> Virtuous Desperado
>  by Dumakey93
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a very stormy night as the townspeople went to their dimly lit shacks. The town itself was quite small, only having two homes, a saloon, a schoolhouse, and a sheriff's office. The whole town slept in while the sun disappeared from the sky, making it night. In this night I had traveled, wandering the towns of the desert, trying to escape my inevitable fate. 

A man of about my height stood near the doors of the saloon, chewing a bit of tobacco. Spitting the brown mixture out, he stared at me with indifference. He began to step forward and motioned for me to follow him. I saw nothing amiss, so I went in to the saloon. Seeing the man up close, I could see his ragged features and torn face. He had white eyes, and both were bloodshot and sporadic in their movement. The clothes he wore resembled a beggar, but seeing this man once made my blood run cold. With a frown, he pointed his finger to me and asked only one thing, "Poker?"

I've had no experience with poker as a sport or game. Where I came from there was only a game that involved acts of vandalism and arson. Which ,in fact, weren't really games in the first place. Poker itself is a game of luck that always seems to have much more losses than wins, many incorporating public shootings. Nevertheless, I made my way to the dimly lit table, marked with knives and bullet holes.

The poker game lasted for only a few minutes, as I was getting extremely bored. I somehow beat the man at poker, through some miracle, giving me the incentive to leave. As I set my cards down, the man cackled and wheezed as he pulled out four aces in his hand. The mere fact that he pulled the cards out now was a sign, that this game wasn't over. I also noted that he had what appeared to be more cards stuffed near his wrists, a sign of a cheat. 

I reached for my gun, which was in my holster, but it seemed to have vanished. The man I sat with smirked and drew my gun out of his shirt, and cocked back the hammer. His fingers moved slowly, as he savored the thought of killing me with my own gun. The only sound that came from the gun was a slight click, as the man's face turned white. 

I smiled at his rookie move, and snapped my fingers as I spoke, "Did you really think that I would leave bullets in my gun at all times? That's like asking to shoot yourself in the foot, but it was a nice attempt." I took out a knife from my belt, and began stabbing the man. His face was still plastered with shock, having been defeated with logic that was higher than his own. I left it in his stomach, as I slowly twisted it to increase the man's pain. I grabbed my gun from him, and made him watch as I slowly loaded the gun with one bullet. Spinning the chamber, I flicked it shut and raised it to his head. I cackled like a demon, as I fired a single shot in the stormy night.

I gathered both of our earnings, and pocketed them, not taking notice of a single shadow watching me from a distance. I stood up on my feet, and looked at the now dead man across the table. The blood flowed from the hole in his head, as slowly as a canal flows downstream. There was nothing of real value on him in the first place, except a scroll, with a golden symbol on it. It was bound by a red string, and it seemed untouched by the blood dripping from him. Something about the scroll seemed otherworldly, like it did not belong there.

As my hand wandered closer to the scroll, it quivered slightly, and began to float. I did not expect it to do such a thing, as I was taken aback by the magic flowing from it. The magic did not have an evil aura to it, but was rather innocent and holy. The scroll began disappear into tiny purple fragments, as I just stood and watched it go. I had seen many things in my short life, but that one moment was perhaps the strangest thing in quite a while. I blinked a few times, then I resumed searching the dead man. 

After I lifted a cigarette from my pack, I brought the lighter to it. Flicking the lighter several times, I had it lit. Smoke lightly drifted from the cigarette, as I began to drift off into my happy place. Hearing movement outside, I broke free of my little daydream, as I dashed against a wall next the entrance. The sounds began to get louder, as my breathing began to quicken. My pulse was racing, I was ready to kill, when the sound seemed to be next to me. I turned and pointed my gun, at a tiny mouse, who had stolen a chip from the table. "Damn...you almost scared me..." I said through gritted teeth. 

I was never right in the head to begin with, as the stress of being caught waned on me. I was paranoid from memories of my childhood, which were stained with darkness.  I didn't want to die, is what I kept saying to myself. The aura of that night seemed dark and grim, as I was about to find out why.

The cigarette still dangled from my lips, as I headed outside. It had started to rain, which made my fears that much worse. I started to drift off into a daze, as I gazed at the dark and gloomy skies. I slightly remembered the screams of people who were once my comrades, and it brought a single tear to my eye. I sighed heavily, as I heard a clicking of a gun, the dark feeling began to rise again. Cold hard steel touched my temple, as I uttered no words from my lips. The pain was over, as I crumpled to the wet ground. I drifted off into eternal rest.

Wake up...

You're not done just yet, you still have things to do...

My eyes opened, as I found myself in complete darkness. I tried to gather my surroundings, but I couldn't sense anything. 

No. This isn't what Hell is like...but it is pretty close.

"Who the hell are you?"

Me? I am just a simple tool that He uses to bring worthy and unworthy people back for His own amusement. I have no name, much like you do not have one at the moment. I am a servant of the Devil, I have come to send a message to you.

"What kind of message?"

It involves the idea of selling your soul to Him, in exchange for living again.

"Why does he want me? I am a man, can't he just assign a demon to do his bidding for him?"

Shut up, you talk too much! The point is, you get another chance at life! Don't you get it? You get to live again, and take revenge on the man who killed you!

"I have no reason to go back, for my life has been taken in an appropriate fashion."

He wants you to kill a ruler of a distant country, so that He can rule it for Himself.

"I said I don't w-"

Flames began to rise from under me, as I saw a large figure in front of me. It was the most hideous thing I had seen in my entire life, who's description is hard to even imagine.

Hello.

I took out my gun and fired six shots in his head. They all hit him, but they made no damage whatsoever. 

That's not a very nice thing to do to the person who wants to give you another chance, now is it?

My hands, no, my entire body began to shake at the demon's power, as he grabbed my throat and threw me to the ground. I landed on my back, as I felt it snap from the impact. I gritted my teeth, as a sharp pain ran through my body.

Now you see, that you cannot win. Would you care to listen to my proposition?

"I..would rather not..."

His face suddenly snapped to an inch from mine, as I saw the evil in his face. Even thinking about it makes me sick...

You must kill a certain alicorn, for she is destined to defeat me through her pupil. I want her pupil to see that her dreams can, and will, be shattered. So that her pupil will never rise to power, her teacher must perish.

I simply stared into space, as the demon formed a portal with a snap of his fingers. The amount of power that he had was unimaginable, so much that I couldn't resist his request. I staggered into the portal, which contained a bright and blurry image of a library. Stepping through it, I felt a flash of warm fire in my body.

The portal closed as I got out and brushed my shoes free of dust. I was in front of a tree, one that seemed hollowed out for a living space. I saw that there was no one around, so I politely knocked on the door three times.

"Hold on! I have to set these books up properly...there! Good, that's another row organized."

I heard four footsteps at the door, as it opened it appeared that no one was there.

"Ahem, down here."

I lowered my gaze to find a purple unicorn staring at me. 

"What are you supposed to be? I've never seen a creature like you in Equestria before!"

I then saw a stack of scrolls similar to the one that I saw before, all neatly stacked and wrapped up. I continued to look around the library, paying no mind to the unicorn who kept asking me questions. 

"Who are you? Are you some sort of animal hybrid? Can you use magic? Where are you from? Why do you hav-"

Enough was enough, it was time to make her shut that mouth of hers.

"Listen! I don't care about your questions, you don't need to have me answer them. I am a human, I have no name, I am from Earth, and I don't have time to answer any more of your questions!"

The unicorn tilted her head in interest, and placed a set of glasses on her face. She then put me on a couch and she sat down on a nearby chair. 

"Interesting, tell me more..."

I could tell, that this adventure was just getting started...
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She sat down on all fours, and waited patiently for me to say something.

“Well? Aren’t you going to talk?”

I continued staring at the walls in the home, paying no mind to her questions. I drew a sigh, and decided to look her in the face, where she had an eyebrow raised.

“You done trying to ignore me?”

I rolled my eyes, “Maybe....are you done asking me stupid questions?”

The purple pony turned red, as she muttered something about me being a jerk. After a long pause, she said to me, “For your information, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am a unicorn, and...what are you doing?”

It seemed that she had noticed me cracking my knuckles. While there was a long pause again, I filled it my making popping sounds from my joints.

“That’s gross...”
I smirked, “If you don’t like it, then get out.”

Twilight then stormed out of her home, and out towards some castle. It appeared my plan worked, she was very irritable, so I used that to my advantage. It seemed Twilight lacked basic knowledge of sarcasm.

I rummaged through book after book, to find out where I was, and who exactly ruled the place. Whilst searching, I heard a rustle from upstairs, as two scaly feet descended the stairs.

“Twilight, aren’t you s-”

The dragon-like figure paused as he saw me. He looked nervous, as sweat rolled down his neck. He quickly regained his composure, as he firmly asked, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“I am here to collect a certain debt, that must be paid in a year’s time.”
“What? I thought Princess Celestia didn’t tax us...”
“Princess Celestia, huh? Interesting....since she is a princess, there must be a king or queen, right?”
“No, Princess Celestia is our ruler, along with Princess Luna, of course.”
“Hmm...it seems you are quite talkative...”

He shut up, as I turned my right side to him, showing my firearm. It took him a few seconds to realize the danger he was in. He backed up quickly, knocking over a bookshelf. Hundreds of books fell on him, as the shelf landed on him with a dull thud. There seemed to be no reason left to stay there, as the only thing I could talk to was knocked out. Upon further inspection, he had broken his right arm, not that I was an expert in a medical field. 

I adjusted my belt tightly, as they jingled I thought of what the demon said before. “He said to kill off a ruler, but there are two of them. That being said, it’s probably this ‘Celestia’ I need to get.” I paced for around a minute, pondering why I’d have to kill anyone who rules such a peaceful place. The obvious answer would be that the demons wanted to rule Equestria, and enslave its inhabitants. That seemed too cut and dry, but it was all I had to go on.

I walked over to a book labeled ‘Diary’ it appeared to be written by Twilight. Judging from the purple engravings, it must be her. I flipped the cover and saw her and a dragon hugging, in a way a mother does her child. The dragon in the photograph was the one knocked out cold under the self. I refused to look further, not wanting to see what stupid ramblings Twilight had written.

I grabbed a nearby quill, and dipped it in a glass bowl of ink. With my best handwriting, I wrote:

Dear Twilight,

Sorry about your little dragon under the bookshelf, he wouldn’t shut up. How do you tolerate such a brat? By the time you read this, I’ll be “visiting” your “Princess”, we’ll have a nice...long...chat...
Sincerely, Biggus Dickus

P.S.    No one loves you....

Upon finishing my ‘masterpiece’ I neatly placed it in front of the door, as I walked outside. It appeared to be around sunset, as I yawned and stretched my legs. It appeared that I had gotten off to a bad start to my task, but I didn’t care for small details like that. The important thing was that there still was a job I needed to do.

After an hour of walking, I came upon a little cottage, with a chicken coop. This seemed like a wonderful place to stop for the night, as my limbs were tired. I walked over to the coop, and looked inside, nothing. Why would someone have a place for chickens if you don’t have any to begin with? In any case, I was about to leave when I heard movement from the bushes in the nearby forest. 

I dove inside the cramped chicken coop, and waited for whatever came out. A yellow pegasus quietly flew across the sky and landed in front of the cottage. She was singing some tune, one that I heard before, not seeing me. I watched her open the door, as she walked in with a smile on her face. I slowly crawled out of my hiding place, and wiped off the chicken excrement that was on my legs. Moving silently, I inched towards the front door of the cottage. The pegasus was still singing that song, now I knew what it was. It was modified somewhat, but I heard ‘Amazing Grace’ as clear as a bell. Her voice was truly wonderful, that I couldn’t deny.

I hesitated opening the door, fearing that I’d have to kill an innocent pony. I never had a thing for killing animals in the first place, let alone today. I drew out my gun, and swallowed in my shame, as I kicked down the door.

She was taken aback by the loud boom and covered her eyes in fear. I aimed the gun at her, as I went to press the trigger. My hands were shaking, and I appeared to be hyperventilating. I knew that if I killed this creature rashly, I would pay for it. I slowly lowered my gun, and placed it in its holster. I slowly stepped towards her, and said in a calm voice, “It’s alright, there’s no need to be afraid, I won’t hurt you...” The yellow pegasus lowered her hooves, and looked me straight in the eyes. The cutest blue eyes stared into mine. I gasped, as I felt like my heart exploded from the enormous amount of cuteness. 

I staggered across the room, as I didn’t want to meet her gaze, she calmly trotted over to me. She spoke, “Um...are you...alright?” I simply was astounded at the creature, how could anything be this cute? I felt my heart go a second time, as I passed out from sheer adorableness.
> Chapter 3
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I found myself in darkness once again, this time muffled voices surrounded me. I was mindlessly wandering about in the darkness, as the voices grew louder. With every step I took, the voices changed into wails of agony. As the wails grew in intensity, I heard a loud screech of nails along floorboards. I tried to cover my ears, only to find that this only intensified the sounds.

The sounds got even louder, as blood began to drip out of my ears and onto my white shirt. The sounds suddenly stopped and faded into small voices, whispering a strange language. It seemed that this was a nightmare, one that tortured through cycles. 

The sounds dissipated until the only thing heard was the beating of my heart. The darkness suddenly was blasted by brightly lit images. They were photographs of what I once was, a killer of innocent people. I still had that evil inside of me, but it was slowly fading as I spent more time in Equestria. An image of my parents suddenly flew past, as I stared into those long dead eyes. 

The image stopped in front of me, as I found I couldn’t close my eyes, blood flowed from above the frame. The smiles that were captured by it suddenly twisted into grotesque smirks. My father suddenly came to life, and jumped out of the frame, stunning me. I couldn’t move, out of fear and disbelief of my father returning from hell. Mother soon followed suit, as she joined him and they cornered me, cackling with every step.

I tried to look away, but their empty eyes forced me to see them. My breaths turned shallow, as I reached for my one true friend. I pulled the gun from my holster, and raised it to my mother’s head. I fired a shot straight into her skull, as she collapsed on the dark floor. I did the same to my father, making the blood flow even more intensely than before.

I turned around, and walked off into the darkness, as I heard their bodies rise again. Their bones cracked and realigned, while I refused to look behind me. 

My mother spoke to me, in a scolding tone, 
“Why would you do this to us? What did we do wrong? Why must you be a disappointment?”

I shuddered at the questions, for they came from mother’s corpse. Whatever she was now, she wasn’t my mother. I finally gathered enough strength to turn around, and what I saw chilled my bones.

Standing there in front of me, were Twilight and the yellow pegasus from before. Their heads were tilted at an impossible angle, and their manes were bloodied and ripped. I reached for my gun, but found that it was nowhere to be found. I was defenseless against these two ponies. The pegasus muttered incoherently, making me strain to listen. I could barely make out her words, 

“We....trusted you. Why did you take her away from us? Was it for yourself? You are a disgrace of a man...”

Twilight spoke, straining each word, “We could have helped you get back home. We could have become....friends...”

As soon as she said that word, I fell on my knees. Why am I going to kill their ruler, their mentor, their friend? Why do I have to follow some demon’s orders? My thoughts wandered about in my head, as the two ponies faded into darkness.





I woke up on a fluffy couch, that smelled of lavender. I had sweat running down my entire body, as I blinked my eyes several times. I went to sit up on my right arm, but I found that my limbs were useless. I was extremely weak, utterly helpless to whoever had me on the couch. I looked for a window, checking to see what time it was, but I couldn't even move my neck. I began to crawl much like a child, slowly and without much care, towards the door, which led towards my freedom.

I was around halfway across the wooden floor, when I noticed Twilight and the yellow pony from before. They calmly were chatting about some things they had gathered that morning. Most of which seemed to be for healing purposes, but for whom? Did they really care for my well-being? After all, I was the one who caused an injury to Twilight's dragon. Despite their calm and collected tones, they seemed off.

Somehow I knew, that these ponies were imposters of some sort. I staggered to my two feet, and pulled out my gun from its holster, and carefully raised it to the door. I fired a shot through the center of the door, as I heard a dull thud from outside. The door blasted open, as the yellow pegasus stared at me. Her scream was loud and fierce, as she dove at me with great speed. This time I didn't hesitate, spinning the gun and placing a careful finger on the trigger, I fired the shot. The sound spread heavily throughout the home and outside, as other ponies gathered to see what was going on.

One gray cross-eyed pony was the first to see the bodies, as she gasped and glanced over at me. The gun was warm within my hands, etching the word murder as each shot I fired made their way into the pegasus. She barely had any time to react, as she fell twenty feet into a creek. The blood the three ponies spilled was not red, but was a deep purple and smelt of burnt hair. The bodies evaporated, leaving no traces behind of their existence. It seemed that the demons did not approve of my lollygagging, and sent three assassins to kill me.

Little did they know, I had quite a ways to go before any simple imposter could kill me. I stood outside in the sunlight, as I stared at the empty shells on the grass. I knew I couldn't stay there in that town, for I feared the demons would target innocent ponies. I left the scene, as sweat began dripping from my brow. I walked for several hours and past the cottage that the yellow pegasus stayed in. I made it into a dark forest, and spotted an empty makeshift hut. It seemed that any place would be better than hanging around in a dark forest, so I walked inside. I immediately sat down in a chair next to a stack of books about potions. I had no interest in such witchcraft, so I paid no mind. I drifted into a deep sleep, faintly hearing a strange voice approaching the door.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door opened, as my eyes were closing, I could see a striped blur walking in the hut. I couldn’t move an inch, because I was severely fatigued, so I tried to sleep.

When I woke up from my nap, I began to yawn loudly. I noticed that I still hadn’t eaten anything since I arrived in Equestria, so I looked around. All I could find were native plants that didn’t look too appetizing. My stomach was growling, as I grew even weaker than before. I quickly grabbed a jar holding some blue plant, and opened the lid. The smell was quite pleasant, but it was so strong that it knocked me out.

My eyes opened, to see a zebra staring at me. I was too dazed to pay attention to what she was saying. Apparently she was scolding me for going out into the forest, and she asked me my identity, just like Twilight. All I could really hear was a loud ring, as if a few sticks of dynamite were set off near my eardrums. My eyes wandered towards my holster, as I reached for my gun. 

I quickly saw that something was off, for I couldn’t properly reach for the gun. I raised my hands and my eyes grew wide, for I had no hands anymore. What I did have were two hooves, that were black in color. I could only guess what happened to the rest of my body, I have turned into a pony! I searched myself over to see if I could, at the very least, light up a cigarette to take the stress away. I tried gripping the lighter and cigarette, but my efforts proved fruitless. I guess that’s one way to kick a bad habit. It was because of that damn blue plant! That’s what turned me into a...pony.

The zebra watched me for a few minutes, as I thought of how to remedy the situation. She suddenly spoke to me, 

“Hello human, my name is Zecora.”
I answered, “Well, I don’t care who you are, I just need an antidote. Make it quick, I don’t have all day...”
“It seems patience, you have but little. Excuse me while I play my fiddle.”

She suddenly took out a fiddle, and started to play it. I have no clue how she did it, but she played a melody similar to the one from the yellow pegasus. I grew steadily impatient, as she continued to play for several minutes. My body began to contort and change, as my bones were rearranged. The pain I felt was greater than having to swallow hot lead, as I screamed out in pain. The pain itself lasted for less than a few seconds, as my body was restored to its original form.

I grabbed my clothes quickly, and put all of them on in the proper order. I grabbed my gun, and shoved it in its holster. I turned to Zecora, who stopped playing the fiddle, and trotted over to me.

“I am interested in your troubles, let us talk for a bit.”

I was surprised at the suggestion, but since she helped me out, it was the least I could do. I snapped my fingers, and coughed slightly. This made her very still, a she stared at me again. I spoke in a raspy tone,

“What do you want to know?”
“As much as possible, because it seems you are troubled.”
“How could you kn-”
“I can see it on your face. You try to be tough on the outside, when all you’ve experienced is pain on the inside.”
“So I’m that predictable, huh? I guess it figures that a witch doctor would know the most about me.”
“I will ask again, what is troubling you?”

I turned my head away from her, biting my lip to absorb the bad memories. I turned to her again, with a blank look on my face,

“I am being hunted by demons. These beings want me to kill a Princess that rules over Equestria. They can sense that I truly do not want to kill anyone, because that led my to my previous demise. Which is why they are hunting me down, to make sure I get the job done. I don’t want to get anyone involved, I can handle this myself.”
“Oh really? Not from what I have seen. You need help not just from me, but from the very person you are supposed to kill.”

I considered her words carefully, I knew that the more allies I had, the better my chances were of survival. I also considered the possible consequences of bringing my problems upon innocent ponies. Given my current state, I couldn’t refuse the offer,

“Fine, but we’ll play by my rules, got it?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t even think about turning me into a frog alright? I hate frogs.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”

Zecora and I gathered supplies and headed out into the forest. She paid no mind that I never said a word to her while we walked. I think that she preferred silence, much like I did. Within a few minutes of walking, we reached the end of the forest. Zecora glanced back at her home one last time, then sighed as we continued onward.

It was around sundown as we approached the Canterlot castle. There were no guards at the gates, which was very odd, considering their job involved protecting the princess. We slipped past the iron gates, and walked past a lively party that was being held.

A bunch of ponies were dancing and having what seemed to be, alcohol? Zecora tapped my shoulder, for I was staring at the drinks a bit too long. I quickly turned about and we went to what seemed to be the courtyard. Hearing somepony cackling loudly, we hid in some bushes. It seemed that the yellow pegasus from before had gone nutty, as her hair was mangled in knots. Zecora and I thought it was best to steer clear, so we headed past her and up a dark stair case. 

The staircase was covered in cobwebs, and crescent moon paintings. With every step we took up to the balcony above, I felt like staring into the moon above us. Little time had past when we finally reached the top of the tower. The balcony itself was quite bland, having no decor whatsoever. The moon showed itself, as a light illuminated a dark figure inside the room. I nodded to Zecora, giving it an all-clear signal, I rushed inside.

My first steps inside were silent, as I steadied my breathing and crouched low. I glanced at the window to my right, and there it was. The figure was apparently looking outside her window at the moon, not seeing Zecora or myself sneak in.

The figure turned its head towards us, as I bowed to it. Zecora gasped behind me, perhaps taken aback by what she saw. I glanced up, and saw the figure was at my eye level, only about a foot away. 

I could see it clearly now, a dark blue and black mane glowed brightly within the night. Her blue eyes looked through me, as she was clearly struck by slight fear. She had a unicorn horn and wings to match. We stared at each other, searching for a sign of weakness. It looked like I had found a princess, but was she the right one?
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The princess and I soon stopped staring at one another. Regardless of whether we broke our stares, there was still tension in the air. Zecora dared not to interfere, in fear of a hasty action we might have taken. My breath slowed down, to an inaudible level, as I soon let the tension out of me. I closed my eyes calmly and sat down, as the blue alicorn continued to look at me intensely.

I put out my right hand, hoping to calm her down. After a moment, I got up to bow to her, she stuck out a hoof. I bowed low and began to rise to my feet, as the alicorn spoke, “What business do you have with us?” I stood tall, as I tilted my hat down to cover my face. “Clearly you haven’t come all the way here just to stare at me. We shall say it again, what do you want with us?” I didn’t move my lips, as I answered her question with silence.

Suddenly, a shout erupted from below, as a hole opened under me. I fell down in the center of the hall, as chaos reigned everywhere. Food was being flung left and right, as ponies panicked and scurried everywhere. In all the chaos, I wasn’t seen, as I jumped out of a nearby window. Hitting the ground on my two feet, I looked at the gaping hole in the ceiling. It seemed that within all the chaos, the princess from before lost sight of me. It seems that I had to go for now, as I was sure Zecora could escape without me.

I ran fast out of the castle grounds, as I feared someone may have seen me. I couldn’t be certain that I would be welcomed by anyone (besides Zecora). As I thought of turning back, over twenty armed guards came my way, and spotted me. “Halt! Who goes there!” Once again, I didn’t answer, as I stood deathly still. “Show yourself! Come out here!” I slowly walked out to the guards, as I tipped my hat upwards, to reveal a dark burn mark across my face. The guards were shocked at the sight, as a few in the back turned away, and the rest stood with their eyes wide. 

The leader regained his composure first, as he asked me, “Who are you? Whatever you are, your not supposed to be here!” He motioned for his men to take me in, as I grinned and cackled wildly. “What’s so funny?” I stopped laughing for a moment, as I reached for my gun. The guards never had a chance, as the bullets tore through their shields. I took out nineteen of them, as I went for the last guard, I heard a small click. 

I turned around, as I saw a black creature take over the deceased guards’ bodies. I knew that something was evil about these creatures, so I took the last remaining guard with me. He had wide eyes, as he saw his dead comrades come back to life. They all had a green tint in their eyes, as they began to attack. We managed to outrun them until we were outside of Canterlot. We were utterly exhausted, as we rested for a moment near a tree. It took the creatures only seconds to catch up to us, as they surrounded us.

They began to form into copies of us, much like shapeshifters, just like in those dark legends I heard of as a child. We fought back to back, as wave after wave of copies slashed and shot at us. Every time I shot one in the head, two others would take its place. The odds soon became impossible to overcome, as they quickly overwhelmed us. A dark light surrounded us, as a figure flew down and took out the shapeshifters. I sighed as the fight seemed over, and I turned to face the guard that I took along with me. 

Instead of a guard, I found a tall and dark alicorn standing over me. This one had holes in its hooves and strange bandages around her waist. She had wings much like a bat, and her teeth were all jagged. She smelled like burning flesh, and her eyes glowed a neon green shade. Everything about her was jagged and mangled, like someone bent every part of her in numerous directions. She said nothing while she stared into my eyes.

I heard a voice from behind me, “Run away! She is evil, and she will try to take control of your body.” I muttered that she was stating the obvious, as the voice stopped.

The creature in front of me spoke, “You cannot stop me, for I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changlings. No mere mortal can defeat me.”

I looked her straight in the eyes, “Yeah, whatever you say. I seriously am doubting your power, Chrysalis.”

She gave me a blank stare, as she conjured two large Changlings, who copied my appearance. They twirled their guns around a few times, as they gave themselves time to adjust to my form. They both advanced on me, not caring to use the firearms they were supplied with. Apparently they favored hand-to-hand combat.

The one changling backed off to let the other fight me. He advanced and dove to take out my legs, which I sidestepped to avoid. I spun my body around and gave him a swift left uppercut to the jaw, which instantly knocked him out. The other seemed more cautious, as he slowly swayed towards me. He took a damn long time to walk within five feet of me. I grew bored of this, and took out my pistol, and fired four shots into his chest. He staggered backwards a few steps, but kept on advancing, as his blood oozed out of his wounds. He lost his balance and collapsed on his knees, as he whimpered in pain. I casually walked up to him, and knelt down beside him.

“Do you want the pain to go away?” I asked.
The changling muttered a small, “Yes...”

I took my hands and placed them around his head and neck. I swiftly jolted myself to my right side, hearing a loud snap coming from the changling’s neck. I rose to my feet, as he returned to his original form.

Chrysalis charged towards me, nearly impaling me with her horn. She kicked me with her hooves and sent me skidding several meters away. I reached for my gun, but she stomped on my right hand, breaking it in the process. I winced as the pain traveled up my shoulder, and I could no longer use my right arm. It seemed that I was done for, as Chrysalis fired a green light towards me.

Suddenly, the alicorn from before shoved me out of the way, as she absorbed much of the spell. She was taken aback by the force, but gritted her teeth and sent it back at its caster. Chrysalis dodged the attack, and flew off towards dark mountains off in the distance. I tried to pursue her, but the alicorn cut me off. “No. It is not a good idea to follow her alone.” I complied, and stood in silence. 

The alicorn broke a smile, as she introduced herself, “My name is Princess Luna, thank you for luring Chrysalis out here. The truth is, my sister and I have been searching for her for years, and haven’t found her. That is until you came along. She is a threat to all of Equestria, perhaps even a greater threat than Discord was.”

I now knew that Luna had a sister, and this sister was probably Princess Celestia. I didn’t want to kill anyone at that point, at least anyone entirely innocent. 

I spoke to Luna, “I am afraid that I must go now. I cannot stay here and jeopardize your people anymore. There is something far more dangerous than Chrysalis out here.”

Luna’s eyes widened, “Something more powerful than Discord or Chrysalis?”

“Yes. It’s hard to explain....Some demons want me to assassinate your sister, so they can gain power, and drain the life force out of this world. All they do is consume the hope that people have, then destroy their very souls.”

Luna stood shocked and said, “Then we must hail to arms!! We must prepare for the conflict!”

I shook my head, “No, these beings are nearly immortal, and cannot be stopped by regular means, only I can stop them.”

“You don’t have to go there alone. For all you know, there could be thousands, no, even millions of things out there like them! Don’t you have any concern for your own well-being?” 

I sighed and looked Luna in the eyes, and truthfully spoke, “I haven’t had any concern for anyone in a long, long time...”

I left Luna alone and walked off to follow Chrysalis, in order to protect all of Equestria from evils that were impossible to imagine...
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Red tears cover your face
Ask why and I’ll laugh
For you did the deed that killed many
Why not receive it in return?
~I.M.Y.



The night made me stop near a desolate clearing, where there were no traces of any living thing for miles. I walked slowly, to prevent myself from tripping over whatever dangers lurked near me. I could hear slight ringing sounds in my ear, I couldn’t imagine why it started so suddenly. The sound grew deafening, as it mocked me by making me cover my ears. This did nothing, as the sound formed into loud screeches and screams of creatures from nightmares.

I started getting white-hot flashes in my eyes, as the screeches still increased in volume. The combination of the bright flashes and screeches disoriented me till I stumbled to the soft ground. My face was now covered in dirt, but I hardly noticed this, as my head felt ready to burst open. My body began to shake violently, as I started to bleed from my nose and ears.

No matter how much I screamed, the pain only increased in its intensity. I picked myself up and sprinted wildly into the darkness. 

I suddenly stumbled upon a body, a striped body, as the macabre began to overwhelm me. The sounds continued to grow, as it seemed nothing could stop the symptoms. I suddenly lost strength in my legs, as they collapsed on the dirt path. I looked closely at the body I stumbled over, for it looked a lot like Zecora. I panicked as I thought that she was dead. Fortunately, she appeared to be breathing, as I sighed deeply. 

I saw a green light in her eyes, as her body seemed to melt into a jelly-like goo. A changling appeared from it, as I stood in shock. Upon closer inspection, its body was not a solid form, but it supported the creature despite this. It smirked as blood ran down from its eyes. 

I tried to run, but I stumbled into a pool of some strange liquid. It stuck to my clothing, and my skin, as I struggled to breathe. I could now smell the rotting of flesh and the overwhelming sound of screeching animals. As the changling came closer, those sensations increased in their intensity.

I have never experienced such a thing before, as my stomach churned and I lost whatever I ate earlier that day. I began to stumble out of the pool, as the world began to spin faster and faster. My head was pounding to the point of splitting open, but I did not scream out in agony. I knew that was just what the creature wanted, for me to admit my mortality. Once I would announce to it my weakness, it would attack.

My struggle was pointless, as the changling attacked me anyway. It pounced on me, its body somehow stuck to mine. I began to pass out, as the black creature covered my skin in a black substance. It was much like tar, as much as I struggled, it only became harder to breathe. I could only watch as the black substance crawled over my eyes, as I felt my body harden. The suffocating sensation suddenly stopped, as I could hear cracking sounds around me. With hardly enough energy to struggle in the cocoon, I passed out.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes opened, as I found myself hanging upside-down. I managed to move my hands through the green slime that imprisoned me. I could still breathe in my cocoon, but it was severely limited. I struggled to keep awake, as I turned in the cocoon. I could see green glowing objects as I scanned my surroundings. Besides that light, everything was dark and smelled strongly of sulfur.

I reached into my holster, only to find that my guns were missing. I checked myself, to see if anything else was missing. It seemed that everything else was accounted for. I dug into my pants pocket, and drew a large knife. I managed to cut myself out of the green cocoon, as I fell on my legs.

I heard a large snap come from my left leg, as I felt a huge amount of pain run up my body. It quickly became apparent that escaping from this place would be easier said than done. 

Hobbling at a snail’s pace, I went down a dark corridor surrounded by more cocoons. Upon further inspection, I saw almost all the cocoons were emptied, so I decided to move on. Just as I walked away, I heard a muffled voice from the only remaining cocoon. I turned around and headed towards the voice. A putrid smell started to flow in, as I saw shadows come around the dimly lit corner. I hid behind a gathering of rocks to find out just what had captured me. 

Judging from what I’d seen before, these creatures behaved much like bees. The first step, besides escaping, was to set the creature in the cocoon free. I would have to be fast, something my left leg wouldn’t allow easily. 

I took out my knife and slashed open the green cocoon, as the creature fell out of it. The figures moved closer to where I was, I knew I would be cornered easily if I didn’t hurry. As I turned around to look at whatever I saved from the cocoon, I heard a soft voice. It was another one of my hallucinations, which plagued my mind more often now. I tried to ignore it, as I turned to a stallion who had on a golden uniform.

He was barely conscious, as I lifted him off of the black bedrock. I didn’t blame him, because the smell of the place could make anyone faint given enough time. Carrying him on my shoulders, I moved into one of the few spots surrounded by discarded cocoons. I put him down behind them, as I prepared for a close encounter. 

The creatures that came around the dark corners of the cave were the same one’s I had battled before. This time, however, they were accompanied by a figure who was covered by a crimson robe. 

The figure removed the hood of his robe, as his skull glowed in the cave. His jaw was half shattered, as the rest of his head was just a broken mess. He had no eyes, just what appeared to be thick cobwebs. His skeletal fingers twitched randomly, which showed off the silver rings that he wore on his right hand. With a quick motion, he pointed in my direction with two fingers and vanished into thin air. He appeared to my left side, barely a few feet from my face. Before I could react, the hooded skeleton grabbed my head and slammed me against the cave walls.

My head was pounding, as I quickly forgot the stallion that I had saved moments ago. I tried fighting the skeleton, but he was so unrelenting with his attacks. With every hit, I fell deeper into a pain-induced sleep. My body would not take much more abuse. Just as I was about to pass out from the pain, the formerly disabled stallion saved me. The pony kicked the hooded skeleton square in the chest, as its bare ribs shattered.

I was somewhat shocked at the sudden defeat of an enemy I had trouble fighting. I had a chance to look closer at the equine that saved me. He was a unicorn, like the ones I had heard about in fairy tales, but I never thought such creatures could form a military force. He had a blue mane and a white body, with armor depicting him as a high ranking officer. He had on a slightly torn blue robe, which had a symbol on the back that I had seen before. It was a pink star surrounded by four smaller white stars, representing some sort of family lineage. He had a shield on his flank, which I assumed was a symbol for his purpose.

I was still in a daze from all the hits I took from the skeleton, so I barely noticed that the pony seemed to be telling me something. He motioned me over with his hoof, and his horn glowed with a blue aura. I felt a tingling sensation in my left leg, as the bones were reconstructed within a matter of seconds. The unicorn had healed my severe wound from earlier, but that didn’t change the fact that we were both cornered in the cave. 

“Hey, are you alright?” the unicorn asked.

“Yeah, thanks for the assist.”

“No problem. We have to get out of here, and fast. I can sense hundreds of those creatures closing in on us.”

“Really? I had trouble with a few of them a while ago. I only managed to take down at least ten before I was overwhelmed. They have power in numbers, that’s for sure.”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow, “You fought ten at once? That’s hard to believe, since you don’t have any magic to fight these things.”

“Yeah, I even met their leader once, she was quite a handful.”

“You fought the Queen of the Changlings? Celestia sent my unit out here to take precautions against an incoming conflict a few years ago. We followed Chrysalis and her hive for many years to see what she was up to, since we had reports of Equestria’s citizens disappearing. She took all of us out single-handedly, and held us here. I can only imagine what she did to us afterwards, since I was knocked out. Until you cut me out of that cocoon, I didn’t know what was going to happen to me.”

“Since we saved one another, I would like to know your name.”

“Sure, my name is Shining Armor. I have a younger sister, so I’d like to get out of here alive, if it’s possible. May I have your name?”

I pondered what I should say, since Shining Armor had such a corny name, I said one also.

“My name, is Lightning Zephyr, or Lightningwind. I’d rather not talk about my family at the moment. Besides, we still have to get out of here.”

“You’re right about that, do you have a plan?”

“No. I thought of just using teamwork to take out the small fries and escape as fast as we can.”

Before Shining Armor had a chance to respond, the large group of changlings had rounded the corner. I took out my knife, while Shining charged up an attack from his horn. The changlings had took our forms, as they quickly grew in number. They rushed at us, as Shining and I braced for the incoming assault. One after another, they fell, as we kept fighting tooth and nail to stay alive. I felt a dark presence, as the walls of the cave started to shake violently. Screeching wildly, the changlings suddenly collapsed, as a dark mist surrounded us. 

The mist suddenly took human shape, as Shining looked at me in distress. The mist spoke to me, “What are you doing?! You are supposed to kill Celestia, or have you forgotten our deal? It doesn’t matter to me who this creature is with you, but if you don’t complete your mission, it will cost you more than your life. Unless you want this world to end, you will comply, understand?”

Shining Armor stood in silence, shocked to hear that I was supposed to assassinate the leader he was so loyal to.

I dove at the mist and stabbed at it with great force, letting it take all the rage I had pent up inside. It had no effect, as it started to choke me and lifted me several feet in the air. Shining Armor turned away, as I struggled against the figure holding me up. Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling deep in my chest. The misty figure released me, as my body was soon surrounded by a black and blue aura. My right arm shot out on its own, as black sparks flew from my fingers. These sparks formed a chain around my body, as the mist backed further away. I formed a gun with my fingers, and shot at the mist. 

The mist was instantaneously surrounded by blue pulsating veins. It staggered back and forth for a few seconds, as it screamed loudly. Grabbing my brown trench-coat, the mist mouthed an indecipherable word, as it vanished.

Shining Armor had seen the entire scene, as his mouth was hanging open. He stammered, “H-How did you do that? That’s highly advanced magic, it was so advanced and brutal that it was banned centuries ago.”
I rolled my eyes, “I don’t need a damn history lesson, we need to get out of this cave, before more changlings show up. I’ll explain the Celestia matter later, we don’t have time to fool around.”
Shining Armor nodded, as the two of us ran up the dark staircase of the cave and further into the heart of the hive.

We fought our way to the entrance, where there was one final obstacle for us to face. As we ran into the sunlight, I felt a large chill up my spine. Something was waiting for us to come out of the hives, something with great power. We stopped to catch our breath, as a rotten smell struck my nose. It was her again, I was sure of it. Shining looked at me with concern on his face, “Hey, are you feeling alright?” I ignored his question, as I ran through strategies to defeat Chrysalis.

Shining and I kept walking towards Ponyville, as the smell from earlier became more intense. I heard a small crack, as Shining collapsed. Chrysalis could be seen smirking just a few feet away, but it wasn’t her who knocked Shining out, it was someone more powerful than her. Chrysalis had a companion beside her, who looked exactly like me, only his green eyes set us apart. 

Chrysalis smiled, “Well, it seems that the hive didn’t prevent you two from escaping after all. It’s a good thing that your friend helped me find you. You look shocked, haven’t you seen this figure before?”

I blinked several times, as the figure’s true form appeared, the red-robed skeleton grinned. He spoke to me proudly, “It seems that your friend ‘Shining’ had some pretty good hits in him. He knocked my jaw clean off. Too bad I can’t be killed by a mere unicorn, especially one of his level. You, however, are a hindrance to our plan. Let me explain this to you, because you have no chance of stopping us. We plan to take out Celestia, but we can’t possibly kill an alicorn of her level. The thing we can do, is incapacitate her using an alicorn-like creature. That’s where Chrysalis comes in. She wants to rule Equestria anyway, so she wants Celestia out of the way, so it’s a win-win scenario for us. So, without further hindrances, we shall take over Equestria, and your world as well. There is nothing that you can do to stop us, Lightningwind, so kindly give up.”

I gritted my teeth, I knew that taking on both Chrysalis and the skeleton would be practically suicide. I needed Shining Armor awake to even have a chance at defeating them. My best option at the moment was to run away. I knew my limits, even with my newfound powers, I didn’t want to test its limits this early on. Dashing to Shining Armor, I carried him on my right shoulder, and ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

The skeleton merely stood still and nodded to Chrysalis, giving her the signal to chase me down. She was fast, especially with her wings and having four legs. She didn’t hesitate to stab me with her horn. I dodged all of her strikes, but I lost my footing and dropped the unconscious Shining Armor. I scrambled to my feet, just as Chrysalis fired a green beam at me. I parried her spell with my bare hands, showing her my power. I absorbed her spell, and combined it with my own, and shot it back at her.

A sudden gust came by, as the skeleton negated my spell. He shifted within inches of my face, and rammed his elbow into my throat. I coughed and wheezed, as I tried to regain my balance from the vicious hit. Staggering back to Shining Armor, I was willing to protect him at all costs since he had family. The skeleton paid no mind to my movements, as he drew forth a blade from his robes. With a simple wave of his fingers, he rendered me immobile. The blade from the knife was sharp, as the blade shined in the sunlight. I could do nothing as the knife was mere millimeters from my left eye. With a quick movement of his wrist, my right eye was no more. I wailed in pain, as the skeleton made a single slice across my face. Cackling madly, he put away his knife and disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Just like that, I had lost one of my eyes, a precious thing to a man whose entire life had depended on them. There was nothing I could’ve done to stop my eye from being taken. I could, however, still save Shining Armor.

Chrysalis was somewhat shocked at the skeleton taking my eye, I suppose she wasn’t used to such a grisly scene. She looked at the unconscious Shining Armor, and she glanced at where my eye used to be. Chrysalis silently walked away from us, as she returned to her hive. I was standing motionless, wondering why she didn’t finish us off, perhaps she wasn’t as cruel as the skeleton. Shining Armor got up in a daze, as his body was still badly bruised.

He looked at me, and nearly lost whatever he had for lunch. He took a few deep breaths, as he regained his composure. He cleared his throat, “Who are you, and why are you interfering in Equestria’s affairs?”

It seemed that the skeleton had knock him out for a loop, apparently wiping his recent memories clean. I wanted to tell him what just happened, but I thought of his family. I didn’t want him to worry about his family all the time. I sighed, as I made up a story for him.

Telling him I was a human wouldn’t sit too well, so I avoided talking about that. I told him that Equestria was in danger, and was being threatened by someone. He was stunned when I told him his comrades had been taken out. Eventually the conversation turned to what Shining was going to do now.

Shining’s eyes suddenly lit up when Twilight’s name came up. “Is she alright? I swear, if anything happens to her...” 

I calmed him down a bit as I asked, “What are you going to do now that Equestria is in danger?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to warn Princess Celestia about it. Then I need to see if my fiance is alright.”

I raised an eyebrow at this new information, “You have a fiance? Then why did you take this mission in the first place?! Didn’t Celestia think of the possible repercussions if your family were taken hostage or you were killed?!”

“She has her reasons, I doubt that you’d understand, since you are alone all the time.”

I was taken aback by Shining’s sudden outburst. “No, I don’t understand. But it still doesn’t constitute sending you out here! In any case, we must separate here.”

Shining looked at me plainly, “I suppose we should, since it would upset Cadence that I was involved in this. In fact, I think we should keep this under wraps for now, at least from Cadence and Twilight. That way they are safe from immediate danger.”

I thought about Shining’s plan, and it seemed sound enough, I then thought about my family again. I didn’t want Shining to suffer as I did, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

“Hey, Shining.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll keep watch over Twilight for you, since you have Cadence to worry about. I won’t charge you anything, just trust me on this, alright?”

Shining didn’t seem very naive, but he seemed to agree with my plan. It wouldn’t cause as much of a fuss if it were just me, rather than twenty or so incompetent guards.

“Your terms seem fair, I seem to slightly remember you saving me a few times.”

Shining’s smile faded quickly, as he grabbed me and pulled me close to his face.

“If you don’t keep my sister safe from whatever this threat is, don’t expect to live very long, got it?!”

I stared into his eyes, as he tried to intimidate me into agreeing with him. I shoved him away as I turned my back to him.

“Yes. I will protect her with my own life if I have too. However....if you interfere with my methods, your sister will be done for.”

We both stood still for what seemed like centuries, until we nodded and walked away.

I now had to protect a pony that I probably left a bad impression on. It would be hard to protect her if she was suspicious of me. So my next step was to visit the one pony she trusted more than any other, Princess Celestia.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had walked to Ponyville on foot, which had taken about a month to do so. The reason being that the Changlings had lived so many miles away. It had gotten stormy within the week I left for Ponyville, and I had to stop several times because of flooded roads and collapsed bridges. I was extremely tired from my journey as I walked into Ponyville. I hadn’t slept in about three days because I thought that the red-robed skeleton would follow me back to Ponyville. Since it was around nighttime, there wasn’t anyone to see me.

I turned a corner, and saw ponies dressed up in costumes of various themes. I was caught off guard by one pony who was dressed as a chicken. She was accompanied by a pony who had on a wizard outfit, which was completed by a white beard. I decided to move on and look for Zecora or Luna, the only ponies who truly knew that I existed.

I headed for what the ponies called “The Everfree Forest”. It had naturally moving clouds, in fact, it was an almost Earth-like part of Equestria. I had a hunch that Zecora would be there, or at least after the festival was over. I headed deep into the forest, not knowing that some creature was stalking me.

I heard a snapping branch, as a chicken with red eyes ran at me. I looked directly into its eyes, as I felt a sudden sensation my feet. I looked down, my body was turning into stone! I couldn’t move my legs at that point, so I needed to take out the creature that was staring at me. I focused my powers into my fingers, as I shot at the creature. 

It started shaking uncontrollably, as it clucked every few seconds. My legs were then free of the stone that held me there. I then stared at the creature as intensly as possible, as it turned to stone. I watched at the once dangerous creature now could become a lovely decorative piece. My head hurt a little after the confrontation, so I made my way deeper into the forest.

It must have been hours that I’d been in the Everfree forest, as I came up to a rotted bridge. There was no possible way to cross it, at least not without wings. I decided to make a rope and swing across the deep chasm. It wasn’t the brightest idea, but it was my only option at that point. Cutting off several feet of vines, I tied them tightly together using skills I had developed long ago. I made a lasso out of one half of the vines I had gathered, and tied myself to one of the posts that once held the bridge together. I made my descent to the bottom of my current vine, and I tossed the lasso up towards a post on the other side. All had gone well so far, as I cut off the first supporting vines. The post was strong enough to support my weight, as I climbed up the sharp and wet chasm. As I was halfway up, I felt my boots slip off the edge of a rock, I fell down to my starting point. I decided that I would climb the face of the cliff without boots, since they made me slip more than grip any rock surface. With my bare feet exposed, I made my way up the cliff slowly. I was barely a foot away from the edge, when I heard a cracking sound. I looked at the footholds I supported myself on, they were crumbling fast. I made a jump up towards the edge, as my footholds collapsed. I held onto the cliff edge with my bare hands, as I tried to pull myself up. I was sweating like a mule, as I gathered my strength and managed to reach the other side.

I headed towards an ancient temple, following a bright light inside. I saw the overgrown plants and holes in the place, and wondered how old it was. I walked further inside the temple, I saw a broken piece of glass on the floor. From what I could tell, it depicted six figures floating in the air. I could only gather that much about the glass, as a light appeared next to me and blinded me for several seconds. A calm voice echoed from the light, as it dimmed to a tolerable brightness. A white alicorn stood before me, as I recognized her from seeing her sister a few months back. This was her, Princess Celestia, the pony that I was assigned to eliminate.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” She demanded.
I stared into her eyes, as she spotted my injury from earlier.
“What in the world happened to you? You look battered and bruised, are you alright?”

She seemed concerned about my well-being, which was weird considering she didn’t know me. I suppose she could sense no hatred for her in my eyes. She seemed the motherly type, but I could tell that she could lay down the law if she wanted to. I could sense an overwhelming power from her, so it was best not to mess with her.

I made a slight bow, as I told her my business, “Princess Celestia, I presume?”

“Yes I am. I raise the sun every day and am one of the two rulers of Equestria.”

“I knew that. I have come to warn you of a danger coming to Equestria. A threat has been made on your throne, one that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, “Do you know who made the threat?”

“Not exactly...”

“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?!”

Celestia became more concerned about the enemy, I needed to tread carefully.

“I had a few confrontations with them in the past, I didn’t catch their names. They have black bodies and can transform into anyone. Their eyes glow green, but they have one problem.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, “A problem? How do they plan to rule Equestria and defeat me if they have a problem?”

“That problem is me. Whenever they try to gather their forces, I break them up. I even know where they are now.”

“Then why don’t we go there and stop them?”

“Even if you sent your entire Royal Guards to stop them, they’d end up beating themselves. The changlings can take the form of whoever they see. We must not send them over to be slaughtered. Instead, we must wait until they come to us, so we can tell who is real, and who is an impostor. In the meantime, I need to talk to you about Twilight.”

“What does Twilight have to do with this?”

“She is another threat to the Changlings that they would want to eliminate. That is why I’m lending to you my services.”
“Twilight’s friends can protect her too, she’s not alone after all.”

“No. That will not do, we can’t have her worry about everyone trying to kill her. We wouldn’t want to drive her insane, nor should we limit her actions. That is why I must be her bodyguard and observer until the Changlings arrive.”

“Fine, but if Twilight winds up in a heap of trouble, or worse, you will regret ever knowing me.”

Celestia then flew off into the sky to raise the sun, as I pondered how to protect Twilight without her knowledge.

> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had made it to Ponyville by nightfall, since I decided to take my time to plan how to protect Twilight from the Changlings and the robed skeleton. I knew where her place was, for I had visited her home upon stumbling into this world. 

I saw the treehouse (or is it tree house) just a few feet away. Looking around, I spotted a sufficient hiding spot to spy on her from. It was an old barn out in the distance, with only a few scattered lanterns to lead me there. Deciding to be stealthy, I jumped over a white picket fence and crawled to the barn. In hindsight, I should have considered the mosquitoes and cow manure that I had to endure. I took off my trenchcoat and my hat, as I hung them on the inside peg of the door. Without much thought, I laid myself down on a small pile of hay and fell abruptly asleep. 

I woke up with a start, as the walls crumbled around me. I had no time to wonder what was going on, as I grabbed my equipment and peered outside. There was a trench just to the side of the barn, where some pony had a hat on. The backside of the barn started to crumble, as I saw a rainbow out of the corner of my eye. From what I could tell, she was a pegasus with a rainbow mane, which seemed extremely abnormal for a pony to have such a color scheme. 

Suddenly, the rainbow-maned pony was pulled from her work by Twilight. She procured glasses out of thin air, as she appeared to console the other pony. I had to get out of the barn, or else I’d have it collapse on me. Diving into a nearby bush, I saw Twilight’s gaze turn toward my direction. I held my breath, hoping that she didn’t see me. Sure enough, she didn’t and continued to lecture the other pony. 

I was lost in thought, as I heard a whistling of wind, as I was thrown out of the barn. With the whistling came a loud boom, which burst my eardrums, as I struggled to note my position. I knew that I was being thrown at a fast speed, because I could barely make out the scenery flowing past me. Using my legs, I dug into the ground as well as I could. I barely slowed down, as I dug into the ground with all of my extremities, hoping my body would stop moving through the air.

I stopped sliding after several feet, stopping to catch my breath. Seeing movement near me, I rolled into one of the many bushes that surrounded the barn. Hiding in wait, I let Twilight and her friends leave, taking note of where she had gone. I decided not to track Twilight for the rest of the day, for I was dead tired. I wondered why I became so fatigued easily, then I realized that I hadn’t slept in days. I needed to rest, but I couldn’t stay in the farm, it was too much of a risk for being spotted.

I carefully made my way to a forest which seemed dark and gloomy. After spending some time in the brightness of Ponyville, the darkness of the forest creeped me out. I went in anyway, despite a feeling that I couldn’t shake, the feeling of being watched.

~~~~~

The timberwolves had smelled something foreign in their midst. It mattered not to them what it was, they were just looking for their next meal. Their yellow eyes gazed in the direction of the scent, it was a raw one at that. Apparently whatever creature was giving off the smell seemed tired. The lead wolf grinned in anticipation of his long awaited meal. He motioned for the group to move in on their prey. The group split into several groups of two, making sure to surround their prey. Dashing with great speed, the wolves now lurked within the dense trees of the Everfree Forest. Breathing heavily, the alpha male creeped up from behind the bipedal creature, and growled.

~~~~~

I heard a loud growl, as a wolf-like creature pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. My arms were far too weak to lift him off me. I scrambled to find any sort of weapon to at least blind the creature. After mere seconds of fumbling through my pockets, I felt saliva run down my neck. The creature then sank it’s teeth into my neck, as I decided to endure the pain. I felt my blood boil, and my fingers became numb, as my senses became deluded by the pain in me. With a burst of energy, I kicked the creature off with my left leg. I spun around to face the creature, only I found at least twenty others were surrounding me. 

My heart began to beat slowly, as I sat down and closed my eyes, beckoning them to come closer. With a steady form, I focused all my energy into my hands and feet, spreading the power throughout my body. I opened my eyes, as the leader began his attack again. His fur was tattered and he was missing an eye, just like me. I knew that I needed to deal with him first, even if he seemed overpowering in a head-on fight. 

Clenching my right fist, I punched at his remaining eye. He dove at me, absorbing the blow, as I ducked to avoid him. I kicked at the creature’s neck, as I heard a satisfying snapping sound from it. The creature quickly turned to face me, and gave a smirk, as he collapsed on the forest floor. 

The other creatures backed away as I walked towards them. Each of them bowed at me, recognizing me as their leader. I gave no objections, since my body became sore from my recent fight with their leader. They followed me through the Everfree Forest, perhaps being the only decent company I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After what seemed hours, I sat down on a stray rock. Sighing, I looked up at the sky, and only say a tiny bit of light peer through the trees. I realized that I only had about an hour of daylight left, then I’d be alone in the dark forest.

I wasn’t afraid of the creatures or the darkness within the Everfree Forest. I already knew the limitations of the creatures and what I could handle on my own.

I kept walking through the darkness, when I saw a green flash of light fall from the sky. I assumed it was another group of Changlings that were sent to kill me, but that wasn’t true. I knew for a fact, that the Changlings couldn’t defeat me on their own. They obviously needed help from something much more powerful and dangerous. That’s when it occurred to me, that my only real hope of staying alive, was to team up with Chrysalis. It was one crazy idea, but sometimes they are the only ones that truly work.

Step by step, I had finally made it out of that damned place, thanks to a bright moon in the sky. As I paused to look up at the night sky, a star fell, leaving a white streak behind it. I became so enthralled at the sight, that I barely noticed a low growl from behind me. Turning around, I found that a timberwolf had followed me out of the forest. I prepared myself for its attack, as I began to focus my energy into my hands. Looking down at my hands, I couldn’t feel or see any changes in my form, nor was I feeling powerful.

It seemed that the power that I had acquired was not a permanent change, because if it was, then I would’ve had no trouble defeating the timberwolf in front of me. 

The wolf charged, as I grabbed at my knife. I felt only air in my hands, as my knife seemed to be missing. Having no weapon to defend myself with, I held my arms in front of me, as I prepared for the worst.

The timberwolf’s breathing was very erratic, as it charged at me. I felt an extremely heavy body on my own, as I struggled to breathe under the creature’s weight. It drew a paw back, as it swiped at me, tearing some of my skin. I was bleeding, but I kept fighting it. It opened up its mouth, revealing a set of teeth that seemed sharper than a blade. It dug into my left arm, as it attempted to tear my arm off. I could hear ugly popping sounds, as I kicked and screamed against the creature.

My breath became weak, as I started to have blurry vision. I felt an indescribable amount of pain, as my left arm seemed to vanish. My body was covered in blood, as I was helpless to stop the timberwolf. Looking back at it all, I wondered how Twilight would survive without my protection. Why had I come to this damned place? 
I felt very numb, as my last thoughts had wandered away, as I saw a figure in the distance, which dove down at the timberwolf. I could barely hear the figure’s words, as I passed out...
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My head hurt, as I groggily reached out in the darkness for something to hold. I wasn’t awake, nor was I dreaming, it was more like I was reaching out to an illusion within the darkness. I reached to my face to rub my eyes, slightly scraping my right eye socket with a fingernail. I felt a huge burning sensation from the touch, as I remembered that I lost my eye not long ago. I knew that keeping the wound open might lead to some infection, so I covered it by ripping a sections of my sleeves, and tied them around my head. Upon doing this, I stroked the right side of my face, as I felt deep grooves and skin that felt like leather. 

It seemed that my face had been in some tough times, but as long as I was alive, I swore to carry on. The only problem was that I had no sense of direction, which I hated so much. It was one thing to get lost in a dark forest, but it was a different thing entirely for there to be no landmarks anywhere. It was then that I realized the severity of my wounds, and my disadvantages against magic creatures.

I was without any magical powers, which I wrongly assumed were supposed to be permanent. I had run dry of any otherworldly help, and I had lost almost all of my equipment. I still had holes, tears, and patches, in which were once reliable clothes. I had only a large knife to defend myself with, which still was stained with the blood of some timberwolves. I groped around my head, as I felt open wounds and the warm sensations of blood running down my body. My body seemed to be in horrible shape, but it seemed that the only severe injury I had now, were that two of my right fingers were literally hanging by the skin. 

It seemed like a mixed blessing, that I did not see myself in my current state, but I still needed to protect Celestia’s student. I needed to ignore my wounds, and protect her, even if it killed me. I had no clue why it had seemed so instinctual to protect weaklings, as I had normally brushed them aside as I went along my way. Perhaps, in all the death I had caused, there was still some form of good inside me. 

The darkness that surrounded me did not bring me sadness, nor was I happy to be alone again. I had been alone most of my life, and wanted no companions or company. For if I were to let anyone see who I was, or what I’ve done, they would push me away. Deep in thought, I hardly noticed a tiny spot of light from the corner of my eye. I knew that sitting and moping about my past would only lead to regret, so I began to throw away my worries. As the light grew, I sensed a powerful force that headed towards me. I had no real way to defend myself, as the force grew in intensity as my legs began to tremble. 

I was intimidated for the first time in my life, to the point where I knew that fighting against whatever was coming, would only lead to my death. I didn’t care for such a fate, as I stood tall and breathed deeply. I managed to calm myself a little, as the light soon began to blind me. I tried to cover my eye, as the light grew in intensity.


As the light tapered off, I found myself on the ground, with no sign of my equipment with me. I sat up slowly, as I examined myself again. My ribs were still sore from the beating I took, and my right eye was still missing, no surprise there. My clothes were more rags than actual clothes, as I spotted holes and tears all across my body. I was missing everything, even my knives that I kept in my boots for safe-keeping. I was truly out on my own, with no idea where I was.

I looked around and saw myself surrounded by white snow, as the wind began to whip at my face. I stood up, and stumbled across the white landscape. I dragged myself several hours across the snow, until my legs suddenly collapsed. I figured that it was only natural, since frostbite would probably take my extremities from me first. There was no way to stop the cold from rushing across my body and making me shiver for every breath I took. The only hope I had now, was if someone were to discover my body in the frozen landscape...
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My vision was blurry as the wind tore at my clothes. I was still freezing to death, and it seemed that there was no hope for any rescue. Why would there be? After all, I was sent to kill Celestia but befriended her instead. Even so, it seemed that she didn’t trust me. Perhaps looking after Twilight could be some sort of test to see if I could be trusted. 

Whatever her motives were for trusting me with her pupil, I wondered why she didn’t tell Twilight of my arrival or what I had to do here. Then again, telling someone that an assassin would look after you would seem a bit strange, especially when my species had never existed in this world before.

Then there were the Changlings and the demons that I had fought before. I didn’t have to worry about the Changlings that much, since almost all of them had been taken out by me and Shining Armor. They were too afraid to fight against the demons, since they had no amount of mercy for anyone. The demons however, were a completely different matter.

The majority of them seemed to ignore me, but the few that took interest knew what I was capable of. I often thought of why they recruited me since I have no chains binding me to their threats. I have no family or friends to speak of since most of them are dead or would rather forget about me. I do not blame them nor do I hold a grudge against them since I chose to be an outlaw. A loner that no one would miss would be an excellent person to send to assassinate someone. After all, they would have nobody to prove that they were being blackmailed. Usually people like that are killed in prison or are labelled “insane” and spend the rest of their lives in confinement.

I kept walking into the frozen wasteland, until I came upon what looked like a city. It looked quite a bit different from the wooden shacks I had seen most of my life. The buildings reached high into the sky and they seemed to glow, which helped me get my bearings. The city seemed so far away, but I was determined to get there as fast as my arms could drag me.

After an hour my hands began to tear up as blood dripped from under my nails. I could feel my body getting colder but I was so close to my so-called “salvation”. With a big gulp of air I began to move faster through the snow, as I was within ten yards of a small “crystal” home.

Just as my hands were about to touch the large doorknob, I felt a large magical presence run through my body. I assumed the worst as I banged on the door and tried to get inside. I punched the door out of anger and it finally gave way. As I managed to hobble inside, I saw that the place was abandoned, but a fire was still lit in the chimney. Upon closer inspection I saw that the flames were not a typical yellow-orange glow, but a black aura that was on par with the demons I was so familiar with.

I tried to ignore this as I huddled close to the fire. The door slammed shut after a huge gust of wind blew through. The room became dark enough that I could barely see my hands in front of my face. I paid no mind to that as I began to smell something that worried me. I put my hands up to my face and felt that they were cold, but the smell was from my lower body. As I began to reach down my legs, they became very itchy especially my feet. I took the torn remains of my boots off and felt my feet. They seemed extremely dry and had an odd smell that I just couldn’t place.

My best bet of ensuring my survival and the usage of my hands and feet, was to lay down beside the black fire that seemed to be unaffected by the wind from outside. I didn’t eat anything in what seemed like days, but I spotted a canteen out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t bother to check if there was any water in it because I was focused on getting my body some rest. My body was stretched out on the stone floor as I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Within the darkness he waits for us all. As he drains the spirits and happiness from the once happy ponies, he feels nothing. He is cast out into the frozen wastes, but he does not yield to the light. Instead, he bides his time till the day that something new arrives. Something even more powerful than himself..."

~Author "Unknown"

I awoke to the cold again as my eyes slowly opened. My feet were still smelling awful and I dared not look at them. My body ached in every way imaginable, as I tried to get my bearings. The wind had blown all across the landscape as the snow and ice were shaped to resemble a smirk of evil. Jagged and mangled debris from collapsed structures riddled the land, as I stared into the darkening sky. I began to stand up and heard a snap in my legs. As soon as it came, the pain was gone, but I felt my legs swell. It figures that I survived this far, but was brought to a crawl because of the weather.

As I looked further into the snow, I saw several figures in the distance. They were within a few hundred yards of my little shelter, and were headed in my direction. I feared that these things were evil or hostile, but I held my suspicions as I looked closer. Suddenly a black pillar rose high in the sky, as the figures ran as fast as their legs could carry them. One stayed behind and tried delaying the pillar, but it was swallowed whole as I could hear a small muffled scream of pain.

I tried crawling towards the figures that still were running, but I could see the black monster smirk as its eyes glowed green and purple smoke flowed from its eyes. The storm did not stop as I saw a black sphere fall towards me. It was of enormous size and I could hear maniacal laughter from it. I could do nothing to stop it as the object collapsed the roof of my shelter. Boards, bricks, and blood blew across the floor as I screamed in agony. I heard a sickening crunch of what only could be bones. It had not killed me, but it had taken the numbness away from my legs, or so I thought. I looked down and saw that my legs had suddenly ended at the kneecaps. My eyes grew wide as my screaming stopped and I began to go into shock.

I did not hear the hoofsteps behind the fallen door nor the gasping of something behind me. My mind raced from the pain to finding out what was behind me. I considered my options, either I could act rashly and try to attack the thing behind me, or I trust it and hope that I could be healed.