After being trapped in stone for 7000 years, it's time for Rage, one of the strongest foes Equestria has ever faced, to be released. Except this time, he wants to change for the better.
Hey readers, if you're wondering where Enraged went. Don't worry, I'm just re-writing the chapters.
Hey everyone! The name's Chris....or at least it was on Earth.....Yeah.......
I was a normal guy living a normal teenage life, when I was summoned to Equestria as part of some kind of bet between Discord and Ares. (Yes, god of war), and apparently the deal included me becoming the embodiment of uncontrollable rage.
Now I'm stuck in Canterlot as a statue....
For 7000 f***ing years.....
Ironically, I'm a nice guy at heart. ----------------------------------------------------------- Stories referenced and/or recommended:
"Look, Ares, all I'm asking is for you to send something to bother Celestia while I cook up some new plan to take over Equestria. It's not that big of a deal is it?"
"Will it get you out of my hair?"
"Possibly."
"Very well! Just leave me alone!"
"I love you too, Ares."
"You know she'll catch you regardless, right?"
"Unless you do your job."
"Is that a challenge!?
"Yep. Bet whatever you send won't last 3 weeks against Celestia."
'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six...... Six birds sitting on me now. Ah,ah,ah.'
Give me a break, I was bored. I had been bored for the past 7,000 years. If you had been trapped in stone for that long, you'd start to go crazy too.
But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself...
My name is Chris. Before all this I was a normal teenage human living on earth. I had friends, a job, a family, an overall good life. But now, that's all gone. Now, I'm stuck as a statue in the garden of Canterlot palace as a punishment for my crimes. What did I do to deserve this you wonder? Well except for the destruction of about half of Manehatten and a couple hundred casualties.....absolutely nothing! 'How was I supposed to know about the powers Ares gave me?! How was I supposed to know that he would drop me in the middle of a world that was ruled by two supreme deities that could destroy my face?! How did he know about my anger management problems!?' I had begun to get angry. 'No! Anger bad! Get angry and Luna will put another sleep spell on me. And I missed 3000 years of events because of the first one! If there was one thing I hated, it was being left out of the picture.
I began to gradually calm myself down and think more logically, if anything was to reduce my anger, it was thinking.
'Well Ares is a god....,
The sound of giggling interrupted my thoughts. I looked around carefully, wondering who this mysterious laughter belonged to. It turned out to be multiple fillies and a few colts gathered as part of a Ponyville Elementary field trip, led once again by Miss Cheerilee. My hopes began to rise. Starting four years ago, every year that this class had come to take a tour of the palace, one of the poor souls entombed in these statues had been set free. First Discord, than Vengence (who surprisingly looked a lot like Nemesis from Resident Evil), Combat (Gilgamesh), and finally that goof-ball Cunning, or Solaire as he called himself. All had been given a second chance in the world. Unfortunately, those fools had all screwed up and returned here as statues thanks to the 'Elements of Harmony'.
I would be more careful. No, as a matter of fact, I didn't intend to return as a statue.
No, I had been one far too long for that.
I watched carefully as the the students and their teacher walked closer, eventually stopping in front of me.... but they didn't look at me. Instead they stared at the statue across the row from me and began to discuss the vice of Greed.
'Oh Celestia, if he gets out before me, I swear...' -----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Miss Cheerilee, what's that statue behind us?"
I had tried my best to tune out the many questions about the evil banker-looking statue that had gotten asked, but this one got my attention as it actually pertained to me. I focused on the filly that had asked it. She was yellow with a red mane, a large pink bow in her hair, and the cutest southern accent you could ask for.
'D'awwwwwww'
"That, Applebloom, is the statue of rage, or uncontrollable anger." Miss Cheerilee said, nodding towards me.
The young ones stared at me. I had been wearing samurai-style armor at the time (minus the helmet), my face was scrunched up like I was trying to read really small print in a book, and I had a hand shielding my eyes, as if I was looking out at the horizon. This was because when I had fallen to the elements of harmony, there was a lot of bright light so it was hard to see. I would say that I looked like an ancient Japanese pioneer. Oh yeah, my new name here is Rage, if you haven't figured it out already.
"It looks super ugly, no wonder the princesses turned it to stone." proclaimed a snobbish voice. 'Oh no.'
"Well actually Diamond Tiara, that's not the reason he was imprisoned." Miss Cheerilee replied.
'I'll never understand how she can sound so happy when dealing with that brat.'
"Well it should have been." Diamond Tiara sniffed. "I mean, look at how it's dressed, and its face is hideous!"
'Shut up kid! Don't push it' I was struggling to control my anger. It's amazes me that I still can't control myself after seven millennia.
"I mean, clearly it's a mistake that needed to be eradicated permanently."
'Oh that....is.....It! I began to struggle inside my stone prison.
Now I know it was just Diamond Tiara being Diamond Tiara, and I should have ignored it, but, like I said before, I have anger issues. And it doesn't take very much to set me off.
*Crack*
'???'
*Crack**Crack*
'Really, was that it? I had been trapped in here...for 7000 f***ing years.....and all it took....was for a little f***ing brat....to insult me.....in order to f***ing free myself? Does anyone know how ............unbelievably..............'
"I am f***ing done with this!" I yelled. I began to grow, causing more and more stone to fall off of me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No doubt you're confused, so let me explain my powers.
Normally, I stand around 6 feet tall, but when I get angry I'm like the Hulk. The angrier I get, the bigger, stronger, and more powerful I get. Having broken free from my stone prison, I towered over the fillies and their teacher at 7 feet tall, with a shoulder width of 3 feet.
I stared down at them, extreme anger plastered on my face. I searched for the one who had insulted me. I found the brat sniffling in fear in the middle of the group. As soon as my eyes locked onto her, she screamed, "No please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Man, the internal struggle was real.
"You better be." I growled.
Diamond Tiara sniffed again and began to nod her head at sonic speeds.
Against my better judgement, I tried to calm down and began to shrink back down to my regular form. When my normal size had been reached, I turned my attention back to the class, who were staring at me with wide eyes. "Go on, get outa here." I said waving my hand in a shooing gesture. I didn't need to tell them twice. They charged away screaming and crying for the guards. Speaking of which, I needed to leave before sun-butt and lunar-flank got here. I turned and began to head towards the palace gates, hoping I wouldn't meet much opposition.
Celestia sat in the throne room, trying not to listen to a pony by the name of Gold Bit, who was attempting to persuade her to let him borrow money so he could replace his '"stolen" stock of jewelry. It was another boring day, listening to the nobles complain about everything from minor mishaps to laws that didn't even apply to them! She almost wished that Discord would break out again. All she wanted was a little excitement...
"Princess Celestia!" Shining Armor, captain of the guards, charged into the throne room. "We have an emergency!"
'I didn't actually mean it', she sighed before addressing the crowd. "Everypony, I would like you to vacate the palace immediately and return to your homes." Eventually, when everypony had left, the guards 'helping' the more reluctant ones along, Celestia turned and addressed Shining Armor.
"Now what is the problem?" She asked politely, in a good mood now that the nobles were gone.
"Another one of the statues is gone!" Shining reported. Celestia's eyes widened. "which one?", she asked worriedly.
"The one beside Cunning, named Rage."
Celestia straightened and seemed to gasp for breath before re-establishing eye contact with the captain of the guards.
"Alert my sister immediately! You!" She pointed to a pegasus guard near the throne room doors, "Find Rage and keep an eye on him!"
Shining Armor and the pegasus guard bowed before charging off to follow their respective orders. Celestia sighed again and massaged her forehead with her front hooves before summoning a quill and parchment out of thin air. 'This is going to be a long day' she thought as she began to compose a letter to her faithful student. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: 7000 years ago: Earth
"Alright, Jimmy, I'll see you later!" I called. My best friend waved a farewell before jumping into his Mustang and shooting off down Main Street. I watched him disappear out of sight before turning and heading over to my well-dented white pick-up. Jimmy was one of a kind. He was the only guy I knew who could get pulled over for going fifty over the speed limit and not get so much as a ticket, all because he just so happened to have a box of donuts in his passengers seat.
I sighed. I was going to miss him when he moved to Montana in three days, but at least we had successfully set up a farewell party for him tomorrow. As I climbed into my truck, the first thing I noticed was the smoke. It wasn't thick, but it tainted the air with a passion. I looked towards the passengers side to see if I could identify the cause. I found it. The "cause" of the sickly smoke was wearing a black leather biker jacket, a Call of Duty T-shirt, combat boots, sunglasses, and wore a red bandanna over his forehead. In his mouth sat the biggest cigarette I had ever seen. He looked over at me and raised his sunglasses with one of his middle fingers.
"Sup, Chris?"
A strange biker guy who had snuck into my truck and who knew my name. Needless to say, I tried to vacate the vehicle as fast as I could, only to discover that the doors were locked. And those locks weren't budging.
"Woah! Hey! Hey!" He said, waving his hands a little. "I'm not here to hurt you, I just wanna talk."
Seeing as I had no choice, I sat back nervously and nodded for him to continue. He grinned.
"Name's Ares by the way." I raised an eyebrow.
"Like, the God of War Ares?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. His grin widened. "That's me."
"So what do you want? Money? Steal my truck?"
His grin disappeared. "You don't seem to understand. I am Ares, god of war.
I shook my head stubbornly. "Not possible. He doesn't exist."
"Is that so? The biker leaned towards me and stared me in the eyes. "Look."
Not wanting to look scared, I obliged, and even to this day, no matter how hard I try, I will never forget what I saw.
In a few seconds, I saw every battle that had ever taken place on Earth. I saw every victory and every defeat. The Egyptians, Greeks, Nazis, Samurai, Aztecs.... I witnessed every war fought by any civilization, and every death that occurred. Blood soaked fields, burning towns and cities, decapitations and duels.... all of it flashed before my eyes, ending with a very recognizable mushroom shaped cloud.
Ares blinked and the visions faded. I jerked back, slamming into the door with enough force to make the truck rock. I realized that I as sweating buckets and that I was shivering, but not from the cold.
"W-w-wh......" Words failed me.
Ares lowered his glasses. "This is a normal reaction. Now then, listen carefully. The god of war does exist, and he is currently sitting in your tuck, and," a scroll appeared in his hand. "He has a proposition for you."
"But why me?" I ask, still shaken by the experience. "I'm no war hero, nor am I a great fighter."
Ares leaned forward. "That's just it," he said, "You could be. You already have the fire inside you, all you need is a way to channel it."
"And if I don't want any part of this? What if I want you to leave and then I forget this whole ordeal?"
Ares smiled an evil smile and held out the scroll towards me. "Then your friend doesn't make it to Montana."
I paused, then reached out and grabbed the scroll gingerly. "What sort of proposition?"
As I approached the main gates, I noticed a sudden increase of guards that I had to dodge. Either security had been upgraded during my imprisonment, or the princesses had already been notified of my escape. And from the way the class had fled, I was going with the unfortunate latter. I peered around a corner of the palace. S***! That were too many guards for me to deal with unless I got angry, and strangely, I just wasn't feeling it.
'Looks like I'll have to find another way.' I thought as I turned and began to sneak back the way I had come.
I had made it back to the garden, when I recieved what could only be described as blunt force trauma to the back of my head. I staggered for a few steps before straightening and looking around for whatever had almost caused my head to cave in. I heard snickering, which caused me to look up and see a cyan colored pegasus glaring down at me with an evil little smirk on her face.
"Hold it right there!" The yell caused me to whip around. On the other side of the garden stood both princesses and five smaller ponies. Counting the cyan one, that made six small ponies. Wait....six ponies.... I looked closer. Sure enough, around their necks and on one's head were what I could only assume were the elements of harmony! As I stared, I suddenly registered that someone was talking.
"Pardon?" I asked. Something about that phrase seemed nostalgic.
My question wasn't answered with words. Instead, the immediate area was covered in a extremely bright light. I looked up, only to see a large rainbow coming down towards me.
'Damn it!'
I felt a little insulted really. Instead of directly confronting me and engaging in some witty banter, they had decided on a sneak attack in order to prevent me from transforming! Not that I had felt like it anyways.
All I could do was watch the rainbow. As it approached, I suddenly felt something....something that I hadn't felt in a long time....
I felt fear....
I...I was afraid. I tried to move, but my legs had frozen. There was no way I was getting out of this one.
"N-n-n-nooooo!!!!!" I screamed. I had just gotten free! I didn't want to go back now!
Then the rainbow enveloped me and everything went dark.
"Let me get this straight. You want to send me to another world, where I need to distract two incredibly powerful princesses until a friend of yours comes up with a successful plan to take over said world. Once this is accomplished, I will be brought home to this very moment in time. Am I on the right track?" I asked for the sake of clarification.
"That's it." Ares replied. "Sound simple enough?"
"Not really."
Ares shrugged. "You'll figure it out for yourself soon enough"
Wow, helpful much?
I looked down at the scroll in my hand. "So it's either this, or Jimmy dies?"
The god of war nodded.
"No way out?"
"Nope."
I breathed in, then released my breath slowly. "Fine."
Ares clapped his hands, his happy face re-emerging. "Good! Glad we have a deal. By the way, you won't be totally helpless. I'll give you some kind of ability to help keep you from dying too quickly."
"Gee, thanks." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. The god of war merely grinned wider as he opened the passengers side door (he must have magically unlocked them when I wasn't paying attention) and climbed out. He closed the door and I heard the sound of a motorcycle rev before silence re-emerged. Not wanting to deal with anything else crazy that evening, I started my truck and shifted into drive. The next thing I knew, the seat had disappeared out from under me, and I was falling through an endless black tunnel, screaming my head off. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: Present day: Canterlot
I didn't feel any different. The last thing I remembered was being jumped by the elements of harmony, and that giant rainbow ready to wrap me in stone once again. I tried to move my body, but got no response. I began to sweat. 'Maybe they had killed me this time!... Maybe this was some new form of punishment..... What if....' I continued with this line of thought for some time before I registered the sound. A crying noise..... Combine that with the lack of control over my body.....
'Oh s***, not again!' ----------------------------
Twilight and the others surveyed the smoking crater where Rage had previously stood. As the smoke started to clear, it was obvious that there was no body. Most of them seemed to take this as a bad sign, but Celestia had a ready explanation.
"It is possible that he was still weak after being encased in stone for this long, and since he had only gotten out recently, he didn't have enough strength and was disintegrated." She said when Twilight had thrown a questioning look her way.
"I didn't think that was possible," Twilight replied.
Princess Celestia shook her head. "No pony understands everything about how the elements work, Twilight."
A pink blob appeared in Celestia's line of sight. "Now can we have a party?" Pinkie pie pleaded impatiently.
Celestia started, then laughed. "Of course! Even though he didn't put up much of a fight, you six did save Equestria once again."
Everypony turned to head back inside the palace, when they were stopped by Luna.
"Sister, dost thou hear what we hear?" Luna asked, cocking her head to one side.
Celestia paused. Then she and the bearers all listened closely. There was a quiet, sobbing noise coming from inside the crater!
The two royal sisters shared a look of fear before the sun princess called out to the elements, "Beware, for this battle is not yet over!" And with a mighty flap of her wings, the remaining smoke cleared from the crater, revealing the last thing anypony would have expected to be there.....
A colt.
It was a rose-red earth pony with a black mane and tail. In terms of age it appeared to be no older than 7 years. And it was sobbing intently. Fluttershy attempted to fly down to the colt, but was stopped by one of Luna's wings. "Stay where thou art Fluttershy," the moon princess ordered. "Tis one of his tricks!" As Twilight and her friends gaped disbelievingly at Luna, Celestia called out to the colt.
"Rupert! Give control to Rage now! We want to help you!"
The colt (Rupert was his name, Twilight assumed) shook his head. "N-n-n-nooooo!! Leave him alone! He just got free and doesn't want to be stone again!" He began to sob again,"Please don't hurt him." From the look on Celestia's face, this was clearly not what she had expected the colt to say.
"Uuuuuummmmm, princess? Can you possibly explain to us what this is about?" Rarity asked, her bulging eyes still stuck on the sobbing little pony in the crater.
"Well," Celestia thought for a moment, "it's more or less an ability of his. When he feels angry, Rage gets stronger, but when he gets scared....this happens, and Rupert, the colt mind takes over. By the way, this also explains why he isn't stone right now."
Twilight looked at her mentor, "Oh, I get it! Because he changed mentally, the elements sensed an innocent colt instead of a threat to harmony! But princess, how did you know about this?"
"We've met," Celestia said. "But now we will have to wait. Rage won't be able to take control of the body again until his poor alter ego here settles down." She then addressed the colt, "Rupert, would you like to come inside and have some pudding?" The young colt sat up a little bit at the name of the delicious chocolatey treat.
"Pudding?" he asked.
"Yes, sweet pudding for the sweet colt," Celestia cooed.
The colt stood up on four still shaking legs, took one step towards the solar diarc, noticed the rest of the those present, then leapt back about three feet and curled into a ball, whimpering.
"It's all right," Celestia cooed again. "These mares won't hurt you. In fact, they're going to eat pudding with you!"
After a few more false starts and a ton more soothing words from Celestia, the mane six and the two princesses were finally able to convince Rupert to join them in the palace for chocolate pudding.
That's right folks, the alter ego of one of Equestria's most dangerous enemies can be bribed with pudding.....
'I feel so embarrassed.' I thought to myself, as I mentally watched my scaredy-cat of an alter ego filling his face with chocolate.
'Damn that tyrannical princess sun-ass and her stupidly high IQ!'
As of now, she and those Elements of Harmony were keeping a close eye on my kid mentality, waiting for him to calm down enough to return control of the body to me. That's when they'd strike, I knew they would....
So to counter this strategy, I had begun to terrorize my equine mind by whispering horrible things that Celestia would do to me/him if he released control. It worked, but it found to be somewhat counter-productive as I wanted back in control of my body as quickly as possible. But no, I couldn't risk it until sun-ass or the goddess of mooning weren't watching.
'Ooh, I like that! Sun-ass shall be her new name! Sun-ass, Hoo-Hah-Hah!' -------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia watched Rupert carefully, waiting for any sign that might signal a change in control, but so far nothing had happened. Rupert glanced towards her fearfully before returning all attention to his pudding. Celestia narrowed her eyes.
'Hmmm. Rage should be back by now, so why isn't he?' She shook her head. This was taking too long. She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't notice someone trespassing into her mind.
"Shall we place a spell of slumber upon him?" Luna asked telepathically, causing the sun princess to flinch in surprise.
"Yes. After waiting this long, I suppose that would be the best course of action." Celestia confirmed, thankful that Luna had thought up a way to speed up the process.
Luna nodded, then began to whisper something like a lullaby under her breath as her horn began to glow a dark blue. Slowly, slowly, Rupert's movements became more and more sluggish as he fell under the influence of Luna's magical lullaby.
Celestia smiled. Once the colt was asleep, Rage would mentally be forced to regain control of the body. She motioned for Twilight and her friends, who had been sitting at the table quietly watching the proceedings, to get ready for what was about to happen. -------------------------------------------------------
Oh God...
As soon as Rupert had started to slow down his eating, I knew exactly what had happened. And I didn't like it at all.
'Hey, buddy!' I said nervously, Don't leave me just yet! Pleeeaaasssseee!!!!'
{Im so sleepy....}
Well damn.
Suddenly, I felt a tingling feeling in my toes. It began to slowly rise up my legs, before starting on my torso. I remembered that there was only one thing that caused this feeling of discomfort, and that was when one of my minds released control to the other. This meant only one thing... I was coming back. --------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia grinned as she watched the body of the sleeping colt liquefy into a blob, before reversing direction and began to morph into something much larger. "Get ready everypony!" She cried, "Here he comes!"
Approximately three minutes later, when the shifting mass had almost finished settling into its new form, Celestia gave the word.
"Now!" She shouted.
Almost instantly there was a flash, and once again, the Elements of Harmony were called upon to end the reign of a potentially dangerous enemy...
Or at least that's what should have happened.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly, the first thing I saw when I opened my newly formed eyes, was that giant skittles beam of doom coming towards me like a semi-truck. The even sadder thing, was that this time, I wasn't able to dodge it. The rainbow crashed down upon me, I could feel the sudden pressure, I could feel the pain hit, I heard the scream rise out of my throat....
Then it all stopped. Surprisingly, I was still able to move. I looked around and found myself still in the dining room of the palace, with Sun-ass, her sister, and the elements gaping at me as if I had grown two more heads and started ballet dancing.
"B-b-but that's n-not possible!" Sun-ass stuttered, her voice a mixture of shock and fear. I almost expected a *poof* and have a baby alicorn appear in her place.
I looked around some more to gauge the mood of the room. Luna, and what was her name?... Oh yeah, Twilight! Well, she and Luna looked ready to piddle on the floor, which would have been hilarious had I time to laugh, but I had more pressing matters to attend to.
I decided to be a man, and take this opportunity to say what has been on my mind this whole time. I turned back to Sun-ass, her chin having found it's way off the floor, and took a deep breath..... Before falling to my knees and crying like a sissy.
"No pleeaasse don't turn me back to stone! Do you know what it's like to have pigeons shit on you 24/7?! Oh god, I can still feel it oozing into the cracks! Please don't sentence me to anymore of that torture! I can't move, I've nearly gone mad six thousand-ninety-eight times, (ooooh yes, I've counted) saved only by my inner colt who's afraid of his own shadow, and I can't.....take anymore of that birdshit!"
I know it was a pitiful sight. I know you'll all think less of me because of it, but hell, there's only so much a guy can take!
The only response to this was more surprised stares, and a couple of shocked/angry ones from a cyan pegasus and an orange earth-pony.
I had no idea what these ponies thought of me at that moment, and frankly, I didn't care. I had been abandoned here with no way home, served seven thousand years as a stone statue, and the first couple hours of my freedom have been ruled by fear and paranoia. Oh yeah, and the bird crap. So forgive me if I'm not exactly the most stable man in the world.
The only thing I could bring myself to do was sit there and wait for judgement.
POV: 7000 years ago: Some forest in the middle of somewhere.
I groaned as I awakened.
Never before in my life had I felt as bad as I did now. I felt like a soda can that had been rolled around in a cement mixer, then been run over repeatedly by a steam roller. In short, I felt a bit worse than crap.
Rubbing the back of my head, I slowly stood up and took in my surroundings. It appeared to be a forest of sorts. The trees stood straight and proud, thick and full of leaves, while the ground was littered with bushes, brambles, and the like. If I listened carefully, I could hear the faint sounds of a river nearby. It all seemed normal, but at the same time, I could tell it was something unfamiliar and alien.
As I scanned the area, I became conscious of a low growling noise. I whipped around wildly, looking for the source of the strange noise, but saw nothing. This made me cautious, as it sounded suspiciously like a wolf, but from what I knew about wolves, they would probably leave me alone if I left the immediate area.
Speaking of which....
I looked around before setting off in a random direction. Usually I have a pretty good sense of direction, but I guess the fall had messed that up pretty good. As it was, there appeared to be no other way of telling which way was north, and with those wolves and Lord knows what's out there, I wasn't really picky about what direction I ended up going.
After about an estimated three or four hours of walking in one direction, I became aware that the wolves seemed to still be following me. Surely I had gotten out of their territory by now? Unless... I began walking faster, listening to the panting in the trees. I didn't know how many were out there, but I sure didn't want to find out.
Eventually the noises disappeared, until the only sound was of my breathing. This worried me even more, since before, I had at least known that something was out there. Now I had no idea if anything was watching me. ------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours later, night had fallen, and I was forced to set up camp. I had found a nice small cave, perfect for someone my size, that lay beside a small stream I assumed trickled down from the river. Right now, I was attempting to light a fire, using the 'two sticks' method, and I was failing miserably. After my fifth try, I became aware of the growling.
'Great, they're back.'
Except this time, I actually saw them. I could only stare as they emerged from the bushes to stand in the moonlight. There were a total of seven wolves. But these wolves were different from any I had seen before. They were made of wood and vines, and had glowing green eyes.
I face-palmed as I remembered Ares saying something about another world. I had been so stupid to instantly assume that creatures here would be similar to those on Earth, and now I was about to pay the price for my ignorance.
But I wasn't going down without a fight.
I crouched into a fighting stance. The wolves sensed my hostility and spread out in a semi-circle around me. Trying to flank me huh?
'Clever girls' I thought, attempting to keep an eye on each of them.
I heard one coming and I turned, knocking it to the side with a right hook. I stared at my fist in surprise. I had never remembered being this strong before! 'Must've been part of the power package Ares gave me' I thought, as another wolf jumped from my other side. I caught that one too and deflected it. However, a third wolf sensing an opening, had leaped a me as I swung at the second, and had latched itself to my arm. I screamed in pain before flinging it off me. I was beginning to get pissed.
"You bastards think you can take me? Well, BRING IT ON!!!!"
As soon as I uttered those words, I felt a change come over me. It felt like I had eaten a case of Jalapeño peppers and could feel the heat course through my veins. I looked down and noticed the wolves were getting smaller. No, wait, I was getting bigger! I continued to grow until I stood at about eight feet tall. Even the wolves seemed to be wondering if messing with me was a good idea.
I grinned, then charged the wooden dogs. This was going to be fun. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd POV: Present Day: Palace throne room
Celestia could only stare. Rage, the creature that had destroyed half of Manehatten 7000 years ago, was currently collapsed on the floor before her, a nervous wreck releasing any and all insanity that had been pent up during his time encased in stone.
She had never stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, those that been petrified by the Elements of Harmony were still conscious and aware of everything that happened around them. Then, for Rage to have been in such a condition for 7000 years.... It was a miracle that he hadn't turned out like Discord. But then again, Discord hadn't been all there before he had been imprisoned either.
Truly, all Celestia could feel was sorrow for Rage, despite everything he had done. No one should have to experience what he had gone through, no matter the crime. She opened her mouth to speak...
"Silence foul being!" Luna yelled in her royal Canterlot voice. "Thy pleas for mercy art overwhelmed by the sounds of thy past misdeeds! It shall be back to the gardens for thou!"
"Now sister," Celestia said calmly, "Let's not be too hasty. After all, seven millennia is a long time to reflect on one's past actions and create a new plan for the future. Don't you agree?
"What! Thou wouldst give a second chance to this thing that caused so much destruction?!" Luna could not believe what her older sister was saying.
Celestia frowned. "Against my better judgement, yes."
Luna seethed, but she knew that once the solar princess had made up her mind, there was almost no going back. "Very well," she conceded. "But you hadst better be right about this, sister."
Rage looked up at the two princesses, a look of disbelief etched upon his face. "Wait, so you're not going to turn me back to stone?"
"That's right." Celestia replied, inclining her head slightly. "Since you've opened my eyes to the mental and emotional pain and stress of being encased in stone can be, I feel that I should repay you by aiding in your recovery."
"Rage narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the solar diarch. "I'd thank you for your surprisingly kind offer, but something tells me that it's not quite going to be the freedom I'm hoping for."
"You would be correct. Now, as I mentioned earlier, seven millennia is a long time to reflect on your past actions. In return for granting your "freedom", I want you to undergo reformation and become a lawful citizen of Equestria."
At these words, the entire room erupted into exclamations and statements of disbelief.
"But Princess Celestia," Twilight exclaimed. "How do you expect him to accomplish that?!"
"Why, with your help." Celestia said.
"M-m-me?!" Twilight squeaked.
"Yes," Celestia smiled. "Think of it as a friendship lesson, 'How to share friendship with others'".
"B-b-but..." Twilight looked helplessly from her mentor to Rage.
"Celetia lowered her head until she was looking Twilight in the eyes. "Twilight, I have full faith in your ability to do this." She raised her head back up. "And your friends can help you too, of course."
The six mares looked at each other nervously, before turning back to the solar diarch.
"We won't fail you, princess Celestia." Twilight said, as the others gave nods of acceptance.
Celestia smiled, then addressed Rage. "Very well, tomorrow, you will leave for the nearby town of Ponyville, where you will live with and learn friendship from my student and her friends. Do we have an agreement?"
Rage was about to answer, when he was interrupted by a still irritated Luna.
"Ridiculous!" snapped Luna, "He would be gone as soon as they turned their backs. How do we know that he'll even honor this agreement?"
Rage nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, your sister has a point. We've only really known each other as enemies, so how do you know I'll stick to the 'plan'?"
"Do not worry," Celestia's horn began to glow. "I have an idea that could possibly work."
There was a *POP* and a roll of parchment appeared before them. Using her magic, Princess Celestia unrolled the parchment, revealing a short paragraph of golden writing:
In return for his freedom, the being known as Rage shall undergo reformation with the intent of becoming a force of good and a law-abiding protector of Equestria.
In accordance with this claim, Rage must meet the conditions listed below:
1. "He shall be moved to Ponyville, where he shall remain under the constant watch of my student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends."
2."He shall do his best to help and protect the citizens of Ponyville and not harm them in any way."
3."He will learn to control and divert his anger, and to make himself a kind and peaceful being."
4."He will make some friends."
"The failure to follow any or all of these conditions will resort to him (Rage) losing his chance at redemption, and he will instead be re-petrified, cast into Tartarus, or suffer any punishment that myself and my sister Luna deem necessary."
"Does this seem acceptable?" Celestia asked, after everyone had read the letter.
"It is detailed, but how does this help with the problem?" Luna questioned.
"Simple, when Rage signs this paper, he will establish a link with it. Now, if he were to break any part of this 'contract', the paper with catch on fire, alerting us to his attempt to flee or attack our subjects. Then we may act accordingly. Now Rage, if you would be so kind."
The human grudgingly took the quill offered to him and signed his name at the bottom of the parchment, but not before slowly re-reading the paper grumbling about "the power of paperwork" and "feeling like he was selling his soul".
The moment Rage finished signing his name, the parchment immediately rolled itself up, before disappearing in a flash.
There was a moment of silence, then Rage spoke up.
"So, what happens now?"
Celestia smirked at him as she turned in preparation to lower the sun. "Now, you start your probation."
I wiped my hands on my shirt as I surveyed the damage. Eighteen piles of mulch lay among about 20 broken trees. It had been relatively easy to fight the first seven wolves due to my increased size and strength, but when the sounds of the fight had attracted the rest of the pack, including one incredibly large and powerful alpha, it once again became a contest to see who could last longer.
I examined myself, grimacing at all the cuts, bruises, and other wounds of varying description that covered my body. After inspecting the immediate area for any more hidden threats, I started walking again, hopefully in the same direction I had been going. And hopefully, to the edge of the forest.
Not an hour after leaving the battlefield, I happened upon what appeared to be an old stone ruin. It was large but ruined and falling apart, now disguising the once magnificent building that had probably stood there. My curiosity was aroused and I decided to get a closer look, possibly for a hint of where I was and who inhabited this place. The only problem was the ravine that stood between it and me. "Hmm. How should I deal with this?" I asked myself. The ravine was too large to cross in my current form, but I didn't want to stay out here and get attacked by any other beast that just so happened to jump from the trees.
'the trees'.
After a lot of yelling at the trees, (don't judge me), I succeeded in building a simple log bridge that crossed the ravine. I nodded at my handiwork before starting across. The log wobbled a bit, not enough to throw me off, but that didn't stop me from almost pissing myself as I walked. Upon reaching the other side, I fell to my hands and knees and gasped, giving silent thanks to any and all deities that ruled this world.
Once I had composed myself, I stood and made my way around the ruins, searching for an entry point. Eventually, I was confronted with a pair of old, wooden doors that might've marked the entrance to the structure. I looked them up and down before spitting on my hands, and placing them upon the doors, pushed. The doors opened with a loud squealing noise, and I entered. I was greeted with the sight of a large foyer-esque area. I examined the room carefully, noting the once grand pillars and the multitude of doors leading deeper into the ancient building. I might not have been very learned in the field of archaeology, but even I could tell that this place was meant to be a place for social interactions. Judging from the architecture, it could've been a temple, but as I said, I'm not a professional in that field of study.
"Hmmm. I can't imagine why someone would just vacate this place." I wondered aloud. "I mean, it doesn't look like anything happened here that would force the people to leave." And it was true. Other than the effects of time, the place gave no sign of an attack or disaster... So what then?
As I wandered down one of the long side-corridors of the ruin, I began to suspect that what had lived here hadn't been human. For one, nowhere on the tattered tapestries had I seen anything that looked remotely like a human. Then again, there weren't any tapestries or statues that copied the image of any creature, so maybe I was wrong. Plenty of geometric and abstract shapes and nonliving things, like ships, shields, and even waterfalls; but nothing that resembled any living thing.
I continued to search deep within the structure. The halls became darker, and the doors began to squeak loudly as they were opened. I made my way down to where I assumed the dungeons would be, and that's where I encountered the surprise of my life... ------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: Present day: Canterlot palace
I awoke to the sun shining directly into my face. Groaning tiredly, I rubbed my eyes before rolling out of bed. Standing up, I gradually made my body drag itself to the bathroom, where I unclothed and practically threw myself into the shower. I sighed in relief as the warm water cascaded over my body, waking me up. I examined the shampoos: autumn apples, violets, rose extract, ('ew'), but nothing that sounded remotely like something a guy would want to use. So naturally, I settled for regular soap.
When I had washed and dried myself, I tied a towel around my waist and exited the bathroom, only to find that someone had entered and laid out some new clothes for me. I walked over and examined my new garments. The outfit consisted of a simple tunic and shorts, both of which were red with a blue stripe going down each side.
"Hmmm. Rather plain compared to what I thought they would design for me." I said, then shrugged and began to clothe myself. I was a 'fearsome' enemy, so I doubted they would dress me like a king. Also, they probably didn't know my size.
As I finished dressing, there was a knock at the door.
"Rage, are you awake?"
"Yes, come in if you want." I answered.
The door opened and in walked Celestia's precious student, the leader of that band of mares that were responsible for returning all the statue escapees back to the garden. What did she want? I gave her a questioning look.
"I came to take you to breakfast. I mean, I assume you're hungry." she said carefully.
My stomach growled at the word 'breakfast', so I nodded and followed her out into the hall.
As we walked, I examined the walls. There were a lot of tapestries and banners portraying battles, balls, or other grand events that had been marked down in equestrian history. After a time, I noticed that Twilight had been watching me, not with a look of apprehension, but one of curiosity.
"Is there something you want?" I asked casually, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.
She started, before blushing, embarrassed that she had been caught staring.
"Um, well, you're not exactly a pony..." She started.
"Exactly?"
"Definitely not a pony, so, if you don't mind me asking, just what are you?"
"Would you like a general idea, or the exact answer?" I asked.
"Exact please."
"Well, how should I start?" I said, thoughtfully staring up at the ceiling. "I guess you could say that I'm an extraterrestrial bipedal life form that can change from this into a hulking behemoth when I begin to feel extremely agitated, or into a whiny little colt when frightened beyond the limitations of the normal brain capacity. Good enough explanation for you?"
"I guess, but what species are you?"
"Human, aka, Homo sapien."
"And you said that you're not from here?"
I heard the rustling of paper and turned back to twilight. She had a pair of those librarian glasses on, and was using her magic to make a quill scramble across a roll of parchment, marking down everything I said. I rolled my eyes. "That's right."
"Where are you from then?"
She seemed to be so engrossed in her note taking that I couldn't resist having a little bit of fun with her. "Mars."
"How did you get here?"
"Go ask your mother."
"How long have you lived here?"
"Fifteen minutes."
This continued for a good five minutes before we reached the dining hall. The princesses and the rest of purple flank's friends were there. I nodded politely to sun-ass and took my place beside the rainbow-maned pegasus. Twilight sat on the other side of me, closer to the royal tyrants. Celestia took note of Twilight's quill and paper.
"Find any interesting information about him?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yes!" Her student confirmed. "I've leaned so much about him!"
She passed the parchment over to Celestia, who proceeded to look it over, an eyebrow climbing higher with every line. Once finished, she turned her gaze back to Twilight, who was looking up proudly.
Celestia cleared her throat, "So, he came here to fart on a pig and his favorite color is..." Her face turned red, "your father's ass."
I burst out laughing at Twilight's reaction. I had no idea that ponies could turn that shade of red!
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and my end was found as I was suddenly knocked out of my seat and set upon by multiple assailants, all with the intent of beating the crap out of me. I curled up in the fetal position as they hammered at me. I felt that I could protect myself like this until they stopped. That is, until I felt a sharp pain in my leg...
"Ooooowwwww!!!!" I screamed as I uncurled, throwing off all the ponies that had jumped me. I looked down at my leg. One of them had bitten me. They had bitten me!
I frowned and sensed my power begin to surge, anything that took a bite out of me didn't have long to live. I stood and turned, just in time to see the cyan pegasus spit out some blood. It was her!
I started towards her, anger plastered on my face. I was about 8 feet tall now, and still growing. This pegasus had been rude for long enough. It was then that she noticed me, her angry face changing to one of horror, before she attempted to escape.
Too late.
I grabbed her around the neck and lifted her into the air, she began to make choking noises. I felt something hit my arm, it tickled, but didn't hurt, probably magic. I turned my attention back to my victim.
"It was just a joke." I growled.
Her only response was more strangulated noises. Her face was also beginning to turn purple.
"Enough Rage! Don't forget, we can count this as your second chance and be done with you!" I heard sun-ass yell from the background. I knew she was right.
I looked back at the flying menace in my grip. She was quietly sobbing now, probably sure that her life was about to end. I, however, was fighting myself. This is not how I wanted things to turn out! I wanted to get a legitimate second chance, and here I was, destroying my only chance to make that wish come true! 'But she needs to pay for what she's done!' a voice in my head screamed. I contorted my face into one of indecision, the voice in my head was tempting, but I couldn't kill. I didn't have it in me.
I sighed and relinquished my grip on the pony, allowing her to drop to the ground, gasping for breath. I reverted back to normal size as her friends rushed over, comforting their friend. I made the mistake of looking at them. My blood froze, they were all staring at me, most with anger, but that blue pegasus, the look of fear on her face, I'll never forget it. It was then that I understood.
I had almost killed somepony.
"I...I..." I stuttered, stumbling back from those haunting magenta eyes. I felt fear emerging, fear of myself. There was a *poof*, and I knew no more. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: 3rd person
The ponies stared as Rage backed away, sweat appearing on his face. Suddenly there was a *poof*, a cloud of smoke, and there sat Rupert, trembling in fear.
'Fear?' Twilight thought, 'why would he be afraid? Unless, unless he didn't realize that he could've killed Rainbow!' But she had to make sure. She cautiously approached the young colt, so as not to startle him.
"Rupert, is Rage scared?"
The colt whimpered an unintelligible answer.
"Could you repeat that?"
"W-would I get in trouble for it?" Tears had began to well up in his eyes. Twilight instantly hated herself.
"No, but I'd like to know so I can help make Rage feel better."
"O-oh, well, h-he's very traumatized that he tried to kill..." He broke off, his eyes widening as he took in what he had said. Rupert suddenly broke out in tears, crying his heart out.
"Sh, Sh, Sh, Sh!" Twilight said quickly, trying to calm the young colt down. Anyway, her suspicions had been confirmed. "So he does feel sad about what he did?"
Rupert hiccuped and nodded, his shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs. "Thank you." Twilight said, before turning around and rejoining her friends. (As soon as Twilight left Rupert, Fluttershy immediately raced over to cuddle him.) The rest of the mane 6 looked at Twilight expectantly.
"What did he say?"
"Apparently he's traumatized from almost killing Rainbow." Twilight responded, shaking her head.
"What! You mean I almost died, and he's having trouble getting over it?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, her voice cracking slightly.
"Shhhh!" Fluttershy sat over by a hunched over Rupert who was covering his ears.
"Apparently," Twilight glanced over her shoulder at the colt.
"Well, we will never know until that poor colt gets control of himself and lets that brute back out." Rarity sniffed.
"No, we won't." Twilight said, as they all turned to watch the colt sob into Fluttershy's fur. ----------------------------------------------------------------
POV: 1st person
I sat there in the dark recesses of my, no scratch that, our mind. Based on recent events, I doubted that it would be a short stay in here. Fine with me, just gives me more time to contemplate on how to try and make things better. If that was even possible.
Celestia approached Twilight and her friends, still consoling a somewhat traumatized Rainbow Dash. Rarity was the first to notice her.
"Oh princess, you have to re-petrify that brute now! I mean, look what he almost did to Rainbow!"
What she did not expect, however, was the disappointed expression plastered on Celestia's face. By this point, the rest of the mane 6 had noticed it too, and were understandably confused. Why was Celestia upset with them?
"I can see why you blame Rage for this occurrence, and I can almost completely sympathize with you. However, the blame could also be laid on you ponies." Celestia was clearly trying to control the anger in her voice.
"But...but princess..." Applejack stuttered.
"Do not 'but princess' me, Honesty. You of all ponies can tell that what I'm saying is true." Celestia thundered. Applejack lowered her head in shame. Celestia continued, "I understand that you were upset when Rage messed with Twilight, but that is no excuse to knock him to the floor!" She glared pointedly at Rainbow Dash, "And resorting to biting? When did you lower your pride and standards to biting your opponents?! I am very disappointed with you ponies."
The mane 6 all had their ears laid back and their heads drooped in shame. It hurt that they had failed the Celestia's expectations, but she was right nonetheless. They had greatly overreacted to a harmless joke. They all glanced over at Rupert, who had sensed the sun deities anger and had curled up into a small, trembling, furry ball. Maybe they could make it up to him sometime..... Maybe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: 1st person: 7000 years ago
I had thoroughly searched the basement/cellars for any form of life. At this point, even a skeleton in a closet would be welcome. But there was nothing interesting there. I continued searching the maze of hallways underneath the ruin, checking for secret rooms like they did in the movies. (What? If there are going to be secret rooms, where else would they be?)
After what seemed to be a couple hours passed, I had checked every room and hall on the basement floor. Dejected, I began my walk back to the spiral stairway that had brought me here. I was tempted to double check the walls as I retraced my steps back to the steps (heh, heh), but quickly dismissed the thought. If I did that, there was a good chance I would never get out of here.
I had climbed about halfway up the stairs, when I tripped over a loose stone. I fell and grabbed one of the moth eaten banners that lined the wall. Now, considering that I was expecting said banner to stop my fall, it was needless to say that I was sorely disappointed. (OK, no more puns...maybe.) I continued my fall and smacked my face into the stairs. I released my grip on the banner and sat up grabbing my face.
"Gah, that hurts!" I screamed. Luckily, I couldn't feel any blood, the worst seeming to be a bruised face. 'Hmm, maybe my skin was a bit tougher too.' It was then that I registered the whirring noise. I looked up, just in time to see a portion of the central column swing inward, revealing a hidden staircase spiraling downwards. 'A stairway within a stairway, classy.' I thought as I began my descent.
I eventually reached what I assumed to be the bottom of the secret stairs. Before me stood a solid wooden door. 'Well it can't be that solid after all this time.'
POW!!!
'That is a very solid door.'
Nearly breaking my arm during my initial charge, I sat back and examined the door. Unlike the rest of the doors in the ruin, it was still in one piece, and there wasn't a speck of dust, cobwebs, or rust anywhere on or around it. "Is it magic?" I wondered aloud as I reached out to touch it. Imagine my surprise when it opened with a push.
Once I had gotten over getting mind raped and had stopped bashing my head against the wall, I proceeded into the chamber beyond the door. I looked around for a moment before my eyes fixated on the centerpiece of the empty room, and my eyes bugged out. Lying there, on what appeared to be a stone table (and it was a table, it had the four legs and everything), was a full set of samurai armor, minus the helmet. I approached it slowly, waiting for any traps that might be ready to launch.
I reached the table without trouble and studied the armor. It looked real, but the thought of human armor in a world that, so far, had not yielded any evidence of human activity, was somewhat suspicious. Oh well, waste not, want not. I grabbed the chest piece and lifted it, finding it surprisingly light. After a few minutes of struggling and adjusting, I had succeeded in putting the first piece of armor correctly. It fit rather well. I took some time to put the rest of it on, briefly wondering what had happened to the helmet, before leaving the room and returning to the ground floor.
Upon emerging from the basement floor, I was struck by the morning sun. Then it occurred to me. I didn't know just how long I had been down there, but I was sure as hell tired now. Not even bothering to take off my armor, I walked over to one of the many corners and lay down. Next thing I knew, I was out. -------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up the next morning....day....week..... I don't know how long I slept, all I know is that I woke up and that's what's important!
Anyway, I woke up. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stood and made my way to the front doors. The sun was rising, that's good. It meant that I had a whole day to wander around and look for those princesses that Ares wanted me to find. (Hah, you thought I had forgotten didn't you?) I sighed. I really wanted to stay here, but the sooner I found royalty, the sooner I could get back home.
Cracking my neck, I stepped out the doors in my new armor, and began making my way through the forest, constantly aware for the sounds of those wolves of any other monster that wanted to pick a bone with me.
After roughly about ten minutes, I sighed in relief and broke into a jog as I spied the edge of the forest. I emerged to find myself on a small hill overlooking a rolling plains with a few trees, the largest of which could serve as a house by itself, but who would do something silly like that. I scanned the area and my gaze landed on what appeared to be a large settlement on the horizon, just close enough that I could barely see it. I stared for a moment before shrugging. 'Might as well.' I thought, and began to make my way towards it. If I was going to find the princesses anywhere, that looks like a good place to start. ----------------------------------------------------------
POV: Rage's mind: Present Day
I was jogged out of my memories when I felt the hoof on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Celestia standing behind me. I admit, I was startled, but she merely smiled at me. I dropped my gaze and she spoke.
"Rage, there is nothing to be afraid of."
My head snapped up again and I glared at her. "Nothing to be afraid of?! I almost killed somepony! I swore that would never happen again and I almost did it on the second day of my release! You try going through that and tell me that there's nothing to be afraid of!"
Celestia had stepped back from my outburst, a look of shock on her face.
I dropped my head again. "I'm sorry for losing my cool like that."
She smiled sadly, before approaching me again and laying a hoof on my shoulder. "I apologize." she said, "You're right. I don't know what it's like to go through that, but I do know one thing. As long as there is somepony willing to forgive you, you will have nothing to fear."
I looked down at her. She smiled, and I felt warm and calm inside.
"Now then," she said. "might we return to the real world now? I believe that there are some ponies in need of an apology."
I smiled slightly and nodded as Celestia disappeared. I closed my eyes and waited to take back control. -----------------------------------------------------
There was a *POOF* of smoke and Rupert was replaced by me. The first thing I noticed was there was something furry on my head. I reached up and touched it, there was a quiet squeak, and a yellow pegasus shot down to her friends. Speaking of friends, I looked over at them and saw their mixed stares. Celestia and Luna stood beside them, both of them smiling. (Albeit Luna's looked more sadistic than I would've liked).
My attention was once again drawn to the mane 6 as the orange one, Applejack, I believe, took a step forward.
"I'm mighty sorry about beat'n on you earlier." She said, clearly ashamed of what she had done.
Rarity stepped forward next. "Me too, it was awfully unladylike of me. Could you ever forgive me."
Pinkie pie was suddenly up in my face, bawling her eyes out and gripping me In a hug. "Wahhhhh! I hurt my bestest friend, and now he won't want to be one of my bestest friend anymore!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her extreme behavior.
One by one, the other three also apologized for hurting me, and I apologized to Rainbow Dash, even though I knew it would take more than that to make us comfortable around each other again.
After everypony, and I had finished our make-up session with a group hug, we were addressed by Celestia. "I'm very glad that you were all able to set aside your differences, like good friends should." She said, smiling.
I paused. 'Good friends.' I looked back down at the ponies. I never thought we would be considered friends so soon, but I knew Celestia was right. 'Perhaps this will work out better than I thought it would.'
'I know it will.'
I looked up in surprise, but Celestia only winked. I smiled back, thankful for her help. It was hard to imagine that at one time we had both been enemies.
My thoughts were broken by the sound of a terrified gasp.
"Hurry everypony! We're going to miss our train!" Twilight cried in horror.
Celestia chuckled softly. "I've had the guards take your bags to the station, so you can head there immediately."
"Thank you princess!" Twilight said, bowing quickly before taking off towards the door. "Come on everypony!"
The others took quick bows and charged after Twilight with me close behind. At the door, I stopped and looked back over to Celestia.
"I won't let you down princess." I said. Celestia made a shooing motion with a hoof, and I took off, hoping to catch up with my new friends. -----------------------------------------------
Luna turned to her sister, "Tia, We can't believe thou actually forgave him."
Celestia glanced at Luna, "He is not evil Lulu. Not like so many others out there. He is simply....misguided."
Luna returned her stare after their former enemy. "I hope so."
The seven of us charged through Canterlot towards the train station, Twilight panicking the whole way.
"Hurry everypony! We're going to miss the train!"
I ignored the shocked (and some disgusted), looks given by the nobles and other citizens of the capital city. That wasn't anywhere near as important as our current mission, because I knew that if we missed our ride to Ponyville, we'd have to take Twilight to the hospital in order for her to recover from the massive panic seizure she was bound to have.
OCD can be a bitch.
Yeah, so we were making our way to the station, Twilight of course was in front, with Applejack and Rarity not far behind. The group of Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and yours truly, were situated about six feet behind them. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. (probably arrived at our destination about five minutes ago).
Remember that seizure that I mentioned before? It didn't happen, but I'm sure what i did next almost gave Twilight an aneurism.
Now being a human in the world of ponies, I was able to notice things that ponies probably didn't, and sometimes respected things that ponies took for granted. So it was no surprise that I recognized the value of the porta-potty on the sidewalk.
And I needed to go. Bad.
I veered towards it and charged inside, locking the door behind me. It was a little small, since it was for a pony, but I was able to fit inside, and thank god there was nopony in it or things could've gotten awkward really quick. Maybe I could finish before...
BAM!! BAM!!! BAM!!! "RAGE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!
'Oh God! She's found me!' "I had to go!"
"YOU COULD HAVE HELD IT UNTIL WE GOT TO THE STATION!!!!!!!!"
"Shut up! I need to go and I will stay in here as long as I want to!"
Wrong answer.
I could hear her breathing slow considerably, before disappearing from my hearing range. 'Maybe she left?' I wondered. Then I heard a faint whirring noise, like something was being charging up. 'What is...'
KAAAAABBBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed in horror as the porta-potty exploded around me. Next thing I knew, I felt considerably lighter and I was in the air. I looked down at the street below, and screamed again as I began my descent. Hmmm, my voice was higher pitched too. As I fell, I caught a glimpse of what once was an arm.
'There is no way she was able to change me that easily.'
And I went back to screaming. Suddenly there was a thump and I was moving in a different direction. I opened my eyes, which I didn't know had even been closed, and saw my savior. It was that yellow pegasus mare that I had found on my head after the rainbow incident. The really quiet one. She was holding my/Rupert's frame in her forelegs. I made eye contact with her, and she smiled sweetly, before spiraling down in a loose circle back towards the ground.
When we had landed, I, well, Rupert jumped out of her embrace and just sat there. Now, even though I couldn't control the body, I was still connected to all the senses, and I could feel the puddle spreading underneath 'our' flank. (Gods, I'm gonna turn into Gollum.)
A shadow fell over 'us' and Rupert looked up, making eye contact with a very murderous looking Twilight Sparkle. Out of the corners of 'our' eyes, 'we' could see the crowd and the rest of the elements shifting nervously.
"What... did Rage say?" Twilight asked sweetly, but with just a hint of 'I'm going to kill you if I heard what I thought I heard.'
"Ummmm........" My alter-ego started.
'Say no or she will fry us, and use our own piddle for both the oil and the sauce.' I told him mentally. Apparently we were in agreement as 'our' head shook quickly.
"No! He didn't say anything!" Rupert squeaked.
I was waiting for the worst, but Twilight just gave 'us' a final look before moving off towards the station again. 'We' tried to walk, but were instead picked up and placed on the back of the orange pony. Applejack gave 'us' a smile, before taking off to catch up with the others. -------------------------------------------
We arrived at the station with five minutes remaining. Thankfully, Celestia had called ahead and allowed us immediate entry onto the train, where we found an empty car for ourselves. Also good news, Rupert had finally calmed down and given me the body back. So now Twilight's death glare could reach me directly, instead of through Rupert.
The ride had so far had been uneventful. I had been informed of events that had happened outside of my roadside restroom, namely Twilights initial reaction when Pinkie Pie informed her of my whereabouts, which got a laugh out of everypony. (I still denied my final quip to Twilight, although both of us knew perfectly well what I had said).
The mane 6 had just been informing me of what they did for a living. I was quite impressed with Applejacks claim of growing the best apples, and equally amazed that Rainbow was the one responsible for the 'sonic rainboom' several years ago. Fluttershy was just finishing up explaining to me the difference between cows and cattle (apparently in Equestria they are two seperate things), when lil miss Rarity asked the million dollar question.
"Say Rage, Why were you petrified anyway?"
The others, who had started their own conversation, fell silent and turned to me, waiting for an answer.
Was it just me, or was it getting hot in here?
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Celestia gave us background info every time somepony else broke out of their statue, but she didn't say a thing about you!" The rest nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't think..." I started, but Applejack cut me off.
"Come on pardner, it can't be that bad." She gave me an awkward look. "Can it?"
"Heh, heh. You'd be surprised." I said, sweating a little. But upon seeing the persistent looks on their faces, I realized that I probably wasn't going to go anywhere until they heard my story. Besides, if I was going to be their 'friend', I would probably have to tell them eventually. "Jesus." I said, putting my face into my hands. I waited for a moment before sitting back up. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you won't be too happy after hearing it."
They leaned in slightly as I began my story. -------------------------------------------------------------------
POV: 7000 years ago: Manehatten
I couldn't help but feel awkward. Ponies were staring at me. A lot of ponies. Literally the whole street had stopped moving and was watching me. I continued to move forward, ponies moving out of my path, but otherwise no one moved an inch.
I'm getting ahead of myself, let's go back to how I even got into the city in the first place.
I had made my way across the plains from the forest to the city with no trouble. The problem was getting into the city itself without the inhabitants seeing me coming, losing their shit, and barring me entry.
There was a well-worn road that wound its way to the city, but that wasn't a problem. The problems were quite obvious to me. First, with the exception of the short hill I was currently lying on, and a few bushes to my right near the road, there was not a single hill nor a speck of foliage over the 4000 meter gap between me and the walls of the city. (I'm probably exaggerating, I wasn't able to measure the actual distance.) And speaking of walls, that was the second problem. There were large stone walls, which meant that the city was most likely guarded, which meant that I'd have to sneak my way in. I mean, I doubted the gate guards would just look at me and say, 'Oh gee, that looks like a nice guy, let's let him in without asking any questions.'
No, I had to find another way in.
It was then that I registered the sound. It was a creaking and rattling noise. I rolled down the hill and ducked into the bushes, just fast enough to keep from being seen by the cart that had come down the path behind me. I watched from my hiding spot, analyzing a potential opportunity. It was a decently sized cart, filled what appeared to be dirt. I wasn't sure why someone was carting dirt into the city, but that wasn't my business. What confused me the most was that there was no driver in sight, just the pony that was pulling it. I'd have to satisfy that curiosity later, but I had other problems to deal with first.
Speaking of which.... ------------------------------------------------
I lay quiet, knowing that the tiniest movement would draw the attention of a guard and bring my little escapade to an end. I also felt stupid. Here I was, hiding in a wagon of fertilizer, afraid that one of the city guards would have the sense to slightly disturb the contents of the wagon. When I had gotten into the cart earlier, I had dove into the pile of fertilizer and covered any parts of me that still showed. Somehow, I figured this cartoonish stunt would get me through the gates, no questions asked. Yeah, for some reason I thought the guards would just let an unmanned cart enter the city unopposed. Did I mention that I feel stupid?
There had been a couple close calls, once being when some dust got up my nose and almost made me sneeze, and the other being almost dumped out when the guards lifted up the cart to make sure nothing was underneath.
I listened silently. There was some more talking, then the cart started rolling again. Whew, just made it! A few more minutes and I probably would've given myself away.
I waited until the cart stopped, then waited a bit longer, before peering out of the pile. With no one in sight, not even the pony, I jumped out of the cart and found myself in a backstreet behind several stone houses. Not wasting a moment, I made my way through several random alleyways and onto another deserted side street. After a good few minutes of wandering, I found what I had been looking for, a castle. The only problem was that to get there, I had to cross a street.
A very, busy street, filled with.....ponies?
I tried to wrap my head around this. I had expected humans, or a slightly less human race, something with two legs at least. But ponies? Well, at least that explained why there wasn't anyone driving the cart I hid in. However, this was going to make it slightly harder to blend in with the natives.
'Ah hell, might as well get it done and over with.' I thought, before stepping out onto the sunlit road. ------------------------------------------
That is where I was now, still a little creeped out by the stares and silence I was getting. 'Just keep moving and everything will be fine. Just keep moving...' I kept telling myself. Sadly, the gods were not with me that day. I felt something latch onto my arm and turned, only to discover a pegasus in a guard's uniform floating in the air and tugging me back. (How the hell do they grab things with those hooves?)
"Easy there buddy. Where do you think you're going?" He asked gruffly. But before I could answer, we were approached by a unicorn guard.
"Stone Hoof, that's not how you act around something like this." She said, before turning her attention to me. "Come with me." She cooed. "I know where we can find you a nice clean home and possibly a loving family. You would like that wouldn't you?"
The guard named Stone Hoof looked at her like she was insane. I however, started getting upset, and for a very good reason too. The way she talked to me, the tone of her voice and the wording she chose, she was treating me like I was a pet! An animal!
I grimaced at her. "I believe the home I have now is sufficient." I said, hoping that this would convince them that I was something the princesses might be interested in seeing.
My answer clearly confused Stone Hoof, and I heard a gasp from the crowd, but oh my god that mare. Either she was stupid or I don't know, because she just looked at me, her expression not changing one bit, before saying, "Oh, so your owner taught you how to speak? You must belong to one to one of the more exotic nobles. Say something else!" The worst part was, she had cooed at me the entire time.
Stone Hoof face hoofed, words obviously failing him. I attempted to stay calm, closing my eyes, taking controlled breaths, and telling myself that it was just her being stupid, and it was not to be taken as some twisted insult. However, she didn't make things any better. I suddenly felt something wrap around me. I opened my eyes and found the very unprofessional guard gently hugging my side and stroking a hoof through my hair.
Hell, I lost it.
I grabbed the mare and threw her away from me, making her crash into a fruit stand, before turning back to the rational guard in an attempt to explain myself. But I didn't get the chance. There must've been more guards hiding in the crowd, because the next thing I knew, I was on the ground with about twenty guards piled on top of me. I was totally willing to go peacefully with them and explain myself at the station, but guess who?
Sergeant Stupid, appearing to have (unfortunately) survived her impact with the watermelons and made her way over to my head, the only part of my body not covered by the law. I waited for her to slap me or join in the pony pile, but she did something, which in my opinion, was even worse.
She patted my head and said, "Shhh. It's okay baby. We'll find your owner and make sure you get back to your nice loving home. How's that sound?"
I couldn't f***ing believe it. Clearly this lady hadn't gotten the message. Insulting my intelligence by comparing me to some mindless pet, was a bad idea. One that result in horrible consequences.
I could feel my anger building. My anger at her for being so stupid, for just......rrrrggghhh!!!!
I began to grow in size as Ares's "gift" took effect, easily shaking off the other guards as I stood up. I only had eyes for this one mare. She clearly recognized her mistake now, judging from the look of fear on her face. But she couldn't help that one, last comment.
"Calm down and I'll give you a treat." She squeaked, sending me over the edge of my sanity.
I reached for her, but withdrew when a blast of...magic, I guess, smashed into my hand, burning the surface. I cried out in pain before turning to face the new offender. But before I could reach for them, another blast hit me from behind. It became almost like a game for the unicorn guards. Every time I turned to face one, three more would blast me from different angles. It hurt like hell, and my rage kept building, so I kept growing.
I had just passed a record of 11 ft, when I heard a cracking noise, followed by a ripping. Suddenly my back exploded in pain and I screamed, falling to the ground in agony. My shirt ripped, and to my surprise, my samurai armor began to melt into my skin, leaving designs on my skin that resembled the detailed outlines of each piece of armor.
Finally the pain stopped and I was able to stand up. My back felt a bit heavier than usual, and when I touched it, I discovered why. There were now two rows of spikes sticking out if my back. Right now they measured about 4-5 inches from base to tip. Not very intimidating, but interesting enough. 'Woah, didn't see that coming.'
The guards were phased for a total of three seconds before launching another wave of attacks. They didn't hurt as bad now, but they still stung. I was going to be fine until an earth pony guard charged in and kicked me in the balls while I was distracted. Now, even with increased invulnerability, that hurt a lot. So what do you do? You fight the pain away, and furiously try to rip the head off who had done it.
Needless to say, I was really raging. I kept growing, pausing every once in a while to grow something new; a spike here or a claw there. I even grew a spiked tail! Over time, I became larger and more beast-like, all while maintaining my humanoid figure.
But the fight was far from over, the longer I fought, the more guards kept arriving. Ones that were stronger, more experienced, and better equipped for a battle with...whatever I was turning into.
We had succeeded in destroying about a fourth of the city during our small war. (Thank god the city had been evacuated. I would've felt horrible hurting an innocent), but I had the feeling that there was going to be a lot more property damage before the day was done.
Then, like every good story, the fight reached it's climax. I have labeled it as such because that, is when I was graced with the presence of the all-powerful alicorn princesses, Celestia and Luna.
I stood in the middle of Manehatten, watching as the two beings approached. If these were the princesses I had been warned about, I wouldn't be able to just knock them around carelessly as I had the guards. Instead, like any good strategist would do, I began to analyze and compare ourselves.
I stood about 48 feet tall (imagine standing beside a brachiosaurus), my back spikes were now 8-9 feet long, I had a spiky tail that measured about 28 feet long, and claws on both my hands and feet that were 4-5 feet long. My body was covered in a mixture of green scales and brown hair/fur.
Both princesses looked like the average pony, except possibly larger and they had both horns and wings. The similarities ended there. The first princess was white with a tri-colored mane, and wore golden armor that shone like the sun. The other one, who was smaller than the first, was a dark blue color, as was her mane, and wore black armor.
I was just taking in the last few details when I realized that the larger of the two had been addressing me. I flicked my eyes back to her and gathered that she was expecting some sort of answer.
"Pardon?" I asked, catching them by surprise. Clearly they hadn't expected me to actually say anything intelligible. (It was also pleasing to find that my voice had that giant echo-y effect).
After a moment, the white one repeated her question.
"Creature, who are you and why are you here?"
I couldn't help but chuckle. (which, because of the echo, sounded a lot more menacing than I'd like). Here I was, destroying the city, and instead of instantly attempting to stop me, she wanted to do exchange pleasantries first!
"Why, the name's Chris." Clearly they were expecting something darker, or more bestial. "And as for why I'm here...well, let's just say I'm here to take your mind off a certain someone." This was followed by another low chuckle.
"Discord." The smaller princess growled in anger.
I shrugged. "Perhaps, but how about you two introduce yourselves. After all, I do like to know who my opponents are before I beat them." I hoped that bluffing my amount of experience would make me seem more dangerous. If it did, the two alicorns didn't show it.
The white one spread her wings, assaulting me with sunlight. "I am Celestia, and this is my sister Luna. We are the rulers of Equestria and the ones who guide the celestial bodies across the heavens!"
'Hm. So they control the sun and moon? Interesting.'
"Well met, princesses! Although I wish that we had met under better circumstances, there is nothing I can do about that now," I said truthfully.
The one called Celestia was about to respond, when I was hit with a sudden blast from behind!
I stumbled forward a few steps, before regaining my balance. I turned around and found myself staring Luna in the face, which by the way, was priceless. I had never seen a mouth drop that far.
'Wait a second...'
I glanced back around towards Celestia, and sure enough, the Luna who had been there not half a second ago, was behind me. 'Hmm. Note to self: don't underestimate these two.'
Luna seemed to be trying to figure out why I was still standing. "That was the strongest paralyzation spell known to us! Yet it didn't even hurt him!"
Launching a sneak attack was not what I expected of a princess. I had expected that they'd at least give me a proper fight. I began to get a bit upset. What, was I not worthy of one, or were they really just cowards?
"I dunno, it might have hurt. Tell me, did it feel like this?!" I shouted. Luna looked up in surprise, before she was sent flying from my massive backhand. I watched her disappear into the sky with a twinkle.
"Luna!" cried Celestia, before I bitch slapped her into the side of the castle, causing one of the towers to break off and fall to the ground, shattering on impact.
"Huh, too easy." I commented. Then I heard a loud *BANG* and was confronted with the sight of a blue meteorite from the heavens. She hit me in the chest and succeeded in impaling me about 20 meters into the ground. It would take me a moment to gather myself after a hit like that, so I just lay there quietly, waiting to get my revenge. -------------------------------------------------
Luna stood at the edge and looked down into the crater where the creature lay. He had seemed so tough in the beginning, but she guessed he might have gotten worn out by fighting the guards earlier. Nevertheless, he was finished. She heard a wheezing noise, and turned to see a heavily breathing Celestia approach.
"Tia, thou hast been wounded!" She cried in shock when she saw the sizable bruise on her sister's side.
"Yes, crashing through a building will do that to you, but it's nothing to worry about." Celestia smiled at Luna. She then looked towards the crater. "Is he finished?" The sun princess asked curiously.
"Indeed, the creature..."
"Chris."
"Hm?"
"Luna, he gave us a name, so use it."
"Hmph. Fine, Chris hath been defeated through..."
"Someone call me?"
Luna was once again interrupted, but not by Celestia. Not that she cared anymore. She was too busy staring at the huge figure that was just pulling itself out of the large hole in the ground. --------------------------------------------
Having finally reoriented myself, I figured that it was time for a change of scenery. As I shifted, I heard voices from above. One word that caught my attention was my name, so I did the natural thing. "Someone call me?"
I reached up and gripped the lip of the crater, then pulled myself out. Once I was standing, and had taken a moment to brush off the dirt, I returned my gaze to the two alicorns, who had their mouths open in surprise.
I popped my neck, which sounded like thunder. "Damn, that hurt."
The elder of the two spread her wings and charged her horn, looking furious, while the younger seemed ready to cry from disappointment.
I cracked my knuckles intimidatingly, as if daring them to try. Celestia took me up on that offer, shooting up into the air towards me. Luna followed a few seconds later.
I swung at the sun goddess, but she dived and my punch missed. Well, missed her anyway. Luna, following behind her sister, was nailed instead, and flew into the ground, creating a mile long ditch in the cobblestone street.
Celestia dodged my next punch as well, but she forgot about my tail, which volleyball spiked her into one of the few apartment buildings still standing. Well, it was one of the few standing.
"Someone get a camera, 'cause I'm making the next Godzilla movie!" I laughed, before shooting a nuclear beam into the castle.
Okay, so that last part didn't actually happen, but you know it would've been cool.
The next several minutes were spent swatting at the two members of royalty, who flew around and shot beams of magic at me. But nothing they threw at me did any damage. They were getting tired, and I had barely broken a sweat.
Eventually, I began getting bored playing whack a princess, but fortunately for me, or was it for them, the game would soon take an exciting turn.
I had just gotten a bullseye on Celestia with a shoryuken uppercut, when I noticed the absence of the moon princess. I had a quick look around to make sure she wasn't setting up another sneak attack. But not seeing her, I shrugged, before turning back to my new plaything. Surprisingly, she wasn't there either.
'What? Had they submitted to cowardice and left?! You can't leave in the middle of a fight! Shame on them!" I don't know how I had been able to stay this size for so long, but the thought of being abandoned in the middle of a fight rekindled my anger.
Just then, I registered a bright light out of the corner of my eye. I turned, and threw my hands up over my face to keep from being blinded. I allowed myself to adjust to the change in lighting, before raising a hand into almost a shield over my eyes, to block any extra light. That was the last thing I remembered for a while. ----------------------------------------
Celestia and Luna landed back on the ground, the elements of Harmony dropping to the ground beside them. The two could only stare at the eventual addition to their statue collection. They were surprised at how different he looked now. He had shrunk down to about Celestia's size, the scales, tail, and claws had disappeared, and the only sign of fur, was on top of his stone head. He also wore something that could be called armor, though the sisters had never seen anything like it before.
They then looked around at their city. Thankfully, only half had been destroyed, but it was still more destruction than they had ever hoped to see.
"I do not think the name Chris fits him." Luna stated simply, "Instead, let him be called Ruin, in memory of what he brought us."
"No." Celestia replied. "I spoke with the guards, and I believe that this was all caused by anger. Terrible, Uncontrollable anger."
The two divine beings shared a look, before staring back at what could arguably be their greatest enemy.
It was at that moment, that I was given a new name. Now, at first I was upset when I found out that my name had been changed without permission, but when I thought about it, it did sound better.
I let out a long sigh as I sat back against my seat, angling my head towards the roof of the train car. Telling the story from all those years ago had been more taxing on my brain than I had thought.
Dropping my head, I realized that all six ponies were still staring at me, their expressions ranging from slight fear (poor flutters) to shock. Even Pinkie's mane had gone flat.
I glanced towards Twilight, expecting questions to come hurtling my way, but from her cocked head and twitching ears, I think I broke her. Surprisingly, it was Rarity who broke the silence.
"Um, but if you were able to talk during the whole thing, why didn't you just explain the situation to the princesses?"
I nodded slowly. Spending several millennia in stone had given me a lot of time to think, and that same question had presented itself before me several times. Thankfully, I thought I had the answer.
"It's complicated, but basically Ares threatened to harm to my friends unless I agreed to come here and distract the princesses until Discord was ready with his plan, so telling them would've been going against that plan and would've brought my friends harm." I rubbed my left arm bashfully. "Besides, I don't think that they would've settled down and listened after my fight with the guards, or I might have just been stupid about the whole thing."
I felt something land gently on my shoulder. I turned my head and was met with the kind and understanding gaze of the pink maned pegasus.
"Don't feel too bad Rage, we all make mistakes." She said, giving me a small smile.
"Not ones that can almost destroy an entire city without effort." I replied, dropping my head.
Well that kinda killed the mood. The rest of the day was passed in silence, despite some half-hearted attempts by Pinkie to lighten the atmosphere.
Night eventually fell and we lowered the backs of the seats to make beds for ourselves. Since I was bigger than a normal pony, twilight and Applejack gave up their seats so that I had a bed comprised of an entire row of three seats.
I was just getting comfortable under one of the blankets that the conductor had provided us when I heard a shuffle of hoof on carpet, followed by a slight vibration as the unknown pony landed on my bed. I felt a hoof poke me, so I turned over and was surprised to see Fluttershy standing there.
"Mm, What's wrong Fluttershy?" I grunted rather sleepily.
She hid behind her mane and pawed one of the seat cushions before answering. "I-I just wanted to know if I could sleep with you? I-I mean, if that's okay with you."
"Why?" The confusion was clearly audible in my sleepy voice.
"Um, well... You seemed so sad when you told us your story, that I thought you might need somepony to help comfort you."
I smiled. "Fluttershy, you and your friends have been kinder to me than anypony here has ever been before. I appreciate your concern, and accept your offer. I think having a friend close by is exactly what I need right now."
The yellow pegasus mare madea strange squeaking sound, before burrowing under the blanket and snuggling up next to me. I smiled at her for a moment more before turning over and closing my eyes.
"Maybe this won't be so bad after all." I muttered quietly to myself before I lost myself in the dream world. -----------------------------------------------------
Let it be recorded that I had never had a worse night in the history of my existence. Well, the sleeping part was fine, the dreams, not so much.
And I know Luna had something, no, Everything to do with it.
I mean, why else would she be in every one of my dreams!!!!
Being tortured by Luna! Playing lowly servant to Luna! Running from a giant Luna who continuously screamed "second chances", and who was determined to stomp me into oblivion! She was clearly behind it all!
Thank god Twilight woke me up when she did, otherwise getting smacked by a riding crop made of cacti would've been added to that list.
So yeah, by the time I woke up, we were only an hour from our destination, and Twilight wanted us to triple check that we had everything.
I quick search revealed that I still had my clothing, armor, and sanity, so I was good. Twilight was not amused.
As it turns out, the train actually arrived at the station a few minutes early, which was good because I was getting pretty bored with nothing really to do but talk with the others.
We retrieved our luggage and stepped off the train. Ponies standing at or by the station stared at the sight of me, but I ignored them. It was decided that since my arrival was rather unexpected, the first course of action, after dropping off our luggage, would be to introduce me to the mayor and explain the situation. It was elected that I should go with Twilight and that we would all meet up in front of town hall in half an hour.
After saying goodbye to the other five element bearers, I began following Twilight through town towards her house, which I was interested to see. Luckily, nopony freaked out, but we did get some strange looks from several ponies. I had hoped that looks would be the worst of it, but at one point, shit happened.
We (Twilight and I) were crossing through the market square, when Twilight stopped and her ear twitched. She frowned, before turning her head and looking behind us. Her pupils shrunk, and she let out a resounding gasp before dropping to the ground, hooves over her head.
I spun around to get a glimpse of the potential threat, only to have my sight blocked as something hit me at high speed and latched onto my face. I let out a muffled scream of surprise followed by the ever telling noise...
*POOF* ------------------------------------------
3rd POV
Twilight heard Rage's quiet scream, followed by a familiar sound. She raised her head and turned around to find a very confused Mint colored unicorn sitting on the ground.
"W-where'd it go?" The unicorn gasped, her head twisting almost in a full circle.
It was then that Twilight noticed the tiny flailing hooves in the unicorn's grasp.
"Let go! He can't breathe!" She screamed in horror.
The mint colored unicorn looked down in surprise, before her expression changed to one of horror, and she jumped away from the one she had unintentionally held prisoner in her grip.
"Oh my gosh! Are you ok? I'm soooooo sorry!" The unicorn stammered, staring at the rose-red colt that she had been suffocating only moments earlier.
The colt took a huge breath, greedily sucking in any available air, then exhaled slowly before answering.
"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine. You just s-startled him."
The mint green unicorn wiped her forehead. "Oh, good. Hey, you haven't happened to see a-"
"LYRA HEARTSTRINGS! Just what do you think you're doing?!" Shouted Twilight, marching up to the pair, both of whom had their ears laid back.
"I-I.....thought I saw a human." Lyra whimpered meekly, refusing to meet the eyes of the angry librarian.
Twilight continued to glare at the human obsessed unicorn for a few moments, before rolling her eyes and turning away.
"Come on Rupert." She snorted.
With one last glance at Lyra, who was now being comforted by Bon-Bon, the little colt quickly chased after his guide.
'My will to control this power.... is pathetic.' ---------------------------------------------------
Back to 1st POV
It was several minutes until Rage reappeared, breathing heavily.
"What was that?" I gasped. My heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute, while tumbling in a clothes dryer. Twilight didn't even turn around to face me.
"Just our crazy neighborhood anthropologist. I apologize though, she can get a little out of hoof."
I frowned as a thought struck me. "An anthropologist? How would she know about humans?"
Twilight shrugged. "I don't know, but we have more pressing matters on our hooves. Such as getting you settled into Ponyville."
"Right."
We walked in silence for a few more minutes before a new conversation broke out. However, this time it was Twilight who started it.
"Hey Rage, can I ask you something?"
I grinned widely and opened my mouth.
"And yes, I know that I just asked one, but seriously though."
My grin disappeared. "Sure."
The purple unicorn turned around to face me, her face twisted in confusion, but I could see her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"What was it like, being petrified. The others that escaped had all seemed to have lost a good chunk of their sanity, if they had any at all to begin with. But you came out just fine. Why?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was still sane?" I asked, my face contorting into a joker-like grin. "Maybe I'm just better at holding it in than most."
Once again, Twilight looked unamused.
"Jeez Twi, at least crack a smile will ya." I said, returning my expression to a neutral frown. "But seriously, it helped that I was asleep for 3000 years of it. It's like dreamless sleeping, I went to sleep then woke up. No time for me to go crazy then."
"What about the other 4000 years?" Twilight had started walking again.
I thought about that for a second. "Well, how many of the escapees had multiple 'characters' in their head? I think talking to Rupert helped."
"Hmm. Seems plausible." Twilight admitted. "But what about you being up-to-date on changes in the world? I know the train didn't exist 7000 years ago, but you didn't even bat an eye at it."
"Discord filled me in. He's elected himself as "chairman of current events", and goes out of his way to inform the others of important events throughout history."
Twilight shook her head. "Questions for another time. Ah, here we are!"
I looked up and gaped at the huge tree that stood before us.
"This is your house?!" I gasped. The others had told me that Twilight lived in a tree, but I didn't actually think they meant it!
"Yep!" Twilight looked at me proudly and gestured to the door. "Welcome to the Golden Oaks Library."
I bent over to see inside and gasped in delight. Back on Earth I had been somewhat of a bookworm, so I was ecstatic at the sight of all the books inside the tree.
Ducking under the pony sized doorway, I entered the library with a Twilight right behind me. Taken over by curiosity, I walked over and scanned the shelves. Books like Hover, Float, and Soar: A Pegasus Flight Manuel and Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone lined the shelves, while a few sat on a round wooden table in the center of the room.
"Spike!" Twilight called, and almost immediately there was the sound of footsteps. I turned, just in time to see a purple and green lizard run down some stairs, I assumed these led to Twilight's quarters, and embrace Twilight in a hug.
"Twilight you're back!" He cried excitedly. "What was it the princesses needed you for?"
"Nothing major, just wanted us to help a friend out." Twilight replied, gesturing at me with a hoof.
"Who..." Spike trailed off when he saw me, his eyes growing larger as he took in my huge armored form.
Figuring that I should make the first move, I stepped foreword and crouched, reaching out a hand towards him.
"Name's Rage. How are you?"
"I'm good." Spike said uncertainly as he gingerly reached out and grasped my hand.
Twilight smiled at us as Spike and I shook hands.
"Now I'm going to go upstairs and unpack, so you two get to know each other a bit more. Okay?"
"Will do Twilight!" We responded as the unicorn disappeared up the stairs.
"Ya know," I said, scrutinizing Spike carefully, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you're a dragon."
"You're right, I am! And assistant to Twilight." Spike proudly proclaimed.
I returned to my full hight and shook my head. "A dragon working for a unicorn.... Now I've seen everything."
At that, we both burst out laughing.
Spike and I conversed for a time, asking and answering questions. I told him about my past and my plans of reformation, which he agreed to help with.
Twilight eventually came back down, clearly happy that Me and Spike had hit it off so well.
"Alright Rage," she said, interrupting mine and Spike's discussion over dragons in Equestria vs dragons in myths on Earth. "You ready to go?"
Just as I was about to respond, there was a rapid banging at the door. Using her magic, Twilight opened the door and let in a worried looking Rainbow Dash.
"Dash, what's the matter?" She asked.
"There's a large crowd of ponies heading this way, Twi. And they've got the mayor at the front. I don't think you're gonna have enough time to think of a good explanation that will breeze his history past the rest of the town."
I stood from the chair I had placed myself in and joined the two ponies at the door, just in time to see a large herd of Ponyville residents moving towards us.
"We'll think of something." I winked at Twilight. "I'm sure we will. After all, we've all faced worse."
