. 

Ethan let out a laugh as they jumped a ditch and then frowned. “So, do we even know where we’re supposed to be going?”

To answer his question, the man saw a large opening in the ground, growing rapidly. Ethan slowed down and came to the stop on top of the edge of a large and deep canyon. The man squinted his eyes as he study it, and he could see the faint images of bikes racing down there. However, there didn’t seem to be a way down from their position.

“Hmm... twenty caps says that’s where we need to go,” Ethan mused as he reached into his pocket and passed Glen another bottle of water.

“Go where?” Glen asked, accepting the bottle and taking a couple gulps from it. 

“I see a bunch of other bikes through this hole in the ground, looks like they’ve got a head start on us,” the man said with a frown as he throttled the bike. “Meaning we’ll have to kill them all if we want to win.”

“Oh goodie,” the mare said with a small frown. 

“Yep, get ready to shoot some sons of bitches Glen,” Ethan replied with a chuckle as they started off again, looking for a way down. He found it quickly and he started the bike down a gradual slope which rapidly turned into a nearly vertical descent. Ethan gunned the engines and Glen’s whole body clenched and her eyes closed as she felt rapid speed and the near freefall angle affect her mind.

Ethan pulled them out of it in time to land several feet in front of one of the other racers. The bike bounced and shook side to side now and then, but the man keep it steady and upright while the mare strapped behind him just clenched her body up tighter to not fall off her seat...even though she was already strapped firmly onto it in the first place. 

“SHOOT HIM!” Ethan shouted at her, glancing over his shoulder at the other racer.

Glen’s eye shot opened and took a quick look at the racer, whose bike was growing faintly smaller, but the rider was holding up a weapon at them. The mare faintly reached over to her mouth trigger and sent her rifle into a shooting frenzy. The magical bolts flew far and wide at first before Glen regained her focus and narrowed up her spread. The other rider was also firing off his weapon, causing an assault of lasers to besiege them, and for a while the two exchanged fire. 

The mare winced and grunted as a couple of the beams hit her, burning small holes in her armor, but the other racer reacted the same as the pink bolts of magic slammed into his leg, chest and arm. Then, with a lucky shot, a bolt scored a mark in his head, causing the rider to jerk violently upward and lose control of his bike. The bike veered left and in the blink of an eye slammed into the wall to blow up in a fiery array of death. 

Meanwhile, the hot air rushed past Ethan’s face as he guided them on their hectic course down the canyon, swerving and dodging around incoming rocks. The aptly named ‘Sexy’ handled like a dream and responded to his every whim, working in perfect time with his commands. Half a minute after Glen had dispatched their first foe, Ethan caught sight of several more bikers up ahead, most of them already in a firefight with each other.

“Glen, more up ahead, prepare for action!” he called over his shoulder as he pulled the throttle back and their bike launched itself at the other bikes at an incredible pace. They reached them within a few seconds, the wind slapping Ethan in the face along with the acidic smell of the bikes and the guns along with the pungent odor of the bikers themselves.

It was a canacopany of chaos for a moment, Ethan weaving and dodging this way and that, until they burst through the battling bikes. Glen gave cover fire where she needed it, targeting bikes whose aim focused upon them. 

Ethan threw a look over his shoulder at the bikes which were still alive, and frowned. “Can you kill them? They’re probably a lap ahead of us already,” he called to Glen.

“TRYING TO!” she replied back her rifle spouting several shots out. “But the last thing we want is to burn out my rifle, so don’t argue about my fighting method.” 

“Fine,” Ethan replied with a frown. “Just try and get it done fast, okay?” he asked as a bullet slammed into his shoulder, not doing much.

“Like I said, working on it!” she replied, landing a hit one one of the bicker’s vehicles to make it lose control. “Now shut up and drive!”

“Guess no one likes a backseat shooter,” the man grouched as he maneuvered around a strange fat creature who’d walked into their way. A moment later Glen saw another of the bikers slam head first into the creature, causing the bike to explode. Oddly enough, the creature appeared none the worse for wear.

The two continued like this for another ten minutes until they were the only ones left alive in the canyon and when they finally pulled over the finish line the last time, nothing happened.

Glen was breathing heavily and a thin faint smile formed on her lips. “I think we did it,” she told Ethan. 

“Looks that way, yeah,” Ethan mused with a frown. “When does the real challenge start?”

The mare frowned and glanced back at Ethan. “What do you mean?” she asked him. 

“No way in hell it was that easy, or fast,” Ethan replied.  “Also, the announcer hasn’t said anything yet.”

“Well maybe we forgot someone,” the mare stated with a small shrug. 

“You and I are the only ones left in this canyon,” Ethan stated as he turned the bike off.

“Well...maybe the last one hasn’t found the canyon yet?” Glen commented as she started to unclip her straps. 

“Or maybe she’s here right now,” the man said with a casual shrug.

The mare paused slightly at the man’s word and glanced back at him. Ethan gave her a semi-sad smile. 

“She’s been here for a while, hasn’t she Glen?” he asked her.

The mare blinked before chuckling lightly in a small nervous tone. “Hehe… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she told him. 

“Strange,” Ethan commented. “She’s not a very good actor, at least, not when compared to me anyways,” he continued. “You see, I knew something was up when she rather quickly came up to me after I’d just finished killing those two idiots in the beginning. That doesn’t really happen very often,” he said with a slight chuckle as he glanced at her.

“Not to mention how willing she was to put up with my bullshit along with all of the rather pertinent questions about my equipment she kept throwing my way,” Ethan let out a slight chuckle. “The missing eye was the final little hint, I’m guessing that Drek removed it in order to make her do as he ordered by way of threat,” he said with a small shake of his head. “Meaning, that I’m not very angry at her.”

Glen’s pupil shrank in fear still. “I… I… I...” 

“I know,” the man replied softly. “But you know what? Despite all that, Glen, you’re still my friend.”

Glen closed her eye and lowered her head. “Then… I’m sorry for this...” she said. In flash she reached for triggers and clamped both, causing her machine gun and rifle to fire upon the man. 

Ethan took the bullets and magical energy blasts to the chest. Then, he got off of the bike and gave her a sad expression.

“Really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as blood poured ineffectively down his chest.

“IT’S NOT LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE!” she shouted. “IT’S EITHER I KILL YOU OR YOU KILL ME, ELSE I END UP AS SOME SORT OF LAB RAT!” 

The man didn’t bother responding with words instead he drew his revolver and calmly shot Glen’s energy rifle. The rifle jerked to the side, but it didn’t fly off of the mare’s saddle or break. Glen bit down on her triggers to dual fire her guns at the man who easily stepped around the incoming fire and fired twice more, both shots ramming into the magical rifle. The weapon jerked some more, but it was fastened firmly onto the saddle and it was still in working order as the mare fired it and her machine gun off and scored a couple of hits on Ethan. 

Ethan took the shots, his armor dealing with the bullets along with most of the magic damage, and he charged forwards with his sword. Before Glen could react the flat of his blade slammed into the side of her face, sending her sprawling. The mare used her forehooves to push herself back up, shaking off the daze in her mind. Her ears perked up slightly upon hearing footsteps from behind and without a second thought she reared up and delved a powerful buck. 

She was rewarded with a grunt of pain, but a pair of firm fingers grasped onto her leg and she found herself airborne before being slammed face-first into the ground. Glen let out a painful gasp of air as it was knocked out of her, but got back onto her hooves and into a fighting stance towards the man who was standing not far away from her.   

The red blade slapped out and smacked into her chin, lurching her head back before he brought it around for another smack to the side of her cheek, sending her tumbling once more to the ground. Glen’s vision swirled as one side of her face ached and swelled, but she shook her head and focused on Ethan to fire another set of rounds at him. Her aim was off and the rounds went wide.

Ethan closed with her brought his sword around to bash into her side with enough force to break a rib or two. An agonized grunt left Glen’s lips, but she pivoted on her front hooves and sent another buck at the man. Ethan swished away from the buck, which was going much slower than Glen thought it was, and delivered another powerful blow, this time hitting the other side of her chest.

The mare let out an inflamed exhale of pain as she stumbled around a bit, but still kept her ground. Glen’s breaths were becoming raspy and labored, as each breath brought a spike of pain in her chest. She slowly turned towards the man, who simply gave her a bored expression. Before Glen could react, Ethan closed with her and grabbed her by the front of her barding, lifting her into the air and then slamming her down to the ground, back first. The mare let out a sharp exhale and her pupil went wide as she felt her whole body become paralysed with pain. She lay there on the ground, twitching and fighting, trying to move, but her body wouldn’t respond to any of her commands. 

Ethan stood over her, the bored expression still on his face.

“Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” he asked. 

A camera hoovered up next to him, and it began to emit the sound of people chanting. 

“Finish her, finish her, finish her,” the crowd sanged. 

“ETHAN SMITH, GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT AND FINISH THE TRAITOR,” the announcer told him.

Ethan let out a sigh. “No, I meant is that really as in that’s the best you can do, Drek,” the man said, looking at the camera. “If I was the audience, then I’d be really annoyed at you right now,” he continued casually, ignoring Glen. “Going for the whole ‘friends fight to the death’ thing? That was the best you could come up with? My ten year old son could come up with a better idea for a match, I’m sure everyone out there has seen this a million times and are bored to tears by it.”

The chanting from the camera didn’t cease. 

“That’s not what the people think,” Drek’s voice spoke through the speakers. 

“But it’s so damn cliche,” Ethan replied with a shake of his head. “I’m surprised that you bothered setting this up, I mean honestly, couldn’t you have done better? I thought you were an intelligent guy, and here you are, falling back on this.” He turned back to Glen and gave her a small smirk before looking camera. “Just to let you know, I’m not going to kill her, she’s my friend and I don’t do that,” he told Drek and to the crowd.

Some of the chanting stopped, but there was still a few hundred strong still calling for the mare’s head. 

“Do you know what that means for both of you?” Drek asked him. “Neither of you will make if off this world alive,” he told them. 

“Actually, we both will,” Ethan replied casually. “Drekky.”

“Oh? And why would you think that would ever happen?” the alien asked.  

“Welllll the way I see it, you depend on ratings right?” Ethan asked with a small raised eyebrow. “And I honestly can’t imagine that you killing my friend here would net you very high ratings. Especially because if you kill her, then you’d better kill me too, because I won’t fight. In other words, you’ll lose one of your most successful gladiators along with all of the money I could make you in merchandising,” he said, letting out a small chuckle. “Not only that, but it will show the galaxy that you have no real control over your fighters, and thus show that you’re incompetent at your job.”

Derk chuckled lightly. “You really think you’re my only source of income?” he asked the man. 

“Not in the least,” Ethan replied. “But I do know that if you kill us like this then people aren’t going to be very satisfied with you,” he added, winking at the camera. “After all, this race was boring, this fight was boring, and now they're going to think they have wasted their money and time. That can’t be very good for your reputation, Drekky.”

Ethan looked at the camera, projecting his image to the crowd.

“Honestly folks, if I were you, I’d be criminally disappointed in this showing, here you are, hauling yourselves out to this random little backwater of the galaxy to see the most thrilling fights in all of creation and this was the best that the ‘great’ Chairman Drek could do...” he gave them a small smirk. “You know, if I were you, I’d want my money back.”

The chanting all but ceased and there was the faint sound muttering emitting out of the camera’s speakers. 

“How about this, instead of me killing my friend Glen here, how about you get to see me have a real fight eh?” he asked with a small smirk. “I’ll take on Kharon in a battle to the death in exchange for Glen’s life; how does that sound hmm? Think that would be worth your time?”

The sound of the muttering increased in volume and before long there was growing chant. “Fight Kharon! Fight Kharon! Fight Kharon!” 

Ethan let out a small chuckle. “I guess the people have spoken then,” he said with a grin. “Oh, and guys and gals? Don’t forget that Drek owes you for this one, so if I were you, I’d demand free admission, and drinks.”

There was a roaring agreement and Drek remain silent for awhile. 

“Fine then,” Drek spoke through the speaker sounding clearly agitated. “If you want a fight with Kharon… then you’ll get a fight with Kharon,” he told the man. “You can also spare Ms. Stonecutter’s life, but her recovery is on you,” he added. 

“Thanks, Drekky,” the man replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of super stimpaks, quickly injecting them into Glen’s side. The mare let out a raspy breath as some of pain left her, but the broken ribs still poked and prodded inside leaving short spikes of pain to still pop up with each breath. Ethan bent down and gently, with the same care as when he’d held his children, picked Glen up in his arms.

“Sorry about the broken ribs Glen, but you wouldn’t stay down otherwise, you’re damn tenacious,” the man told her. 

The mare smiled weakly as she tried to repress a chuckle and not move around. “Thanks… but you di-” 

“Shush,” Ethan told her tenderly as he put his fingers to her lips. “Alright Drek, beam us up.”

Without a response from the man, they disappeared in a flash and swirl of blue light. 





Omega stood in the small bar watching the screen and shuffling his pack of cards. A small amused smile forming on his lips. The man was able to convince the crowd a straight was better than a royal flush, he thought to himself. That takes some skill...and I should know, he added with a single chuckle. Anyways, how is it going over there David? 

Well, I got some good news and slightly bad news, the man replied in the fox’s mind. The good new is I completely hacked into this communication station’s mainframe. The bad news is I learned what the true purpose this station severed other than to broadcast the fights. It’s used to signal clearance for world-wide saturation bombing on different worlds in different dimensions. 

So not only illegal tournaments, but a multiverse-spanning menace as well? Omega mused. Something else to add to his list of charges...think you can bring it offline?

That shouldn’t be much a problem...though if I do that then Drek will definitely know we’re here, David informed him. Not only that but I haven’t been able to hack into the last sever, and that server controls many of the stations main functions. 

Well you better hack into it quickly, Omega instructed. Cause Ethan just got onto Drek’s bad side and he is picking up a tough fight… from what I’ve heard that is, the fox explained. This Kharon fellow is supposed to be the top gladiator in this tournament and is supposedly undefeatable. So we need to act fast. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m working on it. I should have hack through within the hour or so, David replied. If all else fails, help keep Ethan alive if you have to. 

Right, the fox said with a small frown. Godspeed to you then.

And he to you, the man replied. 

Omega took in and let out a deep breath. Ethan had played his ace in the hole, now it was up to him and David to play theirs… and hopefully they’d be able to play it just in time. 
> Drekzone Part 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ethan sat beside Glen. She was awake, but still in a great deal of pain despite the super stimpaks. Her ribs were still broken but the swelling had gone down a bit and Ethan was reasonably sure that he’d managed to set them right with what little medical tape and such he’d had floating around in his pockets. The man was gently stroking her fur and occasionally scratching her behind the ears.

“That was a nice speech you pulled off there,” a familiar female voice spoke from the doorway into their room. Ethan  turned his head to see Veria leaning against the doorframe, her arms criss crossed against each other. “Nice, and as some people thought around here, crazy,” she added.  

“Heh, Crazy Son of a Bitch, it’s all in the title,” Ethan replied with a small chuckle.

“That is true,” the orc agreed with a small chuckle. “But standing up to Drek like that and asking to fight Kharon, that takes a whole new kind of crazy down here.” She unfolded her arms and walked inside. “Not many would ask to fight the man who hasn’t lost and is a stone cold killer.” 

“Hey, I haven’t lost, and I’m a stone cold killer,” Ethan defended himself while his fingers scratched behinds Glen’s ears.

“And I believe ya,” Veria stated. “So you should last longer than the rest who tried to face him, and might even win...but that’s still a ‘might’.” 

“So, what brings you to our little home?” Ethan asked her. “Unless you’re just here to spout exposition about how I’ll probably lose this fight?”

“No, I’m just here to offer to look after the pony,” the orc replied, nodding her head at Glen. “Don’t want to leave someone as vulnerable as her alone by herself while you fight to the death with Kharon.” 

“Oh,” the man said, a small smile appearing on his face. “Consider your offer accepted,” he added with a smile. “Thanks a bunch, Veira.”

The orc gave the man a smile and nodded of her head. “No problem; gladiators like us should be looking out for each other instead of going for each other’s throats.” 

“Yep, especially with something this big happening,” the man agreed. “I mean this fight is probably going to shake up the social order a bit.”

Veria raised an eyebrow at the man but nodded her head. “Yeah… hopefully enough to bring this tournament to a halt for a while.” 

“I’d say so, yeah,” the man said, winking. “Hell, if we’re lucky, I might just bring this whole thing down around my head.”

“Well then, I’ll prepare for the rumble then,” the orc said with a small chuckle. 

“Great,” Ethan replied with a smile. “Think you’d be alright with our orcish friend watching out for you Glenny?” he added, glancing down at Glen. The mare gave a weak nod and the man grinned before giving her a final scratch behind the ears and getting to his feet. “Well, she’s all yours Veira, I’d better go to the lift, time to get this show on the road.”

The man gave the orc a slap on the shoulder as he passed, and headed for the lift. Veira nodded her head and looked down at Glen. “So, want some food?” she asked. 

Meanwhile, Ethan reached to the doors to the lift and they opened automatically as he approached them. He stepped onto them, beginning the three-minute journey to the preparation room. 

Well, I really hope that Wistala and her friends can get me out of this... otherwise I’m screwed, the man thought to himself with a deep frown. I hope they’ll at least find Cassie and tell her that I went down like a badass...

Don’t worry, Wistala and her friends are getting their plan ready, a soothing female voice spoke to him. They just need a bit more time. 

The man blinked at the voice and felt as if someone was standing next to him. He glanced to his left to see a tall female anthropomorphic red fox, dressed in a dazzling scarlet dress though an elegant red white tipped tail stood out from it. The fox stood next to him as if she was always there and she glanced towards him, showing a pair of charming dark orange eyes and soft smile on her muzzle. Hello Ethan, it’s nice to met you in person… in a way, she said.  

Man, me and invisible chicks in my head, the man replied with a small mental chuckle. If I’m not careful Cassie’ll find out and think I’ve been fantasizing about other women.

Oh, it’s not like you have before, the fox said with a small chuckle. 

True enough, Ethan agreed with a small chuckle before he glanced down. Though they don’t normally have cute bushy red tails, so that’s new, and a bit concerning.

The fox chuckled some more. Faust was right about you, you are quite the charmer, she told him. 

Ah, thought that might be who you were with, the man said with a small nod. I don’t suppose you can send Fausty to kill everyone here can you... I’m kind of dead otherwise.

I wish I could, but I can’t. Another set of cards are in play and I cannot upset it, the vixen told him with small shrug. But you shouldn’t be worried, I’ll be watching over you, just like I have before sometimes. 

Ethan raised an eyebrow. You’ll be watching over me, like you have before? Who are you Miss Vixen?

The fox smiled slightly. My name is Lucy...but many know me as Lady Luck, she told him, her smile growing. 

Lady Luck eh? the man asked with a small frown. I always pictured you as being a busty red head... guess I’m kind of right, heh. No offense of course.

None taken, the fox replied. The lift stopped and the doors open. I’ll be giving you an even chance against your fight with Kharon, for Drek wished to sabotage you in your weapons and armor. You just have to last for half an hour before in either prolonging the fight or winning yourself through your own set of skill, Lucy informed him. 

Thanks, Ethan said with a small nod. I’ll do my best, Lucy... hmm... guess I can’t call you Lulu, Luna’s already got that one. I guess I’ll just call you Lucy.

The fox chuckled. That’s fine by me, she told him with a smile. Godspeed Ethan Smith. 

Dontcha mean good luck? he replied with a raised eyebrow as he walked off the lift.

I mean what I said, she answered. Besides, you already have good luck, she added with chuckle before the lift’s doors closed. 

My god, I really hope she was real and not just a hallucination, the man thought to himself as he walked up to the requisition terminal. 

“Alright, I’d like my gauss rifle, my wife’s pulse gun, my light machine gun, my wife’s red glare, and hmm.... what else... oh yeah, my cattle prod,” the man listed off. The terminal made a beeping noise and on the table with the rest of Ethan’s gear a swirl of particle light dance on the table. The light died down and the weapons Ethan requested rested on top of the table with the rest of his gear. 

The man quickly dressed himself in his armour and then set about gearing up. He stowed the gauss rifle and the light machinegun on his back, disassembled the Red Glare for easy storing in his pockets, and put the pulse gun beside his Novasurge on his right hip and the cattle prod on his left. He then checked to make sure his shotgun was loaded, which it was, and stepped onto the lift.





“Come one, come all, try your luck and find the lucky red lady. Find her and win the pot,” Omega called out shuffling three cards around on a small bar counter. The arctic fox drew a small crowd around as a few gather him to tried the game. A few people lost but in the same some won, and to the ones who won Omega gave them a couple of credits as well letting them keep the card. 

Omega reached down to pull out another red queen and started to shuffle it with the two black jacks. “Alright folks, who feels lucky to follow the red lady eh?” he asked once more as he continued to shuffle. 

“I do,” a female voice replied, causing the white fox to glance up to see a red one staring down at him. 

Omega raised an eyebrow and tilted his head side with a small smile forming on his lips. “Alright, it’s five credits to try,” he told her. 

The red vixen nodded her head and reached inside a pocket to pull out a small blue chip and place it on the counter. She then looked at the cards for awhile before reaching out for the card at the far left and picking it up. She flipped it over and looked at its face before showing it to Omega that it was the red queen. 

“Well, it seems we have a winner,” the arctic fox stated with a small smile as he reached for one of his pockets and pulled out his own blue chip to add to the vixen’s winning.

“Keep your money,” the red fox told him. “And mine, I just did it for the fun,” she added with a smile as she placed the card back down and left. 

Omega smiled slightly as he withdrew his hand from his pocket and watched the red fox leave the bar. He glance at the three face down cards and reach over for the red queen and picked it up. He flipped it over and looked at if face, seeing it change from a red queen to a picture of a clock with its hands placed at noon and six.  

Omega glance up at a nearby digital clock, seeing it was quarter till six. David...you got twenty five minutes to get finished hacking, we’re on the clock now, the fox told the man mentally. 

Oh goodie, the man replied. Though it shouldn’t take me that long to get inside, almost got it. 

Good, the fox said with a small nod, twirling the card around for a bit. 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” the announcer's voice spoke in the background and continued on with his speech but the fox wasn’t really listening. 

’Cause the fight just started, Omega stated as he glanced up at one of the nearby screen that people were gathering around. 





“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! ARE YOU READY TO SEE THE FIGHT OF THE DECADE?!” the announcer roared as Ethan and Kharon rose from lifts on the opposite sides of the arena. “ETHAN SMITH, THE LONE WANDERER, THE CRAZY SON OF A BITCH VS THE ELITE STALKER, THE TOP UNDEFEATED GLADIATOR, KHARON!” 

The crowd roared in a cheer as Ethan looked over Kharon, he was wearing a bit more combat looking armor, but his weapons stay the same. A sheathed sword and his advanced combat pistol. 

The dark tanned merc looked at Ethan with emotionless eyes. “You do know this won’t go well for you,” he told him. 

“Meh,” the man replied with a small shrug. “Way I see it, it doesn’t really matter, I’ve already made Drek look like a moron; that’s good enough for me.”

“And it will only last for about a week before the people forget about this,” the merc replied. “You only made a small scuff mark that can easily be removed.” 

“Ah, but you see, that’s the neat thing about it,” Ehan replied with a chuckle. “Even if it goes away, it’ll still have been there, and that means that it’ll always be in the back of Drek’s mind.”

“Maybe… but it won’t be enough to stop him,” Kharon said with a small shake of his head. “Now… I have to kill you.”

“GLADIATORS, FIGHT!”     

In a flash, Kharon drew his pistol and it fired three shots at Ethan’s chest. The rounds scoured and pierced right through his body and armor like only paper was in their way. Ethan stumbled backwards a bit from the force of the bullets, but shrugged off the holes in his chest and pulled out his Novasurge, firing several shots as he began to strafe the other man.

The merc followed Ethan’s strafe, dodging the bolts of plasma with ease. “Rapid fire,” the man said out loud before holding his pistol out. The gun began to fire a stream of bullets at Ethan, some hitting into his side and legs. 

Ethan frowned in pain as the bullets smacked into his side, none of them penetrating the armour. He continued his strafe until he rapidly changed directions and started going in reverse, holstering his Novasurge and pulling out his shotgun, blasting a shot into Kharon’s face. The pellets from the shotgun smacked into the merc’s personal shield, and the man in return fired a stream of bullets at Ethan’s face. 

Ethan ducked under the bullets and pulled out his pulse gun, firing it at Kharon, disrupting the shield. Before Kharon could recover, Ethan sent a stream of plasma into the other man’s face while stuffing the pulse gun back in his pocket.

The plasma scored a hit on the right side of the merc’s face, causing Kharon to jerk a little to the side. However, he just turned to Ethan with a dark frown, completely ignoring the melting flesh on his cheek. 

“Explosive,” he said before he held up his pistol and fired charged rounds at Ethan. Two rounds hit Ethan’s in the chest, each of them exploding with the same yield of a small grenade, and one exploded beneath the man’s feet.

Ethan was sent flying into the air and landed flat on his back, rolling to his feet as his flesh and armour began to mend itself. However, Kharon’s assault didn’t end as more explosive shots streaked towards Ethan. This time, Ethan dodged the explosive shots and pulled out his sword, charging the other man. 

Ethan delivered a swing at the merc, but he sidestepped away while pulling out his own sword. The edge of the merc’s blade became etched in a blazing glowing blue of light of ruin. Kharon stepped forward and swung at Ethan with agile speed, Ethan barely had time to raise his sword to parry it away. 

Sparks flew as their two swords edge scraped against each other and the two engaged in a dance of death. The two swords rang and sparks flew with each swing as the red and blue blades crossed each other time and time again. The blades and the men were moving faster than the eye could see as they moved back and forth across the arena floor, neither having a clear advantage, neither scoring a hit. 

Ethan kept his moves conservative, playing defensively for once in his life under Kharon’s never-ending assault of blows and stabs. Still, he was managing to hold off the merc, even almost landing a few blows of his own occasionally in the maelstrom of steel. Kharon then pulled away from his assault, quickly reaching down into his belt. He pulled out and toss four spheres onto the arena floor, causing them to bounce and roll a little before dark grey smoke began to seep out of them. 

“Fuck that,” Ethan muttered, leaping back and quickly backpedaling away from the smoke, mindful to watch for the merc appearing behind him. As he did so, he also reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of plasma and incendiary grenades which he proceeded to toss into the smoke cloud. The grenades went off, showing a light of green and red to flash inside the dark grey cloud. Whether or not Ethan hit Kharon he didn’t know. 

The man dodged to the side as Kharon’s blade stabbed through the space where he’d been standing seconds before, but his pistol raised up and fired an explosive round at him. Ethan took the bullet but ignored the explosion as he brought his own sword slashing down into the other the man’s shoulders.

However Ethan’s sword was slowed down by the merc’s recharged shield, doing minimal damage and Kharon retaliated with a series of kicks and punches to make Ethan stagger backwards. 

Ethan recovered and then glanced at his Pip-Boy. 

“Huh, twenty minutes have passed,” the man mused aloud. “You’re not too bad Kharon.”

Kharon didn’t reply as he continued to fire his pistol at him. The bullets scored several hits on Ethan, exploding in his shoulders, stomach, and legs. 

“What, the silent treatment?” Ethan asked as he stumbled backwards, not apparently bothered by the explosions and the deep flow of blood rolling down his body along with internal injuries which were already beginning to mend. “Come on Kharon, a little dialogue would be nice here,” Ethan added with a chuckle as he dodged another incoming round of bullets while reaching into his pocket and injected himself with a stimpak. “Didya know I met a hot little minx earlier? Or maybe she was a vixen, not sure, either way, sexy as hell.”

The merc only stepped forward, swing his sword at him. Ethan dodge and parried, but was a bit slowed down from his body still regenerating so Kharon was able to get his blade to stabbed through his chest. Luckily the blade was half an inch away from his heart, but the merc’s blade inflamed the man’s skin as the merc pulled it out. 

“What was her name... Lulu? Na,” Ethan mused as he took a quick step away from the man, another stimpak going into his chest. “Lulua... na,” he said as he pulled out a pulse grenade and tossed it at Kharon. The pulse exploded, blacking out Kharon’s shield once more, but the merc hardly care. “Oh, was it Luis? Na, that’s a guy’s name,” Ethan continued to ramble as he raised is Novasurge up and fired a shot at Kharon’s eye. 

The merc sidestepped and retaliated by closing the distance and delivered a sweeping kick, making Ethan fall on his back. Kharon then flipped his sword downwards and prepared to stab it into the man’s heart.

“Oh right, it was Lucy,” Ethan said with a smirk as the merc’s blade thrust downward. 

*Cling* 

Kharon’s sword ranged out as it hit the side of a large silver white metal plate that appeared above Ethan’s chest. 

“That’s Lady Lucy to you,” a male voice spoke out. Kharon’s head whirled to see a bipedal arctic fox suddenly standing next to them. Omega smiled and thrust his hand at the merc, sending Kharon to fly away and land a couple yards away. The fox glanced down at Ethan who grinned. 

“Good timing, I take it you’re part of my rescue committee?” he asked as he extended his hand up towards the fox. 

“Yep, name’s Omega,” the fox said as he accept the hand and pulled Ethan to his feet. 

“Nice to meetcha,” Ethan replied. “So, where’s the ‘boom’?”

Suddenly all the lights went off and were replaced by red emergency lights. The audience muttered in small panic and the arena was beginning to fill up with worried aliens. Then there was the sound of beeping emitting from Ethan’s cufts and they snapped open and fell to the floor. 

“There’s your ‘boom’,” Omega told the man. 

Ethan looked down at his freed wrists, and then back at the fox. “Tell Lucy that if she’s ever in Vegas, I owe her a kiss,” he said with a grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Omega said with a small chuckle. “Now, let’s get you out of-” 

“Not so fast!” Drek’s voice shouted from a speakers. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but you’re not ruining my tournament!” There was a loud whirl of gears and a section of the arena began to open. 

There was a loud hum of power and glowing orange lights began to flicker on as well as two huge glowing eyes. Out from the shadows a giant metal claw attach to a robotic foreleg emerged out and dipped into the lava, with little to no affect to it. The leg pushed and pulled up, making a head appeared, a robotic dragon head. The cyber dragon crawled out of the hole and into the lava to the edge of the arena. It opened it’s mouth and let out a screeching loud roar.  

“Oh now that is just unfair,” Ethan grumbled as he reached into his pockets and assembled the red glare. He turned to Omega who looked oddly calm. “So... I shoot it with rockets and you use whatever magic bullshit you’ve got to kill it?”

“No, you get out of here, I can take care of the dragon,” the fox replied. 

“Really?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow as he pulled the trigger and shot eight rockets at the monster. The rockets slammed into the metal beast, but only left small scuff marks on its shell. The dragon glance at them with emotionless eyes and closed its snout and reeled it back, about to unleash its breath attack. 

“Yeah,” Omega said, reaching down to pull out five cards from his deck. He then pulled one of the cards out and held it out, causing it to grow to a large wall that block the roaring fire the dragon unleashed. The fire slammed against the wall, splitting apart and away from the fox and man. 

“I’ve fought worse… trust me,” Omega told Ethan. “Get to the lifts, they’ll take you out of the arena.” The fire died down and the fox dismissed the wall, pulling out another card and tossed it at the dragon. The card pierced into the armor and electricity danced all over the metal reptile. 

“Have fun then, I’m going for Drek,” Ethan replied. “But first...” he then ran over to where Kharon was recovering from his small unexpected flight. Ethan held his hand out to the other man. “So, want to go kill Drek with me?”

The merc rubbed his head and glanced at the arctic fox duking it out with the cyber dragon with ease. He glanced back at Ethan. “So this is your ‘break out’?” he asked. 

“Looks like it, yep,” Ethan stated confidently, still holding out his hand. “Want to make the most of it?”

Kharon stared at the man for a few seconds before accepting Ethan’s hand and got pulled up to his feet. “We must make haste before Drek activates the self destruct and escapes.”  

“Right,” Ethan agreed. “Lead the way,” he added.

Kharon nodded his head and rushed for the lift, Ethan not far behind.
> Drekzone Part 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ethan raced down the hallway behind Kharon, pulse gun in one hand, Novasurge in the other.

“EMPs won’t work,” Kharon told the man as they ran. “They’re shielded by their armor, it would take too long to knock them out and your pistol doesn’t have enough punch to break through it.” 

“Cheating sons of bitches,” Ethan replied as he holstered the pulse gun and pulled out his Blackhawk. “Anything else I should know?”

“Don’t destroy their arms, we’re going to need them,” the merc replied. “We need a pair to manually open the doors.”  

“Sounds good,” Ethan said with a nod. “So, is it too early to say ‘I told you so’?”

“Does it serve any purpose to rub it in,” Kharon answered flatly. 

“Not really, but it helps, after listening to everyone tell me how pointless escaping was, it feels good,” Ethan replied with a chuckle.

“We haven’t escaped just yet,” the merc said. “We need to stop the self activation of the self destruct, or at least stop it. Otherwise this ‘rescue’ is going to be pointless.” 

“One second,” Ethan replied before projecting the thought. Hey, Wistala, you anywhere around here? The man frowned when he got no response. “Damn, they must be out of range,” he muttered.

Kharon frowned at the man slightly at the man’s words, but didn’t comment as they rounded a corner. At the other end was the sealed doors to Drek’s office and the four heavily armed robots guarding it. 

INTRUDERS, OPEN FIRE! one of the robots stated. All four robots revved up their gatling laser guns and a wall of red death dance towards them. Kharon took cover against the wall out of the their view while Ethan simply charged forwards.

“Fuck off!” the man shouted, firing his pistols at them while dodging the incoming laser fire. He closed with them and drew his sword, decapitating one with a single slash and pivoted to do the same to the next. Laser fire slashed into him, but he ignored it as his armour ate up the incoming beams. His sword slashed out again, and another of the robots fell. The last robot turned at Ethan, but a loud *bang* ranged out and it’s head was yank off it’s body. 

Kharon walked down the hallway, holstering his pistol. “Reckless, but effective,” he noted to Ethan. 

“Thanks,” Ethan replied as he cracked his neck and his armour began to repair itself from the damage it had sustained.

Kharon walked up to one of the robots, unsheathing his sword and making its edge turn blue. He slashed down through one of the robot’s shoulders, his blade cutting through it like butter and leaving melted metal in its wake. The merc glanced up at Ethan and tossed him the robotic arm. Ethan caught the arm in his free hand and chuckled.

“You had a lot of time to think this out, didn’t you?” he asked as the other man.

“For thirteen long years,” Kharon replied as he cut another arm off for himself. He glanced and pointed at one end of the door. “Go over there and look for three holes in the wall. Plug the robot fingers into them and at my single turn counterclockwise,” he instructed Ethan before going to the other end of the door.  

Ethan did as instructed and on Kharon’s single turned the arm to the left. There was a loud whirring click and the doors unsealed and parted for only a foot. 

“Good, the magnetic seals are disabled, now let’s pull the doors open,” Kharon said, tossing the arm aside and walk to the small gap. 

“Alright,” Ethan said as he walked up to one side of the door and began to pull. The door was bloody heavy, resisting to move barely an inch for the first few seconds, but after a few more seconds of effort it began to slide with the man. The gap between the doors grew till it was big enough for both of them to squeeze into Drek’s office. 

Before they could go in, Ethan held up a hand of warning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out four grenades, two plasma, one incendiary, and one fragmentation. Then with a toss he threw them through the opening. The grenades went off, and the two rushed in.

As Kharon and Ethan enter the now werk office, their eyes turned to Drek’s desk. Surprisingly, the businessman himself was sitting at an unharmed side of the room, typing away at a holo keyboard. 

Drek glanced at the two, a dark scowl formed on his face. “You really think you’re going to take me down this easy?” he asked, mostly at Ethan. 

“Eyup,” the man the replied, mimicking someone. “In my defense, I did tell you this would happen, repeatedly.”

“This shouldn’t be happening in the first place,” Drek remarked with an angry hiss. “But no matter… I’ll just start over. There’s other sectors to hide in, other sectors where the law is meaningless, and where a man like me can rebuild,” he stated as he glanced back at his screen.  

“I mean all offence when I say this, are you really stupid enough to think that my friends aren’t watching this entire sector like hawkes?” Ethan asked him with a raised eyebrow. “Are you really arrogant enough to think that you’ll get away?”

“I’ll get away...beside it’s not like I’ll be in this dimension for much longer,” he said standing up. As he did so, Ethan saw he was wearing some sort of robotic looking armor that cover his entire body sanse head, and wasn’t very bulky or cumbersome. “And neither will you,” the man finished while pressing one more key. 

“Self destructed active. Station detonation, five minutes. This is your only warning,” the synthetic female voice spoke through every speaker. 

“Scheiße,” Kharon cursed. 

“Goodbye Mr. Smith, have fun floating in the void of space,” Drek said turning around and walking to a part of the wall. 

He lifted up a hand and pushed a part of it aside, showing a secret hallway which he proceeded to walk down. Ethan fired his Novasurge at the man’s retreating back to no avail as the plasma balls bounced off of an force field projecting in front of the desk. Ethan brought his sword up and slashed into the shield, slowly cutting through it.

“A little help would be appreciated,” Ethan muttered to Kharon as he continued to slice through the shield.

“This is a class seven force field,” Kharon muttered. “The only way to get through it is to deactivate it’s power source,” he stated, his head glancing around the room. 

“You work on that,” Ethan replied, his sword beginning to make some headway on splitting the shield down the middle.

It took him a few more seconds of careful work, but he managed to force open a hole large enough for himself and Kharon to get through. He stepped through and Kharon eyed the hole with slightly narrowed eyes before stepping through. Ethan withdrew his sword, causing the hole to shrink back and Kharon immentily went to Drek’s desk. 

“I’m going to try to disable the self destruct,” he said, his fingers typing away at the keyboard. 

“Good,” Ethan replied with a nod. “See if you can shut down all the robots out there too,” he added.

Lines of script crawled across the screen as Kharon typed in one command after the next. “I’ll work on that...but it seems that’s already been taken care of,” he said. “Someone else is already in the system.” 

“Hmm, must be Wistala and her bondage partner,” Ethan mused. “Think you can send them a message?”

“Maybe, but I need to deactivate the destruct,” Kharon said. “The nuke isn’t hooked up into the rest of the network and can only be accessed from here.” 

“Well, focus on that first, when you’re done tell them that Drek is getting away and planning on jetting out of here,” Ethan replied. “Oh, and tell them that Omega is fighting a giant cyber-dragon, they may want to know that.”

The merc continued to type before letting out a relieved sigh. “Self destruct deactivated… now to message the hacker,” he said, his typing still quick, but less frantic than before.  





“Stop righ-” a commando ordered before David’s hand phased in and out of his chest. The armored trooper collapsed to the floor, leaving David standing in a room full of knocked out aliens. 

“Well that was easy,” the man mused as he went back to the terminal he was working on. How’s it going on your end Wistala? he mentally asked. 

I’ve dealt with with everyone on every floor, she replied just before she passed through the floor and flew onto the man’s shoulders. 

“Good,” David muttered as he monitored the terminal's screen. A small frown formed on his face as a certain line of text scrolled onto it. “Huh...seems like Drek is trying to escape via by spacecraft,” he commented. His fingers began to dance on the keyboard. “Not, any, more,” he said as he enter a command to sealed all hangar doors and active all of their force fields.

“There, no one can get in, and no can get out,” David said. “Also disabling the transporters too, just in case,” he added.  

Wistala nodded her head and looked down at the screen, reading the last part of the message. “It also seems Omega is fighting a cyber dragon… think we should help him out?” 

“Maybe,” David replied with a small nod of his head. “But we need to get over there anyways, we’re done here,” he stated looking around the room. “We can pick them up once we capture and detain Drek,” he said, adding a note about the unconscious aliens in the room. “Now let’s go.” 

His body sank through the flooring and soon he was in the void of space. Doing a 180 flip, he zoom out into the nebula and back towards the station. 





“Good, Drek is trapped,” Kharon said reading the message David sent back. 

“Chalk one up for bondage guy,” Ethan said with a smile. “Now, let’s go kill Drek, eh?”

“With pleasure,” the merc said getting up from the seat, gesturing towards the secret hallway. “Let’s pay back the kindness he deserves.”  

“Gladly,” Ethan replied and the two set off down the hallway at a run.

The two bolted down the hallway, their feet rhythmically pounding away at the metal floor. 

“Drek is wearing an exo-armor suit,” Kharon said. “It makes him stronger, faster, and resilient to lot of attacks, mostly plasma and small calibers bullets, but my sword should cut through it with ease.”  

“How does it do against rapid fire explosive rocket barrages?” Ethan inquired.

“Don’t know… but I’d be careful using them. This hallway leads right into a hangar bay. One stray rocket hits a fuel line and the whole hanger can explode in a fiery inferno,” Kharon explained. 

“Gauss rifle it is then,” the man replied, taking out said rifle. “Think this’ll work?”

Kharon glanced at the rifle for a few seconds before looking out. “Aim for the legs, arms, or head if you can. The armor protection is weaker there,” he informed Ethan. 

“Works for me,” Ethan replied as they closed in on the hanger and found a small array of ships dock inside. Drek was nowhere in sight but Kharon held up a hand. 

“He’s in there,” he stated, pointing at a slim spacecraft with cockpit containing Drek, who was frantically pushing at buttons while his mouth was clearly cursing. 

“He seems mad,” Ethan observed as he lined up his first shot.

“Well, he’s trapped like a rat, he should be,” Kharon said with a small smile. 

“Heheh, just be ready for anything, trapped rats are usually the worst kind,” Ethan replied. “Also, I don’t really expect these gauss round to penetrate, but it’ll get his attention sure enough. You’re on team defense.”

Kharon nodded his head and drew out his pistol in one hand and his sword in the other. 

“Always wished I could have gotten one of these things to have a two shot clip,” Ethan grumbled as he finished lining up the first shot. He pulled down the trigger and the large slug crashed into the cockpit window right beside Drek’s head. The window spontaneously sprouted cracks as it caught the slug and Drek’s head whipped up at the sound of the snapping window. His eyes rested upon Ethan and Kharon and an angry scowl formed on his face. He mouthed the word ‘you’ before a helmet unfolded and encased his head. 

Just in time too, because Ethan’s second shot slammed into the cockpit, shattering it and continuing into Drek’s newly helmeted head, barely hitting as it was deflected by the glass. However, Kharon’s shot rang true as an explosive round scored a hit on Drek’s forehead. Drek’s head jerked back, but his suit protected him and he recovered from the hit. He then bolted into action, leaping out of the cockpit and landing on the floor. His right arm thrusted up and fired a single shot. 

A dart flew and hit Kharon in the neck, making the man wince. He quickly reached up and pulled it out. The man tossed the dart to the ground and held up a hand up to his neck, his skin rapidly becoming pale. The man suddenly collapsed to his knees, and he used his other hand to support himself.

Ethan barely spared his companion a glance as the dart hit, instead firing off another gauss round, nailing him in the head and sending him flying head over heels down the hangar floor. Then, with Drek temporarily busy, the man turned to Kharon.

“You dying?” he asked with a small frown as he tossed the man a super stimpak.

“No.... just infected with a virus,” the merc muttered. “It targets regen capabilities and turns it against the host,” he explain in a strained voice. “It should pass… but not soon enough.” 

“Can you fight?” Ethan inquired, turning his eyes back to Drek who was getting up, rubbing his head. Another round to the head sent him spiraling away again.

“No… my body is literally fighting against me… I can barely stand,” Kharon replied. 

“Then sit, I’ll just take your sword,” Ethan commanded. “My gauss rifle only seems to be ragdolling the fucker, and as funny as that is too watch, I’d like to kill him at some point,” he added as he targeted Drek again and let fly. However this time the alien dodged it and his helmeted head glared at the two. “Shit, he seems to have gotten a bit wiser,” Ethan observed. “Anything I should know about your sword?”

“Don’t touch the edge...and it can be heavier than it looks,” Kharon informed him with a strained wince. 

“No touching the edge, got it,” Ethan replied before tossing Kharon the gauss rifle and retrieving the sword. “Now you get to some place and lay down cover fire while I filette this mother fucker.”

Ethan then twirled Kharon’s sword once in his hand to make sure he knew the balance, finding that it was a bit heavier than he’d been expecting, more like holding onto a short bumper sword then a one handed sword. Still, the balance was good, and Ethan was used to wielding Blades of the West so the added weight was not too big of a problem. The man then charged towards Drek who held up his arms and fired piercing laser beams at him.  

Ethan brought up the sword in his hand and slashed through the lasers, sending them ricocheting off the blade at perpendicular angles. Huh, that’s nifty, Ethan mused to himself. Wasn’t actually expecting that, but I won’t complain, he added. 

Drek continued his barrage of laser before Ethan ran up to him and attempted to hack his right arm off. Drek dodged to the side and leapt high in the air as the armor emitted small jets to aid him. The alien landed on top of one of the ship’s hulls, and fired a round of mini rockets at Ethan. 

Ethan tucked and rolled to the side, causing the rockets to explode harmlessly behind him. 

“Oh now you’re just being a spoiled brat,” Ethan called up to Drek. “Did Ethan break all your little toys? Aww poor widdle Drekky is having a tantrum.”

“I will toss your bloody body into the void of space!” Drek roared as he fried off another volley of rockets. 

Ethan rolled to the side again, avoiding the rockets and as he got to his feet again he called. “Aww come on Drekky Wekky, just remember what your papa always said when he was fucking you and ‘suck it up’!”

“You will pay for yo-” Drek was cut off as the sound of a gauss rifle *pang* rang out and a slug slammed into Drek, pushing him off of the ship and onto the floor. Ethan took a quick glance at Kharon, who was leaning against a ship’s landing leg, shakingly holding the rifle up to his face. Ethan shot him a thumbs up before charging after Drek. 

The armored alien was already getting up, and once he was on his feet Ethan brought his shimmering blue blade slashing down and through his right arm. The blade cutting straight through the armour and the flesh beneath it like butter. A wailing scream of pain emitted through Drek’s helmet as the man fell to his knees and held up a hand to his bleeding yellow arm. 

“Oh don’t be such a bitch,” Ethan stated, chopping downwards with the sword, finishing the job on the arm, lopping it clean off. Drek let out another scream, but that was cut off as Ethan kicked him onto his back and cleanly swept through his left knee. “Why are you screaming so much? It’s only a flesh wound, right?” Ethan asked the profusely bleeding alien. Then he bent down and injected Drek with a stimpack. “Can’t have you bleeding out on me this early, I’m just getting started,” Ethan growled before he slashed Drek across the chest, opening up the suit and creating a large gash across the alien’s chest. 

Drek wailed piteously in agony as he tried to crawl away from Ethan. The man stabbed the sword into his remaining arm, anchoring him in place. Then the man smiled at Drek who was forced to watch all this through his helmet. 

“You know, I think there’s some kind of irony at work here,” Ethan said conversationally. “You kidnap people and watch as they helplessly murder each other and make a profit, and here you are, down on the floor like a bitch while one of them carves you open.” The man then pulled out his red blade and set about carving his initials into Drek’s chest. 

“Oh, and this is for taking Glen’s eye you son of a bitch,” Ethan added as he withdrew Kharon’s blade from the alien’s arm and stepped on his neck to hold him still before he slowly and deliberately sank it through the helmet’s left eyehole. Drek screamed and wailed in pain while Ethan chuckled. “Look on the bright side, now you’re twinsies,” Ethan said with an evil smirk. 

Just then a hand grabbed Ethan’s and pulled it up along with the sword. With a twist and deft swipe, Kharon’s sword was yanked out of Ethan’s hand. 

"I think that’s enough,” a male voice said flatly. 

Ethan looked to see a tanned curly brown haired man with a dragon on his shoulder with an unamused expression plastered on his face. 

“I take it that you’re Wistala’s bondage buddy?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Bonded, and yes,” David answered. 

“Alright,” Ethan replied before directing a kick at Drek, only to have it stop by an invisible wall. Ethan gave the man a raised eyebrow before shrugging slightly “Fair enough, I think I’m done, maybe let Kharon have a turn, he was this guy’s bitch for thirteen years. If anyone deserves a few quiet minutes with Drek it’s him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” David said, his tone unchanged. 

“Neat,” Ethan replied before turning back to Drek. “Oh and Drekky dear, I do hope ever so much that you remember who it is that gave you every warning of what would happen to you and several chances to let him go before it came to this,” he said in a singsong voice.

Drek only moaned in reply, but David held up a hand over him, causing some sort of phantom force to make the alien to pass out. 

“I think you’re done here,” David said. “Please head back to the center of the station so we can help you get back home.” 

“Sure, send Fausty along when you get a chance, okay?” Ethan asked with a smile. “Oh, and can I get your name please?”

“David, David Trombley” the man replied. 

“Nice to metcha, I’m Ethan Smith,” Ethan replied, holding out his hand.

“And you as well, I guess,” David said, keeping his hand to himself. 

Ethan glanced down at it then shrugged, withdrawing his own. “Alrighty then, feel free to drop by the Wasteland sometime, drinks are on me. Same with Omega,” he said with a chuckle before he headed over to where Kharon was lying before he grabbed the merc and helped him to his feet before heading out of the hanger, Kharon leaning against him.

David watched to the two leave. “Ethan,” he called out. 

Ethan turned and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

David held up Kharon’s sword and tossed it in the air. It soar through the air and hover in front of the other man. “That belongs to your friend I think,” he said. 

Ethan grasped it out of the air and nodded. “Thanks, see you around,” he said with a casual wave.

“Yeah… see ya,” David replied as Ethan turned and continued to walk out of the hanger. The man watch the two for a bit with a neutral stare, though his mind was far from neutral. 

You okay David? Wistala asked. Your thoughts are...

I’m fine Wistala, the man replied. It’s just… I didn’t like the way he treated Drek… even if he did deserve it. He turned to the alien. He deserves either trial or a quick death… not to be tortured to death, he explained as he held his hand out Drek was lifted up into the air and the man began to walk out of the hanger. 





“Stay calm and orderly as you exit the stadium,” Omega shouted with is magical projected voice. “Make your way to the locations your cards say and wait till you’re called upon. Work with us and we can all be done before day is over.” The fox stood in the middle of the arena, a large sleeping robotic dragon not far from him. He let out a small huff of breath as he still recovered from all the running he did to avoid the dragon’s fire, claws, tail, and arsenal of weapons and rockets. 

“A Rook has less weapons and it’s more of a challenge to take down than you,” he muttered to the dragon with a small shake of his head. His ears perked up to the sound of foot steps walking up to him and he turn his head to see David heading towards him with Drek’s body floating next to him. 

“I see our mark got a bit scuffed up,” Omega commented, glancing over the clearly mutilated Drek.

“Yeah...” David said with a small frown. “You contact Jonathan yet?” 

“Just did… he’s a bit steamed at us for not reporting to him about this before hand... but we’re going to get some help sorting all of the victims soon,” the fox replied. 

The man nodded his head. “Good, add to that Drek is going to need some medical care before we send him off to the proper authorities.” 

“Noted,” Omega said, holding his left arm to show a metal bracer with a gemstone fastened around his arm. “Anything else?” he asked glancing up at David.

“Only that he should contact Simon...it will be nice to have someone from the Divine Court to help us out,” the man commented. 

“You called?” A female voice asked from behind the man. David glanced back before slowly swiveling around  to see a tall, white alicorn with a flowing brown mane standing behind him with a gentle smile on her face. “Hello David, Omega, Wistala...” she lingered on the last name for a second and gave Wistala a strange look before continuing. “My name is Faust, I’m the Divine who sent out the call for help in the first place.”

“I see,” the man said with a small nod, though Wistala was looking at the alicorn with a perplexed stare. “Well, I hope we did okay in aiding that call,” David added, glancing slightly at Wistala. 

“You performed your tasks splendidly,” Faust replied with a smile as a small bowl of strawberries appeared floating in the air in front of Wistala. “Now, I must be off to retrieve Ethan, the Light alone knows what that man can get up to if left unattended,” she gave them all a last pleasant smile before adding. “Chaos Knight, Shadow Knight, Wisty,” then she walked away, vanishing before they could react.

The three blinked blankly at each other. 

“Divines,” the fox muttered as he went back to his bracer, calling up a small holographic interface. “Never really differ from each other.” 

“Sometimes,” the man agreed slightly as he glance at the hovering blow of strawberries and the confused dragon staring at them. “You okay Wistala?” 

The black dragon stared at the bowl for a bit longer. “Yeah...I’m...fine,” she replied hazly. “It’s just… how did she know I like strawberries?” 

David gazed back at the spot Faust was standing on. “Don’t know… but we’ll figure that out later. Let’s finish up here,” he told her. 

Wistala nodded her head, but she used her powers to pluck two strawberries from the bowel and tossed them into her mouth, enjoying the sweet flavor they gave. David smiled lightly before turning to face Omega and wait for the portal to open for them. 





Ethan and Kharon made their way back to the cell room, the merc’s status lighting up a bit as he was able to walk on his own now. Though his face was still a bit pale and his walk was slow and took more effort than it should. 

“So, Drek’s been mutilated and is off to multiverse prison, what’re you going to do now?” Ethan asked the merc with a small frown. “Thirteen years is a long time to be gone.”

Kharon glanced down as he pondered the question. “Don’t know really...I would be declared dead in my home by now and I’ve got a lot of people to make amends to.” 

“Well, best of luck Kharon. If you need any help with anything, just look me up,” Ethan said with a small nod.

“I doubt I will need it… but I will keep it in mind,” Kharon replied. 

“Alright,” Ethan nodded. “Think you can make it back to where you’re going by yourself or do you need my help still? No offense, but I want to check on Glen.”

“I’ll be fine,” the merc replied. “The virus is starting to be repressed by my immune system. I should be back to normal in a couple of minutes.” 

“See you then,” Ethan said, giving the merc a light pat on the shoulder and began to walk away. “Look me up if you’re ever in the Wasteland,” he added over his shoulder.

With that Ethan walked away from the other man and made his way to the room he and Glen had been sharing, he knocked on the door twice. “Hey Glenny, you still alive in there?”

“Yeah, we’re still alive,” Veria’s voice answered instead of the mare. 

“Awesome, mind opening up?” the man asked with a chuckle.

The sound of a metal lock being fiddle with faintly emitted through the door before it swung open. The tall dark green orc stood on the other side, holding what look like a makeshift shiv. “Come on in,” Veria told the man, gesturing her head inward. 

Ethan nodded and walked in to find Glen still lying on the bed. She glanced up and gave a slightly pained smile at the man. “Hey, still alive and kicking,” she said with a strained chuckle.  

“So I see,” the man replied, smiling as he sat down beside her. “By the way, we’re all officially free, oh, and I stabbed out Drek’s eye for you.”

The mare chuckled a bit more only to wince as pain spike in her chest. “Thanks,” she said. “I guess you're waiting to say ‘I told you so’ huh?” 

“Was going to wait until you were better, but kind of yeah,” the man replied with a smile.

The mare shook her head as a small smile formed on her lips. “So...how do we get out of this hell hole?” 

“I have no ide-”

“That would be my job actually,” a new voice said from the doorway. They all turned to see the tall white form of Faust standing there. “Hello my little pony,” she said, looking at Glen kindly, her horn glowing slightly as a healing spell wrapped its way around Glen’s ribs, repairing them.

Glen stared at the alicorn with a mix of fear and awe, barely noticing that her ribs were mended back together. 

“And hello to you as well, Daughter of Akatosh,” Faust added, nodding to Veria while Glen stared at her mutely.

Veria gave the alicorn a raised eyebrow but nodded her head. “And hello to you.” 

“Give Sheo my regards next time you see him,” Faust said with a chuckle before she turned back to Glen. “So my little pony, are you ready to go home?”

“I… I… oh… ah...” she muttered out, her mind still a bit fuzzy. “Ah...yeah, yeah. I’m ready to get out of this hell hole,” she answered once she got her mind straightened up. 

“Excellent,” Faust nodded.

“Fausty, she’s coming home with us,” Ethan interjected. The mare gave him a raised eyebrow.

“I know, that’s what I said,” Faust said with a small smile. “I’ve already told Tia and Lulu about it and they’ve approved.”

“Oh... good thinking Fausty,” the man said with a small chuckle. 

“I like to think so,” the alicorn replied, grinning mischievously before turning back to Glen. “Are you alright with that dear? Not returning to the Equestrian Wasteland.”

Glen nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine with that… don’t want to get out of one hell hole into another.” 

“Very wise,” Faust said with a grin. Then she turned back to Veira. “Do you have a particular part of Skyrim that you’d like to be set down in? Martin would be annoyed with me if I didn’t ask.”

Veria shook her head. “No not really… in fact I don’t think I really want to go back to Skyrim,” she said. “I’ve been gone a long time and out of touch, plus with what I know now about this multiverse, it would boring to head back and do dozens of fetch quests. I’m ready for something else.” 

Faust raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Well then, I’d recommend that you seek out David Trombley and Omega in the main lobby. Ask them if there are any openings in the Order and tell them that you’ve got my recommendation.... I think you’ll enjoy the work.”

Veria nodded her head. “I’ll go try that. Thanks.” 

“Happy to help,” Faust replied before the orc made her way out of the room leaving Ethan and Glen alone with the mare. “Glen dear, if you don’t mind, we’re going to be dropping Ethan at his home first, then heading to Equestria.”

“Alright,” the mare replied with a nod of her head. 

“I’ll stop by some time later... after I spend the night catching up with Cassie and the kids,” Ethan added before he bent down and ruffled her hazel mane. “In the mean time, you can pal around with Sparky and Tia. Oh, and if you’re looking for a good time, ask Lulu if she’s available, last I heard she was still working off a bit of her ‘moon stress’.”

Faust gave Ethan a flat look at that, but shrugged slightly. “Most likely true,” she said with a shake of her head.

“I’ll… keep that in mind,” the pony replied. 

“Then we’re all settled,” Faust said with a nod of finality. The world suddenly shifted before their eyes.





The three appeared in a clean office room. 

“DAD!” Two voices shouted simultaneously and Ethan was unceremoniously knocked to the ground as a pair of small bodies crashed into his legs. Ethan let out a merry laugh at his children whose hair he ruffled and hugged back. Then his eyes wandered up to find Cassandra looking down at him, a happy look in her eyes.

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked him with a small shake of her head.

“Not in front of the children dear,” Ethan replied with a grin as he struggled to his feet and met his wife for a kiss.

“Blargh,” Ash commented, looking away while Shade just giggled. 

“Thanks Faust,” Cassandra added once she’d broken away from her husband.

“Any time,” the alicorn said, nodding her head. “I have to get Glen here home, see you later Cassandra, Ethan,” she said.

“Laters, see you soon Glenny,” Ethan added before the two ponies vanished. 

“So dad, where’d you go this time?” Ash asked curiously.

“Oh, you know, intergalactic gladiator tournament,” Ethan answered, smirking.

“That’s... kind of cliche isn’t it?” Ash inquired, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Heh, it’s all about the execution,” the man said, tussling his son’s hair. “Now, I need to take a shower...”





Glen appeared standing in the grandest room she’d ever seen. The floor was covered in a soft red rug, and the windows were made of stained glass. Standing in front of her was a large white alicorn, not that different than Faust who stood beside her, except for her mane which was like an ever flowing rainbow.

“Hello, my little pony,” Princess Celestia said with a majestic smile as she looked down at Glen with incredibly kind eyes.

“Uh… hi ya,” the earth pony replied, clearly rendered speechless by merely being in the presence of somepony who she considered a Goddess.

Celestia chuckled softly at the mare’s reaction. “I am Princess Celestia, Miss Stonecutter and it is a pleasure to meet you,” Celestia told her with a smile. “Now is it true that you are the one who kept Ethan company while he was trapped?” the alicorn asked her, smiling pleasantly.

“Yeah...” Glen said, not really able to say much more than that. 

“Well then, you will be rewarded for your service,” Celestia stated. “How would you like to live here in the Castle? Or anywhere else in Equestria for that matter. Name it, and it shall be yours along with enough wealth that you need never work unless you want too.”

The pony blinked her eye blankly. “That’s… that’s...” she was shocked speechless at the offer. 

Celestia let out a small chuckle and smiled. “I’ll give you a bit of time dear, in the meantime, I’ve alerted our chef’s to your arrival and they’ve told me they’re preparing you a feast,” the alicorn told her. 

“A feast?” the brown mare asked, finally, something she could respond intelligently to! 

“Indeed,” Celestia replied with a nod.

Glen’s eye glanced in a far off distance as she thought about a table full of food, her mouth already being to salivate. “That’s… a lot of food....” 

Celestia smiled benignly at her. “If you’d prefer something else I’m sure the chef’s could accommodate you. Perhaps some gruel?” the Princess joked.

“What? No, no,” Glen stated shaking her head back and forth quickly. “I’m fine with that… it’s just that’s a lot of stuff to give to one mare for just hanging around someone... ” 

Celestia shook her head. “It is hardly a concern. You kept a dear friend of mine safe, as well as a dear friend of my love. This is the least I can do,” she explained.

“Safe? But I was-” the earth pony protested, near frantic at the thoughts, here was a Goddess seemingly accepting her without a second thought. What if it was a trap? What if she was like the false alicorns and would do horrible things to her?

“I’m aware of your transgressions,” Celestia said, cutting the pony off with a stern... yet kind voice. “But it was through no fault of your own and nopony here will hold it against you.”

“Oh… okay,” Glen said in a soft voice... this was... unexpected in the extreme. “Sooo… where’s the food then? If you don’t mind me asking of course!” she added hurriedly.  

Celestia let out a tinkling laugh and smiled. “Right this way,” she said, starting out of the room. Glen nodded her head and follow Celestia, leaving Faust to smile at their retreating flanks.

“Well... time to go help with the rest of the ferrying,” Faust mused before she vanished.





Ethan lay beside Cassandra on their bed, his wife beside him wearing her nighty.

“You know, if this happens to you again I’m never letting you leave the casino,” Cassandra said, jabbing Ethan in the side, a bit harder than he thought was necessary. 

“It’s not like I ask for it to happen you know,” Ethan complained, wincing slightly.

“I know, and yet it keeps happening,” the red headed woman said, giving Ethan an irate look.

“Well yeah...” the man said, looking down. “But hey, it’s worked out for the best so far right?” he asked, chuckling a little.

“Damnit Ethan,” Cassandra said with a long suffering sigh. “If you keep doing this, then Ash and Shade are going to grow up without a father,” she continued, giving him a hard stare.

Ethan was quiet for a moment as he reached out and pulled Cassandra closer to his chest. “I… know. I know,” he said softly. “And that’s something that neither of them deserve,” he added.

Cassandra gave him a level stare. “And what about me? This kind of thing drives me crazy, Ethan,” she said in a low tone. “Every time you leave... there’s always the chance you won’t come back… and there will have been nothing I could do about it,” she finished with a sigh.

“Hey,” Ethan said, gripping her by the chin and tilting her face up for their eyes to meet. “I’m not going anywhere Cassie... I promise.”

“You know you can’t keep that one,” the woman muttered.

“You never know, I might,” Ethan said with a small smirk.

“Yeah... and I’m actually a man,” Cassandra replied, rolling her eyes.

“Wow, I’ve never noticed,” Ethan said with a glance down her body. “You must be really good at hiding it.”

She smacked him. 
	
> Drekzone Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Faust spent the next four hours helping ferry and shephard the denizens of Drek’s station to their proper homes, whether that was their actual home... or a prison. She’d also, at Ethan’s desperate questioning plees, picked up a blue hoverbike that he’d used in the arena and returned it to him. During all that time, she caught sight of David and Wistala several times... but only from a distance, she wouldn’t risk getting close to them again. The strawberries had been a big enough risk and it wouldn’t do to... spring things too early, painful though it was for her. 

The alicorn let out a sigh as she sat on the floor of the deserted station.

“Well, that’s one less threat to the multiverse,” a cheerful Simon spoke right next to her. 

Faust looked up to see the green suited smiling man standing there and gave him a slightly baleful gaze. “You know, I could have handled this much easier and I'm within my right because his home is technically within my domain,” the alicorn told him tartly. 

“I know, but you enlisted our help, so taking down a maniacal businessman comes with the package,” the man told her with a shrug, not phased by her sour tone. 

Faust let out a large sigh and shook her head. “Fine, but you're letting me handle it next time,” she told him, still a bit cross at the king.

“Only if you don't ask for my help next time,” Simon told her with a small chuckle. 

“I simply asked for your help finding Ethan... I didn’t need your help retrieving him,” she said, a bit of acid in her voice. 

“Ah but by doing so, you brought it to the Order’s notice, so they technically had no choice but to act,” Simon explained to her. “It wasn’t really my doing, but of yours. Besides they can't just fight the Lords all the time.” 

“So, they’re not a big enough problem now?” Faust asked with narrowed eyebrows.

“No, they still are, but when they tend to do nothing over a long period of time, things tend to get boring on Parx,” the man explained. “You can only do so much exploration for our members; not everyone is like Yinnass.” 

“I... I know,” she said softly. “It’s just that... today was hard for me Simon.”

“Really? Doing a couple more copy and paste paperwork a bit too much now?” the man inquired. 

“She was here and she doesn’t remember me,” Faust said through narrowed eyebrows. “She doesn’t remember me at all...”

Simon looked at Faust with remorse. “I know… but it was the price to save her from the Lords.” The man walked up to her and rested a hand on her back. “Beside, memories can’t be totally erased. They just need to be dug back up.” 

“I know... and I look forward to when I can... but for now...” she looked away, small tears forming in the corner of her large eyes. “All I can think of is us...”

“Then keep thinking, so you can share later,” Simon told her. “Else you lose hope.” 

“Yeah, thanks, that helps,” Faust said, shaking her head a little. “I suppose I should get back home now Simon... the paperwork for this mess is going to take me a month to get through...”

“Or a week if you just copy and paste the forms and change the names at the top,” the man said with a chuckle. 

“Such a cheater,” Faust said, shaking her head.

“No, just a bit lazy,” the man jest. 

“Call it whatever you like, it’s still cheating,” the mare said, giving him a fond smile. “I’ll see you around, ‘My King’.”

“See ya around Faust,” Simon said returning the smile. 

The two vanished, leaving behind an empty station.





“You sure you want to do this?” Twilight asked Ethan as they stood hidden beneath a veil not far away from a large Japanese house.

Ethan held up the newly re-forged katana and nodded. “Yeah, it’s what I want to do,” he replied with a small shrug. “Is my translating spell working?”

“Perfectly,” Twilight replied with a nod. “Should be good for the rest of the day.”

Ethan nodded. “Thanks Sparky... well, now or never, he patted her head and stepped out from under the veil. The soft breeze of the wind whisper through the grass field as the man walked up to the soft wood built house. 

He paused for a moment at the paper door and then knocked lightly on the wooden frame. 

“Coming,” an aged female voice answered and Ethan heard to soft footfall of feet on the wooden floor. The door slide open to show an old asain woman in her fifties standing at the door. A surprised expression formed on her face as she looked at Ethan. “Can I help you?” 

“Yes...” Ethan said with a small nod. “I have something that belongs to your family,” he continued, holding up the sheathed katana. “And some bad news.”

The woman stared at the katana, and slowly, sorrow grew on her face as she held up a hand to her mouth. She glanced back up at Ethan, her eyes beginning to tear up. 

“He died with honor,” the man said softly.

Sobbs seeped out of the woman’s throat as her head dropped down, tears flowing down her cheeks and dropped to the floor. “My love...” she whispered in grief.  

Ethan’s face softened a little and he nodded. “If you would like to hear the story, then I will tell you, though I doubt you will believe me nor would you like me to be here. If not, I’ll go.”

“No… you told me enough...” she said as her hand reached out to grasp the sword, picking it up with shaking hands. “Thank you for bringing it back, sir.” 

“You’re welcome... I had to have it re-forged, I hope my smiths were capable of restoring it,” he said solemnly.

“It looks the same as always… I’m sure our son will wield it well,” she said. 

“Good, it is a fine blade,” Ethan replied with a small nod. “I suppose I should get going then... it was a pleasure meeting you Ma’am, despite the circumstances.” The woman nodded her head, stopping to stare at the sword in her hands. Ethan turned around and set off, his duster blowing gently in the wind as the woman cried behind him.





Glen was resting in her room in Canterlot, the plush bed forming to her back as she let out a satisfied sigh. It had only been a day for her and she’d already eaten more food than she had in her entire life. 

“If I don’t watch myself, I grow fat,” she said with a chuckle. 

“I know the feeling, believe me,” a newly familiar voice said from the doorway with a chuckle. Glen looked up to see the purple form of Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. Glen had met the alicorn at her ‘feast of honor’ not long before and she already liked her. “The first time I got back from the Wasteland I ate for a solid week.”

Glen blushed a bit as she rolled off her back. “Heh, well, I think I can eat a solid month,” she said with with a small chuckle. 

“After what you’ve been through, I wouldn’t blame you if you ate for the entire year,” Twilight said, chuckling a little.

“Yeah… but I can’t just eat all the time. Don’t want to get too fat,” the brown mare said with a shake of her head. “That and it’s just not me.” 

Twilight nodded as she strode into the room, flapping her wings a little. “So, how are you enjoying your stay in Canterlot Castle so far?”

“Heh, I feel like I’m in one of the suites in Tenpony Tower,” Glen replied with a small chuckle. “Just not full of cracks,” she said glancing at the stonework of the room. 

“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment,” Twilight said with a small nod as she sat down across from the mare.

“Yeah… never thought I’d be in Canterlot… never dreamed I’d even be here,” the earth pony muttered. 

“I’m sure,” Twilight nodded.

“No, seriously... where I come from Canterlot is a deathtrap where anyone who enters is slowly dissolved by a magical pink cloud,” Glen said with a shudder. “That’s if the zombies or the corrupted transmitters don’t get you first. And even if you do get out, whatever you were wearing is stuck to you forever.”

Twilight looked at the other mare and let out a low whistle. “Damn... that’s pretty bad,” she said with a shake of her head. “Remind me not to go sightseeing in your Equestria?”

Glen nodded and then glanced at the mare next to her. “So, what do you want?” she asked. “Or are ya here just to make sure I’m not causing any trouble?” 

“Honestly? I came to thank you,” Twilight said with a slight shrug. “You kept Ethan safe when I couldn’t do it, and I know that he doesn’t really need it... but it’s always good for him to have someone to watch out for him around.”

Glen shook her head. “Don’t see why… wasn’t really watching over him,” she commented. 

“Eh, you did what you had to do to stay alive,” Twilight replied, shrugging slightly. “So... have you had any ideas for what you’re going to do with your future? I know that Tia offered you a life without work... but you don’t strike me as that type of mare.”

“Yeah… but I don’t really know what I want to do,” Glen replied with a small frown. “I mean… most of my life revolved around survival, and now living in a world without much danger… don’t know what how to really adapt to that.” 

“You could always join my guard,” Twilight suggested. “I’m looking for mares and stallions who are worth a damn in a fight and you definitely fit into that.”

Glen tilted her head. “Uh… become a guard… that would be a first,” she mused. 

“Yep, you’ll get to protect ponies, and me of course,” Twilight said with a nod before she added in a whisper. “Not that I really need it.”

The earth pony pondered it for a bit longer. “Hmm… maybe,” she said. “Though I hope a half blind pony is going to be okay for you to have in your guards.”  

“Heh, I already have a completely blind one, so I doubt you’ll be much of a problem,” Twilight replied with a slight smirk.

Glen raised an eyebrow. “Huh… well, I guess I can try becoming a guard.”  

“I think you’ll like it,” Twilight replied with a smile. “It’s got many good perks, and it should give you something to do that makes you feel good about what you’re doing,” she added.

Glen gave Twilight a sideway glance. “What kind of perks?” 

“Amazing free food, amazing free lodging, the adoration of the general public, health benefits, top of the line armor... getting to spend all day around me,” Twilight listed off, though she listed the last one with a chuckle. “Other stuff too, but that’s about the most of it.”

“So pretty much what I have right now, but with actual pay,” Glen commented. “Hmm… alright, I guess I’ll try being a guard.” 

“Excellent,” Twilight said with a wide smile. “Your training starts next Monday at dawn, if you’re late then you do an extra five laps, so don’t be late. Until then, you’re free to come or go as you please.”

Glen nodded her head. “I’ll try to remember… and thanks.” 

“You’re very welcome Glen,” Twilight replied, smiling. “Let me know if you need anything else and I’ll see about providing it,” she said.

"I’ll keep that in mind,” the pony told her. “For now… I think I just want to take a long needed nap. Built up a lot of stress over my time in that hell hole, looking forward to getting a lot of it unwound.” 

“I understand,” Twilight said, rising to her hooves. “I’ll just leave you too it then, sweet dreams.”

“Hopefully,” the mare muttered crawled up the bed and rested her head on the pillow. 

Glen drifted off to sleep, the sun shining lightly through the window on her back, warming the mare. She let out a contented sigh and for the first time in her life, got a night’s sleep without having to worry about being shot. That’s not to say it wasn’t interrupted... but that’s another story.
> Glen's Luna Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The light swayed slowly back and forth as Glen was forcibly made to stare at it, bound on her back against a bitter cold metal bed. The mare’s breath was short and raspy as her heart pounded against her chest and sweat poured down her face. She moved her hooves, trying to shake free of the leather straps eating into her furless flesh, but with no success.  


“Hehehe... ” a dark voice chuckle from the darks, a voice Glen never wanted to hear. “Oh Glen, you’re so easily manipulatable,” Drek continued on his his pal smooth head came into view, a wicked smile developed across his face.  


Glen froze as her pupils shrunk in horror. “No… NO, YOU WERE CAPTURED! YOU SHOULD BE ROTTING IN PRISON!” she shouted. 


Drek chuckled in amusement. “That was just a simulation my dear pony, a simulation which duped you good,” he said, walking around the bed and to the side. “You really think I’m going to let you escape? Let you live after humiliating me?” His hand reached into the darkness and came back holding a laser scalpel. “You are more of a fool than that Ethan fellow, and I am going to set that straight,” he said, turning the scalpel on and lowering it towards mare’s forehead. 


“No… no, NO!” Glen shouted as she reeled her head away and struggled against her bonds once more.   


“Oh shut up,” Drek said. “It’s not like I didn’t warn you what would happen if you failed or tried to resist me,” he told Glen with a chuckle. “Now be a good little pony and st-” 


The alien’s mouth suddenly stopped moving as his skull split down the middle, a silver blade cutting through it like a ripe watermelon. Drek’s body fell to the floor and Glen looked around wildly for the source of the blade. 


“WHO’S THERE!?” she shouted, fear still drumming through her mind. 


“Calm yourself Glen,” a new voice said calmingly. Out of the shadows stepped a radiant blue alicorn who Glen recognized immediately as Princess Luna... though she did not look as... serious as the images that she’d seen from before the War. “This is a dream, a nightmare really,” Luna continued in a soothing voice. “You’re completely safe my little pony.”


“A dream?” Glen asked, her breath slowing down, glancing down at her furless body. “Some fucking dream... ” she muttered. 


“Indeed, a most awful one,” Luna agreed as she stepped up to the table and sliced through Glen’s bonds. Glen rolled out of the bed and onto her hoofs, letting out a relieved sigh and started to rub her front hooves together. 


“Thanks,” she told Luna, shivering from both from the coldness and what had almost happened to her. 


“You’re very welcome,” Luna said, draping a soft blue wing over the smaller mare. “It is my pleasure and my duty to assist those in the grips of a nightmare.”


Luna’s wing softly pressed against Glen’s bare back, making the mare feel a bit warmer. “Hehe… thanks still… though appearing furless to somepony is a nightmare in itself don't ya think?” she asked the lunar alicorn with a small chuckle. 


Luna looked down at her, a small smile on her face. “I suppose it is, however, I cannot give you fur, that is something you must do yourself if you wish too.”


Glen looked blankly at the mare before smacking a hoof to her head. “Yeah… that does make some lick of sense,” she stated. “So I just… think and it happens?” she asked. 


“That is the way of things, yes,” Luna agreed, giving her a soft smile. “Simply think it and it will appear.”


The pony nodded her head and closed her eye for a few seconds. She opened it back up and looked down to see her brown fur and hazel main and tail had return. Glen smile a bit as she got up and looked at herself. “Sweet!” she exclaimed. 


“I agree,” Luna said with a smile. “You look much better with fur than without.”


“Thanks,” the mare said as she finish examining herself and pounder a thought in her head. “Sooo… If I can think of anything it will happen?” she asked the Luna. 


“Within reason,” Luna replied. “I for instance will be untouched by anything, unless I desire to be at any rate.”


A small devilish smile grew on Glen’s face. “Oh, I don’t think that will be a problem,” she said as she closed her eyes and thought of what she wished for. She opened it back up and her smile widened as she saw the table now had Drek strapped to it, struggling to get free. “Payback a bitch isn’t it?” she mused to herself. 


Luna looked over Drek’s condition and frowned for a moment, then a ball-gag appeared in his mouth. “I’d say that completes the image rather nicely, wouldn’t you?” the alicorn asked.


Glen’s only response was an agreeing chuckle as she smugly trotted up to the alien. Drek looked at the pony with scolding eyes as she slowly turned around and delivered a powerful buck to the one place no male wanted pain in. 


A muffled howel as well as an expression of indescribable agony cross Drek’s face. 


“Now that completes the image,” Glen stated with a sly smile as she walked away. 


Luna smirked. “Oh my little pony, I think I adore you,” the alicorn said with a smile.


“Why thank you,” Glen replied as she glanced back at the aching alien. “I was waiting to do that to him for months… and even if this is a dream it’s still nice to do.”


“I’m glad that you had this chance,” Luna told her. “And even more glad that you’ve graced the Castle with your presence,” she added. “Though, I must ask, are you done with him?” Luna nodded towards Drek.


“For now,” Glen replied with small shrug. 


The world around them shifted and Glen found herself sitting on a comfortable couch in a sunny sitting room. Luna sat on the other side of the couch from her, the alicorn’s bulkier appearance taking up more space.


“I thought that a change of scenery would do us quite nicely,” Luna said with a smile.


Glen glanced around room, seeing several tables and other couches and chairs along with a pair of large glass windows through which beams of sunlight washed over the room. She then looked back at the couch she was sitting on and pressed a hoof into it. “Huh… it’s very… squishy,” she observed. 


Luna smiled. “I do my best, over my five thousand years of life I’ve become very good at dream manipulation,” she told the mare.


Glen glanced up at the alicorn and let out a low whistle. “That’s a long time to live.” 


“Yes it is,” Luna agreed, nodding her head as she produced a teacup... and a bottle of beer, the later of which she sent over to Glen. “But it it is what it is.”


The earth pony examined the bottle of beer with a questioning eyebrow. “Thanks… but I’m still dreaming so it’s not real, right?” 


“No, it is not, but that does not mean it does not taste good,” Luna replied, chuckling a little.


Glen pondered the the thought and nodded her head. “True,” she said, reaching a hoof up and grabbing the bottle, immentily taking a swing from it. She smacked her lips and a smile grew on them. “Wow… this is really good,” she said examining the bottle.


“It is technically from one of my favorite brews some two thousand years ago,” Luna replied. “Twas a brilliant year, if only for the fine beer... of course I prefered mead back then but still.”


“Heh, two thousand year ago eh?” Glen asked as she took another swing. “Tastes a whole lot better than the ones I found back in the wastes.” 


“I would imagine so,” Luna said, an amused smile playing across her lips. “So my little pony, is there anything that you’d like to talk about while I am here?”


“Hmm?” the mare muttered as she was in a mid swing of finishing the bottle. 


“I’m guessing that you must be curious about something you have seen on your first day to my home, so I’m here to answer any of your questions,” Luna told her.


Glen lowered her bottle and shrugged. “Yeah... though I don’t want to bother you with them. I mean... I’ve been given a lot of things from you lot... don’t want to sound like I’m nitpicking.”


Luna chuckled. “I would not worry about that Glen, I’ve come here to answer any of your questions and help fulfil any of your desires to make sure that your stay with us is as enjoyable as possible.”


The pony rolled the bottle between her two hooves as her gaze shift downward in thought. “To be honest... I can’t really think of anything at the moment. Things are happening so fast I’m just... trying to keep track of it.” She glanced up at Luna. “Thanks for the offer though. I’m sure I’ll cash it in later though.” 


“I will be there to answer them,” Luna replied with a smile. “Now, is there anything else you’d like to experience while you’re here?”


Glen chuckled a bit. “No not really... this has been the most peaceful ‘sleep’ I’ve had in a very long time,” she said. “That’s more than I could ask for.”  


“Very well,” Luna said, rising to her hooves. “I must be off then,” she said. “It has been a pleasure meeting you Glen,” she added turning her back on the mare, swishing her tail slightly to the side before she vanished.


Glen raised an eyebrow as she stared at the spot Luna vanished. However she shrugged and continued to drink her beer which had mysteriously refilled itself. 




 


The sun dance across Glen’s face as she slowly woke up. She pushed the covers off and stretched her back out as she slowly smacked her lips. 


“Ah... that was amazing,” she said with a smile as she cracked her neck side to side. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept so hard like that before,” she added as she got off the bed and onto all four hooves. 


After doing some morning stretches and shaking off her drowsy mind, she took care of bodily needs and as she was washing up her gaze glanced into the mirror. She stopped for a moment to stared at the reflection. It been a while since had last seen it... it looked very different from before. It had less scars and burn marks for once, and her mane and tail were ten times smoother instead of being dry and scruffy. Though one thing did stick out like a sore hoof, and that was her empty eye socket. 


She stared at it for a while, remembering the pain that coursed through her as it was being removed as a down payment from Drek. Glen let out a strained sigh before grabbing a brush and comb a part of her main over the left side of face. She then exited the bathroom and her room, and went out into the hallway. She glanced down left and right, pondering what to do, or at least where to get some food.


There was a slightly amused chuckle from beside her and Glen spun to see a black maned unicorn mare with a brown coat standing next to the door. Curiously, the unicorn had a black bandana covering her eyes. 


“Looking for breakfast?” the mare asked with a smile.


Glen jumped a bit, wondering how she had missed the unicorn. “Umm... .yeah,” she answered, withstanding her basic instinct to buck her out for the surprise.


“Right this way then, was just heading there myself,” the unicorn said with, chuckling a little at the phrase. The mare started forwards and Glen followed suit, trailing only a few feet behind. The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Glen broke it. 


“Sooo... what’s your name?” she asked. 


“Stonework,” the black maned mare answered. “And yours?”


“Glen Stonecutter, or just Glen,” the earth pony replied. 


“Well then, it’s nice to meet you Glen,” Stonework said, giving the mare a smile.


“Same,” Glen replied as the two continued to walk down the hallway. 


“So, I don’t think I’ve seen you around the castle before now,” Stonework said conversationally. “Where are you from?”


Glen pondered her response. “I’m from... Manehatten,” she replied. 


“Huh, you’ve lost your accent then,” Stonework said, raising her eyebrow a little. “I’m from a rockfarm from the mountains near Baltimare myself.”


“A rockfarm huh?” Glen said. “That sounds... like an incredibly boring place to live in to be honest,” she said bluntly. 


Stonework chuckled. “Oh unbelievably so, but hey, home’s home eh?”


Glen chuckled a bit as well. “Yeah... home is home,” she repeated. 


“So, what brings you to Canterlot?” Stonework inquired quizzically. “I don’t remember hearing much except that you got your own feast last night.”


“Oh... well I’m here as a reward for helping Twilight out with... something,” she replied.


“Ah, gotcha,” Stonework said with a small nod. “Princess Twilight is rather extravagant with her rewards, no offense intended.”


“I’ve noticed... but it’s better treatment than I’ve ever had before in my life,” Glen commented with a shrug.  


“Well, that’s good,” the unicorn replied. “So, when are you going to ask about the bandana? Everypony does.”


“Oh... wasn’t really going to,” the earth pony said. “I don’t like to poke into other ponies’ business... tends to get me into trouble.” 


Stonework chuckled. “I like you,” she said with a grin. “But honestly, go ahead and ask, it’s not like I’m going to shoot you.”


Glen raised an eyebrow at the phrase. “Okay... what’s with the bandana?” 


Stonework continued walking and her horn glowed a dull brown, causing the bandana to slide up her face, revealing two blind white eyes. “I’m blind,” she said casually.


“Oh... ” Glen muttered before something clicked in her head. “Wait... you’re that guard Twilight mention to me.” 


“Guilty as charged,” Stonework replied with a long chuckle.


“Huh... small world ain’t it?” Glen said with a small chuckle. 


“Yep, small world,” Stonework agreed.


Glen nodded her before something else came across her mind. “Wait... how can you see in the first place?” 


“Magic,” Stonework replied, a shiteating grin on her face.


Glen gave Stonework a unamused stare. “That what you unicorns always say,” she said flatly. 


“Well, it’s true,” Stonework told her with a small chuckle. “In reality though, I’m constantly focusing small waves of magic through my horn and they build a picture of everything around me in my head. Only thing I can’t do is read... . unless it’s braille anyways.”


“Huh... interesting,” the earth pony mused.


“Yep,” Stonework said with a nod. “So, how’d you sleep on your first night in the castle?”


“It was... peaceful, for the later part,” Glen replied. “Had a small nightmare, but Princess Luna came in to pull me out of it.” 


“Oh,” Stonework said, a slight note of surprise in her voice. “I’m surprised you’re not more tired then.”


The earth pony raised an eyebrow. “Why?” she asked. 


“Eh, no reason,” Stonework replied, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just that Luna sometimes keeps those she rescues up later, she’s a very social pony when you get down to it.”


Glen continued to look at Stonework with her curious eyebrow. “Okay... ” she said, wondering what the unicron truly meant. 


“She uses her mouth a bit too much sometimes,” Stonework elaborated. “If she’s not careful, then she doesn’t let you get a word in edgewise.”


Glen frowned a bit as she continued to look at Stonework. “Okay, what in the hell are you really talking about?”  


Stonework chuckled. “Just a bit of guard humor,” she stated. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it eventually, recruit.”


Glen’s stare stayed steadfast on Stonework as they reached the dining hall. It was a large room with many tall windows which allowed light to pour in. The center of the room was occupied by a long table and there were several dozen chairs pulled up to it. There were several dozen members of the castle staff eating already, though none of the Princesses were in attendance yet.


“Where would you like to sit?” Stonework inquired, looking out at the mass of empty seats.


“Up to ya, I don’t really care,” Glen replied. 


Stonework nodded, and then trotted up towards front half of the table near the back of the room close to a rather more ornimated golden chair. The mare took a seat no more than five away and Glen sat in the chair on Stonework’s left. The earth pony’s eye gazed around the room, noticing how much busier it was now than when she was given that vast fest. 


“So, what’s on the menu?” Glen asked Stonework. 


“Basically anything you’d want,” Stonework answered with a slight shrug. “I’ll just be having eggs.”


“Anything?” Glen inquired. 


“Basically,” she replied.


Glen glance down in thought. “Alright... ” she muttered, her eye glancing at the other ponies’ dishes, noticing that none of them had any meat on it. 


“We’ve got griffins and that Ethan guy’s family in here all the time,” Stonework added with a slight shrug. “So the chef’s have even gotten pretty good at cooking meat too if you can believe it.”


“Really? That’s... interesting to hear,” Glen commented. Still don’t know if I should order it or not...  she mentally remarked to herself. 


“Mhm, there have even been a few ponies who’ve taken up the habit, including Princess Twilight,” Stonework continued.


“Really?” Glen asked, sounding a bit surprised. 


“Yeah, I don’t get the point, but hey, I don’t judge,” Stonework replied.


“Still, that’s a bit interesting to hear... and nice to know,” Glen stated, a small sigh at the end. 


“Oh?” Stonework asked, glancing curiously at Glen.


Glen’s ears perked up and she silently cursed for the slip of her lips. “I might... be one of those ponies who’s taken up the habit,” she explained to the unicron. 


“Ah, well go on and order what you like, I’m not going to stop you,” Stonework replied.


Glen nodded her head. “Right,” she said. Glen ordered some well cooked steak and a side order of eggs. She and Stonework exchanged a bit of smalltalk as they ate, Glen asking a few questions of no consequence and receiving a few answers of the like


It was not until near the end of her meal that anything interesting happened. Princess Luna walked into the room and headed directly for the place where Glen was sitting. 


“Good morning my little ponies,” Luna said with a smile. 


“Morning Princess,” Stonework said, sipping at a cup of coffee. Then she pushed herself away from the table. “If you’re up, that means that so is Princess Twilight so I’d best be off, see you later Glen,” she added before she walked away.


“See ya,” Glen said back, waving a hoof goodbye. 


Luna raised an eyebrow at Stonework’s retreating back, but then turned back to Glen.


“So, I take it you had a pleasant night’s sleep after I assisted you?” Luna asked Glen as a member of the staff brought her an omelette and a chocolate muffin.


“Indeed I did,” Glen replied, taking a bite of her steak. “Once you left I sipped more of that beer and drifted to sleep... in my sleep,” she said, trying to make some sense in her words. 


Luna let out a giggle at the mare’s perplexed expression. “That does tend to happen, ‘tis one of the oddities of dream magic,” she stated.


“Ah... ” the mare mused, taking a sip of her beer. She just giggled at me... I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or worried, she thought  to herself. 


“I shall teach you more on the subject if you’d like,” Luna offered. “I’ve always found that there is a distressing lack of appreciation for the magic of dreams which has always confounded me, it’s one of the few forms of magic accessible to all races and yet few pursue it.”


“Maybe,” Glen replied. “That way I don’t wake up buck ass naked on an operation table again, and I’ll be able to buck Drek in the balls whenever I want.” 


“If there is truly a more valid reason to use dream magic then I have not heard it yet,” Luna stated with a small chuckle. 


Glen chuckled in agreement. “Yeah... so I guess I’ll be seeing you tonight again?” 


Luna gave the mare a smooth smile. “Only if you wish it my little pony, only if you wish it.”


“Well how else am I supposed to learn this ‘dream magic’?” the brown mare inquired.


Luna blinked twice, and then nodded. “I was joking Glen, of course I will meet you tonight.”


“Alright then, hopefully we can skip the step of you saving me from a operating table this time,” Glen said, chuckling a bit as she cut another piece of her steak. 


“Indeed, though I can well appreciate a damsel in distress, it was an idea that was ancient when I was a foal,” Luna replied with a small chuckle. “I would prefer to see them bucking their captor in the testicles, a skill which you seem quite adept at I might add.”


“Well... one only gets good at skills they used often,” Glen replied. “And that skill has certainly been used a lot.”


“Then I am very glad to be a mare,” Luna said with a small snicker. “I imagine when word gets out of your prowess, none of the stallions of the guard will wish to spar with you.”


“Especially if I’m wearing my spiked shoes at the time,” Glen commented with a small smile. 


Luna’s eyes widened. “We have a rules against gelding our guard ponies Glen,” Luna informed her. “We only do it if it’s appropriate, or if they’ve annoyed Tia and I.”


“Oh... sorry, old habits,” Glen said, her smile fading. “Going to be hard to keep that in check... ” 


Luna waved away the apology and wrapped a wing around Glen who slightly stiffened at the sudden gesture. “There is nothing to be sorry for my little pony. What you’ve been through has left you understandably damaged.” 


“Damaged?” Glen questioned, glance up at the alicron. “You really think fighting for my life in the wastes and that hell hole has left me damaged?” 


“Indeed, damaged,” Luna stated, her voice becoming softer. “It is easy to see for one as old as I am Glen. Make no mistake, there is damage there but it is damage that I believe can be healed,” the alicorn said, looking into Glen’s eye with her own soft blue ones. “One thing you must know is that nopony will think any less of you if you choose to tell them of your true home. You will not be looked down upon, nor seen as a freak or an outcast. If you wish to spurn all others, know that I will always listen.”


Glen was mesmerized by the alicorn’s steady gaze and her words. “I... I’ll keep that in mind.”  


In the background, the castle staff were shooting glances at the two, they varied between surprised and shock, while a rather young maid let out a dreamy sigh.


A smile split Luna’s face. “Good,” she said, withdrawing her wing from around Glen and finishing her meal with a single bite of the muffin. “Now I’m off to work on the tax system... Tia has once again seen fit to give the ‘nobles’ entirely too much money.”


“Okay... ” Glen said, her mind still a bit dazzled from before. 


“Goodbye Glen,” Luna said, giving the mare a quick nuzzle before she got up and walked off.


“See ya,” the brown mare replied as she watched Luna leave the dining hall. Glen blinked slowly and shook her head to get her mind back to normal. She then noticed some of the looks she was getting from other ponies. “What?” Glen asked them, causing the staff to shrug and turn back to their meals without any real comment.
	
> Glen's Luna Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“I’m sorry, but there is simply no way it can be done,” a man in a red robe said, shaking his head. Glen was standing beside Ethan in the man’s lab, her face was now turned down in a sad pout. “The optic nerves are completely dead, or at the very least far too dead for us to be able to connect anything to them.”

“Come on Rothchild, you’ve got to be able to think of something!” Ethan exclaimed, a touch of anger in his voice. 

“No, no, I’m sorry, but there really is nothing I can do,” the balding man said with a sigh. “We’re using the newest technology that your wife sent us and there still isn’t a way to give her a new eye,” he told Ethan.

“But you built one for Twi-”

“It’s okay Ethan,” Glen said, cutting the man off. “If they can’t do it, they can’t do it,” she added with a small sigh. “Thanks for trying though...” she muttered in a lone tone of voice. 

Ethan let out a sigh. “Wish there was more I could do for you Glen,” he said, shaking his head. Then he looked back up at Rothchild. “Thanks for trying Rothchild, say hey to Sarah for me next time she’s around.”

“You know, you could just say ‘hey’ to her yourself,” Rothchild said, raising an eyebrow at Ethan.

“Yeah... but I’m busy,” Ethan said, a bit of uncomfortableness sneaking its way into his voice.

“Right... she’s still mad at you for running off and staying away for three years, isn’t she?” Rothchild asked.

“Yep, still sour,” Ethan said. “Anyways, see you later Rothchild,” he added, pulling out a glowing scroll and throwing it into the air producing a portal which he quickly strode through. Glen followed suit, though her stride held a despondent tone to it. Rothchild sighed and turned back to his work.

The two emerged on the other side of the portal in the hallway outside of Glen’s room. The mare glanced up at Ethan and gave him a small smile. “Thanks for trying Ethan...” 

“I said I would didn’t I?” Ethan asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah… you did… but I guess this trip was all for nothing,” Glen said, her face dropping down and a sad sigh left her lips. 

Ethan frowned and then gripped her chin, moving her head up to look him in the eyes. “Stop that,” he said gently. “I’ve got something planned that’ll make you really happy.”

The mare gave him a puzzled frown. “What?” 

“I’m making you a new battle saddle,” the man replied with a smirk.

Glen’s ears perked up a bit as she removed her head from Ethan’s hand. “Really?” 

“Would I lie to you?” he asked her with a grin.

The mare smiled faintly. “No… no… no you wouldn’t,” she replied. 

“Then there’s your answer,” Ethan replied with a wide smile.

Glen chuckled lightly, yet it sounded hollow. “Thanks Ethan...” 

Ethan’s eyes widened a little and he looked at her in concern. “Hey, you okay? Everything here in Equestria going alright? If you want, you could always come and live in Vegas with me if you’d be more comfortable with it,” he asked her.

“What? No… I mean everything’s fine,” Glen replied, her voice snapping out of her moppy mood. “They’ve been taking care of me and fully accepted me… despite where I grew up. I even start training to become one of Twilight’s guards tomorrow and I can’t wait to show just how good I am,” she said, smiling a bit at the end. “So, thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll continue living here.” 

Ethan grinned and ruffled her mane. “Awesome!” he exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you,” he told her. “I wasn’t really worried about you being discriminated against, but I was kind of concerned about you not fitting in well.”

“Nah, I’m doing fine,” Glen replied with a small shrug. “Both Princess Twilight and Luna have been very generous in showing me the ropes to this version of Equestria.” 

“Oh really?” Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow. “Luna showing you the ropes eh?”

“Yeah, and teaching me how to use dream magic,” the mare replied. “So far, I’ve mostly used it so I can repeatedly beat Drek’s skinny ass and buck his balls.” 

Ethan let out a chuckle. “That’s always a worthy pursuit, I know I enjoyed slicing him up” he told her, grinning. “Though I didn’t know that Luna could teach that kind of thing to anyone else.”

“Meh, she saids anypony can learn it, just no one really pursues it,” Glen replied with a small shrug. 

“Well, I’m just glad that you’re fitting in and keeping busy,” Ethan said with a small smile. “Do you mind if I head home? I’m due back home anytime now.”

“Nah go ahead, don’t want to keep ya from your family,” the mare said with a small smile. “See ya next time.” 

“Later Glenny,” Ethan said, ruffling her mane again before he pulled out a scroll from his pockets and stepped through the portal which closed behind him.

Glen’s smile slowly vanished and she walked into her room and let out another sigh. She then walked up to her bed and plopped herself on top of it. “Just my luck...” she muttered out. “I get a new home, friends, job, but the one thing I can’t get is a bloody new eye.” She sigh once more as she rolled onto her back. “If the universe had a voice… it would be laughing at me...” The mare closed her eye and tried to drift to sleep. 





“Are you okay Glen?” Luna asked with a concerned frown as she looked at the brown earth pony who was trying to create the right flavor of beer. The mare’s demeanor was a bit sour as she failed over and over again just to maintain the image of the bottle. 

“I just learned that getting a robotic eye would be impossible,” Glen replied as she continued trying to make a bottle of beer. “Something about my nerves being too dead...” One bottle held its shape for a good five seconds before it collapsed into a cloud of mist. 

Luna let out a small sigh and walked over to give Glen a gentle nuzzle on the side of her head. “I’m terribly sorry to hear that Glen,” she said in a compassionate voice.

“Hmph,” the earth pony muttered out as she failed her seventy second time to make dream beer. 

“Would you like my help?” Luna asked her in concern as she saw her student’s failures. “I could always-”

“NO I DON’T NEED HELP!” Glen shouted as she snapped at Luna with a harsh glare causing Luna to jump in surprise. The pony blinked blankly before letting out a strained sigh and brought up a hoof to rub her face tiredly. “Sorry,” she apologized to Luna with a low tone. “I’ve... just… had enough of everybody’s pity… on me...” she explained. “I’m going to be half blind for the rest of my life… there’s no point to keep reminding me...”  

“I see,” Luna replied, sitting down beside the despondent mare. 

The world around them shifted and they appeared sitting in a new location that Glen had never seen before. It was a massive plateau of grey stone and dust, the ground below them was dotted by huge craters, and in the sky overhead of them was a large blue and green planet. All around them the stars of the sky twinkled and blinked.

Glen’s eye was drawn and overawe by the view, her mouth slightly hanging open. “Where… where are we?” she asked, still looking at the starry sky. 

“The moon,” Luna replied with a small smile at the mare’s expression. Then she patted the stone beneath them. “This is a spot where I spent nigh on two hundred years,” she continued as she looked at Equestria. 

“Ah...” Glen murmured before she frowned. “Wait… you spent time up here, in real life?” 

“Yes of course,” Luna replied, giving Glen a sideways glance. “What did you think?”

“I… I thought you just moved the moon… didn’t know you could live on it,” the mare said with a small shrug. 

“Well... it was not exactly a voluntary stay,” Luna replied with a slight sigh. 

Glen gave Luna a puzzled frown. “What do you mean?” 

“You mean they have completely forgotten my actions where you come from?” Luna asked, surprise in her voice.

“Pfft, heck if I know,” Glen replied. “All I really knew about you before I got here is that everypony regarded you as a Goddess, you’d ruled Equestria during the war, and that you were on a lot of posters.”

Luna frowned. “Ah... well let us just say that I was very young and very stupid, as the young often are, and I was banished to the moon for a thousand years.... I just returned twelve years ago... and only then with the help of Twilight Sparkle.”

Glen raised an eyebrow at Luna for very simple explanation. “Well… at least you didn’t lose any of your body parts for your stupidness,” she commented, glancing back at view. 

Luna didn’t comment and instead drapped one of her wings over Glen and pulled the smaller mare a little closer to her, warming her from the astral breeze that was beginning to blow over them. Glen glanced at the wing that was pressed up against her before looking up Luna who smiled at her before returning her eyes to the horizon. 

"I always came up here to think,” Luna said after a few minutes of silence. “To... reflect... on my past mistakes… I let a demon into my head and I nearly got my sister and everypony in Equestria killed due to my own self-inflicted stupidity in an attempt to destroy the sun... so Glen... when you think of your mistakes try and remember that there are worse things.”

Glen glanced down as her mind wander in thought. “I guess...” she murmured. “I should’ve been killed instead of getting my eye gouged out… so… at least I’m still alive...” 

Luna gave her head another nuzzle and a beer appeared in front of Glen, floating in the air before the mare. “I for one am immeasurably happy about that particular fact,” the alicorn said in a soft voice.

The mare smiled lightly as she pluck the beer bottle out of the air and took a small swig of it. “Thanks… for cheering me up,” Glen said, glancing up at Luna, her smile growing a bit. 

“It is my pleasure my little pony,” Luna said, smiling, giving her another warm nuzzle. “Your happiness means a lot to me.”

Glen chuckled a bit as she took another swig of beer. “Hehe… who knew a goddess would become my friend...” she mused to herself. 

Luna let out a chuckle of her own. “So, are you feeling better now my little pony?”

“Yeah… I feel a lot better,” Glen replied, a pleasant smile growing across her muzzle. 

“Excellent,” Luna said with a wide smile. “Perhaps you would like to resume your studies, or are you content to simply sit here?”

Glen ponder the thought before shaking her head. “Nah, I’m up for some lessons,” she replied. 

Luna got to her hooves and smiled. “Well then, let us begin once again with your drink...”





Celestia sat in her sitting room, looking over the newest bill that the so-called ‘nobility’ had proposed. Twilight was off holding morning court, the role that she took occasionally when Celestia had had a particularly bad day in court the day before. The eldest alicorn was alone, a half eaten slice of cake at her side. Every few moments she glanced over at it, and then just as quickly turned away; she would not give into that temptation at the moment.

That was when Luna walked into the room, a bright expression on her face. Celestia looked up as she entered and shot her sister a smile.

“Ah, hello there Lulu, I expected you to still be asleep,” Celestia said with a smile. “I know how much you are enjoying teaching Glen how to use dream magic.” 

Luna raised an eyebrow at her and her magic opened up the blinds, allowing the noonday sun to spill through.

“My dear sister, I believe you have been working on that piece of legislation for entirely too long,” Luna said, a wry smile on her face. Celestia blinked blankly once and then let out a gasp.

“Oh dear... I’ve been working on this for the last thirty six hours...” she looked down at the bill once more and saw that it had devolved into an endless string of circular logic as she checked and rechecked different problems with it.

“Sister... you raise the sun, how could you have been working for thirty six hours without realizing it?” Luna asked her with a small frown.

“I... don’t really know,” Celestia admitted with a simply confounded expression on her face as she rubbed her eyes with her foreleg and pushed herself away from the table. “I suppose I was running on automatic.”

“Must have been,” Luna agreed with a shake of her head at her sister’s poor judgment. 

“Was... there something you wanted to see me about?” Celestia asked, stifling a large yawn.

“Yes, there was actually,” Luna answered, a small blush on her face. “Tia... how do you make somepony realize that you’re ‘hitting’ on them if they’re completely oblivious to it?”

Celestia couldn’t help herself, she burst out laughing. “What? You of all ponies having trouble with something like that?” she asked incredulously.

“Glen has yet to respond to my advances in any way,” Luna said, snorting indignantly at her sister. “I am almost ready to stick my pl-”

“Luna dear,” Celestia interjected. “Perhaps Glen is just ignoring you.”

“No... it isn’t that,” Luna said, frowning deeply. “Else I would have noticed and halted my advances... no, she is simply oblvious.”

Celestia frowned. “Well... you could just let this take time, I know that you prefer to leap from one pony, or cat, to another, but perhaps you should focus on just pursuing Glen,” she suggested.

“I... suppose I should try that,” the younger alicorn said, still frowning. “It has been... quite some time since I was in a committed relationship...”

“Before your banishment,” Celestia agreed. 

“Yes...” Luna said, nodding her head. “I... thank you for your council sister.”

Celestia smiled at her sister. “You’re very welcome Lu-” she was cut off by a loud yawn. “-lu,” she finished lamely.

Luna chuckled. “It appears that you should be making an appointment with your bed Tia,” she said.

“Most likely,” the elder alicorn agreed as she began to make her way over to her bed. “Would you be a dear and look over that bill for me?”

“Of course, I will plunder their estates for all that they’re worth,” Luna said, smiling evilly. 

Celestia shook her head and rolled her eyes before she settled down beneath the blankets. “Have fun with that sister.”

“Oh I will,” Luna replied before she disappeared, leaving Celestia alone to sleep.





Glen was on her second lap of twenty around the courtyard. This was her second rotation through the physical conditioning section of the training to be Twilight’s guard and she was beginning to get a bit tired. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t used to running, she’d done plenty of that when running for her life in the Wasteland and the Tournament. It was more of the constant and ongoing running the drill sergeants were making her and other ponies to do. Though on the bright side, she was one of the few ponies who still had the energy to finish all twenty laps. 

Her legs pounded the ground beneath her as she keep up a moderate speed, her chest fully expanding in and out to keep air flowing through her lungs, and her eye focused on the track in front of her to make sure she didn’t run into anypony. One lap went, and another as Glen ran round and round. 

Her mind then began to wander a bit into the events of last night. The lesson Luna had focused on after their talk had been an interesting one. It had involved not the art of dream creation, but instead the art of dreamwalking itself. Luna had guided Glen with her wing and taken her from pony’s dream to pony’s dream, all the while describing how to stay hidden within the realm. Luna had also taken steps so that the identity of the dreamer remained unknown to the mare.

It was very fascinating to see what other ponies dreamed of during their sleep. Going off on thrill seeking adventure, flying, lots of flying, and sometimes even having romantic dinners with somepony they had their eye on. For the most part, Glen had a-

“MS. STONECUTTER, GET OFF THE TRACK!”  the voice of the drill sergeant rang in the mare’s ears.

Glen was jerked out of her state of thought and came to a stop. Her head glanced over and look over towards the sergeant to see all the rest of the ponies were already line up except her. 

“You ran your laps, now get your flank in line now!” the sergeant order her. 

Glen mouthed the word ‘what’ before it clicked with her she’d finished her laps but was so lost in thought that she’d kept on running. “Uh, yes sir,” the mare said as she quickly strided towards the line with the other three trainees.

“Now that your warm ups are complete it’s time to move on to the real training,” the sergeant said, walking back in forth in front of them. He was a well built pale blue unicorn with a darker blue mane. “This is where you prove whether or not you have the strength to survive in Princess Twilight’s guard,” he continued. “Unlike either the Solar Guard or the Lunar Guard we of the Dusk Guard are expected to follow our Princess into battle in a variety of locations on this world, or on any other.” 

He stomped his hoof and the field before them was transformed from the pleasant green grass from before and into what to Glen’s eyes reminded her greatly of some of the more war-torn parts of the Equestrian Wasteland. Stretching out before her was a narrow maze of trenches with wooden boards strewn here and there, bridging gaps while long strings of broken barbed wire hung here and there. 

“To that end, we have elected to create mockup of the Princess’s most common battlefield,” the stallion went on. “In order to become one of her guards you must prove yourself effective at navigating these trenches and avoiding the traps left behind for you. Fear not however, even an explosion to your face will cause little pain, however, you will be frozen until the end of the exercise.” 

He paused for a moment to allow them all to survey the field before speaking again. “So, who would like to go first?”

The other three ponies stared at the blood strewn wasteland of trenches with fear and anxiety while Glen causally looking down at the maze with a thoughtful frown, her mind already mapping a path through it. 

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” the stallion suddenly exploded. “DO YOU NOT WANT TO BE THE PRINCESS’S GUARDS?!”

The other ponies looked between one another, silently waiting for one of the others to take their place. Glen rolled her eye. “I’ll do it,” she said with a small shrug. 

“Finally!” the sergeant roared. “Get out there Stonecutter!”

I’m getting a bit tired of your yelling, Glen mentally remarked as she walked to the entrance of the maze. To her surprise... the moment that she stepped into the maze the feeling of the wasteland came rushing back to assault her senses. The reek of something that was slowly decaying, the sounds of screams and gunfire, the metalic taste of iron and even the sun above seemed to dim into a brown haze.

It was very realistic… a bit too realistic… to the point that Glen knew this a very good fake. You made it look so shiny and pretty, it’s hard to call it an ‘accurate’ recreation , she commented in her mind.

Glen started forwards down the path she’d seen from above and began to make her way through the twisting maze of barbed wire, broken, desecrated bodies, and even a few bear traps scattered about hidden beneath pieces of wood. As she did she picked out the telltale signs of tripwires and pressure plates, each of which connected to either a grenade bouquet or a trio of rigged shotguns. Of course, Glen either stepped around or dismantled all of these with little effort. 

Man… does this take me back, Glen thought to herself. It’s like I’m traveling through a hallway designed by a heavily paranoid pony. The traps are so simple to see and walk over. 

As she thought that, Glen suddenly felt her foot crack through a small wooden plank set into the ground and her forehoof sank deep into it.

“GRENADE!” Somepony shouted and Glen saw the shape of one of the fragmentation grenades that Ethan had used during the tournament ping off the ground and roll a little past her.

Had to open my big mental mouth, Glen remarked as she yanked her hoof free and bolted away from the grenade, taking cover behind a corner. The grenade exploded behind her but Glen suddenly found that she had a new problem. Standing over her was a tall man drenched in gore and wearing an outfit covered in spikes. In his hands was a large combat shotgun which was even now zeroed in on her forehead.

“FUCK!” Glen exclaimed as she pushed herself to the side, making the shotgun pellets miss their mark. The mare then rushed the man, pivoting on her foreleg and delivered a powerful buck into the man’s legs.

The raider, for that was obviously what it was, Glen could tell even though it was a different species, let out a shout of pain as he collapsed to the ground. Glen didn’t hesitated as she moved up to the raider’s head and brought one of her back hooves slamming into his face.

The raider’s skull cracked with a satisfying crunch and Glen watched as the raider’s body slumped dead in front of her. Giving a short nod and delivering one final kick to the skull, the mare moved on without a second glance back. 

As she moved on through the maze, the traps became far more insidious and the enemies more dangerous.this continued until Glen rounded a corner and walked straight into a group of seven heavily armed raiders. She barely managed to escape from them when she was suddenly faced down by a giant... green man-like creature with what appeared to be a high tech hammer running straight at her.  

She ducked under the blow, and bolted around the creature and away from it. 

“WHY THE HELL DIDN'T THEY GIVE US SOME SORT OF WEAPON!” she shouted as she galloped.

“ME EAT YOU!” the creature bellowed at her as it ran after her.

Glen grunted her teeth as she ran, only to realize she was heading straight back to the group of raiders who were currently running towards her. Then an idea click in her. A thin smile curled at the edge of her lips. “You’re hungry eh? Well why eat one pony when you can eat a buffet of raiders!?” she yelled at the creature. Her hooves began to propel her faster at the raiders. She then zigzag left and right around the raiders’ legs, avoiding running in to them or being grabbed by they grubby hands. 

The super mutant met the raiders and soon an all out brawl was going on behind her. Glen glance back, her smile fully grown as she slowed down to a walk, breathing heavily. “Have fun colts,” she remarked in a small chuckle as she continued her way out of the maze. 

It looked like she was getting near the end as the sound of helicopter wings roared out overhead and a black metal craft touched down at the exit of the trench from within which exited a man in black power armor carrying a green plasma rifle.

“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me...” Glen stated flatly. 

The man in power armor brought up his rifle and focused on Glen.

“Oh fuck it,” Glen said as she galloped at full speed and past the power armored man who let out a surprised ‘what’ as she did so.

At long last, Glen emerged on the other side of the maze... and was somehow standing directly in front of the drill sergeant, the other three recruits were sprawled on the ground to the side, covered in cuts and bruises.

“Well done Stonecutter,” the sergeant told her, giving the mare a nod. “You’re done for the day,” he then turned to the others. “The rest of you will continue until you either get it right or are physically unable to!”

Glen raised an eyebrow at the three recruits who all let out a collective moan and she turned and started back to her room.

“That was some impressive running, my little pony,” Luna’s voice suddenly said from her right.

“Hmm?” the mare hummed as she glance to her upward right to see the lunar princess walking next to her. “Oh, thanks,” Glen said with a small chuckle and smiled. “It’s one of the few things that everypony in the wastes needs to master if they want to stay alive sometimes.” 

Luna nodded. “I can hardly say that I’m surprised. Though it has always been my thought that Twilight is a bit too sadistic with her mazes... the amount of waiver forms that ponies who attempt to sign onto her guard must fill out is truly impressive.”

“I can imagine,” the mare agreed. “Being able to face that sort of threat and have no weapon to fight back...that’s just insane.” 

“I have spoken with Twilight in length about it and according to her, it is to teach them how to think on their hooves, how to be more intelligent, and to make them experience helplessness in order to temper their hearts for a real battle,” Luna explained with a small shrug. “I cannot say that I approve, but her guards are well equipped to handle the Wasteland at the very least.”

“Does she even take her guards to the Wasteland?” Glen asked. 

“To be honest, I don’t believe she does,” Luna replied. “She simply wishes them to be prepared  on the off-chance she needs them.”

“Sooo… they’re basically being trained to fight in an environment that they never going to be in?” the mare stated.

“Essentially,” Luna nodded. “Of course, the things she teaches them here are still useful in Equestria. A guard never knows when they’ll have to fight their way through a constrained environment full of enemies... the changeling invasion years ago taught us that much.”

“I guess that makes some sense...” Glen murmured before shrugging. “Still, the next time Twilight wants to run me through course like that, I’m bringing my battle saddle.” 

Luna let out an amused chuckle. “I see, and pray tell where will you get that from?”

“Ethan’s making me a new one,” Glen replied with a small smile. “Lost my original back in Drek’s hellhole so Ethan offered me to make brand new one based on the one I had.” 

“Ah, that sounds like him, yes,” Luna said, nodding. “He is a surprisingly thoughtful man once you get past his... everything.”

“Heheh yeah,” Glen agreed. “Though sometimes I still think he’s a bit insane...” 

“With all that he’s been through, who wouldn’t be?” Luna replied before shaking her head. “Anyhow, I was just checking in to make sure that you were taking the training well. I’m on my way to my office so that I can finalize this bill that Tia was working on... honestly why she doesn’t just give them to me I don’t know... I’m much better at paperwork then she is.”

“Okay, see ya around then,” Glen said with a small hoof wave goodbye. 

“Goodbye Glen, I will see you tonight, eager as ever I’m sure,” Luna replied with a chuckle before she walked away down the hall, her tail swaying ever so slightly as she did so. However, Glen’s eye was focused downward, half closed, she was already in the middle of a thought that had popped up into her mind.... a thought on what her new battle saddle was going to be like. 
	
> Glen's Luna Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“You know... I can’t believe how much fun this is to watch,” Kane, the brown-furred bipedal tabby cat said with a chuckle while he idly toyed with a small dagger as he sat across from red pegasus pony with a dark yellow mane and tail. 

“Hehe, yeah,” the Twilight Dusk stallion agreed with a small chuckle. “I can’t believe how Glen remains clueless with all the signs literally waving in front of her, but it does make some good entertainment.” 

“Waving? I’m still surprised she didn’t catch on when Luna literally stopped in front of her by ‘accident’ in the hallways yesterday,” Kane replied, twirling the dagger between his furry fingers.

“Really?” the pegasus asked with a bit of wondered. “Glen didn’t react in any way?” 

The cat let out a chuckle. “Well, I was up in the rafters at the time, you know, cat napping,” he said with a small smirk. “But if my ears were right she said something like ‘oh sorry, didn’t watch where I was going I guess’.”

“Ooooohhh,” the stallion murmured. “She said I guess eh? That implies she might have been ‘peeking’.” 

Kane snorted. “Trust an ex-assassin to know when someone is lying or not,” he told the pegasus, flipping the dagger in the air and catching it with his opposite paw.

“Aww… you’re no fun anymore,” the stallion mock pouted. 

“Neither are you Monty but I’m stuck with you while Silent’s out on his border tour,” Kane remarked with a small chuckle. “Anyways, I’m raising my bet, I’ll throw two thousand bits in on Princess Lulu going mad in two weeks.”

Monty let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of bits. Must be working overtime on those contracts of yours eh?” the pegasus jested with a small smile. 

“Eh, I don’t need much money,” Kane replied with a devilish smirk. “I don’t have to pay to keep the queens in my bed like you do.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” the stallion said falty while shaking his head slowly. “Still, I’ll keep my bet on that Glen will finally figure it out in a week.”  

“Figure what out?” a mare’s voice spoke out beside them. 

Kane and Monty turned to see Glen standing there, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh you know, that Princess Twilight is a sadist,” Kane answered, lying smoothly.

“Yeah, and if she offers to make some cupcakes for you, make sure to ask to have extra frosting on them,” Monty added on with a joking grin. 

Glen gave both of them a queer look. “Alright… I think I’ll just leave you two be,” she said as she turned around and walked off. 

Kane let out a chuckle. “Extra frosting?” he asked Monty with a raised eyebrow.

“Think about it,” the pegasus replied before taking a sip of apple juice from his glass. “I mean, you should know with all those queens in your bed.” 

Kane gave the stallion a confused look. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” he said plainly. “But if you don’t believe me, I can call one of them up and introduce you.”

“Nah, I got enough images running through my head, don’t need to add any more,” Monty replied. 

The cat’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he blanched. “Monty my friend, you’re a very sick stallion, you know that?”

“I’m only like this because of beings like you,” the stallion remarked with a small smile. 

“Heh, true enough,” Kane agreed before getting up from the table. “Well, I’m off duty, and I have some disturbing thoughts to get off my mind... time to go see if Emy is off work,” he added waving a paw at Monty and walking off.

“See ya, and have fun,” Monty said, waving a hoof goodbye as he finished his apple juice. 





Glen walked away from the table, shaking her head. The other guards sure do act strangely around me, she thought to herself. And what the hell does ‘extra frosting’ mean anyways? She shook her head again and gave a small shrug as she took a seat at a empty table.  After ordering her food, the mare leaned back into her chair and let out a small huff of air. 

“Man… training is becoming a bit… tedious,” she muttered to herself. “It’s only been five days, but these wasteland lessons are just becoming a bit more of a grind than a challenge.” 

“Eh, those should be ending soon,” Stonework said as the brown unicorn sat down across from her. “Mind if I sit here?”

The earth pony shook her head. “Nah, go right ahead,” she replied. “So, ending soon huh?” 

“Yeah, I think you’ve got a unit on land mines, because the first time Twilight took anypony with her they got their legs blown off, and after that you’re shipping off for a week long ‘camp out’ in Everfree,” Stonework answered.

“Land mines eh? Oh joy,” Glen said with a small sigh. “But a camp out in the Everfree? You mean Everfree Forest?” she asked. 

“Yep, we of the Dusk Guard call it ‘try not to get eaten, turned to stone, or have your gender swapped, week’,” Stonework replied with a shake of her head. “It’s not very short, but it sums the experience up nicely.”

Glen let out a sigh. “I just hope I don’t run into any patches of killing joke,” she muttered. 

“You mean poison joke?” Stonework asked her. “The stuff is harmless, mostly. It’ll just swap your gender or something like that.”

“Not where I’m from,” Glen replied flatly. “I’ve heard it kills you in an ironic way, in the planet’s eyes that is,” she explained, shivering a bit. “Even the monsters in the forest stay clear of those killer planets.” 

Stonework nodded slowly. “Well, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about that kind of thing,” she said. “I’m going to be out there with you, though in your case I don’t think I’ll need to save you.”

“Right… are we allowed to bring weapons?” Glen asked. 

“Nope,” Stonework replied with a smirk.

The earth pony stared at the unicorn fatly. “You know… I’m beginning to think Twilight enjoys watching ponies flail around defensively as things try to mow them down. What’s the point of being a guard if we can’t fight a threat properly?” 

“Do you really need to learn to fight?” Stonework asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but I don’t like running all the bloody time,” Glen replied. 

“Look Glen, Twilight only recruits from ponies who have fighting experience,” Stonework explained. “So, she doesn’t worry about giving them combat training until they’ve experienced the worst that they can possibly face without a weapon... week three is when the fun starts.”

A slightly sour ‘tsch’ escaped Glen’s mouth. “Easy for you to say with magic to aid you,” she muttered in a bit grouchy tone. She then gave what she said a bit of thought before shaking her head. “Sorry… just don’t like entering into a fight weaponless… makes me feel like I’m missing a hoof.” 

Stonework shrugged, ignoring the first part. “Don’t worry about it, that’s kind of the point really.”

“Yeah… well it’s working.” Glen said as her ears drooped slightly. “Not only am I half blind, but now I feel as if running on three hooves. It’s only a matter of time till I stumble and fall.” 

The other mare reached over and gave Glen a comforting pat. “Just wait till week three, like I said, that’s when the fun starts.”

“I’ll try, but after the shit I’ve been through, you’d think I’d have been qualified to join this group automatically,” Glen said. 

“Yeah, but then the others would feel robbed,” Stonework pointed out. “It’s what it is Glen, no point in complaining about it.”

A disturbed look cross Glen’s face and she suppressed a shiver. “Don’t say that line... please... brings up bad... memories.” 

“Oh... sorry,” Stonework said with an apologetic frown. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know... it’s just... can we change the subject,” Glen asked, or more like insisted.  

“Sure,” Stonework said. “How are things going with your dream training?”

Glen smiled slightly. “It’s going well, I can almost create my own small whole little world all by myself,” she replied. “Granted only for few minutes, but it’s still something impressive for only a few days of using dream magic. At least that’s what Luna said..” 

Stonework’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn Glen, you must be a natural or something!” she exclaimed. “That’s great to hear!”

Glen chuckled lightly as she shrugged her shoulders. “Thanks… though I think it’s just because I’m a fast learner and I’m paying more attention to Luna’s lessons than the training to be a guard.”

“Oh I wouldn’t sell myself too short if I were you,” the unicorn said. “Dream magic is some tough stuff. I’ve heard that some ponies try for years and never get it down.”

“Well, I guess Luna is just a good teacher then,” Glen said with another small shrug. 

A small smile crossed Stonework’s face. “I’m wouldn’t put too much stock in that. I’m sure you’re just as responsible,” she said, still smiling. “So, what do you think of our dear Princess of the Night?”

“She’s nothing like I imagined from all the tales or posters I’ve seen of her back home,” Glen replied. “Though, this being a whole ‘nother Equestria, can’t say I’m surprised. Still, she’s been a good, if not only, best friend I’ve had in a long time.” 

“Well, that’s good to hear,” Stonework said with a small smile. “I’m glad that you’ve found someone like that.”

“Thanks,” Glen said. A serving pony came by and place Glen’s order of chicken, mash potatoes, and corn in front of the mare. “About time,” she whispered to herself she rubbed her hooves eagerly. 

Stonecutter finished her meal and gave Glen a smile. “Well, enjoy your meal Glen, I’ve got to go serve Court duty... watching the paint dry was more interesting.”

“Okay, see ya,” Glen said as she scrooped up some mash potatoes, just before muttering ‘what’ with her mouth full. 



 

“I still can’t believe it didn’t work...” Luna grumbled to herself as she walked along the corridor. “I did stick my plot in her face and all I got out of it was a ‘I must not have been watching where I was going’... this is ridiculous,” she continued, shaking her head.

“What seems to be the trouble my daughter?” a familiar female voice spoke out from beside her. Luna jumped in surprise and found herself blushing as she looked her mother in the eyes.

“Oh... hi mom... nothing really,” Luna said with a small pause between her words. 

“Are you sure about that Lulu darling?” Faust asked her with an inquisitively raised eyebrow.

“Well... I’m having mare trouble,” Luna admitted. Faust’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Lulu, I sat you down and talked to you about that centuries ago! Please don’t tell me we have to talk about the birds, the bees, and the Divine again...” she said looking alarmed.

Luna gave her a look so flat it could curdle milk.

“Ha. Ha. Ha,” she said emotionlessly.

Faust pouted at her and put a wing around her shoulder. “Oh daughter, I’m sorry that you are having problems wooing dear Glen, but in the end I believe it will be worth it.”

“Is this some sort of Divine foreknowledge?” Luna asked her.

Faust chuckled and shook her head. “Do you know how many forms I’d have to fill out in order to get knowledge of the future like that?” she asked rhetorically.

“Then what makes you so certain?” Luna asked in frustration. 

“Because I’m just that awesome,” Faust told her jokingly before giving Luna a nuzzle. “Have faith daughter.”

Luna looked down and then nodded slowly before looking up again and asking. “So... how is Wistala doing? I heard that you saw her at the tournament and...”

“She’s doing well,” Faust answered briskly before giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek. “Now I must be off.” 

“Goodbye-” Luna stopped when she realized she was standing once more in an empty hallway. “-mother,” she finished with a grumble.





Glen stood still as she focused on keeping the dilapidated apartment building from collapsing under its own weight. Luna lay nearby on a loveseat, her chest facing Glen while her tail flicked lazily from side to side. Unfortunately, Glen wasn’t really looking at Luna as she had a far off looking twinkling in her eye as she put every ounce of her mind on the room around her. 

Her breath was steady and slow as she gazed around the old apartment, her old home in the Equestrian Wastelands. Her workbench stood in the corner of a room, filled to brim with junk and parts she collected during her trips outside. A dirty yellow refrigerator leaning against the kitchen counter, it barely worked and had rotten food the mare never took the time to clean out. A radio with a distinctive bullet hole resting underneath a window, the rays of the sun coming in as a deep shade of red as they landed on a worn-out bloody mattress. 

Glen let out a small sigh at the memories she had here, both the good times and the bad, but she wasn’t the least bit sad to no longer be living in the room. The mare closed her eye and let out another sigh, this one drawn out  longer than the last and when she open her eye the room was gone. A small smile grew on her lips as she focused her eye on Luna’s face. 

“So, how long was that?” she asked. 

A smile played across Luna’s face. “Ten minutes Glen, very well done,” she said. “Very well done indeed.”

“Nice,” Glen said, her smile growing before it faded and grew into a small pondering frown. “Now if only I can actually move in the worlds I create without them fading away,” she murmured. 

“A worthy endeavor,” Luna said with an encouraging nod. “Let me know if there’s anything you need help with.”

“Well... how you would suggest I tackle this?” the mare asked the alicron. “I mean I can create the worlds... but every time I tried to take a few steps, I just lose the focus and it falls apart.” 

“You must keep move your focus on it in the back of your mind,” Luna said as the world around them changed to that of a mountain top, Luna lay upon a red heart shaped bed with invitingly warm sheets as a cold wind rolled over Glen. “The world does not need your constant concentration to stay cemented, it simply requires you to know that it is there,” she said.

Glen shivered a bit as she eyed the heart shaped bead a bit with a small raised eyebrow. “Okay... but how exactly does that work?” she asked, glancing her eye away from the bed and at Luna. “I mean… it sounds reasonable when you say it… but how do you put it into practice?” 

“Hmm... how to explain it,” Luna murmured and then smiled. “Think of it as if it is an idea you must keep in the back of your mind. You know that it is what you are working towards but you do not give it your entire focus,” Luna explained. 

Glen nodded her head. “Alright… I’ll give it a try,” she said as she shift her eye downward and tried to do as Luna instructed. However, nothing was changing. Glen tried, and tried again as she attempted to conjure up the apartment again, but the world refused to shift. 

“Come on, work,” the mare muttered in annoyance.  

“Glen,” Luna said, drawing the mare’s attention back to her. “Instead of trying to change the entire area, perhaps it would be best to start small. Make something, and then see if you can walk around it without it vanishing,” Luna suggested as the scene around them vanished and they appeared in Luna’s bedroom.

“Something small? Okay,” Glen said as she contemplated what to conjure. 

“Indeed, I would suggest that it be something that you know very well,” Luna suggested as a violin hovered over from a stand against the wall and she began to play if softly. “Like my Stradivarius here, she was a gift from my... mother many years ago and I know everything about her.”

“Right... something familiar,” the mare murmured. “There are lots of things I could think of but… what will it be?” Glen asked. Suddenly an idea came to her mind and she simply closed her eye and let the idea float to the back of her head. She let out a small hopeful sigh and open her eye back up. 

A small gasp of shock left her muzzle as her vision show Luna’s room clearly, but half of it was covered by her thick hazel mane. She nervously raised a hoof up to her face, hesitating a bit before she brushed her mane away from her face. She blinked before she looked at Luna. “Is it... is it working?” she asked nervously. 

A smile stretched across Luna’s face and a mirror appeared before Glen. “See for yourself my little pony,” Luna replied, still grinning.

Glen gazed into the mirror, seeing herself staring right back with two soft green eyes. “I... I...” the mare was speechless as she tilted her head around, side to side, her two eyes reacting normally. “It’s... working... it’s actually working,” she said, a delightful smile growing widely on her face. 

Luna smiled and walked over to Glen, putting a wing around her and hugging her close. “I’m so happy that you have managed this feat Glen,” she told her. “Just remember... it is not real and may never be... so do not become too enamoured with it.”

Glen blinked blankly as her smile slowly faded and her face dropped a little. “I... know... but...” she glanced back up at the mirror. 

“I know,” Luna said, giving her a small comforting nuzzle to the side of the cheek. “But there is danger down this path... in the past I have had students who have become so in love with their fantasies that they prefer them to reality and eventually they rot away in their bodies... I do not wish to see that happen to you as well.”

“I... understand,” Glen said. “Still... it gives me something else to look forward to each night.” 

“Something else?” Luna inquired, looking at the mare with a surprised expression.

“Yeah,” Glen replied, glancing her eyes up to Luna. “I…  really enjoy our time together. You’ve been a great…  friend to me.” 

Luna’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and then a soft smile touched her face before she gave Glen another nuzzle. “Why thank you Glen... it is very nice to hear that... I do not have a great many friends.”

“And neither do I... I guess that’s why we work so well together,” the mare said with a small chuckle. 

Luna chuckled as well. “The friends without friends hmm?”

“Yeah... the friends without friends,” Glen agreed with a small smile. 

The alicorn gave her a third nuzzle before stepping aside. “Now then... perhaps you could recreate your old room and walk in it.”

Glen nodded her head and for the rest of the night Glen showed Luna her old room and some other famous spots of her wasteland. 
> Glen's Luna Part 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Glen sighed as she looked into the crackling fire. It was her fifth and final night in the Everfree forest. A pair of manticores had destroyed their campsite on the first day, causing them to lose half of their supplies and forcing them to scrounge and gather resources in order to survive. The second day had been worse. Timberwolves had attacked in force and caused one of their members, Lockheart a red headed stallion, to require field stitches after a particularly nasty bite. 

The third things had been quiet. The fourth however... had been much worse. Parasprites, and not the mutant ones that Glen was used to from the Wasteland, had swarmed through the campsite, eating every crumb of food and antagonizing each and every member of the group. Glen had killed several dozen of them. Day five... well... poor Lockheart had mentioned how awful it would have been to be a mare trapped out in the middle of Everfree all alone... right as he walked through a clump of blue flowers. Needless to say that Lockheart was currently speaking in a much higher pitched voice and none of the mares really felt inclined to help her find a cure.

Glen was tired of it. More importantly, she was just getting annoyed at the whole idea of being stuck out here with only her hooves to defend herself. It just wasn’t right and she didn’t freaking care if the moral of the lesson would be lost. 

Of course... she was able to at least escape from all of this in a way. Every time Glen went to sleep, she used her dream magic to conjure other places to relax or vent her frustration. However, Luna never showed up nor would, since the alicorn had suspended their lessons until Glen was done with her ‘camping’ trip. While Glen understood, she just felt her dreams were less... interactive without Luna around. In a way, it kind of bugged her even more than spending a week in this bloody forest. 

“This is so annoying,” Lockheart whined from where she was sitting across the fire from Glen.

The earth pony glanced up and gave the mare a hard flat glare. “You don’t say,” she said, a bit agitated by Lockheart obsessive whining.   

The rosy maned mare shot her a glare. “I don’t see you walking around with a penis, one-eye. So mind your own damn business!”

Glen’s eye narrowed on the mare. “At least I haven’t been whining every single fucking day like a filly,” she remarked. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re too ‘perfect’ for that aren’t you?” Lockheart said with a roll of her eyes. “Oh look at me ‘I’m Glen the most badass mare in the world, I eat meat and fuck the princess every night’,” she said mockingly.

The brown mare continued to look at the other mare dangerously. “If you like your jaw to remain in one piece, you better shut it now,” she said, dead serious. 

“Oh like you have the-” 

Without warning, Glen got up and pivoted around, unleashing her back hooves into Lockheart’s face. Lockheart’s head recoil as she was knocked to the ground and slid a couple of feet. The other three recruits who were also sitting around the campfire looked at Lockheart’s downed form and then all but one, shrugged simultaneously. 

The last who actually moved, was their ‘team medic’ Cross Heart. She was a black unicorn with a white mane and a doctor’s bag on her flank as a cutie mark.

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s our last day out in this pit,” the medic said as she got up and walked over to the loudly whimpering form of Lockheart. With a single gesture she lowered her horn to Lockheart’s jaw and it began to glow. “I don’t think I could stand living with Lockheart much longer.”

“Join the club,” Glen muttered as she turned around and lay on the ground once more. “He’s bloody lucky to be alive...” 

“Well, you did crack his jaw, in three places along with a handful of fractures,” Cross Heart replied nonchalantly, her horn still glowing. “So that counts for something.”

“Was aiming for a bit more than that,” the earth pony replied. 

“I wouldn’t worry about him too much,” a blue pegasus stallion, Swift Wing said with a small shrug of his wings. “He’ll be out of here once we get back to Canterlot.”

“Am I the only one concerned that Glen just admitted to trying to kill him?” the last member of their group, a smallish earth pony mare with a light yellow coat who went by the name of Daisy asked. “Not that he doesn’t deserve a bit of it... but that’s extreme.”

“I don’t think Glen really wanted to kill him,” Swift Wing stated. “She’s not that type of pony, right Glen?” he asked, looking over at the mare.

Glen’s head was tilted downward, however her eye glanced up at them giving a humorless expressions to her face. “Lockheart is one lucky pony, that’s the only merit he’s got to him.” 

Silence reigned for around the campfire as the other three ponies, sans Lockheart who had drifted into unconsciousness, stared at her.

“You’re one tough bitch,” Swift Wing stated, though there was no maliciousness in his voice. 

“That’s one way of saying it,” Daisy said with a slight roll of her eyes. “Homicidal is another.”

“He’s fine,” Cross Heart said, getting up from where she’d been crouched beside Lockheart. Then she glanced at Glen. “I know that he’s annoying and this week has been a pain in the ass, but try not to kill him. We’ve only got a night left out here and I’d rather not have us be the first batch of recruits with a casualty inflicted by a teammate.”

“Sorry, old habits die hard,” Glen stated with a bit a scoff.  

“Where in the hell did you pick up that kind of habit?” Swift Wing asked her with a raised eyebrow.

The brown mare frowned a bit as she lifted her head up at the other ponies. “The Equestrian Wasteland,” she replied. 

“Wait... I thought there was just the Capital Wasteland and the Mojave one...” Daisy said, speaking up. “I mean... I know that we’ve got badlands to the south... but I’ve never heard them called the Equestrian Wasteland.”

“That’s because I’m from a version of this world that is fucked up just as much as the Capital Wasteland,” Glen commented. “A world where I was born, raised, and taught how to kill since I was a filly.” 

There was another moment of loud silence before Swift Wing broke it.

“So... that explains how you made it out of that maze first every single time... it was all old to you,” he said very slowly.

“Yeah,” Glen answered with a small shake of her head. 

“I thought there was something off about you,” Cross Heart said with a small nod, then waved a hoof in front of her. “Not in a bad way, just off. You didn’t seem like the everyday Equestrian.”

“Well now you know,” Glen said a bit sarcastically, though her voice lacked any humor.

Daisy frowned and then gave Glen an inquisitive look. “So... you lost your eye there? No offense... but that’s not a common thing here in Equestria... our Equestria anyways.”

Glen frowned and shook her head. “No... that was something else,” she replied. “And I would rather not talk about it,” she added, cutting Daisy’s question before it could be ask. 

Daisy looked like she was about to ask another, but Cross Heart cut her off. “Leave her be Daisy,” the medic said, further silencing the mare.

“So... uhmmmm... what are you fillies going to do first when we get out of this forest?” Swift Wing asked, looking around.

“Shower,” Cross Heart answered with a small distasteful frown at her fur.

“Read a book,” Daisy said. “And then take a shower.”

“Shoot something,” Glen replied half heartedly. 

“But... we don’t get guns until next week’s training starts,” Swift Wing said in confusion.

“You don’t, I already have a battle saddle waiting for me when I get out of here,” Glen answered. “And I want to shoot something with it for a while.” 

“Well... have fun shooting stuff,” Swift Wing said. “Let me know if you’re in the mood to go out and get shots sometime.”

“Will do,” the mare replied, though she wasn’t really paying attention to the group anymore. 

The group quieted down and settled in for the night. Glen let out a sigh as she began to fall asleep, at least she’d be out of the bloody forest tomorrow.





Glen stood in her room back in the castle, finally out of the freaking messed up forest. She let out a small relieved sigh, but her mind was still moody and tense so she still was a bit grouchy. 

I really want to shoot something, Glen stated to herself. 

As if on cue, there was a knock on her door. The mare’s ear perked at the noise and she trotted over to the door and opened it. To her surprise, Ethan stood there looking down at her with a grin.

“Hiya Glen, heard you just got back from ‘fuck you forest’ week and thought you’d be in the mood for some stress relief,” Ethan said, beaming at the mare.

For the first time in a whole week, Glen smiled. “Oh, I’m way past the mood and into the area of just finding a good excuse to let loose.” 

“Yeah, Sparky’s training tends to do that,” Ethan agreed, ruffling her mane. “I also got a surprise for you too.”

“A surprise eh? It wouldn’t be a wearable surprise?” Glen asked, her smile growing a bit. 

“Yep, Cassie helped me with it,” the man said with a grin. “Wanna see?”

“Oh yes,” the mare answered eagerly. 

“Well then, follow me,” Ethan replied, unfurling a golden scroll which he tossed in the air, creating a portal which he promptly stepped through.

Glen smiled as she followed the man through the portal and stepped into a large room which was clearly an armoury. There were dozens if not hundreds of weapons and suits of armour on stands or against walls, amongst them were many suits of power armour, plasma weaponry, and even some thing that Glen couldn’t immediately identify.

The mare let out a low impressed whistle as her eye gaze around the room. Then her eye turned to where Ethan was standing beside a large battle saddle mounted with what looked like a blue tube filled with crackling energy on one side and a large multi-barreled minigun on the other. Beside the saddle was what looked like a suit of the armour that the Dusk Guard normally wore... except Glen could immediately see several differences, like a drop down HUD and a mouth grip along with a place on its back for the saddle to hook up to the main suit. There were also what looked like small tubes emerging from the sides of the back hooves.

“Well, whatcha think Glen?” Ethan asked her with a grin.

A wide, enthusiastic, grin split the mare’s face as she walked up to the armor and the saddle. “Like it? I LOVE IT!” she said, her voice heavily filled with thrill. Glen glanced up at the man with her cheery grin. “This is more than I could’ve asked for!” 

Ethan grinned. “You’re very welcome Glenny,” he told her with a laugh. “I’m just glad that you’re happy with it, was worried that it would be a bit much.”

“A bit much?” the mare questioned with a small chuckle. “I know ponies who give up a hoof for armor and a battle saddle like this,” she stated as her eye glanced back at the set. 

“Well then, what are you waiting for? Get it on, and let’s go kill some shit!” Ethan exclaimed with a grin.

The mare did so immediately, and with some guidance aid from Ethan, Glen put on and fastened her armor and battle saddle. It felt... incredibly light and fit her body like a glove... not that ponies wore gloves. More than that, but a sense of strength and power flowed through Glen with every step she took in it and the room around her became... more clear.

“Let’s see, Cassie told me that the Tesla Coil has an internal solar recharge built in so you’ll never have to worry about it running out of ammo so long as you make sure it gets plenty of sun, and the minigun has an internal ammo supply of a thousand shots,” Ethan listed off as he helped her get it on. “The ammo is apparently kept in a pocket dimension hooked up to the feed, don’t ask me how, Sparky went on for an hour about it and the most I got out of it was ‘it’s magic and can be refilled’. Other than that, the armour is rated for temperatures just under dragon’s fire, can take the explosive force from a high explosive rocket, and the penetrating power of an armour piercing .50 caliber round.”

Glen let of a low whistle as she examined the armor. “That’s a lot of stopping power.” 

“Yep,” Ethan agreed. “The rear hooves have been hooked up with what we call ballistic fists which transform every punch into a shotgun sandwich, except in this case it’s going to be you bucking people in the crotch. Don’t worry about the ammo for a while, it’s on the same principle as the minigun and should last you a while.”

“Nice,” the mare said with a grin. Could’ve used it last night, but meh. “Anything else?” she asked. 

“Yes actually,” the man said. “Your armor has been enchanted to raise your strength considerably, which is why you can actually wear the saddle without collapsing under the weight.”

“Ah, was wondering about that bit,” the mare mused but shrugged as she glanced up at the man with a grin. “So any more spiel or can we go out and shoot something?” 

Ethan grinned and tapped her on the helmet because her mane was inaccessible. “Yeah, I’ve got a report of some raiders operating out of a cave to the south. Kind of surprised they had the balls to try and muscle into the Mojave with Cassie’s policies in place... but why don’t we go see why that was a mistake on their part eh?”

Glen nodded her head. “Let’s waste some raiders.” 





Luna smiled as she watched the pair climb onto a blue hoverbike, Glen hesitant to get on it, and ride off into the desert. The alicorn kept up with them from above, keeping her eyes on the unknowing object of her affection. 

The week without Glen had been... surprisingly torturous for Luna. She hadn’t realized how important to her the nightly lessons with Glen had become. Without them... Luna had nothing to look forward at the end of every day and the Lunar Princess had become deeply depressed.

But that was in the past now, Glen had been returned to her safety and their lessons were set to restart that very evening! Now... she just had to make sure that her mare was not injured during Ethan’s planned escapade. Luna frowned at the idea of Ethan making off with Glen... his adventures had an unfortunate habit of turning into things that were much worse than they’d originally intended on being. Luna didn’t want to take the chance that Glen could end up lost to her due to unforeseen circumstances.

So, it was to that end that Luna kept pace with the speeding hoverbike as it ate up desert ground.





“So this is the hole the rats are hiding in?” the mare inquired as she walked into the opening on the side of a small mountain. 

“Apparently,” Ethan replied with a shrug. “I figure I’m just going to let you take most of them if that’s alright with you.”

“Most appreciated,” Glen replied with a small smile. “For a whole week I had the itch to shoot something, time to finally get rid of it,” she stated as she walked into the cave. 

“That’s why Sparky spends the next week on weapons practice,” Ethan said with a small chuckle. “It’s a good way to let the newbies blow off all the steam they built up over the first two weeks.”

“Yeah... but there’s one problem,” Glen said glancing back at the man. “I’m not a newb,” she said. She jerked her head down causing the HUD lens to flip down and she walked deeper into the cave. 

Ethan just shrugged and continued walking beside the mare. Within minutes they’d come to a wide open cavern, to Ethan’s slight surprise, there appeared to be a small army of raiders. There were at least a hundred of them, all of which were now staring at him and Glen.

“Well, that’s unexpected,” Ethan said aloud.

“OH FUCK!” one of the raiders shouted. “IT’S THE FUCKING WANDERER!” 

“KILL EM!” another shouted, bringing up a laser rifle to focus on Ethan.

*Braaaaaaaaaaaaatratatat*

Glen’s minigun whirled to life as it spat out a stream of bullets onto the raiders. To her surprise, several of them blew apart as the high caliber bullets blasted into them. This only only caused a small grin to form on her lips as she began to sweep her bullets to upon other raiders. The raiders returned fire on her, the bullets bouncing ineffectively off of her armour and even a missile which streaked down at her did nothing more to stop the mare than from firing only to get out of the way. 

Glen smirked as she bite down the trigger for the tesla-coil and unleashed a blue streak of crackling electricity. The streak hit the raider with the missile launcher in the chest, and the launcher exploded while the raider was turned to a pile of ash. Meanwhile, Ethan just stood back and watched, a happy smile on his face as his friend enjoyed herself, seeing no need to help her.

The mare’s rampage continued for quite some time, bullets and missiles pinging or exploding ineffectively off of her armour while she began to gallop down towards the raiders, a big grin splitting her muzzle. It didn’t take the raiders too long to stop shooting at her and just begin to run screaming away as she charged them. One unfortunate man with a shotgun stood his ground at the charging mare and she pivoted to deliver a kick into his chest. The mare’s body vibrated as the ballistic hooves discharged, the raider’s chest cavity split open as the dual bursts of 12 gauge buckshot smashed into it and he was sent flying away from her.

Glen began to giggle bubbly as the adrenaline coursed through her like a pleasing drug. She looked at the rest of the raiders with a overzealous girn. “Well, who’s next?” she asked. 





Luna looked on with widened eyes as Glen obliterated her way through the raiders. It was, for lack of a better word... rather terrifying, even to her. Not that she pitied the wretches which Glen was taking out what must have been a week’s worth of frustration on... but the look in the mare’s eye was that of a barbarian locked in a blood rage. The alicorn frowned... perhaps she should recommend that Twilight skip several steps of Glen’s training... she surely didn’t need any more combat training.

As terrifying as the destruction Glen was reaping was, Luna could not deny that it was... sexy. The alicorn had always enjoyed combat, and the prospect of killing the raiders around her did seem like a fine way to pass the afternoon. Glen however was not just killing them... she was making the killing into an art form and as Luna watched, she found herself more and more attracted to the mare while she blew through the raiders.

That sealed it... Luna was going to join in this revelry, it had been several years since she had last participated in the like, and the lunar alicorn could contain herself no longer... else the raiders would all be dead.





Glen was in the middle of bucking another raider into a pile of bloody chunks when Luna suddenly appeared to her right, and decapitated a raider who’d been sneaking up on Glen from the right with a glowing silver sword. She then went on to slice her way through another three without missing a beat.

A surprised look of shock cross Glen’s face at the sudden appearance of Luna, but after watching the alicron slice through four raiders a smile grew on her face. The mare turned away and went back to firing her minigun, the bullets tearing through some of the cover the raiders were hiding behind. 

Luna leaped through the air and landed amongst the raiders Glen had just forced out of cover and within the blink of an eye the mare had decapitated them and sent the bodies flying away from her. Then the mare appeared beside Glen with a wide grin on her face as blood dripped from her silver sword.

“A most enjoyable battle, is it not?” Luna asked Glen.

“It couldn’t get any better,” Glen replied before firing a mini lighting bolt into a fleeing raider. Luna let out a crow of excitement and a cord of magic grabbed onto several of the raiders.

“Pull!” the alicorn shouted before she threw them into the air. Glen traced them and both her telsa-coil and minigun fired onto the soaring raiders, dicing or frying their bodies. “Nice shots!” Luna commented enthusiastically before she charged ahead and smashed a raider to pieces with her bare hooves, leaving nothing but bloody imprints on the ground.

This continued for some time until the raiders were all dead or dying, the last ones were killed by Ethan as he walked amongst them with his magnum.

Glen, whose armour was covered in blood, looked over at Luna who was also covered from hoof to chest with blood began to chuckle and pant. “That... was... fun!” she exclaimed. 

“Indeed!” Luna agreed with a grin, then she looked down at herself. “Though I believe I will need a rather long bath... as will you,” she said, looking at Glen and smiling slyly.

The mare looked at herself, her eye widened a bit of all the blood over her but she chuckle in agreement. “Yeah, it looks like it,” she said glancing back up to the alicron. “Kind of got carried away in all the excitement, huh?”  

“Looks like it,” Luna agreed with a small chuckle. “Perhaps we could share one?”

“Share one?” Glen inquired. 

“A bath,” Luna clarified. “You know, so that we may become quicker cleaner?”

“Yeah... I know that but-” 

“Then it is decided!” Luna crowd triumphantly.

Glen blinked blankly and opened her mouth to say something but Luna continued speaking.  

“We shall bathe together and wash away the blood of our battle while becoming closer to each other!” the mare continued, happy to finally be making some kind of headway.

The mare continued to stared at Luna a bit blankly. “Okay...” 

Ethan, who was watching all of this and had heard of Luna’s frustrations from Twilight, facepalmed in the background. Then he shook his head.

“Well if you’re here Lu then you can get her home right?” he asked the happy alicorn.

“Oh yes, that should be no problem,” Luna answered.

“Alright, well I’ve got to get back to Cassie, tell her that she had an infestation,” Ethan said with a shake of his head. “See ya Glenny, glad you enjoyed your new stuff.”

Glen waved a hoof goodbye. “Yeah, thanks for making it fo-” 

She didn’t have a chance to finish as Luna’s horn flared up and flashed once, transporting them to a lavish bathing chamber. 
> Glen's Luna Part 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In the blink of an eye Glen found herself standing in... the most incredible place she’d ever seen devoted solely to the art of bathing. The walls and floor were white marble tile and a wall to wall mirror spanned the far wall. The center of the room was taken up by a large tub easily four times the size of Celestia and filled with already bubbling was sunken low into the ground while several showerheads around the side provided extra water from above. Off to the side of the room, a hot tub with sizzling bubbles and steam was easily visible. The entire room had a steamy temperature that was a bit much at first... but the longer Glen was in it the more it grew on her.

“It’s very... humid,” Glen said, stating the very obvious but her gaze was still drawn to the room. 

“It is indeed,” Luna agreed with a smile as she nodded towards a pony shaped armour rack by the door. “You may put your armour on that and the staff will deal with cleaning it.”

Glen nodded her head slowly as it was craned upward to the panting of a night sky on the ceiling. As she watched, the stars shimmered and blinked down at her, perfectly matching the night sky. The mare walked unhurriedly towards the armor rack and began to unfasten her battle saddle and pull off her armor, her eye still studying the room. 

As she did so, Luna watched, her eyes watching Glen not quite fixatedly, but more of with appreciation. The mare took the last piece of her armor off, showing a fairly clean body save for her face and tail and the tip of her hooves that she used to take everything off. What Luna noticed most of all were the firm muscles and long healed scars that made her all the more alluring to the mare. Glen then turned around and glanced at Luna and their eyes met. 

Surprising even herself, Luna blushed, she’d just been ogling Glen’s flank like a filly on her first night on the town.

Glen herself was feeling a bit... awkward. Not because they about to take a bath together, but just something about just seeing the alicorn herself. After a whole week absent of lessons and all of a sudden seeing Luna join in her with battle, Glen was feeling a... pleasant, sincere feeling towards Luna. A feeling that... she never really felt before; a feeling that caused the mare to slowly blush.

“Sooo...” Glen slowly said, her eye shifting away from Luna’s, a hoof casually moving up to rub the back of her head.  

“Indeed...” Luna stated slowly before trailing off, her blush intensifying. Then she shook her head and gestured towards the large tub. “Come Glen, let us clean up and then soak,” she said, walking towards the tub, her tail swishing obviously from side to side.

“Right,” the pony replied as she walked up towards the tub. She walked down the steps leading to the tub and stuck a hoof into it and found that the water was the perfect temperature, not too hot and not too cold. Glen continued stepping down, slowly submerging her body into the water.

Luna was already a bit deeper in, beneath one of the shower heads, her starry mane losing its ethereal appearance and becoming a darker blue as the water poured over it, washing out dirt and blood. Glen did the same thing too, though it was one where the tub didn’t get too deep for her. Luna looked over at her, blushed at her thoughtlessness, and moved to one of the shower heads closer to her. The brown mare noticed the movement, but didn’t glance towards the alicorn’s direction, a sudden feel of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. 

The two rinsed and soaked their manes until they were flat and soaked before applying shampoo. Glen finally shot a look over towards Luna and found that the alicorn was in the midst of squirting a jet of shampoo into her mane, beside her a large bristled brush was held in her magic. Luna caught her glance and raised an eyebrow, the brush hovering a bit closer to Glen.

“May I?” Luna asked her.

“Umm... sure,” Glen replied, trying not to sound so stiff as the feeling in her stomach intensified. 

Luna smiled and the brush, which was covered in shampoo began to scrounge its way over Glen’s hide, removing a great deal of dirt from her time in the forest. The alicorn was very thorough as well as very talented with her brushing and soon Glen found herself in a state of bliss. 

A small smile grew on the Glen’s face as Luna continued to brush her mane, the same smile Ethan obtained when he scratched her behind her ears. However this time, Glen didn’t try to stop it. Luna grinned as she continued to brush and rub the mare, working over her entire body while liberally applying soap and shampoo where necessary.

“So,” Luna said as she continued to brush the mare. “I take it you enjoyed the gift that Ethan gave you.”

“Hmm?” Glen murmured out as she was heavily distracted from the brushing. “Oh, the armor and saddle, yeah,” she replied as shook her head to clear it. “The battle saddle is better than my old one and the armor was a nice bonus.” 

“Well that is splendid to hear,” Luna said with a smile. “I know that young Twilight worked very hard on the enhancements for both, as a way of apologizing to you for the rather unpleasant training regimen.”  

“I see... well, I guess they make good apology gifts,” Glen said. 

“She truly forgot how you would feel about being weaponless,” Luna continued, shaking her head. “I gave a her stern tongue lashing while you were gone.”

“Along with a few other things I hope,” Glen murmured. 

“Well, I can only do so much,” Luna said. “Tia would be mad at me if I hurt her love too severely. Not to mention that Twilight is no pushover herself, even if she is not nearly as powerful as I.” Then the alicorn shrugged. 

“Yeah well, why the hell does she needs guards for in the first place then?” Glen asked. “Other than to send ponies to run through her insane course.” 

Luna looked over at Glen with a small frown. “Because Glen, you are not her guard. You are the ponies of Equestria’s guard. While it is true that you spend most of your time at her side, your first loyalty is always to save those who cannot fight for themselves,” Luna explained. “Twilight’s courses may be insane, but they prepare you for the troubles and trials you will face should we ever be invaded or if you are needed on the battlefield.”

“Well I’ve already been it these kind of troubles and more in my wasteland and in Drek’s hellhole tournament,” Glen pointed out.  

“True, but remember, the training was not made with you in mind,” Luna pointed out, still brushing out Glen’s furr. “Our Guard units have... failed in the past and Twilight’s Dusk Guard are an experiment by the three of us to see if we cannot produce a better guard system. One that our little ponies can count on not to fail when they need it,” there was a touch of guilt in the alicorn’s voice, as well as melancholy.

Glen frowned and couldn’t think of anything to say to that and the two lapsed into heavy silence as Luna turned the brush to her own side as opposed to Glen’s.

“Sorry... I did not mean to kill the mood,” Luna apologized, her head bowed. “It was all going so well too... it was stupid of me.”

“No, just... let’s change the topic, I had enough of insane courses and questioning Twilight’s sanity,” Glen said. 

Luna nodded. “Indeed. So... how did your nightly adventures go without me to supervise? Were they as tiring?”

“No... they were fine, they were just... not very thrilling,” the mare replied with a small shrug. 

“Doing nightly activities by oneself usually is not,” Luna said. “I can speak from experience.”

“Yeah...” Glen agreed slowly.

Luna looked over at Glen and saw that her face was lost in thought as a frown crossed the edges of her lips. 

“Is something the matter Glen?” Luna asked her, concern coloring her voice.

“No...” Glen replied, though her shook her head while a look of confusion slowly emerged. “I mean... maybe, I’ve just...” she trailed off. “I think that...” 

Luna moved a bit closer to the other mare, they were both clean by now, more soggy than anything else. 

“Think what Glen?” Luna asked in a low voice, her face not terribly far away from the other mare’s.

Glen’s eye glanced up at Luna’s. “I think... that I... really missed you during my time in forest and...” she trailed off, a light shade of red underlining her cheeks. 

“And?” Luna asked, a note of hungry insistence leaking into her voice.

“And... I think I’m... starting to grow... some feelings towards you,” Glen continued slowly and hesitantly with each word she spoke. 

“Would these... happen to be... romantic feelings?” Luna asked her slowly, looking at the mare with hope hidden in her eyes.

The mare glanced her eye downwards. “Maybe... though to be honest, I quite don’t... know.” 

“What do you mean?” Luna inquired, confusion in her voice.

“I mean... I’m experiencing emotions that I never quite felt before and they only pop up... when I’m around you,” Glen explained. 

Luna stared at her for a moment before finally saying. “Then... I propose a test to see if your emotions are truly romantic... would you be opposed?”

“What kind of test?” the mare inquired. 

“A... very special kind,” Luna answered her softly.

“That doesn’t really answer my ques-” 

Glen was cut off in mid sentence by a pair of soft, warm, luscious, lips closed over her own and Luna kissed her, staring into her eye with both of hers. Luna held the kiss for several long seconds before she pulled away leaving Glen a speechless pony. 

A feeling of euphoria and pent up emotions filled Luna’s mind as she pulled away and she smiled coyly down at Glen.

“Does that answer your question Glen?” she asked her succulently.

The brown mare blinked slowly. “I... I... wow...” she said, her face stuck in pure shock. 

“Did... did that answer the... other question?” Luna asked her hesitantly. “About... the feelings?”

“I think...” Glen started off, before a small smile formed on the edge of her lips. “I think that did.” 

“And?” Luna asked breathlessly.

“And... I liked it,” the mare added. 

To her surprise, Luna let out a very un-princess-like SQUEEEEEE before grabbing Glen in her front hooves and pulling her into a hot, hungry kiss that lasted for a full thirty seconds before she broke it.

Glen let out a raspy exhale as she breathed in and out heavily to refill her lungs, while Luna blushed crimson. 

“My... apologies Glen... I have been resisting the urge to do that to you for two very long weeks and you seemed to miss every single one of my signs,” Luna confessed.

“Wait… I did?” Glen asked dumbfounded. Her mind wandered back over the last to weeks and a small ‘oh’ formed on her lips. “Hehe... I’m not used to others ponies hitting on me... not in this kind of way of course.” 

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Glen, I literally had you bury your muzzle in my plot... I thought you would have realized...”

“My mind was elsewhere at the time!” Glen stated, defending herself. 

“And my every sentence to you was an innuendo of some sort!” Luna continued. “I took every opportunity to reveal my marehood to you yet you ignored it each and every time!”

“What? It’s not like I look at other’s plots for a living?” the pony replied. 

Luna looked at her and sighed, then chuckled.

“Here I am complaining... I have no reason to complain,” she said, her face getting closer to Glen’s. “I am here with the pony that I love, and she has finally returned my affections,” the mare continued, moving in to give Glen a slow kiss. Glen actually tilted her head into the kiss this time, and Luna replied in kind by deepening the kiss. They stayed like that for a long moment in the steam filled bathing room until Luna finally broke it. “I don’t suppose that you would rather continue this elsewhere... say my bedroom, would you?”

“I think... I have no objections to the thought,” Glen replied with a coy smile. 

“Excelent,” Luna replied before her horn flashed and they both vanished.

All was silent in the bathroom before a quiet curse sounded from the side of the room where a familiar cat had been observing.

“Damn... there goes my money.”





Glen awoke the next morning curled up beside a very warm furry chest with a light feathery wing placed gently across her side. She let out a yawn and stretched out her hooves, and despite what had happened last night, she felt very relaxed and refreshed. 

“Well good morning my little pony,” Luna said as she stirred from her sleep and craned her neck down at Glen. 

“Morning,” the mare replied, smacking her lips a bit. 

“How did you sleep?” Luna inquired as she too rose from the bed and began to stretch out her back and wings, keeping her rear facing Glen as she did so.

“Like a rock,” Glen replied, a small smile growing across her lips. 

Luna did a few more, most likely unnecessary stretches, and then turned back to Glen, kissing her slowly before pulling away.

“Good, that makes me very happy to hear,” Luna replied with a smile of her own. “So... I take it you enjoyed last night?”

“It... was like nothing I have ever experienced before,” Glen replied with a slow nod of her head. 

Luna let out a slow chuckle. “That is the first time I have ever heard of making love being described like that,” she told the mare with an indulgent smile. “I’m happy you enjoyed yourself... though that was fairly obvious from all the screams.”

A deep shade of blush cover Glen’s cheeks. “Well... I wasn’t expecting that kind of sudden pleasure and...” 

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll get used to that,” Luna said, enjoying the blush. “Though that just means that I have more of a challenge in the future if I wish to elicit that response again,” she added in a silky voice. “Would you enjoy that?” she added with a purr.

Glen chuckle a bit embarrassed as her cheeks turn a deeper shade of red, but Luna only nuzzled her.  

“I will take that as a yes,” Luna said, kissing her on the tip of her nose. Then Luna looked to the clock on the wall and frowned. “Hmm, would you care to go to breakfast dear? If not... there is always another meal available to you.” she asked Glen with a frown.

The mare’s stomach suddenly growled, causing Glen to glance down at it. “Hehe... I think I’ll take the breakfast.” 

Luna chuckled and gave her another kiss. “I suppose the other can wait till this evening,” she said with a smile. “Provided you don’t have other plans of course,” she added jokingly.

“Well, if I do, there’s always the night visits,” Glen commented with a smile. 

“Oh my, I had completely forgotten about that,” Luna said with wide eyes as she led the other mare out of her bedroom. “I assure you... last night was nothing compared to what we can do in the realm of dreams.”

“Then I can’t wait till it’s time to go to sleep,” Glen replied with a sly smile which Luna returned. 

A thought occurred to Luna. “Wait here for a moment my dear,” the alicorn said before she vanished in a small flash of light.

Glen blinked, a bit surprised at the sudden teleportation, but she didn’t have to wait for long as Luna popped back in. Held in her magical gaze was a small night blue package which Luna sat down in front of Glen.

“Here... I made you a gift while you were out in the forest and got so caught up with... well, you, that I had forgotten to give to you,” the alicorn said with a small blush.

Glen glanced at the present with a curious eye before she bent down to opened it. When she open the lid a small surprised gasp left her lips as she saw what lay within. Wrapped in blue velvet was a glass eye, perfectly crafted to look like the one that she had spent so long creating within the dream realm. 

“It is magical, virtually indestructible, and will attune with your flesh eye so that it does not hang listlessly or drift as the normal variety often do,” Luna explained to her. “It will not restore your vision, but it will decrease the number of stares you get... it will also move your mane out of your beautiful face,” she finished, giving the mare a soft smile.

Glen started at the glass eye, her mouth a jar with small awe. “Why... what makes me so... special?” she asked, glancing up at Luna. 

“What?” Luna asked, confusion filling her voice.

“How can a Goddess like you fall in love with a simple earth pony like me?” Glen asked. 

“Goddess? You overvalue me,” Luna said with a sad shake of her head. “I am merely a half-divine.” Then her eyes hardened. “And how dare you call yourself simple?! You are nothing remotely close to simple!”

Glen jerked back and dropped her head. “I... just... You’re a Goddess! And I’m... I’m just an earth pony! A one eyed ugl-”

Luna’s lips locked over hers before she could finish the word and she held Glen her silent prisoner for a moment. When she finally released her Luna stared right into Glen’s eye. 

“Glen, you are not ugly!” she said in a soft, fierce voice. “I have made love to the most beautiful mares and the most handsome stallions in all the land for the last four thousand years. I have met with the noble ladies of the Griffins and the strong willed masters of the Hippogriffs. I have even, once, made passionate love to a dragon in the middle of a volcano. But none, and I mean none of them could ever compare to you!”

Glen stared at Luna, a nagging look dancing in her eye . “So why... what makes me so special?” 

“Your spirit,” Luna answered softly. “You have seen so many hardships, so many battles, so much death... and yet you remain pure... it fills your body with light, Glen.”

“Pure... but... but I’ve done some bad things and-” 

“But they have not marred your soul Glen... they have not touched what is most precious about you,” Luna said softly, yet her words cut through Glen’s own like a knife. “You have come out alive in the end and for that I am forever grateful... but most importantly, you have emerged from your trials a good pony.”

Glen’s eye began to get watery as small droplets of tear started to build up. “I... I... thank you...” she said, a small sob rolling in her throat. Luna stepped forward and simply engulfed the smaller mare in a hug, pulling her wings around her to conceal her from all. Glen’s entire world was blue and staring down at her was Luna.

“My Glen... you need never thank me again for something that needs no thanks,” Luna said softly.

The earth pony gave a weak smile before she leaned into the alicorn and wept happily into Luna’s fur. Luna held her close and they stayed like that for ten long minutes, Glen pouring out her grief in long rushing streams of tears until she could cry no more. Luna bent down and gently kissed her forehead before she used her magic to levitate the glass eye up and into the mare’s empty eye socket. 

The eye stood frozen for a moment, and then as if it was completely natural, followed the other as it gazed up lovingly at Luna. Glen blinked a few times and hesitantly move her mane out of her face. 

“How do I... how do I look?” she asked the alicorn with a nervous glance. 

“Like the most beautiful pony in the land,” Luna said softly. “Of course, you already were.”

A pleasant smile grew on Glen’s face as the two continued to stared at each other lovingly, until something else voiced it’s mood. 

*Groooaaaaaan*

Glen blushed as her stomach whined at her for not being fed and she chuckled lightly in embarrassment. 

“Mayhaps we should hurry onto breakfast, hmm?” Luna asked her with a raised eyebrow. “Else you may begin to eat me... and not in the fun way.”

“Heheh... yeah, let’s,” Glen agreed, pushing herself off of Luna’s chest. “Ahem... so shall we continue to the dining hall?” 

“Of course,” Luna said, leading the way, her tail swaying friskily behind her. Glen followed a few feet behind, enjoying the show. 
> Poker Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Night kids,” Ethan said before he bent down and gave Shade a kiss on the forehead. 

“Night dad,” Shade and Ash answered, they’d long ago learned not to protest their 9oclock bedtime. 

Ethan smiled as he closed the door with a light bump. It had been a month since he’d gotten out of Drek’s hellhole and if there was one thing that he’d missed the most it was being able to kiss his children good night. Well, Ethan reflected as he saw that the door to his wife’s office was cracked open a bit, maybe not the most missed thing.

He walked in to find Cassie where she almost always was. Sitting behind her desk, typing away at her keyboard and talking quietly with Yes Man as her eyes danced from monitor to monitor. She glanced up at him, immediately detecting the door being opened, and smiled before getting back to work. Ethan waved and let out a small sigh, it looked like he was on his own for the evening.

Again. 

The man squashed the resentful thought and shook his head. Casandra was busy running the city... she didn’t have an unlimited amount of time to devote to him and the time she did was spent lovingly... but still, a man could get bored with nothing to do in a giant casino turned military stronghold. 

Ethan let out a sigh and made his way over to one of the round poker tables that he’d brought up from the main floor and began to do what he’d become accustomed to do, namely, playing solitaire by himself for entertainment.

“Hit rock bottom in the terms of boredom I see,” a soothing female voice spoke across from him. 

Ethan looked up in surprise to see a familiar bipedal red fox sitting in a chair across from him, casually shuffling a deck of Lucky 38 cards. 

“Lucy!” Ethan exclaimed with a delighted grin. “I haven’t seen you in a month!” 

“Indeed,” the vixen replied with a nod. “Not since my Knight saved you in that tournament you were stuck in.” 

“Yep,” the man said with a shake of his head. “Thanks by the way, another second and my luck would have run out,” Ethan said, winking at her.

Lucy chuckled lightly in amusement. “Oh, I wouldn’t know about that; still, it was my pleasure to help you again.” 

Ethan suddenly grinned. “Hey, didn’t I say that I owed you a kiss for all your help?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Drawn back by my raw animal magnetism eh?” he asked her, chuckling lightly.

The vixen chuckled some more. “Not really, but I am here about that kiss,” she replied as her hand work on shuffling the cards in fancy ways. “You see, I’m willing to allow you to do that, if you can win a simple game of poker.” 

The man looked at her for a second, and then burst out laughing. “Lucy, you’d creame me, blindfolded.”

“True,” Lucy replied with a small smile. “But I always play fair. No powers, no add of increasing my chance, or tampering the cards. Your probabilities of winning are just the same as mine.” 

“Strangely, I don’t believe that,” the man said, holding up a hand to stop her protests. “Not that I’m calling you dishonest Lucy, but you’re literally Lady Luck, if nothing else you’re way better at the game than I am,” Ethan said with a small shrug. “So... I think the reward should be more than a kiss if I win.”

“Hmm... fair enough,” Lucy replied with a small nod of her head. “If you win, you may sleep with me.”  

“Wow, really?” Ethan asked with a surprised look. “I was bluffing... but you already knew that... which means you want to.”

The vixen chuckled graciously. “I just give the proper reward for the proper game, Ethan. Like you said, the pot should have more meaning to it for player gambling for it.” 

Ethan smiled and nodded his head. “Alright, you’re fine with Cassie joining if I win right? We’ve got a deal about this kind of stuff.”

“Only if she joins in the game,” Lucy answered. 

“Hmm, be right back,” Ethan said, rising from his seat. “Don’t disappear on me, eh Lucy?”

“I won’t,” she assured him with a smile. 

Ethan walked back down the hallway and entered into Cassandra’s office, as luck would have it, his wife was just finishing up her work. 

“Oh, hello dear,” Cassie said with a smile as she walked up and gave the man a kiss. “Didn’t expect to see you up and about, thought you’d be busy ‘playing’ by yourself,” she added with a slightly amused smile.

“Well you know what they say, playing with yourself gets boring,” Ethan replied, chuckling at his own joke. “So... you remember that fox lady who controls luck I told you about?”

“Mhm,” Cassie mused with a nod. “Wh-” she began to asked before cutting herself off. “She’s right outside the door isn’t she,” the courier stated flatly. 

“Mhm,” Ethan answered with a grin.

“And why is she here?” Cassandra inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Well... I promised her a kiss... and that turned into a poker game... and that turned into a challenge to see if I can beat her and get some Divine sex,” Ethan explained. Cassandra looked at him for a long moment, then smiled and shook her head.

“Fine,” she said. “After all, our night with Twilight and Celestia was fun, I’m interested to see what a kind of fun a full Divine can get up too,” Cassie continued with a small grin. Ethan gave her a kiss, and they walked back to the table, seeing it was all set up for a game of poker for three players. 

Lucy sat at one end of the table, shuffling a deck of cards as two other sets with a stack of poker chips waited for Ethan and Cassie. “So, ready to get the game started?” she asked the two. 

“No introductions?” Cassandra asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“There is no need since we all know each other,” Lucy replied. “In a way of course.” 

Cassandra smirked and sat down across from the vixen. “I suppose not, thanks for the help with Benny... and the Madre... and the Divide... and Vegas too,” the woman said.

“You’re welcome,” the vixen replied with small bow of her head. “Though to be honest, most of your own success was through your own set of skills.” 

“Why thank you,” Cassandra said as she took up her cards. “Even breaking every casino from here to Primm?”

“Maybe,” Lucy replied slyly. 

Ethan took his cards too. “Alright... let’s get this started.” The man glanced down at his cards, seeing at the moment he had a pair of queens. 

“Agreed,” Cassandra said with a smile as she looked over her cards, she had three threes. 

“So, the starting bid is five dollars,” Lucy said, picking up a blue chip and tossing it to the center. “Whoever wins the most money at the end, wins the game.” 

Ethan and Cassandra both threw in five dollars worth of chips. “Can Ethan and I pool our money?” Cassandra inquired. “After all, we’re together in the prize so...”

“So, what do you think?” Lucy asked with a shrewd smile. 

“I think the answer is yes,” Ethan replied, flashing her a sharp grin of his own.

“Mhm,” the vixen hummed out with a nod of her head. “So, how much do you want to bid?” she asked, turning to the man. 

“Twenty five,” Ethan said with a slight shrug as he pulled out a couple of chips and put them in the center.

“Sounds about right to me,” Cassandra agreed, tossing out twenty five dollars worth of chips.

Lucy nodded her head and toss in the same amount of chips into the small pile. “Alright, which cards would you like to replace?” she asked as she pull out and discarded two cards before pulling two new ones from deck. 

Ethan and Cassandra both did the same, with Cassandra only getting rid of two while Ethan did three. Cassandra’s face remained fixed with the same passive smile she’d worn the rest of the game even though neither of her cards didn’t help improve her hand. Ethan for his part just looked at his opponent furry, he’d gained another queen and an ace. 

“I’ll bet... hmm... a hundred,” Ethan said as he threw down the chips. “So, how’ve you been Lucy?”

“I’ve been doing quite well, thank you,” the vixen replied with a small smile. 

“So, what do you do?” Cassandra asked her curiously as she put in a hundred of her own, fairly confident in her hand. “If you don’t mind me asking of course.”

“No, I don’t,” Lucy replied as she added in her chips. “I simply go around the multiverse, helping the odds in whenever I can or if called in from another local Divine to help their ‘champions’.” 

“That must keep you busy,” Cassandra mused as she and Ethan showed their cards.

“It can at times, but...” Lucy showed her hand, showing a straight. “I always have time to stop and play a game or two,” she said as she reached over and pulled the pile of chips towards her. Ethan would have sighed, but he hadn’t been expecting anything different.

“Well then thanks for stopping by and playing with us,” he told her with a smile. “Last I checked we weren’t your champions... nor are we anyone elses’ that I know of... so it means a lot.”

“You’re very welcome,” Lucy said as she gathered up all the cards and gave the deck to Cassie to shuffle which she did expertly without looking at the cards. “I enjoy playing cards games, and while the poker games with Omega and his friend as still enjoyable; having a wider variety of challenge keeps things interesting.”    

“Makes sense,” Cassandra said as she dealt out the cards. “Also, I just thought of something.” She turned to Lucy who was looking at the woman with a raised eyebrow. “Well, we’re in Vegas, and we’re quite literally in my house, which also happens to be a casino... so shouldn’t I win?” she asked, giving Lucy a small coy smirk.

The vixen smiled illusively as a light chuckled rolled past her muzzle. “You’ll just have to play the game to find out,” she stated shrewdly. 

Ethan smiled at the banter. “Man, I can’t wait to have you both all to myself,” he said, giving Lucy a playful smile. “Should be a fun night, especially with you getting along so well already.”

Cassie rolled her eyes slightly, but chuckled softly. “Yes, I’m looking forward to it as well,” she agreed before looking over at Lucy. “Just remember that I exist too.”

“Oh I will,” Lucy replied as she glanced down at her cards and tossed in the starting bid. 

“And if she doesn’t, then you’ll always have me,” Ethan added with a smirk. 

Cassie shot him a tender glance and then shook her head. “Yeah, I kind of doubt you’ll remember. Didn’t you say the same thing when we had that thing with Twilight and Celestia?” she asked him, throwing in the same bet.

“That was different,” the man said with a small shrug. “I blame hormones... bloody things were still singing in both of our heads,” he added. “Besides, Celestia took good care of you.” He also threw in the bet.

“I see the two of of you still have some ‘bugs’ to fix in having sex with more than yourselves,” Lucy commented as she study her hand a bit before throwing in fifteen dollars into the pot. 

“Just little things,” Cassandra said, raising the bet a little. “We usually get them worked out by the next night, or we work them out,” she added, shrugging a little.

“Yeah,” Ethan agreed, keeping the bet the same. “We both know that we love each other more than anyone else in all the multiverse so we don’t worry about the bigger things.”

“That’s good to know,” Lucy said, tossing in the chips required to stay in. “So, why do you still participate with others then?” she asked, giving Cassandra three cards to be replaced.  

"Because life’s too short to limit yourself like that,” Cassandra answered. “This is still the Wasteland and there’s still every chance that I could die every day of my life. I’d like to live the most I can while I’m able to.”

“That, and it’s more fun,” Ethan agreed, leaning over to kiss Cassandra. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Cassie dearly, but every once and a while we need to shake things up... and I’m not really into ‘toys’.”

“He’s a baby,” Cassandra mock whispered to Lucy as both she and Ethan replaced some of their cards.

Lucy chuckled lightly as she placed a thirty dollar bet. “Well then, hopefully I will be able to ‘spice’ things up.” 

“I certainly hope so,” Ethan said, looking over her with an appreciative eye. “Your fur looks amazingly soft and silky...” he stated with a dreamy smile. 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at him, but couldn’t help a small chuckle. “He’s got me there, it really does,” she said, placing Lucy’s bet and raising it twenty. 

“Well, I do my best to keep it soft and fluffy,” Lucy said with a small smile. as she placed in twenty chips with another ten. “I don’t even use magic to make it look like this,” she stated proudly. 

“That’s all natural?” Ethan asked her with a raised eyebrow, Cassandra batted him on the back of the head gently. “I mean... Of course, I suspected as much!” he quickly corrected himself as he place the sixty chips and raised it another sixty. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but she chuckled lightly. “It’s alright, I get that reaction a lot, even from other Divines,” she said as she placed the sixty. “I call.” 

Cassandra shook her head and placed her bet, the same as Ethan’s. “Sorry, he’s kind of tactless sometimes,” she said causing Ethan to roll his eyes a little, but a light smile was on his face the whole time.

“I tend to notice that,” Lucy said as she show full house to the two. Both Ethan and Cassandra frown at the vixen’s hand and tossed their cards down since none of them had hands that could beat that. 

Ethan shook his head as he saw the outcome and accepted the cards from Cassandra, beginning to shuffle, paying more attention to his actions then Cassandra had. 

“Hey, I managed to have the entire galactic audience of Drek’s arena eating out of the palm of my hand, I wouldn’t say that I’m ‘tactless’ Cassie,” the man pointed out.

“You just insulted her hair,” Cassandra pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“Fur,” Ethan protested.

“Same difference,” his wife replied, sticking up for her fellow woman. “And it’s the worst thing you can do.”

“I thought that the worst thing I could do was-” Ethan began with a smirk but he was cut off.

“Don’t you dare,” Cassandra interrupted him. “We vowed never to speak of that again!”

“Oh did we?” he asked with a small frown. “Hmm... what was it, it was on the tip of my tongue just a second ago...”

Lucy was giggling lightly at the two’s little ‘fight’ and shook her head. The pair looked up from each other’s faces and blushed.

“Well, now you know how we are when we’re together,” Ethan said with a small chuckle. “Think you can handle being stuck between us, Lucy?”

“Only one way to find out,” the vixen said with a sly smile. “So are you going to deal the deck or shuffle it forever?” 

“What-oh,” Ethan said, looking down at the deck still in his hands, he facepalmed with his free hand and began to deal it out. “See what you do to me?” he added, looking at Cassandra.

“That’s not the best thing,” she replied with a soft purr.

“True,” the man agreed smiling before he looked down at the cards he’d given himself. “So, foxy lady, why aren’t you and Omega a thing? I’d think that being foxes and all...”

“Because Omega’s heart was drawn to another and he’s my Champion,” Lucy replied, placing in the starting bet.   

“Ah, gotcha,” the man said as Cassie put in the starting bet. “How close are you and Fausty by the way?” he added, placing down a bet of his own.

“We are... good friends,” Lucy answered, for the first time of the day sounding a bit hesitant to replied. 

“Why the hesitance?” Cassandra asked, picking up on it.

“We had a small... falling out between the two of us,” the vixen replied slowly. 

“Oh... I’m sorry to hear that,” Ethan said with a compassionate smile. “I... hope you patched things up.”

“We have... it just took a lot of… a lot of time,” Lucy replied before shaking her head. “Anyways, now who has the first bet?” she asked, glancing down at her cards. 

“Two hundred,” Ethan said, putting in two hundred chips.

“Right,” Lucy said, putting in the chips. 

“I’ll raise,” Cassandra said, putting in another hundred chips, bringing the bets up to three hundred. Ethan and Lucy both called, and all three began to replace their unless cards. 

Lucy looked at her new hand and surprisingly, she folded. Ethan grinned as he reached out and took the pot, Cassandra let him, seeing no point in stopping it if they were going to share the reward anyways.

“So... you mentioned champions, what are those?” Cassandra asked Lucy as the fox began to shuffle.

“They’re beings Divines choose to act as their force on the world they are watching over,” Lucy replied, her hands making quick work on shuffling the deck. “The Champions are the extension of the Divine’s powers on the world and normally have more range of freedom than they do.” 

“How does that work?” Cassandra asked in confusion. “Wouldn’t the ‘Divine’ have more power than the Champion?”

“Yes, but like I said, Champions have more range of freedom to do deeds than Divine can do, if they are limited. Or even sometimes, add them,” Lucy said. “Like for me... my magic is not only limited on bringing luck to others, but can cause almost anything to happen. However, I myself cannot will it to happen, so Omega does with special deck of cards of his. I supply the power, he supplies the ability to use it.” 

“Ah, that explains how he took down that big fucking dragon,” Ethan said with a small frown and turned to Cassie. “I swear, the Glare didn’t even scuff the thing’s paint.”

Cassandra let out a low whistle. “Damn... I think I need to upgrade my beauty... maybe the Brains can help,” she said with a small frown.

“Yes, that’s one explanation of Omega’s skills,” Lucy said, dealing out the cards. 

Ethan looked down at his cards, as did Cassandra, a mix look crossed between the two. 

“I fold,” Ethan said, setting down his awful cards, and so did Cassandra. 

Lucy raised an eyebrow and looked down on her hand. “Oh... sorry, I guess my powers must’ve slipped in by accident,” she said. “Happens when I get... distracted,” she explained, gathering up the cards and handing them to Cassandra.  

“It’s fine,” the man said. “I’m just glad that you let us win one hand.”

The vixen chuckled with small amusement. “I guess I did... well, that just means I will have to win my money back, fairly of course.” 

“Or, because our money is counting as the same, we could just call the game here and declare ourselves the winners,” Cassandra pointed out with a small sly smile.

“Au contraire, the night is still young,” the fox pointed out. “And we’ve only been at this for twenty minutes, we need to play for at least for an hour.” 

“I was joking anyways,” Cassandra replied with a smirk as they continued to play.

About half way through the game, they heard a noise behind them and Ethan turned back to see a drowzy looking Shade walk out of the room she shared with her brother. She paused for a second as she looked over the three and then walked into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of purified water. 

“Hiya foxy lady,” she said tiredly in an offhand way before she walked back into the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

“Our daughter,” Ethan said with an amused shake of his head.

“Unphasable as ever,” Cassandra agreed.

“She’s soo cute,” Lucy commented with a smile. “She takes a lot from her mother.” 

“That she does,” Cassandra agreed, smiling back at the vixen. “Though she has Ethan’s attitude.”

Lady Luck chuckled a bit before her eyes glanced downward, her mind apparently drifting off somewhere. 

“You okay Lucy?” Ethan asked her in concern.

“Just... thinking of someone else who had the chance of a family like this but... she chose her path,” the fox replied before shaking her head. “Anywho, where were we?” 

“We were up by four hundred dollars,” Ethan answered.

“Right,” she said looking down at her cards. “I answer your four hundred and raised it by another hundred,” she said, putting in almost all of her chips save for a single stack. 

Ethan grinned. “Well, how about that,” he said, meeting the raise. “Think ya can beat my hand Lucy?”

“There’s only one way to see,” the fox with a challenging smile. 

Ethan lay down his hand, revealing a full house. Lucy looked down at the cards and nodded approvingly, before she showed her four of a kind. 

“Well, fuck me sideways,” the man said in an astonished tone. “Or... I guess don’t, in your case.”

Lucy chuckled in amusement as she slide the chips over to her side. “No, I guess not.” 

“You always could if you wanted to,” he added with a small smile. “I won’t hold it against you if you go back on your word in this case.”

“Oh... then what kind of reputation would I make if I don’t hold all of my deals?” the fox asked slyly with a smile. “Beside, I do it now, there’s really no reason to have another game of poker.” 

“I guess not,” Ethan said as he pushed the rest of his money over to her. “You win Lucy, it’s getting late anyways.”

“Okay then, same time next month?” Lucy asked as she got up. 

“Sure,” Ethan said as he too got to his feet as did Cassie. 

“Thanks for coming Lucy, this has been fun,” Cassandra said, pausing for a moment before she stepped forwards and gave the Divine a quick hug. “Wow, it’s just as soft as I thought  it was,” she added as she stepped back. Then the woman blushed. “Sorry...”

Lucy only chuckled with a smile. “It’s okay, though now,” she glanced over at Ethan, “it would be a bit unfair if Ethan didn’t have a chance to feel it.” 

The man grinned and stepped forward to embrace the foxy vixen, her soft fur brushing against his face. “Thanks,” he whispered in her ear.

Lucy nodded but then reached her head over and landed a single kiss on the man’s cheek. Ethan‘s eyebrows raised in surprise.  “Think of it as an... incentive until our next game,” she whispered back to the man. 

“I think I’ll do that,” he purred back before he let go of her and smiled at her as he pulled Cassandra to him and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. “And consider that as an incentive to let us win,” he told her, raising an eyebrow at the fox.

Lucy smiled alluringly. “I think I will,” she said before giving a small bow at the time. “Till next time,” she said before disappearing in a flash of light. 

Ethan and Cassandra exchanged a glance. 

“So, that was fun,” the man said with a smile.

“Indeed it was,” Cassandra agreed.

“Want to go to bed?” he asked her.

“If that means fuck your brains out, then yes,” she replied with a wicked smirk.

“God I love you.”