> Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans
>  by FrostTheWolf
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Ascension
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Ascension




        It was another calm and crisp morning in the city of Applewood as the sun fully rose above Equestria, bring the warmth of a normal july morning along with it. Everything was going perfect for those ponies taking the train or Taxi carriage to work. Traffic was smooth, no major holdups of any kind, and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred yet. Why yet? Well, with Equestria and the World of Equis itself being a world with magic, who knows what could happen? Sorcery these days can be very unpredictable. 

        That was the main thought that had coursed through the minds of many ponies across Equestria due to the recent events that have occurred in the small town of Ponyville. News of what happened (like everyday chit-chat) began to spread far and wide like a burning wildfire. News about three “humans” crash landing around there at different times, each one with powers or abilities that nopony ever saw before or understood for that matter. The first two we’re sisters and with the help of the Elements of Harmony, annihilated a battalion of changelings that wanted to destroy the town (despite unavoidable property damage) and the third one defeated Princess Celestia in a one on one duel when she accused them of being reckless troublemakers.

        Even though the actions of these three girls were to protect the town and it’s citizens, many ponies had different opinions and views on the matter once the story reached the Trottingham Press. Many saw them as heroes, others saw them as being vigilantes, while a lot of ponies we’re just plain scared of them. However, one pony in particular didn’t know how to make out the the situation after receiving a letter from one of her friends in Ponyville. It also didn’t help that she was having a pounding headache.

        The earth pony named Octavia Melody was right now reading the letter that was sent to both her and her best friend, Vinyl Scratch (Equestria’s one and only DJ-PON3). They were right now in Applewood, Equestria’s home for entertainment and cinematography, because the both of them were invited to record music for an upcoming movie set to debut next year, but the trailer was going to be released during the fall. The executive producer for the film had requested them to try and come up with a track for the film that combined both the classical symphonies of the Cello with the modern day rhythm and pace of an Drum and Bass composition. He even allowed them to work on the track back at their home in Ponyville. However, due to the differences between the two genre’s and also because of the two mares views on each other’s specific musical tastes, this was far from easy to do.

        “Letter for Vinyl Scratch.” The mail courier known as Ditzy Doo told the two friends as they decided to have a break outside the recording studio, at the studio’s cafe. Thanking the pegasus, The Cellist flipped the letter over and began to open it. However, her friend didn’t notice this until after she finished reading the front page article of today’s paper. “Hey, what do you got there Tavi?”

        “Uhh… A letter for you? Didn’t you notice Ditzy here just now?”

        The DJ shook her head as she straightened herself from her relaxed leaning position. “I was reading the paper and what made the front page headlines. Did you hear about the three humans that arrived in Ponyville?” Shortly after asking that, Vinyl folded the paper back up and pointed her finger at the cover image. Even though it looked like a picture composed in Adobe Ponyshop, it still had a clear shot of the girls. The first one was a Red haired pyromancer with a white cloak and fire like claymore that had Rainbow Dash right next to her since she was on one knee, the second had white hair and six metallic… shapes behind her head that were emitting static electricity and the third held a spear and wore a garb that looked like it came for Haysia to the far east.

        “Yeah, so? Almost everypony knows about that now.”

        “Didn’t we once tell Lyra that if she had “proof” that humans actually existed that she would let us know?”

        “More like you told her that-.” Octavia stopped for a moment. She looked at the letter once more. Specifically the sender of the letter.

        From Lyra Heartstrings

        “Well…” She chuckled a little, pointing out the sender of the letter to her friend and sliding it across the table. “Something tells me that she sent this to rub it in your face.”

        “Hang on Tavi,” Vinyl said to her roommate, looking at the envelope like a detective would inspect a clue. “Maybe this was from a few days ago.”

        “The Stamp on the letter says Express, Vinyl.”

        Looking at it again, The DJ now noticed the red express stamp on top of the mailing stamp on the envelope. Sighing in defeat, she unfolded the letter and began to scan it. “You want me to read it you?”

        “Certainly. After all, you made the deal with Lyra and lost. Let’s see what she has to say to you.”

        Vinyl groaned a little in defeat after hearing that. “Uhh… Fine.” She cleared her throat, reading the letter out loud from the top of the page.

        Dear Vinyl,

        Guess what? Remember when I told you about humans all those years ago? Well, I finally have some proof of their existence. You might have heard about it recently in the Trottingham Press or Los Pegasus Times, but what you probably didn’t know was that one of them is staying with me! Her name is Molly and I think you would like some of the things she can do. Anyways, let me know when you’re back in Ponyville so I can introduce her to you

        Lyra Heartstrings.

        “Well great… That’s one thing I need to look forward too.” Vinyl finished speaking with a sarcastic sigh. 

        “Heh… In due time Vinyl. Right now though, we should focus on the song we need to do.” Octavia was right. The two of them have been trying for about almost an hour and a half to try and come up with something to no avail. Plus, this was a big opportunity that you would only get once in a lifetime. Something like this meant that failure was not an option. 

        “Alright, so here’s what we know. Joss Steedon has asked the two of us to combine our talents for a theme for the upcoming movie named… What was it again?”

        “Avenge-mares: Age of Coltron.”

        “Right, some comic book adaptation.” Octavia continued. “He asked for something in which was pulse pounding and that fit with the theme of Grim, destructive and Intense. Now, how can we do that which combines my cello and your… talents.”

        “You mean my turntable?” Vinyl said. Her friends response was just a nod as she tried to think this thoroughly. The DJ knew that living and being with her could be a pain at times. But working with her proved to be just as difficult. The problem was that they couldn’t agree on what could make this work and what didn’t. The white mare sighed as she got up from the table they were sitting at. “I’m going to take a walk. I think I left my shades back at the recording room.”

        “Alright, just don’t take too long. Our train leaves in an hour.” The earth pony told her as her roommate picked her headphones up off the table and walked on inside. The time was right about 11:30am and the two musicians were taking the 12:30pm train back to their house in Ponyville. So, Octavia finished with her croissant and took her purse with her as she went to walk around the city. 

Meanwhile, Vinyl was making her way through the main hall of ParaSprite studios. She took a left and was going to proceed down the hall to where she needed to go. Something stopped her though. It wasn’t a sign saying Authorized Individuals Only or some security bars since Vinyl and Octavia were already cleared. Instead, it was something she could hear. 

        She could hear the sound of steps coming from the prop warehouse. Steps? But only a few ponies were actually here today. Unless a filly was sneaking around, then what could possibly be back there? The curiosity of the situation drove her nuts. Should she call the guards? Or should she go find out what’s back there first? 

        Plan B sounded better in her head. Plus she already told the mare at the front desk that she was looking for something. Not that much of a useful alibi, but it will do. It’s not like she was going to find anything out of the ordinary. Right? 

        Turns out, ordinary is not what the musician found when she opened the door. Instead, Vinyl almost panicked a little inside her head upon seeing it. A bipedal creature that almost resembled the human girls in the paper. However, this one looked a lot different. For one thing, it definitely did not look like a girl at all. 

        “Oww… Just where am I?”

        Based on appearance and after hearing it’s voice, the Unicorn confirmed that it was a boy that was probably in his teenaged years. His choice of clothing though was what surprised her the most. His pants were grey, but had white covers across half of the pant legs with a steel cap around the knees. He didn’t have hooves, but had feet that resembled an ape, covered in some kind of Grey and black shoe that looked custom made. Belt straps were like almost all over it’s outfit with the most noticeable being on the creature’s half-shirt, waist, and arms to attack to his gloves. A golden disk with a weird symbol was on the right side of his pants and two red tattoo’s were on the boy’s shoulders. Lastly, Vinyl could see his Topaz necklace before the red haired boy turned around and looked straight at her position near the door. Vinyl didn’t even notice the blunt sword he was holding until after the boy turned around.



        “Who are you?”

        Vinyl said nothing at first. She could tell that the boy was confused, but she was surprised that it could actually speak Equush. “I was going to ask you the same thing. I normally don’t find someone like you in the middle of a studio warehouse just for kicks.”

        “Wait… studio?” He looked around with his deep crimson eyes at the room he was in, walking in Vinyl’s general direction while doing so. Almost like a filly going to a museum for the first time. “Where exactly am I?”

        “ParaSprite Studios in Applewood.”

        “What’s Applewood?” 

        Vinyl sighed as she was now out in the hall and the boy closed the door behind him silently. “You’re joking right. Applewood… Movie making capital of Equestria? Does any of that ring a bell?” the answer the white mare got was a blank stare like he saw something really disturbing.

        “You’re killing me, kid.” Vinyl told the boy, facepalming herself. She sighed, personally a bit frustrated by the recent turn of events. What surprised her the most though was when she saw a circle of magic come out of his palms. 

        “Okay, that’s… new.” He said as the boy did it a few more times. 

        “What was that?”

        “What was what?”

        “What was that circle you just did?” Vinyl asked. Inside her head, she was thinking something. ‘Okay, first it was the outfit, but now this kid knows magic? Today’s been a good day so far, but it had changed from good to weird in the first two minutes I’ve met him! Speaking of which, I don’t even know his name!’ Her train of thought crashed and burned when the DJ heard him speaking again.

        “It’s a Rune and honestly, I’m surprised by a lot of things right now.” The tone shifted a little in his voice. “Like the fact that you have a horn on the top of your head.”

        “Well, I am a unicorn so-.”

        “Wait, what-?”

        “I’m a unicorn.” Vinyl told her, noticing a brief change in expression in the boy’s face like he had seen a ghost. “Are you okay? You look like you haven’t seen a Unicorn before.”

        He had a nervous grin on his face now. The boy felt rather uncomfortable with the present situation. “Like I said already, I’m surprised by a lot of things right now.”

        “Well, let’s redirect our focus a bit.” The DJ said as they walked down the hall to the room she left her well known pair of glasses in. “What’s your name?”

        “I’m Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” He answered. “I’m guessing your name is Vinyl Scratch?”

        Now the unicorn was surprised. For a moment, it felt like this teenaged boy was somehow a mind reader. “Yes, but how-.”

        “The name tag on your shirt.” Nicko pointed out using his free right hand while his left hand held his sword this time. Vinyl looked down, chuckling a little. Seemed like he had an eye for being able to notice things. Especially things that Vinyl either seemed to forget or couldn’t remember in the first place. She closed the door behind her, shades in hand as the two went to the front of the studio. Surprisingly, no security alarms of any kind went off. The mare at the front desk must’ve thought that Nicko was another one of the guests that was with Vinyl.

        “So Nicko, can you tell me something?” The white mare asked as the two of them walked across a street when the crosswalk signal turned green. “Would you happen to be a human?”

        “Yeah, I am.” Nicko casually replied. “Why do you ask?”

        Right about now came Vinyl’s expression of shock and a chill coming down her spine. Of course though, nopony could see her eyes widen due to the shades since the sun was so bright today. The mare still remembered the article from this morning, but had never expected to cross paths with a human. Right now, it felt like Lyra was lurking inside her head with the thought of her saying “I told you so” echoing throughout her mind. Up to the point where she didn’t hear Nicko trying to talk to her.

        “Uh hello? Earth to Vinyl?” The human said to her, waving a hand in her cone of sight so that way it would snap her out of the small trance she seemed to be in. It seemed to work when she jolted her head back and then rubbed her eyes.  “Are you okay?”

        “Y-yeah,” she stuttered, “Just phased out a little.”

        “Is something wrong?” Nicko asked. 

        “... Let’s just say you’re not the only human that has showed up here recently.” 

        With saying that, Vinyl pointed at a mare who was reading the issue of today’s newspaper. The girl’s on the front cover were the only thing Nicko needed to see to let him know that he wasn’t the only one stuck in the same situation as he was. Come to think of it, each one of those girls were dressed as Elsword Characters. Could this be a simple coincidence? Or was there more to it that he originally thought? During his thinking though, an abrupt shout almost startled the teen, turning around to find a grey mare with a black mane. She wore attire that would resemble someone with high standards.

        “Vinyl!”

        “Geez… calm down Octavia,” The DJ told the new arrival. “You could scare somepony like that!”

        “I’ve been looking for you everywhere-.” The Cellist said before she looked at Nicko. “Who is your friend?”

        “I’m Nicko. Nice to meet you.” The teen said as he offered a handshake. Octavia obliged and followed up with a compliment on his manners. However, despite his gestures and his kind actions, the Earth Pony knew nothing about this new… Colt? Well, she thought it was a colt. But something just felt off with this kid. 

        “Well, Nicko. I’m Octavia Melody. It’s an honor to meet a young colt such as yourself.”

        “Colt?” Nicko questioned.

        “Why of course. Aren’t you a-.” However, before the cellist could ask her question, Vinyl interjected in between them. Not to be rude. But for another reason.

        “Nicko, can I have a word with my friend for a minute?” 

        “Sure. I don’t mind.” Nicko responded. “I’m just going to go for a nice walk.”

        With that, Vinyl pulled her friend to the side as the Rune Slayer began to walk across the street. The two mares decided to be nearby an open book store called “The Page Turner” as a place for just the two of them to talk in private. The Unicorn needed to inform her Earth Pony friend about the current circumstances regarding him. Regarding the fact that he wasn’t at all… ordinary.

        “Vinyl, what is wrong? You were acting very rude just now.”

        “I know and I’m sorry for that, but I needed to talk to you for a minute.” The DJ insisted. “It’s about Nicko. He’s… not normal.”

        “Okay, what about him isn’t normal?” The Grey mare gestured her friend with crossing both her arms in a state of confusion. “You sound like you found out a horrible secret.”

        “It might be one.” Vinyl slyly told herself before speaking again. “Remember when I read the article on those Human Girls coming to Ponyville this morning?”

        “Yeah? how does that relate to him? He’s a kind colt from the looks of it-.”

        “That’s the point that I’m trying to tell you, Tavi!” Vinyl snapped, exhausted a little. “Nicko isn’t a colt. He’s a human.”

        “W-what!?” came the shocked reply. She didn’t think that the handsome gentlecolt that she shook hands with earlier was actually a human. Then again, he didn’t have hooves or a tail so those could’ve been signs. But a part of her didn’t want to believe it. That’s when Vinyl began to fill her in on finding Nicko inside the Parasprites studio warehouse and also the small conversation she had with her. The Unicorn also told her about his magic and the “Runes” he could do and also about the fact that he was very unfamiliar with his surroundings. He had no clue at all on where he was or exactly anything in Equestria… but now that left her with one main concern.

        “Vinyl… Where is Nicko?”

        “Well, he told me that he was going out on a walk…… Oh horse apples.”



        For Nicko right now, he was feeling very uneasy. It wasn’t because of the new “ponies” he met, the fact that he woke up in a different world or that he now had the powers of a Rune Slayer. It was more because of how he thought of everything. It was a lot for the young boy to take in. He wasn’t on his home planet anymore, but in a new universe. In a way though, it felt good to be here. 

        Back on Earth, Nicko didn’t have parents or anyone to really consider family except for his twin brother and best friend. He was seventeen and almost all of his life, the human lived in a orphanage that was set up by a billionaire named Jane… something. Most names, people, places and other things were easy for Nicko to remember but not others. Like a lot of other children and his brother back home, he was on the Autism Spectrum. 

        Autism is a developmental disability that affects a persons ability to communicate as well as their social skills, way of thinking, and repetitive behaviors. Nicko was lucky that he and his brother weren’t affected that much. The only things that reflect this seemed to be when he stretched his hands or switched things between them like his sword earlier. In speaking with others, he felt more comfortable talking with others that he knew because he knew about their likes and dislikes, interests and how he could be able to talk with them. He had been learning to control these “inconveniences” so that way no one back home would see him as the “weird and short guy.”

        Then there was getting called short. Nicko hated it when people referred to him by his height. Despite being only a little above five foot, any insult referring to his height made him furious. The teen preferred to be known by his other characteristics and skills than his appearance. Of course, that didn’t really matter now considering he was in a world of magic, ponies and god knows what else was possibly out there. He was honestly considering maybe writing a little notebook called “The Human guide to the country of Equestria.” With the entire thing being a personal survival guide and the meaning of life being 42.

        Now though, on the topic of survival, Nicko was considering a few things that he might need in order to be able to last out here as he laid down against a tall oak tree in the park the human was walking in. The first would be food and water. Unlike some Mages in World of Warcraft or some online game back home, he couldn’t use his magic to make something to eat. He would have to buy something to eat. Which of course brought him to his next thought. 

        Money.

        He overheard from a few ponies he passed in the park use the word called “Bits” and also bought items and valuables with the same thing. Best assumption right now was that these bits were this worlds form of currency and that they don’t accept dollar bills or anything from his pockets. 

        Speaking of which… What was in his pockets anyway?

        Curious, he put his hands inside his pockets and they were greeted by the feeling of leather, cool metal and smooth plastic. Grabbing hold and pulling them out, the red haired human was greeted by the sight of his wallet, his Ipod classic (6th generation, 160gb) and a pair of the current apple earbuds used for the newest Iphones and what not back home. Inside the wallet was what attracted Nicko’s attention. Instead of the thirty bucks he had on him the last time he was home, he actually found a small note. 

        Check your other pocket.

        “Okaaaaay. That’s not creepy at all.” He told himself sarcastically. Checking the other pocket, he now found another piece of paper. This time, a rolled up piece of Parchment that would look like a letter back from Medieval times next to his Android Smartphone.

        “Seems like Chivalry is still active here it seems.” 

        Nicko had noticed several guards dressed up in armor, so he theorized that life was a mix of Middle ages and Modern Times. Beginning to inspect the scroll, he noticed the tag on the letter and was surprised at the header of the letter.

        Dear Nicko Nocte,

        I’m sending this letter to help assist you in your future endeavours across Equestria. Normally I wouldn’t be doing any favors for just anypony. But then again, you’re not a pony at all. Luckily, I had a little more time to prepare this “Welcome Gift” together for you with some assistance from my father. Do you see the picture of the leather travelers bag below this letter? Put your hand above it and act like you're grabbing it. Doing so will allow you to be able to grab hold of the real object that I placed inside the paper. (Don’t ask me how it works. Explanations are overrated.) I put together a few extra freebies this time since the last human I sent this too was getting chased by a crazed Unicorn. 

        For one thing, I included a map so you know where you are (Or had a general idea of it.) Another thing is that I traded out your source of currency for some bits. I hope 50,000 is enough to last you a while on your travels or what not. Lastly, I packed some snacks and stuff for you from Sugarcube corner (That’s not important right now so don’t even think about asking me.) Also, there isn’t a need to worry about space because the bag has unlimited storage. I even included some “entertainment” for you whenever you're not busy being a hero and doing hero stuff.

        I hope to see you on your adventures, My little human (And no, I’m not referring to your height.) It’ll be great to meet you someday in Ponyville.

        Sincerely, 

        E

        P.S. Just as a warning, be on alert for creatures called Changelings. Their queen is pretty ticked after a few humans beat the living crap out of her children and a clone of herself. So the moment she finds out about you, be prepared for anything. They can turn into other ponies to trick you and manipulate emotions. 

        So basically… at some time, at some place, something will attack you. Maybe, probably, could be happening right now…… But I bet you will do just fine. Fingers crossed!

        “O...kay. Guess that helps… I think.” The human told himself, not sure if the message was suppose to help him or make him feel concerned.  

        Following the letters instructions, he put his hand over the picture of the bag on the bottom of the page and moved his hand upward. Just like the letter said, the bag became real and had the items that this “E” individual described.  The first thing Nicko looked at in the bag was the map. On first glance, he noticed that the town he was in to the far west of Equestria. 

        From what he could tell, this writer was in Ponyville. Looking over the map, he found the town almost at the center of the map. Now, if he knew anything about geography, that is one hell of a distance between point A and point B. But he did see a way to possibly get there. On the map, it showed a river that stretched out between both towns and through a place called the Everfree Forest. It sounded like a good idea to go because not only would he be able to explore and see what this world was like, but also to be familiar with his surroundings. 

        The second thing he noticed was a book that resembled an ancient tome. Upon further inspection, he found out that this contained all his current skills. Something to invest some time in later.

        The only concern he had right now was about these changelings, but he didn’t have enough time to be concerned or see what else was inside.  The moment he got up, Vinyl and Octavia had found him and were walking towards him. “Oh hey. Didn’t notice you guys back there.”

        “Yeah, sorry about that. Just had to remind Octavia that our train was going to leave soon.” The DJ told him.

        “Oh?” Nicko wondered. “Where were you guys going to?”

        “Our home in Ponyville.” 

        ‘Well that just made things ten times easier.’ Nicko thought. Then, he proceeded to ask a question to the two musicians. “Mind if I come along? I think I have enough to pay for my own ticket.”

        “I don’t see why not.” Octavia replied. “Say, how did you get that bag?” The human looked at Vinyl, then his bag, then back to the cellist as he got back up on his feet. The three of them began to walk down to the station.

        “It’s a LOT to explain.”

        “I believe we got the time for that.” Vinyl told him, “We won’t be back in Ponyville until tomorrow morning, so we have enough time.” 

        Nicko liked the sound of that. Grinning and putting his arms to the side like he was a gentleman gesturing ladies first. The two musicians took it as a sign of good will and lead the way to the train station. 

        However, they were unaware of someone watching the three of them. More specifically, Nicko. This new individual wore black regalia, but had orange belt straps on the left leg and silver plating on the other leg. He was about ten years older than Nicko, but what set this one apart was a few features. This included his black and silver hair, cross necklace, one handed sword, and lastly, a mechanical left arm.

        Swiftly, it began to move from rooftop to rooftop. Following the Rune Slayer and his two companions. It moved so quickly that not even the guards could recognize him and mistaken it for a pegasus flying through the air at high speeds. It wasn’t until the bipedal being had to slow down to breath that he almost lost control of the situation and couldn’t see the red-haired boy. 

        “Come on, where are you?” The individual said to himself. Soon, he caught sight of him again. This time, boarding the train. “There you are.”

        Acting reckless again, the tracker jumped and used his arm like a grappling hook to land on the stations rooftop. Upon landing, he moved into a full on sprint and as the train departed, landing on the back of the train’s empty supply car. For being a hitchhiker, the individual was thankful for no one… or nopony for that matter noticing him.



        “Well damn, today’s been one hell of a day.” He told himself. “Leo, how is it that you always get yourself into these freaking situations?” Now, the Reckless Fist named Leo Chase just hoped that the Red Haired boy he saw was the person who he thought it was. 

        Nicko Nocte. His best Friend



End Chapter 1
> Chapter 2: Old Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Old Friends





        The ride to the small town called Ponyville gave Nicko some anxiety. The human wasn’t normally use to talking about himself, but tried the best he could. After all, he didn’t want to be rude to either Vinyl or Octavia. Hell, they were the reason why he was able to get on the train. Security had supposedly tightened in a lot of major towns since what happened in Ponyville with the changelings the day before. But at least the worst part was already over.



        Right now, Nicko was just getting himself adjusted to the quarters he and the two musicians were resting in. It was a first class cabin on the right hand side of the train when somepony would be facing towards the engine room with adjustable seats that reminded the teen of a living room couch because of how spacious and comfy it was. Both mares he was were sitting across from him. There was a table in between for if somepony had work to do or if they brought food back from the dining car. It also served as a good place to set something down for if you wanted to get to it later. Right now though, Nicko was trying to stay engaged in a conversation taking place.



        “So, Nicko. Would you care to tell us about yourself?”



        The teen personally groaned at the statement. The first question Octavia asked now reminded him of the first day of Social Therapy. ‘Oh the memories that I rather not remember.’ He told himself. 



        “Could you please clarify a little? I don’t mean to be rude, but the question sounds… Vague.”



        “How so?” 



        “Well, what exactly do you want to know?” The human asked. It was a reasonable question by any means. “I usually do better if someone- I mean somepony, asked me for specific things in conversations.”



        “Well, how about you tell us how old you are?” Vinyl suggested, resisting the temptation to be listening to music. “You know, just for starters?”



        “Well, I was 17 yesterday-.”



        “Was?” 



        “Yeah. I’m 18 today so-.” Nicko had tried to help clear up the Unicorn’s confusion. But all his reply did though was have the mares jaw drop a little and her eyes widen. The same happened with Octavia as they tried to process what the human said. For a minute, he thought he caused the two of them to freeze up on him and crash like a blue screened computer. Nicko even thought that he had to break them out of the small trance like he did with Vinyl earlier that day. Fortunately, none of that was actually necessary since they snapped back to reality a few seconds afterwards, followed by a question from the White Unicorn. 



        “So does that makes today your…… Birthday?” She asked. The nodding of Nicko’s head was all that Vinyl needed to see before her face lit up like a christmas tree. “Happy Birthday man!! I did not expect that at all!”



        “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” The human told her, trying his best to crack a smile. Facial expressions were another thing that wasn’t the teen’s strong suite. Either it came out all kinky or it looked like he was trying to do Troy Baker’s best Joker impersonation. ‘Just stay calm and try to act normal.’ 



        Nicko now decided to attend to something inside his bag since both Vinyl and Octavia went on another conversation involving a “project” they were working on. He thought it would be the best time to look at one thing. That thing was none other than his skill book. Thinking back to the letter, he was concerned on E’s “cheerful” message in the letter’s bonus statement. Now would be best for him to crack open the pages and take a look.



        Right away, he was greeted by a bunch of symbols and images. But what was first a page of symbols soon shifted into words he could read. As for the images, Nicko recognized them off the bat. They were abilities and skills he could unlock. He remembered them as four different types; Passive, Active, Special Active and Hyperactive. Plus, judging from the looks of things, some images were colored while others were multiple shades of grey. It could only mean that some skills were already unlocked. Moving his finger over them, he began to read the names. 



        -Basic/Intermediate Magic Training (Increased Magical Attack power and Magical defense power. Intermediate just increases attack power.) [Passive]


        -Enhanced Fireball (Increases Damage done by projectiles.) [Passive]


        -Splash Explosion (Summon a rune in front of you and explode it, launching enemies into the air while dealing damage to them) [Special Active- Vitality]



        Then there was one other thing. Something that was called “The Way of the Sword.” It was a fight style that focused on the type of attacks and abilities Nicko could use. Through different attack combinations, he could get one of two aura’s for a limited amount of time. 



        The first one was known as the Aura of Vitality. When the Rune slayer gains this enchantment, Nicko was able to react and move faster along with having Vitality related skills use up less energy and can also help him restore his energy. The second Aura was called the Spirit of Destruction. As in the name, this form allowed Nicko to deal more damage to his opponents. But there was an additional bonus too. Getting hit makes Nicko howl like a wolf, making any attackers in his immediate surroundings stagger and knocked back while the Rune Slayer remained stoic for a short amount of time.



        However, even though these are helpful for him, he still needed the skills in order for him to acquire such strength or speed. But his attention was focused elsewhere when he heard somepony ask him a question. 



        “Hey man, what are you up to?” 



        Nicko looked up to see that it was just Vinyl across from him now. Octavia wasn’t in the cabin. Strange enough because he didn’t hear anything that sounded like the doors opened or anything like that. Raising an eyebrow, he asked “Where’s Octavia?”



        “Heading to the dining car. She said that she needed some fresh air after we couldn’t agree on what to do for a project we are working on.”



        “I’m taking a guess that it relates to music?” Nicko asked. The DJ nodded her head, answering Nicko’s question. She explained a little on how somepony specific asked for them to combine their talents with both the Cello and Electronic music into a bone chilling trac to induce suspense. That’s when Nicko had a suggestion.



        “Have you thought of combining more than just the Cello? Like Orchestral, Electronic and trailer music?” He asked. “You know, to combine your talents and make it dramatic and suspenseful?”



        “…… Actually, now that you mentioned it… that actually sound like it might work.” Vinyl told him. “You seem like you know a thing about music making.”



        “Nah, it isn’t that. I just like to listen a lot to different songs. Have you heard of Varien or Two steps from Hell by any chance?” The DJ shook her head. In a way, Nicko kind of expected this. Different worlds mean different music artist and styles. Some that the locals were probably not familiar with or give the elderly a heart attack. So, setting down his skill book, he handed one of his earbuds to Vinyl and played a song from Varien and Two steps from Hell called Sindicrat.



        Needless to say, the musician definitely liked it. Moments into the song, the grin of satisfaction on her face told Nicko that he hit the nail right on the head. The Unicorn softly nodded her head and also moved her fingers on the table like she was hitting keys on a keyboard. By the time the song finished, Vinyl couldn’t get the sounds out of her head. “Dude, that is one hell of a song. Thanks.”



        “You’re wel-.”



        “Still though, we kind of got off track. You still haven’t answered my question from earlier.” She told him, pointing at the book Nicko set down. “What were you doing just now?”



        “Reading.” Nicko was quick to answer that question. “It’s a skill book that allows me to learn new abilities and attacks with my magic. I’m just making sure I have everything I need, just in case if something happens.” Vinyl looked at the human, chuckling a little as she tried to make sense of what he was talking about. She even tried going as far as trying to read the book herself. However, unlike normal spell books (in which Unicorns can read the written syllables that represented magic), the white mare could not read anything on the page.



        “How can you read any of this dude?” She asked him, returning the book.



        “Somehow, when I read it, the symbols change into words I can read,” The Rune Slayer replied. “Maybe since this is considered mine, no one- I mean nopony else can read it.” 



        “Well, that does seem to make sense.” The conversation between the two and the chance for the human to get back to what he was previously doing were interrupted abruptly by the sound of hunger that came as a grumble from Nicko’s chest. That reminded the human that he had not eaten anything since he had arrived in Equestria. No breakfast and now going on lunch? Seemed like the best time out of any to go ahead and fuel up on some food. After all, it’s not a good idea to go on an empty stomach.



        “Guess I’m going to the dining car. Would you like anything?” Nicko offered politely to the unicorn mare. She shook her head, insisting for him to take the chance to explore the train and also get something to eat. Putting his skill book back away, the human put his bag on his shoulder and began to walk towards the middle of the railed convoy. The car structure of the train itself was a bit different from how he remembered they were like back home. In the front was the engine room and the tender car, which held all the coal and water on the caravan. After those two, the cars were organized by class and quality from highest to lowest. 



        Nicko was in a first class cabin with Vinyl and Octavia, but that actually wasn’t the highest quality seats on the train. The highest quality seats were known as “Royal class” since only the rich and wealthy in Canterlot most of the time were able to afford it. Following that was first class, business class, the dining car, the guard quarters (for the royal guard that are asked to help escort somepony) second class and commoner class. After that was few flatbed cars used for delivering goods and carrying supplies, but were mostly empty except for a few wooden crates. As Nicko made his way through the cars, he could tell that there was quite a difference between each of them and the ponies in the cars that were taking the train. He didn’t notice the biggest change until after moving past the business class car.



        Inside the dining car, the human was greeted by many tables that were set up like one of those fancy restaurants that were too expensive for normal civilians to afford. On his left hand side, he saw a bunch of kids that were close to his age all gathered around a group of tables put together. The most recognizable of the bunch were four girls. One with a bow in her hair and possibly her friends. Across from them was a couple of boys. One that had purple scales and a purple jacket while another boy had a pinwheel hat, t-shirt and shorts. The kid looked like he was holding some sort of handheld gaming device in his hands, but had it on pause for the time being. It must’ve been a class field trip of sorts with this many kids. The only adult with them was a berry colored woman wearing a teachers outfit and the hair reminded Nicko of Japanese cherry blossoms that were in the orphanages garden back home. 



        As Nicko looked to his right, he recognized a familiar face. Octavia was sitting at a two person table close to the far right corner of the cabin with another mare. This other mare had a long Hazelnut like hair with emerald eyes and fur that resembled the color of fresh wood in a courtroom. She wore a business suit with a patch of a balancing scale laced in gold. By appearance, it reminded the human of a chief prosecutor. Maybe some kind of background in criminal justice? He didn’t really know. 



        Nicko decided to take up a seat in the middle of the car at a two person table like the one Octavia was sitting in. He was by himself, so there technically wasn’t a need to sit at a four person table. When Nicko set his bag down and began to look at the fold out menu, he could hear the group of fillies from the other side of the room. 



        “So which one of the girls did you think was cool, Spike?”



        “Oh come on, Sweetie Belle.” The boy replied. “I was able to catch a break from Twilight to have fun with you guys. Not talk about the one thing that has been driving her crazy. Besides, I’ve had… a bad experience with Amy… I rather not talk about it.”



        “Just to be clear, Amy is the one with the red hair, white coat and fire powers right?”



        “Yes Button. That’s her.” The orange mare with wings answered the pinwheel kid’s question. “Come to think of it, doesn’t that guy over there look sort of like Amy?”



        ‘Crap,’ Nicko cursed mentally. He honestly didn’t expect to be pointed out that fast. But it did make sense. Nicko felt like a black sheep. He felt like he stood out amongst everypony else in the room.



        “Don’t presume yet, Scootaloo.” The girl with the bow answered her friends question. “We don’t know a thing about him. He did just walk in here.”



        “What I’m curious about is that marking on his shoulder. Could that be his cutie mark?”



        “That wouldn’t make any sense,” The one called Button replied. “Cutie marks are on the flank, not the shoulder.” What the kids were talking about now were the two tattoo’s Nicko had. There was one on each shoulder and they were markings representing his Runes. The first one was the same rune symbol that was on his sword while the other one was a wingless dragon looking like it was biting it’s own tail in a circling motion. They were painted in red. 



        “If they’re on the flank, then what’s up with him?” Sweetie Belle asked. 



        “Ah don’t know, but ah’m going to have to agree with Scoot on this one. He does remind me of Amy. The colors of the clothes he’s wearing definitely remind me of her.”



        From what Nicko could tell, the girls words made him think that the “Amy” figure they mentioned was a Blazing Heart. With the kid named Button saying that she had red hair, a white cloak and fire powers; it was the best guess he had. He couldn’t tell originally what she was from the image from the paper since the fire she was using covered most of her body. The same thing went for the two other girls in the image. The white haired one had Nicko think of either a genderbent Mastermind or Eve’s Code: Battle Seraph with a different color set of clothes. But upon further inspection, he saw the girls dynamo weapons and dismissed the thought. As for the third one, Nicko could tell that she was a Sakra Devanam because of her combat stance and using the “Eight Trigram Palm” technique. Now though, his attention had to be focused elsewhere as he saw a Unicorn stallion trot over to his table. From his appearance, Nicko could tell that he was a waiter as he pulled out a small notebook and pen that was commonly used to write down the orders of the customers on-board. 



        “Hello, Sir. Would you be eating by yourself today?” Before Nicko could speak, he noticed a new figure walk to his table and sit down across from him. Nicko was personally shocked and a bit surprised about this guy. Why? He knew him from back home. 



        “Actually, he’s eating with a friend today.” The black and partially white haired human told the stallion waiter. “Can we have two glasses of water to start please?”



        “Certainly.” As the waiter trotted away, Nicko looked back at the human. He was surprised, but glad that he found someone that he knew.



        “Leo? Holy crap, am I glad to see you!”



        “Same here, Nicko. For a moment, I didn’t recognize you with your new look.” Leo chuckled. Nicko had to agree on that point. Speaking of looks, he now noticed that there was something different with his friend. His entire left arm was now… Mechanical. 



        “You look quite different yourself. If that arm really…?”



        “A mechanical one? Yeah it is.” His friend answered. “Takes a little bit to get used to at first. But after a while, it feels quite normal.” Nicko had the same feeling. It took him a while to get use to his new outfit and also the runes he could conjure. It felt weird when he first got here, but he adjusted over time. Now though, it seemed like the perfect time to ask his friend a few questions. Most importantly, how did he get here in the first place?



        “So, Leo? May I ask you something?”



        “Go ahead. I’m all ears.”



        “How exactly did you end up here in Equestria?” 



        The question made the Reckless Fist sigh as he set his one handed blade to lean against the table. Leo used the chance to get himself in a more relaxed sitting position. This would take some time to explain and no matter how he said it, the story would be very hard to believe.



        “Alright… Well, it all started when I was asked to meet Jane Anderson-.”



        “Wait, as in the lady who funds the orphanage?” Leo’s friend asked him. The Reckless Fist’s reply was a nod and a reminder to try and not interrupt him while he was explaining this to him. Around now was also when the waiter returned with the glasses of water that they asked for. 



        “Are you two ready to order?”



        “Yes, I have your alfredo pasta please.” Nicko calmly and politely replied to the stallion, folding the menu that he was looking at. “What about you, Leo?”



        “I’ll just have the same thing as you. Make it simple.”



        “Okay, two alfredo pasta’s. I’ll have that ready for you in about ten minutes.” The Waiter told them as he left the two of them alone at the table they were at. 



        “Alright, now where was I before we were so… rudely interrupted?”



        “You said you were meeting Jane… Anderson?” Nicko repeated, unsure of how the last name went.



        “Right, so heres how it played out...”





Yesterday, Anderson Abode Orphanage (Leo’s P.O.V.)



        “Mr. Chase. You have been working quite exceptionally well over the past few years that you’ve been here.”



        “Well, thank you for the kind words, Mr. Anderson. I really appreciate it.” Leo replied. When he remembered the conversation, his appearance was not like the look of the Reckless Fist. Instead, he was a little more… proper. For one thing, his hair was neatly combed and he wore a collared t-shirt and khakis. He was standing in a small office that either Jane Anderson or her husband James would occupy once every few weeks to check on the children. Mostly, either the oldest of the children or hired maids would be taking care of the kids. But since one of the maids had been fired around almost a week ago, Leo had a bit more work on his shoulders. 



        “I’m glad to hear that, Leo. But may I ask you something out of curiosity?”



        Raising an eyebrow, he slowly nodded. “Sure… what is it?”



        “Have you considered using any of your vacation days?”



        “I have vacation days!?” The young adult said. “The only time I mentioned that was near Yuri and she got mad at me because she thought I was trying to be lazy. She scares me sometimes when she’s angry.”



        “I see… You should take some time off and are allowed to go anywhere that you wish. But I recommend that you don’t go to extreme lengths with your time off. Yuri used most of her time to try and form some kind of investigation  that involved trying to find my two daughters. I know she cares for them, but devoting that much time into something that happened a few years ago puts a bad image on the family. I believe you understand, right Leo?”



        “… Dibs on taking the Cadillac in the driveway!!!”





Present day, Equestria



        “After that, I went out to the Hobby store I heard you found your costume just to check it out. When I was there, I bought the Reckless Fist outfit and the Sword and they threw in the Nasod Arm for free since it was a buy two, get one free on any cosplay outfits and accessories. Went right back to the Abode to try it on and see what it felt like on the rooftops of the building as the sun was setting. Then, the light from the sun got too bright and next thing I know, I was on the rooftop of a building inside Los Pegasus or whatever that place was called. Looks like something that came out of a Fisher-Price playset if you ask me-.”



        “Okay, back up a sec.” Nicko told his friend. “How the hell am I suppose to believe that you drove a freaking Cadillac?”



        “I took a selfie of me holding the keys in front of the car.” His friend told him, showing him the photo of himself with his Samsung Galaxy.



        “…… Okay, just how exactly does your mind function?”



        “Like any normal person would.”



        “Really dude? You really make me think you're acting like Deadpool right now.”



        “So I can’t say the K word on camera-?”



        “I was being hypothetical.” Nicko retorted, smacking himself in the face with the palm of his hand. The thing with Leo was that he sometimes took certain things a little too far. This could be shown through his actions, his speech and through his thinking. Still though, despite this, Leo was still a good friend. He just had a weird way of showing it.



        “So, how did you exactly find me Leo?”



        “Well, I overheard two ladies talking while at the bookstore in Los Pegasus and they mentioned your name so I followed them. I followed by rooftop since following them on the ground would make me look like a stalker. As for getting on the train… I have a ticket, but let’s just say I took a raincheck when I came to security. Reminds me too much of Airport security back home.”



        “So you basically acted like a hitchhiker?” 



        “To put it in simple terms, yes.” Leo said as he got out a series of four books from a bag similar to Nicko’s. All of them were labeled “Daring Do” on the seams and made Nicko feel like it was this world's version of Indiana Jones. Inspecting the book at the bottom of the stack, the Rune Slayer noticed something with the book. 



        “Daring Do and the Arctic Archives. Reserved for… Rainbow Dash? Leo… this belonged to somebody else.”



        “What? It was a buy three, get the fourth one free special. I’m sure they got more copies on sale.”





        “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE SOLD OUT!!?”





Back to the train-ride



        “Riiiight… Somehow, I doubt that. Whoever this belonged to, you just pulled a five finger discount on them.” Nicko sighed. The human now noticed that the waiter from a few minutes ago had just returned and set their dishes on the table. Thanking the stallion, Nicko held his fork in his right hand and began to enjoy his pasta and Leo did the same. Due to Nicko’s hunger, he was able to consume the dish in less than ten minutes. It finally felt good to have some food in his system, even though the dish didn’t have any meat or protein.



        The Reckless Fist chuckled to himself as his friend was about to drink some water. “It’s only been three days and it seems like you two only disappeared yesterday-.” 



        The comment almost made Nicko choke on his water as he swallowed it down carefully. “Hold on a second!? Three days!!? But I’ve only been here for like almost two hours… and what the hell do you mean by you two?”



        “Well, isn’t Anson with you?”



        “No, last time I saw him was the day before the party where he suggested the costume idea. When I got back, I was told that he had left only fifteen minutes ago.”



        “Well, News Flash dude.” Leo told him with an edge in his voice. “Both you and your brother disappeared on the same day.” This came as a huge surprise to Nicko. He had no idea that both he and Anson were now stuck in god knows where. He began to worry about him. But not for his safety though. Two words basically described Anson in the Rune Slayer’s mind. Energetic and Egotistical. He was also headstrong, sarcastic, brutally honest and had a weird way to show how he cares for people or trusts them. 



        Putting his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his greatsword, Nicko got up from the table and pushed the chair back in. “I need some air. Thanks for catching me up.” The Human left the Dining car and made it all the way to the back of the commoner’s car, where there was a balcony and flatbed supply cars. The fresh forest air and the smell of Pine needles filled his nose as he tried to unwind. No wonder everything so far had been stressful. Trying to keep his mind off things, the Rune Slayer finally had time to invest into his skillbook.



        Twenty minutes soon went by very quickly after he first cracked open the book and now, he had finally finished getting all the necessary skills he needed. Four Vitality based skills, Three Destruction based skills, all the passive upgrades he needed and his hyperactive skill just in case for emergencies. The Rune Slayer was now even thinking about trying to practice his skills on the empty platform in front of him so he could get a good feel of the skills he could perform. 



        That was, until the door creaked open and someone… or somepony new to be precise, came on out and faced Nicko. “Oh… I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”



        Nicko turned around to face whoever was talking to him. He was thrown completely off guard when he saw the mare that was with Octavia just moments ago now standing right in front of him. “Oh uh… no. I just… came to get some fresh air.” He nervously replied. 



        “It’s alright. I just wanted to have a chance to talk to you. After all, it is a rare opportunity to be able to talk to a human like yourself.”



        “Wait a minute… How do you-?”



        “It’s alright. Octavia told me while we were having lunch.” The mare told him, trying to ease his tensions a little. “I’m Lauren… Lauren Order. You’re Nicko I presume?”



        “Yes, Ms. Order-.”



        The mare chuckled a little to herself when the Human tried to address her professionally. “Lauren’s fine. Normally, only my servant or other members on Celestia’s Court address me like that.”



        “So you’re a lawyer?”



        “Use to be one. I was Chief Prosecutor for the city of Los Pegasus. But that was a few years ago. Now I’m the Mayor of the city.”



        ‘Called it!!.’ Nicko thought. He definitely thought that with the name and scale that she would be a lawyer. Especially with her name sounding similar to the phrase “Law and Order.” But still though, why would the mayor of a city be on board a train like this one. Normally, he thought that somehow of her position would have private transport like a carriage or something. 



        Upon asking her though, the Rune Slayer found out that Lauren’s reason for being onboard the train had nothing to do with her career or politics. Instead, the Mare told her that she was going to Ponyville to spend some much needed time with her family. Ironically, her niece named Diamond Tiara was aboard this train as well since she and a few other were on a school field trip to Los Pegasus to tour the Mayor’s office as well as other attractions around the city. Nicko understood her reasons why. 



        “I guess your family is important to you?”



        “Why yes it is,” The mare told Nicko as she straightened herself up. “Family is important to almost everypony. I’m sure it’s important to you too, right?”



        “Well… that’s the thing.” Nicko explained “The only family I have is my twin brother and right now, I have no freaking clue where he could be.”



        “Your brother? Don’t you have parents?” The mayor asked him out of curiosity. The reply she got was Nicko shaking his head side to side. Her question must’ve made him feel down because his facial expression changed from calm to partially depressed. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know-.”



        “It’s alright. It happens quite a lot actually.” Nicko told her. Right now, he looked at the window that was by the door and noticed the heads of a few of the kids from the dining room car looking through the window like they were spying on them. “Something tells me though that we’ve attracted some attention.”



        “Quite… Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your trip Nicko.” The Mayor of Los Pegasus said before going inside. “Oh and I hope you find your brother soon!”



        “Thanks for the encouragement.” came the humans reply as the mare walked on back inside the car. Shortly afterwards, Nicko got on the platform supply car attached to the back of the train. He was about to get started with practicing a few of his skills. But then, a thought came across his mind. How the hell was he going to do this? 



        Then the thought came across his mind of concentrating like the mini rune he can do with his fingers, but picturing it in his mind so he could channel the proper amount of energy needed to do certain abilities. Nicko tested this theory by concentrating his strenght and having his sword strike the ground just close to where his feet was. A red rune began to float around him afterwards that looked almost like a miniature dagger. Testing one of his powers was successful.



        “Well sweet. That was awesome!” He told himself happily. “Now, let’s try something a little… stronger.” Concentrating a little more on his posture and his feet, his goal now was to perform a three strike combination that focused on one heavy swing, casting a rune in front of him and detonating it shortly afterwards. The key here was to make sure he still could properly balance himself after the first attack and with wielding a two handed great sword, this was easier said than done. But hey, it was only about a half hour after One o’clock. He had some time time to kill. Despite the thought in his head that the Rune Slayer was being watched by someone, he dismissed it because he thought it would distract his concentration. He had a feeling that something might go wrong.



        Turns out, somepony was watching him. It was a creature that most ponies can’t always see with the naked eye. It chuckled a little as it watched the human practice it’s powers for another couple of hours. It seemed she made the right decision to write that letter to him after all. 








Next Morning, Royal Class Car



        It was the dead early hours of morning, but something did not feel right. For one thing, the royal guards that were assigned to protect the cars were not at their posts. But in each of the cars right now was some “new” travelers. A bunch of light and dark brown ponies and a couple of gryphons all began to get ready as each of them took position inside the cars behind this one. The only ones that were left in the Royal car now were an earth pony mare with a tattoo of a claw in white on her shoulder, a gryphon with a metal beak, and a Unicorn stallion with a scar above it’s right eye and a White Claw on it’s shoulder. 



        “Boss… All the cars have been secured.”



        “And the guards?”



        “Either dead or tied up in the guards quarters. We got the entire train on lockdown.”



        “Good,” The unicorn said, seeing the sun begin to rise. “Let’s give the mayor a warm welcome.” With a clenched fist, he banged on the door loudly. When Lauren opened the door, the mayor of Los Pegasus was greeted with a Silver handgun aimed at her head.



        “What in-!?”



        “Hello, Lauren Order. Remember when you threw our boss into Tartarus a few years ago? Well...... today’s payback day.” Lauren remembered it well. Her biggest case back in the glory days of being a prosecutor was with locking up the leader of the White Talon Cartel for shipping illegal spices and drugs made from some of the rarest and most harmful plants in Equestria. The Stallion now noticed the small filly that was awake and right next to her. He smiled menacingly as he looked at the two of them, pointing at his forehead.



        “Now then, I want you two to behave nicely or else everypony on this caravan will get a big red mark right here.” He now turned to the gryphon next to him with a evil cowl on his face.



        “Tell everypony else to give the train a wake up call. It’s showtime.”





End Chapter 2

> Chapter 3: Light 'em up!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery, and Shenanigans- Light ‘em up




        About two hours before dawn was going to come, Nicko’s eyes began to open. The human couldn’t sleep anymore and when he woke up, he noticed that something was off.. He remembered falling asleep back in his seat with Vinyl and Octavia, but right now found himself lying across on an open bench seat in the commoner class cabin. Not only that, but Leo was on the seat on the opposite side, sleeping in a crossed arms, leaned back position. The other thing that caught his attention that there were no guards in the vicinity. Just the children from yesterday and their teacher along with a few other ponies here and there. Before even thinking about moving an inch though, he began hearing a voice. 

        ‘Hello? … *Mic tap* Is this thing on? Alright, it’s working.’ 

        “What the-?”

        ‘Ah ah ah… No talking young one.’ The voice spoke again. ‘I’m talking to you telepathically right now so if you want to chat… you better think it through.’

        ‘Think it through?’ Nicko thought.

        ‘Exactly, like that!’ The voice now sounded cheerier and Nicko could hear clapping in the background. 

        ‘Okay, this is going to be painful.’ Nicko thought in his head. ‘Just who the heck are you and why are you talking inside my head?’

        ‘Right to asking the important questions, are we Nicky?’ The voice teased. Nicko sighed as he just stared at the ceiling. ‘Now, don’t you remember the letter you received earlier today?’

        He did. The Letter from E that had his bag inside. ‘That wouldn’t happen to be you now, would it? Just guessing.’

        ‘Ding ding ding!! We have a winner! Why my friend, you are absolutely right!’ It congratulated the teen. “Now, close your eyes and you’ll receive a prize!” Having no idea what the hell this person was talking about, but not having any choice in the matter either, Nicko shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in somewhere that was definitely not the train that he was on.

        “Okay, what the f-?”

        “Welcome to your subconscious, my human friend.” 

        The Rune Slayer was quite spellbound by the feat that was pulled off. He was now in a place that reminded him of what it looked like inside Emmet’s mind when he watched The LEGO movie a few months back. Nicko was standing on a long ever extending grid of a surface while everything else around him seemed like a starry night sky that was a shade of dark navy blue and the stars were shining bright like diamonds. Almost like he was in a dreamscape of sorts. It wasn’t until turning around that he encountered the creature that brought him here. 

        The creature strangely reminded Nicko of Sally from Nightmare before Christmas. A being with multiple different body parts all mixed together and strangely made him think that they were all sewn in place. A bat and pegasus wing, two different horns, lion paw, eagle talon, dragon like body, pony like face with a grey mane and red and yellow eyes.  It looked like a girl based on body structure and her voice from when she was playing around inside Nicko’s head. Well, technically, she still would be playing around because they were inside his head.

        “I’m pleased to finally meet you face to face,” The creature acknowledged as she stuck out her eagle talon, offering a handshake. “My name is Eris. daughter of Discord.”

        Shaking the offered talon, Nicko’s reply was honestly the first thing that came to his head. “I honestly have no idea what that means… but what the hell? Nice to meet you, Eris.”

        “You to.” She told the human. “Forgive me a bit, but I had to clear up a bunch of things that were littered inside your head.”

        “And those things are?”

        “Just simple thoughts. Like the one inside your head about how you were going to pull off your spells. Don’t worry, I didn’t erase your memories. I just moved everything to the back of your mind.”

        ‘And here come the memory jokes.’ The Rune Slayer  predicted. “So… may I asked why did you bring me here?”

        “I just thought it would be a bit easier on the brain if you and I just talked normally. Didn’t want to wake anypony up on the train ride to Ponyville.” Eris giggled a little as she stretched out her lion paw. “I would’ve had daddy come meet you as well, but he said that he had an important meeting to attend.”

        “Do you know the reason why?”



Canterlot, Royal Meeting Chamber

        “Thank you everypony for accepting my invitation.”

        “Yes, Captain Gleaming Shield. We like to thank you for bringing Mr. Discord along as well. This, I guarantee you, is important to address.”

        “Now, why exactly am I asked to be here? Armor Flank told me that there wasn’t a reason why I was asked to come. It is a budget meeting after all.” The Chaos spirit asked.

        “Which brings me to my point.” The captain of the guard addressed. “Before we begin, I was under the impression that our budget was being handled directly by Prince Artemis.”

        “Yes it is, but we are a having a distinctly difficult time looking at the list of expenses over the last few days. Mostly under the name… Eris?”



Back in Nicko’s head

        “Nope. No idea at all.” Nicko had serious doubts about that. If Social Therapy ever taught him anything important, it was that tone in voice, body posture, and someones actions could show if they were stressed, lying or hiding something. Still though, it would be rude to point these out so he kept them to himself. 

        “Okay then… So… Are you like a chimera with all the different… limbs and stuff?”

        “Oh no. I’m a Draconequus.”

        “First time I’ve heard of it.” The teen answered honestly. “Do you use some kind of magic? I’m still trying to figure out how you put the letter in my pocket and what not.”

        “Oh no, Nicky…” She playfully teased. “My magic is quite… different. Magic like the Unicorns and the Princesses of the world are bound by different rules like how much magic to put into a spell or how far you can teleport.” The Draconequus then snapped her finger with the eagle talon hand and created a pink cloud to leisurely lean on. She smiled a little as she got in a comfortable position.

        “My magic goes beyond rules. Beyond understanding. That’s why it’s “Chao’s magic” after all. It’s also how I put your messenger bag in that piece of parchment for you.” 

        “Well, that’s… awesome.” Nicko commented. ‘Note to self, never ask Eris to explain how anything she does works.’

        “Indeed it is. Even that crazy Alicorn in the letter can’t understand it someti-.”

        “Wait a minute, I thought the letter said Unicorn.” Nicko mentioned, not intending to interrupt. The Draconequus, now wondering herself, snapped her finger and what appeared to be a makeshift desk with a laptop and printer appeared floating in midair. With a few clicks, her eyes soon widened at what she found. 

        “Stupid autocorrect!” She blurted out, dismissing the desk in an explosive bang! “I knew I should’ve checked that for spelling errors. Anyways, I can inform you more about that later my friend. We got a situation..”

        Now Nicko knew she wasn’t trying to play around with him. Her tone had shifted immensely from the playful self that she was before. “Let me guess, not enough chaos?”

        “Even though that in itself is tempting, no. We have a different situation.” Eris retorted, trying to dismiss the joke. “Remember the train you were on and your friend, Lauren Order? Well, it’s getting hijacked. Hijacked by a group of criminals that are steaming ticked at her for sending their boss to Tartarus a few years ago.”

        “Crap.” The Rune Slayer cursed. “So, that’s the reason why the guards were missing inside the cars.” 

        “Bingo!” She said, having mini fireworks pop out of her paw. “They’re planning on killing her unless the Royal Guards do what they want. What they don’t know though  is about what you and your friend Leo are capable of. You’ll be waking up soon, so the two of you will need to get to work, pronto. As for me, I’ll give you a freebie.” Before the teen even got the chance to ask, Eris disappeared into a puff of smoke. For a moment, he thought that she disappeared. But that wasn’t until Nicko heard her again inside his head. 

        “Right now, I’ll be helping you by watching your every move and assisting you in your progress. Consider me as like an extra pair of eyes and ears.”

        “So I wake up and you’ll be inside my head again. What happens after that?”

        “Oh silly Nicky… Why spoil the fun? I’m just helping you after all.” Those were the Chaos spirit’s final words before a bright light flashed before the teen, blinding him immensely.



Back on the train car

        When Nicko was beginning to snap back to reality, he could hear the whimpering of children and feel something poking his face. That something felt like the cold end of a steel pipe. He could also hear the pony poking him sound frustrated.

        “How in Tartarus can a kid sleep through all of this?” 

        The voice sounded like a male. Mid forties, probably a Unicorn since he heard the sound of pony magic pick something up off the table. Turns out, that something was a stein of Apple Cider which was used to splash Nicko’s face. Guess he had to add alcoholic to the list of traits.

        “Hey, wake up… Kid, wake up! Oh for the love of…” Also has a temper.

        “Can you believe this little pipsqueak!? He’s freaking asleep in the middle of all this?!” Nicko’s anger now began to boil a little. In his mind, this guy had just signed the warrant to allow the teenager to beat the crap out of him. As his eyes snapped open, he remembered that he needed to be aware of a few… things. 

        ‘Eris? You there?’ 

        ‘Yeah I am. What’s up?’

        ‘It’s time to go to work. Be ready.’ Moments afterwards, Nicko rose from his seat. The look on his face matched his feelings. Wrath… He was now in front of the same stallion who had the nerve to make him ticked off. The Rune Slayer also noticed that his Reckless Fist companion was awake, but still in his folded arms position. Probably to make the crooks think that he too was also asleep. 

        Two thugs. One in front of me and the other to the left with his back turned to Leo. Yeah, this is going to be a piece of cake.

        “What’s the matter kid? You got something to say?”

        Not responding to the spellcaster making the threats, the Rune Slayer lifted his right hand and placed it behind his head. The act was suppose to be that he was still waking up, but the plan was to wait for the right moment. It happened once the Unicorn looked at his Gryphon partner that was facing away from Leo and pointed his gun away from him too.

        “You seeing this? This short stack here-.”

        POW!!! Nicko made the first move as his right hand was now balled up into a fist and right-hooked the unicorn, making him drop his gun and fall unconscious. Before the nearby Gryphon pulled out his handgun, the human’s hand pressed on the Unicorn’s rifle and let his magic melted the weapon into a pile of liquid metal with the fire that emitted from his hand. 

        “Don’t you-!” Before the gryphon could even fire his weapon, Nicko moved forward in a rush and struck his sword down by his feet, knocking the weapon to the floor and breaking it in half. Still, without a weapon, the gryphon swung at the human with it’s talons. Now would be a good chance to try a new skill. First, the Rune Slayer planted his feet and swung a heavy slash. Despite the gryphon dodging it, it was what came after that Nicko wanted to happen.

        “SPLASH EXPLOSION!!” A normal sized rune was conjured right in front of his attackers chest and with a twist of his wrist, it detonated and sent the gryphon flying into the wall, not hitting anypony that was seated. Turning to everypony else, he sighed a little as he assured them. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

        “Yeah…” He heard his friend Leo talk behind him sarcastically. The Reckless Fist was now looking at the partially dazed gryphon on the floor. “Nice job. Perfect way to not endanger any innocent lives.”

        “Don’t thank me.” Nicko chuckled, “Thank Eris.”

        “Who’s Eris?”

        “The Chaos spirit that’s living inside my head.”

        “...Wonderful.” came the reply of Nicko’s confused friend. He now noticed that the supply cabinet was left ajar and inside it was some brown rope and elastic cables used for holding down shipping crates. Getting to work, he tied up both of the criminals in restraints so they couldn’t use their arms or hooves (Back-legs for the gryphon.)

        Nicko left Leo to do the interrogating with the Gryphon. Having a mechanical Nasod arm does have it’s advantages for this kind of work. As for him though, the children that he saw the day before were now talking to each other. But it wasn’t until one of the kids got up from his seat that actually shocked everypony there. That one from before was the orange colored girl with a small pair of wings. She seemed nervous at first, but then asked something.

        “A-are you two… human?” 

        Nicko nodded as he placed a hand on her left shoulder. “Yeah, but we’re the good guys. You and your friends were very brave just now.”

        “T-thank you.” She told the teen. “But, what’s your name?”

        “Nicko.” Leo’s voice caught his attention, distracting him for a moment. The Reckless Fist walked on over to where his Rune Slayer companion was and shared him the news. “I got our tough nut over here to finally crack.”

        “One, please don’t use that analogy again.” Nicko told him in a serious tone. “Two, what did you find?” He didn’t move from where he was because he didn’t want to ignore the child he was talking to. 

        “There’s twenty-three of them in total. Two more are in the engine room, four are in the guards quarters, leaving three left for second class, the dining hall, business class, first class and royal class; where they’re holding both Mayor Lauren Order and her niece. That’s all I can get.”

        Sighing, Nicko looked at the young girl again. “What’s your name?”

        “Scootaloo.”

        “Scootaloo… Can you do something for me?” Nicko asked. “Can you be brave for me?”

        “B-be brave?” The filly questioned. “Why do you want me to be brave?”

        “Because I want you to help keep everypony you know calm. Panic is not good and doesn’t help me or my friend Leo. We want to make sure everypony arrives safely, but I can only do that if everypony remains calm. Can you and your friends do that?” Looking at her friends, the young girl nodded softly and smiled. She went to her friends as they came up with a plan and then shouted out something about being “Cutie mark Crusaders” with something being the task. Honestly, Nicko couldn’t remember right now because his mind was focused elsewhere. It was focused on a plan of attack. 

        “Leo. I got a plan.”

        “Okay, enlighten me.” The Reckless Fist answered.

        “How good are you of a grip with that new arm?”

        He looked at his Mechanical Hand and stretched it out a while before looking back at Nicko. “Very good. Why do you ask?”

        Nicko grinned a little, not in a mischievous way, but he knew that Leo was going to get a kick out of this. “Remember when you told me that you always wanted to go Train Surfing?”

        Upon hearing the question, Leo felt overjoyed. “Oh… hell yes!”

        ‘Okay, just where are you exactly going with this?’ Eris asked inside Nicko’s head.

        ‘You’ll see.’ was all the Rune slayer said before focusing on his friend again. “Get up top and go for the crooks in the engine room. I rather not have this train be controlled by psychopaths. Afterwards, meet me up in the guards quarters. I’ll be making my way there through second class and the dining hall.”

        “What happens then?” Leo asked eagerly as he was getting ready to go up top using the maintenance hatch. 

        “That’s when we’ll evaluate and plan part two.” came Nicko’s reply. “Right now, lets stay focused.” ‘That includes you to, Eris.’

        ‘Silly Nicky. I’ve been ready all this time. I was just waiting on you.’

        Nicko smiled as he left the commoner class cabin and made his way to the door for second class. He wanted to peek in and see what he was dealing with, but he had a suspicion that one of the guards would be by the door and see his head if he tried. He tried to listen in, but forgot that the doors to second class and every other car were air sealed so he couldn’t hear anything. Plus, he had no magic abilities that worked as a way to see through walls.

        ‘Hey Eris?’

        ‘Yes, my little human?’

        ‘Are you saying that as an insult or to playfully tease?’

        ‘To tease. How can I be of assistance?’ Eris asked. Nicko told her that he needed to know the locations of where each of the thugs were so he could figure out a plan of attack. ‘Certainly. One is in the far back and slouched over. The other two are in the middle of the car talking to each other’

        ‘How equipped are they?’

        ‘I would say moderate. They’re armed, but not well armed. They just have a couple of hand cannons, pistols and short swords.’

        ‘Well, looks like the odds are in our favor.’ Nicko said, gripping his weapon. On the mental count of three, The Rune Slayer bursted through the door and caught the attention of the three criminals at once. Grabbing a mug on a nearby table, he chucked the wooden cup like a baseball and hit the Earth pony in the back of the car along it’s forehead. As for the other two, they drew their swords, but Nicko was quick to disarm them of their weapons by using his hands and his greatsword. Shortly afterwards, Nicko used the belts along the criminals pants to use as a way to tie them down to a pole that was connected to one of the tables in the middle of the car. The strategy was to use as little magic as possible. Like Energy, it would take some time to recharge. 

        ‘Anything that I should worry about so far?’

        ‘Just keep moving. Next car has a lot more space, but the ones holding down the fort have heavy weaponry.’

        ‘Define “heavy weaponry” Eris.’

        ‘A cannon and some sawed off shotguns.’

        ‘Holy crap, are you serious!?’ The Rune Slayer asked, approaching the next door in a ninja crouch like movement. An actual cannon inside the dining car could definitely mean trouble. Seems like these guys spent hours preparing for this siege to occur.

        ‘Normally I’m not, but right now I am. Plus, these guys have nasty trigger fingers.’

        ‘And how do you know that?’

        ‘Ever heard of Mind-reading?’

        ‘ … Good point. Got any suggestions for how to proceed?’

        ‘Do you have any spells that can get them from underneath their hooves?’ Eris’s question actually reminded Nicko of a spell he learned yesterday while practicing his other abilities. One that came out from under his attackers feet and can strike them for a serious amount of damage if done quickly enough. He also personally considered it one of a few “Key Spells” needed to get out of sticky situations. Flipping his sword to where he was holding it backwards in his right hand, he prepared his other hand to hold his magic that he needed for the skill. 

        Using his sword to get the handle of the door, the teen yanked the door open and caught the cannoneer and the two unicorns with the Shotguns by surprise. Nicko moved forward and slid underneath the shots fired by the sawed off weapons, kicking the face of the cannon upward to the ceiling. When it went off, the cannonball bursted through the roof and not at the door of the previous cars. While all three ponies fiddled to reload their weapons, the Rune Slayer used this time to act. In his crouched position, he swung his left arm filled with magic vertically across his body and let the spell do the rest.

        “RISING WAVE!!”

        The attack conjured blades of Magic that spawned from the floor, destroying the weapons they carried and knocking the two unicorns back. The earth pony that was minding the cannon though only suffered minimal damaged due to his bulking size and strength. It lashed one at the human, flipping tables over and breaking chairs as Nicko tried to dodge roll out of the way.

        The Stallion now grabbed the door that the human came through and tore it off the hinges, using it as a makeshift shield with a pipe as a weapon. 

        ‘You really made him mad.’

        ‘You think!?’ Nicko retorted before almost getting hit in the face with the steel bludgeon. He wasn’t the best in counters though. Only thing he could do right now was block and dodge until he had an opening. However, Eris noticed one before he did when the earth pony raised the pipe above his head.

        ‘Let him slam that pipe down!’

        ‘Are you insane!? The force of that will crack my head open-!’

        ‘Just trust me!!’

        Nicko did. Sliding backwards, he let the pipe come down. Looking at the stallion now, he saw him struggle to pull the pipe out of the floor. Too much force caused it to get stuck in the floor. Now, the Rune Slayer saw opportunity once again as he moved towards the opponent.

        “SPLASH EXPLOSION!!” Using the same technique from the commoners car, the teen detonated a rune in front of the criminal and had him pass out on the floor. “Well, I’m glad that was dealt with. Doesn’t look like there’s anymore trouble-.”

        However, there was one thing that Eris did not see upon entering the room. Someone from behind the barkeep’s desk. However, it did not make it’s move until when the train went into a tunnel, where the light was very limited. That’s when it came out from behind the desk and went towards Nicko in a forward lung.

        ‘Nicko, look out! There’s a fox chick behind you!!’

        Nicko turned at the last possible second to hear the sound of a weapon go past him. It wasn’t the click of a gun or the swipe of a sword. Instead, it sounded like a long swift stick like weapon with a sharp edge. Halberd maybe or a-.

        That’s when Nicko saw a tint of light reflect off the blade and shaft of the weapon. “Dammit Eris, why do you always keep jinxing sh*t!” He cursed out loud. The attacker was going to go forth towards him until they heard Nicko speak.

        “Wait… are you one of those bandits that stormed in here about fifteen minutes ago?” 

        “Are you talking about the guys I just kicked the crap out of?” Nicko asked. Light returned to the car as Nicko finally saw who the speaker was. It was a girl. Probably a couple of years older than he was. But he recognized her from the newspaper Vinyl showed him yesterday.



        “Wait a minute… You’re the human girl that won in a duel against a princess yesterday!” 

        “Well, I guess I’ve gained a bit of a reputation.” She said. “Who are you? Are you one of those pony passengers by any chance?”

        “Do I look like a pony?” Nicko questioned her. He was beginning to see a resemblance of the figure with someone he had seen before or previously heard of. But before he could process anything, he heard his phone go off and Leo on speaker.

        “Hey Nicko!”



Near the Engine Room (Leo’s POV)

        “I’m coming upon the engine room right now. Give me five minutes and no maniacs will be driving this train.”

        Before he heard Nicko say anything, The Reckless Fist put his caller on hold. He was on the right side of the Tender Car now with a clear shot of the open window for the Engine Room. Peaking in, Leo could see the two criminals guarding the workers. They were watching them supply coal for the train, but had their backs turned away from the window. Now, it was go time.

        Snapping forward, Leo went through the window feet first and landed inside the car. Before the criminals could even make a move, he struck them both in one fatal attack.

        “WILD CHARGE!!”

        The charged nasod arm shot forward like a rocket, colliding with the two hijackers and sending them into the wall. With them knocked out, the two workers showed much thanks for his help. “Is there anything we can do to repay you?”

        Leo chuckled at the statement as he held down the two pegasus hijackers with some rope he brought with him from the commoner class car. “Just drive safely and make sure they stay unconscious.”

        “I believe we can do that.” Making sure they stayed asleep for a while, both workers smacked the two of them using their shovels. Leo grimaced a little, partially feeling sorry for them. That was really going to hurt when they woke up.

        Climbing out of the car again, Leo got back to his phone as he continued to move along the top of the train car. “Okay, Engine room is good-.”

        “What the hell was that Leo?!” He heard a female voice now get under his skin. He knew that voice and could hear it for miles.

        “Yuri!? Where the hell is Nicko?” 

        “Right here, numbnuts.” Nicko returned to the call line, easing Leo’s presumptuous feelings. “I was talking to her while you were dealing with the engine room. She’s agreed to help us.”

        “Help? How exactly-?” 

        “I’m getting there…” He heard a frustrated Nicko over the phone. “You and I are still going to get the drop on the guys on the guard quarters. Their should be a maintenance hatch up there. Do you see it?”

        Leo looked forward as he jumped onto the Business class car and made his way across. “Found it.”

        “You’re coming in from up top while I’m coming in from the door. An assault on two fronts.” The Rune Slayer instructed him. “As for Yuri, she’ll come in once we recapture the car-.” Around now was when the Reckless Fist saw something crash into the commoners car and a Rainbow Wisp follow shortly afterwards. 

        “Uh Nicko? We might want to do this right now. I have a bad feeling that we’re going to be having company very soon.”

        “Okay, on my mark… One… Two…”



Guards Quarters (Nicko’s POV)

        “THREE!!” 

        The Rune Slayer bursted through the door of the Guards Quarters with a Loud BANG! and caught the gryphons inside by surprise. Nicko’s vision saw them going for the Long Swords that were on the Weapons rack and immediately focused on countering the incoming attacks. Around the same time as well was when Leo came in… In style of course.

        “HELL DIVE!!”

        The Reckless Fist’s move was a drop down crash that struck the two guards on the back end of the caravan, knocking them out. One of the two Gryphons attacking Nicko redirected his attention to Leo and charged. But with the remaining criminals not far from each other, it put Leo in a position where he and Nicko could possibly combine their attacks. Nicko saw this too. Detonating a medium sized rune in front of his opponents, the Teen sent the Two gryphons flying to Leo. 

        “Hey Leo, looks like your batting clean up!”

        “Yeah yeah, whatever…” Leo ignored the comment. He now executed his next attack that crossed the two attackers in a X shape strike, knocking them out and leaving serious cuts and scrapes on their chest feathers.

        “X CRASH!!!.”

        With the threat taken care of in the room, Nicko now wondered something. Where the hell were the guards kept prisoner? There were lockers in here but… Wait… Lockers?

        Investigating one of them, Nicko clipped it open only to find a White guard pegasus stuffed in like a victim of bullying. He was beaten and bruised badly, like straight out of a torture scene in a movie.

        “Jesus christ!” Leo cursed. The older human now focused on getting the other lockers open and to their surprise, five separate lockers had five separate guards. Two were white, one was orange, another was light cyan with the last one being a mid-brown tone. The first white one and the orange one were pegasi, the other white one and light cyan one were Unicorn and the mid-brown one was an earth pony. All their manes and tails were scraggy possibly to the surprise hijacking and most of them were still in their leather trousers and rest clothes

        “Oh Celestia, thank you!” The white Pegasus Nicko found showed his praise for the two human’s actions. “We didn’t know how long we would be stuck in here for.”

        “What happened?” Leo asked.

        “We were F***king ambushed, that’s what happened.” The earth pony cursed. “Caught us off guard while the train was stopping to restock the tender car with coal and water. They killed most of our battalion and stuffed us in our own lockers as a way to keep us quiet. We couldn’t even move and we could barely breath in there.”

        ‘My god… I didn’t think it was this bad.’

        ‘Ask them what their ranks are and positions.’ Eris spoke inside Nicko’s mind again. ‘Maybe one of them is a doctor.’

        ‘Good point’ Nicko thought. He then proceeded to state the question. “What are your names?”

        The white pegasus coughed a little before asking. “Well, my name is Tailchaser. I’m the one in charge of this squad.” He then began to point out each one of them using his right hand. “The earth pony is Broadsword, new recruit but has determination. The Unicorn right here in the light blue is our medic, Field Breeze. The White unicorn getting his armor on right now is Nobleheart. Second in command of the royal guard only to Gleaming Shield. Most of his unit had been killed by these cartel bastards except for the pegasus right next to him. Captain Flash Sentry. Brave, Honorable, and willing to take risks in order to protect our home and it’s inhabitants.” Leo himself gave a smirk, commenting on how he’s starting to like the last one that Tailchaser mentioned a few moments ago.

        “Pardon me,” Flash Sentry asked calmly. “But would you two happen to be humans?”

        Nicko nodded his head. “Don’t worry though, we’re the good guys and have been dealing with most of the criminals in the car. The only cars left that haven’t been dealt with yet are the cars leading to royal class. Engine room has been recaptured courtesy of my friend Leo, and dining car and second class have been knocked unconscious and tied up. All the passengers so far that have been in the other cars have been moved to the Commoner class. My concern right now is that there might be wounded in the last car.”

        “Then we should divide the forces in two-.” Tailchaser said.

        “No, that wouldn’t be helpful.” Captain Sentry interjected. “If they catch wind of there being resistance in the back cars, then they’ll send more crooks to investigate. An old quote from Commander Hurricane was ‘United we stand, divided we fall’ so therefore, we should all move as one and have one of you come with us.” The last part was referring to Nicko and Leo. 

        “Leo, you should go. You and Yuri can help them get to the ponies in the back-.”

        “Are you insane? I rather not be left alone with Yuri for 5 seconds before she gets under my skin-.”

        “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.” Nicko told him sternly. “You and Yuri are their best chance for protection for if things go wrong.” Leo sighed a little, thinking it over in his head. Then he agreed. On his way out with the guards, Leo told Nicko something that was suppose to encourage him, but didn’t come out that way and sounded like Leo was trying to jinx something.

        “You better not get yourself killed out there. If you do, I’m not writing your eulogy.”

        “Gee… Thanks.” Nicko answered sarcastically as he closed the door to the guards cabin and slowly made way to the next car. ‘Jerk.’

        ‘You made a good choice.’ Eris told him. ‘Besides, it allows me to have more fun with you! Hehe…’

        ‘Hey Eris? Can I ask you something?’

        ‘Sure Nicky. What is it?’

        ‘How come you were able to know where the crooks on the train were and you got caught off guard by Yuri earlier?’

        Eris sighed a little inside Nicko’s head. ‘Have you ever heard of Magic Signatures before?’

        ‘No. First time actually.’

        ‘Well, no two sources of magic are the same. Different ponies as well as different creatures use different kinds of magic. All Unicorns can use Levitation and Illumination, but what magic they specialize in is based off of their talents and their cutie mark. It’s like a blueprint of sorts.’

        ‘I heard that term yesterday. Just what exactly does it mean?’

        ‘I’ll give you a lecture once we’re not in a near death situation.’ Eris promised as Nicko kicked the door in and made his way inside. Nicko’s sword continued to slice through his opponents weapons and his magic took care of the rest. Then, he heard Eris warn him of something. ‘Tunnel up ahead. Prepare for this hall to get pitch black.’

        ‘Wait wha-?’ Nicko thought, cut off when the cabin was covered in complete darkness. Nicko tried to make the best out of his situation, conjuring a rune to use as a light. He was forced to dismiss it when he heard a second pair of feet walk into the room. With there being no light, the teen couldn’t make out who it was. But he heard the steps come closer. Almost sounding like whoever was here was wearing heels.

        “Okay, I don’t have all day, so where are you shorty? I know you’re in here.”

        The Rune Slayer now had a feeling that this… individual… was a crook that caught wind of what was going on in the previous cars. It sounded like a woman, so now Nicko was going to teach this lady a lesson. “Mind repeating that last part? I did not quite catch that…”

        “What short-?”

        SMACK!!! Despite it being dark, Nicko knew that he hit his target and sent it moving back a few feet using his Burning Fist attack (The one he called his FALCON PUNCH!!). Light came back to the cabin a few seconds later and he didn’t give himself a moment to look at what he hit because he needed to keep moving. But that plan was interrupted when a fireball almost struck his hands when trying to grab the door.

        “What the-!?”

        “YOU’RE DEAD NOW, KID!!!”

        It was a split second, but Nicko was ambushed by more fiery projectiles. He deflected most of them using his blade, but then one attack struck him while the flames blocked his vision. 

        “SCARLET ROSE!!”

        The Fireball did more than strike Nicko, but also grabbed hold of him. With a loud shout, he thought he heard his attacker yell “GET OVER HERE!!” Around now though was when he was able to see his attacker.



        “Holy Sh-!” Now Nicko mind was syncing into Overdrive as he was being pulled towards the Pissed off Pyromancer with a Freaking oversized claymore. He had an idea, but needed to be pulled in closer. Once at the right range, He placed his left arm in front of his and focused. Remembering when Leo was playing Skyrim and he was looking through the official guide, he said the only word that he remembered from the dragon language.

        “Diin!”

        The word meant “Freeze” in the Dragon language and it worked well with Nicko’s Ice Rune that he casted. It struck the Blazing Heart, knocking her backwards and slowing her movement. This was shown when she tried to send another fireball, but was way off on targeting.

        “Hey, Dandy chick!” Nicko taunted as he opened the door to get out of the room. “You missed!!” Slamming the door, it proved as a perfect cover for the incoming projectiles that followed suite as he ran to the first class door.

        ‘Eris, how long will that door hold her?’

        ‘Given her and how angry you made her…”  BOOOM!!!  “Not long…” 

        Nicko hated it when Eris was right. Not even thinking through on what to expect from his foes inside, Nicko rushed in and used his Rising Wave spell to catch his three opponents off guard. This was followed by jumping in the air to slam the third guy into the floor since the first two were already out for the count. Remembering which room the girls and her were in the other day, he yanked the door off the hinges.

        “Ahh!!”

        “Tavi, don’t! It’s Nicko!!”

        “Nicko?” Octavia paused, setting down a wine bottle that rolled into their cabin earlier. “Oh thank Celestia you’re here!” 

        “It’s okay girls. You can come out now.” He told them as they got out of the cabin. “Sorry if I made you two worry-.”

        “Hehe… You should’ve seen Octavia’s face earlier. She was more worried than I was.”

        “Vinyl!!” 

        Nicko chuckled a little before remembering that he still had Fire Lady possibly on his tail and probably burning everything in sight. ‘Eris, I’m going to need a favor that involves you not being in my head.’

        ‘Aww… But you're so cuddly and warm up here...’ Eris pouted like a filly who was told that they aren’t having desert. ‘Uhh… Fine. What do you need?’

        ‘Can you teleport Vinyl and Octavia back to commoner class? I rather not have them be in the way when Ms. Armageddon tries to burn the doors down.’

        ‘That I can do.’ Eris said. She soon appeared in her physical form out of the Dragon rune on Nicko’s right shoulder. Before the two musicians could say anything, the Rune Slayer assured that she was a friend that was going to help them. After saying that, Eris did what she did best and made all three of the girls disappear. Seconds later, Eris returned back at Nicko’s side. “Well, at least I was able to stretch out my muscles a bit.”

        “Ready to get back to work? We got one last car and-”

        “AGGHHH!!”

        “Okay, what the f-?”

        “We should hurry.” Eris ushered before returning inside Nicko’s body and having the Rune Slayer burst forward. The scream sounded of a Gryphon’s high pitched wail and the shouts of a mare. He could tell that it was a bad sight when he even saw blood on the window of the last car. Fearing that the screams were from the Mayor, he ran in and was greeted by a totally different scene. Out of the three crooks in the room, two of them laid dead and the third was pinned in the ground. Pinned by what appeared to be… a human? Nicko first thought that there was some kind of mistake. But that’s when it turned to see him coming through the door.



        “Good lord...” Nicko cursed. All the human did was give a small pout as it looked at the supposed leader of the operation. “Just what the hell are you?”

        “Why hello there… I’m Eric der Vogelweide. I’m the one who doesn’t judge people by their appearance.”

        “Says the guy who just murdered two people?”

        “Two criminals.”

        “Touche.” Nicko commented. “Still, ever heard of due process? They have a right to a trial.”

        “I am that trial… And I find this one-.” Before the demon like human could even do anything, Nicko have blue energy glow from his hands. The Diabolic Esper saw the spell and chuckled menacingly.

        “Do you really think you can hurt me?” Eric taunted.

        “Won’t know unless I try.” Nicko shot back. “LUNA BLADE!!”

        The cobalt magic Nicko was controlling formed a sword overhead that struck Eric’s body dead-on. The Diabolic Esper tried to counterattack with one of his powerful spells, but realized one thing… What he tried to call upon didn’t work.

        “What the hell did you do!?”

        “Heh… Luna Blade does a lot of damage yes, but it also drains a targets mana. Since you must’ve used a lot of it to kill the other two in here, you would only have a third of your total mana left.” The Rune Slayer told him. Moment’s later, the door exploded behind them as the Blazing Heart from before had now smashed through.

        “There you ar-! Oh God, what sort of hell was let loose in here!?”

        “One courtesy of this jackass.” Nicko said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at Eric.

        “Oh so you two met?” The Blazing heart asked sarcastically. 

        “What do you think?” Nicko replied to the question. Before long though, he saw the Diabolic Esper create a Rift behind him by tearing open space itself.

        “So the Burning Crusader has caught up to me… Too bad you weren’t able to beat me this time… I’ll leave you to deal with… other issues.” By then, Eric disappeared. Nicko looked back at the now unconscious leader and the hostages. They looked scared, but relieved now that help was finally here. That’s when the Teen looked back at the Blazing Heart in the room and felt that the train was beginning to slow down and come to a complete stop.

        “Wait… what did he mean by-?”

        “AMY ANDERSON!!!”

        The Blazing Heart tensed up at her name being called. “Something tells me I’m going to get blamed for this.”



Once Outside

        Once outside, all the attention of the Guard ponies that were waiting for the train to stop at the Ponyville station was focused on Amy. In fact, even Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis were there to assess the situation (and potential damages). However, with all the attention (and blame) being focused on her, nopony even saw Nicko come out with Mayor Lauren Order, Diamond Tiara and the unconscious leader of the hijacking on the wooden floor of the station. It got to the point where the ensuing argument could be heard from quite a ways away.

        “I told you, I did not cause this!!”

        “Oh really? I honestly can’t believe you after saying this entire charade started because of somepony teleporting you and Rainbow onto the top of the Friendship Express.”

        “Don’t believe me then. Yuri was there to! Ask her and she’ll back up my story. Hell, even ask the new guy!”

        Both the Prince and Princess looked at each other for a few seconds in confusion. They did not get what she said and neither did her little sister when she showed up a few moments later. It wasn’t until they saw Leo run over to Nicko’s current position that they saw the two newcomers. “There you are! I was beginning to wonder where you were after we freed Tailchaser and the others.”

        “Are they okay?”

        “Some extra men tried to get us while we were in the second class car, but Yuri and I were able to handle them. Who knew this Nasod arm really can come in handy when you need it.” Leo told his friend. 

        “What about the other hijackers?”

        “All secured by what remains of Nobleheart’s and Tailchaser’s squads, including the leader. Say, wasn’t he with two others?”

        “He was…” Nicko told him. “However, they’re nothing but a dead corpse. Someone else got to them before us-.”

        “Pardon me…” The interruption from Ms. Order, who was standing next to the two of them. “But I think the topic of the conversation is a little too… gruesome, to be saying around children.” She was right on that point. Leo and Nicko almost forgot about her niece being with her the whole time. 

        “My apologies. Would you two be able to handle yourselves?” Nicko asked, trying to see if they need anymore help.

        “I believe so, thanks again for coming to rescue us and dealing with those vile… barbarians.” Lauren’s Niece thanked as they left to go into the town. However, the comment didn’t go unnoticed as the Prince of the Night overheard the child’s worlds and decided to walk on over while Celestia was still talking with Amy, Yuri and Rainbow Dash. The Princesses student even noticed the new arrivals and decided to come over to the two of them as well. 

        “Excuse my rudeness, but I believed I heard that you dealt with a group of “Barbarians” aboard this train. Is that right?” 

        “Yeah that’s correct.” Leo replied. “Who’s asking?”

        “My apologies. My name is Artemis. Brother of Princess Celestia and Prince of the night.” He told the two of them as Twilight Sparkle now stood next to the Prince. “Why were they on the train to begin with?”

        Nicko sighed a little. The human began to explain everything in detail. Despite the fact that he didn’t want to go off on a tangent in conversations about different topics, he thought it would be best for the “Prince” to hear the whole story. It took ten minutes to explain everything about the events on the train and even about the encounter with Amy. Upon asking if this was true, Nicko told them about Eris and had her come out to verify her “being in his head.” 

        “I see…” Twilight retorted, trying to record everything through a paper pad, ink and a quill. “May I ask you two another question?”

        “Sure I guess.” Leo replied. 

        “Would you two happen to be-.”

        “OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!” All four of them heard Amy in another outburst. She was talking with her little sister and a mint Unicorn with a Cutie Mark of a Lyre on her flank. “Would you just shut up and let me speak!?”

        “I’m sorry Amy, but I just couldn’t help that another human was able to get the upper hand on you. Matter of fact, almost look similar to you.”

        “I’m telling you Molly, it happened. If that pipsqueak were still here, I would be able to wipe the floor with him if he-.” The Blazing Heart continued to mouth off about Nicko, not noticing that he was nearby the whole time. Having his anger almost blow through the roof, Nicko looked towards the three individuals nearby.

        “Excuse me for a minute, I have a issue that I need to deal with.” Walking on down, he approached the small group from behind and startled them with his next sentence. “Hey lady, who the hell are you calling a pipsqueak!?”

        “Oh goddess,  you do have a look alike!” The mint unicorn squealed happily.

        “Lyra, not now…” Amy retorted, looking back at the Unicorn. 

        “Besides, I heard you just boasting just now about wanting to beat me in a fight…” Nicko said. Putting his sword on his shoulder with his right arm and conjuring a Rune in his left hand. “If that’s a request for a duel, then I’ll be glad to take you on and make you eat those words!”

        Twilight, Celestia and Artemis just stared at the human now. Not because of his words, but because of the magic he was conjuring. According to the ancient textbooks, no one had seen this kind of magic before in over a thousand years. Not only that, but the last Magus who was able to successfully use it was one whose name forever went down in history as the best wizard in Equestria.

        Grand Magus Starswirl the Bearded.

        All The Blazing Heart did was just smile devilishly and laughed. “You got guts, I’ll give you that. We’ll settle it tomorrow then.”

        “Fine by me.”

        Hearts of two different emotions have now agreed to clash on the fields of battle. The heart of Fire and Recklessness vs. the heart of Sorcery and Courage. Who will become the strongest in the end as the wheel of fate begins to turn for all of us?




End Chapter 3

> Chapter 4: My Own Hell
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- My Own Hell




        Moments after Nicko had arranged his duel with Amy for tomorrow, all eyes were now on him for more than one reason. Mostly, it was because no one knew who this kid was. But when everypony aboard the Friendship express told tales of his heroism, the news about him began to spread like a forest fire. Celestia herself was even intrigued when hearing it herself. It was against what she originally thought since she believed Amy had caused all the trouble aboard the train. But now with the stories of the passengers and the guards onboard saying that the criminals were on before she arrived and that the boy and his friend with the metal arm saving them, the princess had to allow for multiple sides of the story. All that was needed now was the young boy’s story to see if it matched up with all the other passengers.

        The princess of the sun found the teen some time afterwards on a hillside overlooking the town of Ponyville. It looked like he was reading some kind of spell book from a messenger bag he kept with him as he leaned against a tree. He looked up to see Celestia a few feet away from him and put the book back in his bag. Straightening himself, he pushed himself off of the tree and picked up his weapon, putting the greatsword on his back.

        “Hello.” He greeted the princess calmly. “Is it safe to assume that you’re Princess Celestia?”

        That surprised the Alicorn. “Yes I am. Out of curiosity, how do you know who I was even though this is the first time we have met?”

        “It was mostly a guess,” Nicko told her honestly. “I met Artemis earlier and he said that he was the Brother of Celestia and Prince of the Night. Given your attire and the mark of the Sun on your dress, I thought it was you.”

        The Sun Alicorn smirked a little. “You’re pretty observant and smart for figuring that out so quickly.”

        “Honestly, I just notice things. It’s like putting together puzzle pieces.” Now the boy began to sound like Sherlock Hooves from an old mystery novel. “Anyways, is there something you would like to talk with me about, Princess?”

        “Why yes actually.” Celestia then began her explanation on everything she had heard thus far and wanted to hear his recollection of the events that occurred aboard the friendship express. Nicko believed it was to see if the stories somehow matched up. So, he calmly and carefully explained everything in detail. How he found out about everything from Eris, when he woke up, running into Amy and the individual in the last car that killed the two criminals in cold blood.

        “I see… Would you happen to remember the name of the individual you ran into before the train pulled into the station?” She asked the teen. The Princess now noticed that Nicko was stretching out his hands, clenching and unclenching them every few seconds. For a moment, she thought that the boy was trying to signal something or prepare some kind of attack. But instead, she got an answer from him.

        “Names aren't always a strong suit for me, but I remember his first name. He called himself Eric. Sounds too european if you ask me.” The hands remained unclenched, but now this time, it was the boy’s fingers. Curling and uncurling them like he was stretching out each one individually.

        ‘What an odd behavior.’ Celestia thought to herself.

        “Is something wrong, your highness?”

        Celestia snapped out of her little daze when Nicko asked her a question. “No, not at all.”

        “Oh good.” Nicko replied with a heavy sigh like a bunch of weight had been removed from his shoulders. 

        “You seem nervous though,” The Sun Alicorn told him. “Is something bothering you?”

        “Nothings bothering me. I just happen to be a bit nervous every time I talk to someone new that I haven’t met before. Honestly, it’s quite normal for me.” The human explained, clearing up a bit of confusion as best as he could. 

        “I see… Anyways, about the individual on the train, can you remember their description?”

        Nicko nodded his head. “Yeah. I can draw it out for you if that helps.” Celestia herself was surprised by how useful this was when the situation presented itself. The nod of her head was all Nicko needed to see before he took out a sketchpad from his bag and a pencil from his pocket. Unlike how other artists would draw an outline of the figure and the pose that they want to draw. Nicko was different. He would just dive in and work his way from the head down. The only thing that drove him insane at times when working was details. Sometimes, the urge to have the details be spot on had him try to restart different sketches over and over again.

        This time though, there wasn’t a need to start over. His drawing skills were spot on and through the 5 minutes he took in drawing the figure he came across on the train, he didn’t have to worry about a single slip up. Why? It was easier for him to draw things that he remembered as clearly as day. Soon, he had the paper drawing complete and even added a bit of color to it as well, not to show off but to serve as details for finding the attacker. 

        “This was from when he was leaving. He cracked open some kind of rift or some crazy space portal and pulled himself inside.” Nicko now handed the paper of Celestia. Her eyes widened on first glance. She had seen this human before. One thousand years ago to be exact and she made sure that he was turned to stone.



        “Oh my…” Celestia spoke softly. “Well, thank you for this. You have been quite helpful. I got to say, You are a lot different from Ms. Anderson.”

        “Well, thanks. I just try my best. Treat other the way you want to be treated.”

        Celestia raised an eyebrow at the last statement. “Forgive me, but I haven’t heard that term before. What does it mean?”

        “It means that if you want others to treat you some way, then you would have to treat them the same way. Like if you be nice to somepony, then somepony would be nice to you.” The teenager explained.

        “I see…” The princess thought to herself. Maybe it would be a good lesson to teach Prince Blueblood when she had the time. Then, another thought came into her mind that she needed to ask. “Oh I almost forgot. What is your name?”

        “My name? It’s Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” The two shook hands as Nicko went on his way and began to walk around town. For Princess Celestia though, She felt uneasy. For two reasons. One was because an old enemy from the past was back again. Two was because of this Nicko figure. It was the first time they met, but something told her that she had met someone with that last name before. 



Ponyville

        Moments after finishing with Princess Celestia, the Rune Slayer walked back into the small town and into the fray of voices that were talking about him. Now though, he didn’t mind it as much as before. He could just drown out the voices whenever he felt like it. As he continued to make his way across town, he came across a familiar face from earlier. 

        “Yo Nicko, What’s up?” 

        Looking up, Nicko was greeted by the sight of Vinyl Scratch a few feet in front of him. He waved his hand as the mare came over. “Not much. Just trying to look around town a bit. Had a talk with Princess Celestia earlier.”

        “Shut up… You talked with the Princess?”

        “Yeah. She had a few questions for me about what happened on the train so I told her everything that occurred. Honestly, it felt like she was testing me.”

        “Testing you?” Vinyl asked. “How is a conversation suppose to  test you?”

        “Not a physical test, Vinyl.” Nicko explained. “A personality test. Maybe to make sure I’m not like the hotheaded Amy.”

        “Mind enlightening me on how that works? It sounds complex.”

        “Actually it isn’t. You know the feeling you get like when you can tell that somepony is a jerk or if somepony else is very timid. You can tell that through their facial expressions, speech and their actions.”

        “Like how Octavia has high standards?”

        “Whatever works…” Nicko told his friend. As they rounded around a corner, the human could now see some of the children that he saw before on the train. Mainly the three girls. They were at the front of what appeared to be a schoolyard with two other mares. One wore a cowboy hat with a checkered shirt and jeans shorts with a blond colored mane and tail, orange fur and a cutie mark of three apples while the other mare had cyan fur, technicolor mane and tail that resembled a rainbow, a cloud and rainbow thunderbolt cutie mark and wore clothes that reminded him of an Athlete in the X-games. 

        The sight of the human attracted the attention of the one Nicko remembered called Scootaloo. When she noticed him looking at the three of them, the young pegasus almost looked like she was going to faint. The Rune Slayer was seen as a hero through her eyes and left Scootaloo gasping in awe before her friends distracted her briefly. 

        “Well, would you look at that.” Vinyl said. “I think you got yourself a fan.” 

        Nicko just chuckled a little to himself as he sighed. “Well, I’ll see you around town right?”

        “Sure thing.” The DJ told him as she walked off towards the market place. Nicko soon walked on over to where Scootaloo and her friends were, catching the eye of everypony else that was nearby. The young pegasus had her back turned for the time being, until the human came up from behind. 

        “I see you’re all okay after what happened?”

        The Orange mare turned around and almost jumped at the sight of Nicko being right behind her. Her friends also had a brief scare too. Nopony expected their savior on board the train to come see them again. Not even after they told their sisters the stories of what happened and after Applejack almost squished Applebloom because she was so worried for their safety. As Nicko made his statement, the three older mares looked at the boy.

        Red hair. Weird clothes. Holds a two handed sword. Two markings on his shoulder. Either Twilight accidently turned Amy into a boy or this was the “Hero” onboard the train they were on moments ago. “Pardon me, But who are you?”

        “Oh, my apologies.” The Rune Slayer spoke. “My name is Nicko. I met these three onboard the Train here from Applewood.”

        “Yeah and when the criminals decided to take over the train, this guy kicked some serious flank!!”

        “Is that so?” The Cyan mare said. She had a thought in her head regarding the CmC’s story on the events that happened as well as a brief recollection from Amy. A little… Mischievous thought. “You look a little small to be playing hero-.”

        Nicko was resisting the urge to turn around and talk back at the Pegasus. Matter of fact, start a fight. “Need I remind you that if you finish that sentence, you’ll end up like Amy with a bruise on her face.”

        “Oh hay, she was telling’ the truth.” Applejack murmured to herself, realizing the connection with her sister’s story and what Nicko just said.

        “Sorry about that.” Rainbow dash spoke again. “Just wanted to make sure you were the human Scootaloo mentioned and Twilight didn’t do another crazy spell again.”

        Nicko now raised an Eyebrow at the new name she mentioned. “Who?”

        “Twilight… You know… Lavender Alicorn… Egghead… reads a lot of books… knows a lot on magic…”

        “Let me guess… Crazy?” 

        “At times. She’s been following Amy around in order for “Research” like she’s going a win a Hoof-bel Prize or something for finding out about you humans.”

        “I believe I ran into her at the train station. For the record though, she was only listening to both my story and my friend Leo’s.” Nicko replied. “Still though, her just trying to watch my every movement sounds… disturbing.”

        “Ah hear ya.” Applebloom commented.

        “Oh hey look, it’s Rarity!” One of the other kids said. Nicko turned around to see a White Unicorn Mare with a curled Purple mane and tail that wore designer clothes and had a cutie mark of three diamonds. Something went off in Nicko’s mind, thinking that she was somehow in the field of fashion design since she was carrying a few rolls of cloth and some sewing materials in a shopping bag. The lady didn’t even notice Nicko yet and first directed her attention towards Scootaloo and the other fillies, hugging them tightly like she was an overprotective mother who was worried sick about her kids.

        “Sweetie belle! Oh thank Celestia you and your friends are okay!!”

        “Uhh… R-rarity? You're… embarrassing me…” Sweetie spoke, gasping for air a little. Rarity soon loosened the grip on her arms and stopped hugging them shortly afterwards. During the next ten minutes, the fashionista asked her little sister and her fellow friends a series of questions that were similar to the ones that Celestia asked Nicko earlier. The only difference? The newcomer didn’t even notice the humans presence during the whole time.

        “So a young male human boy with a half shirt, red hair, oversized pants and a blunt greatsword saved all of you?”

        “That’s right, Rarity.”

        “Applejack, are they telling the truth?”

        “Ya know, there’s livin’ proof right behind ya, sugarcube.”

        Rarity raised an eyebrow, finally turning around to see the hero her sister was talking about standing behind them with his arms behind his head. The first thing she began to notice was his clothes. In her mind, they were flat out marvelous! Unlike Amy’s, which were a bit “exposing” around the chest area, Nicko’s was unlike anything she was seen before. Her eyes now began to widen as she took in the sight. Nicko though, was a little uncomfortable.

        “Uhh… Hi?”

        “Why hello to you too, darling. You must be this “Nicko” my sister was talking about.”

        “Yes I am… Your name is… Rarity right?” Nicko asked. “Sorry, I wasn’t able to catch anypony's name besides the ones I overheard on the train.”

        “No worries. Behind you to your left is my sister Sweetie belle with her two friends Applebloom and Scootaloo. To your right are two of my friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

        “I’m guessing Applejack is the older sister of Applebloom and Rainbow is Scootaloo’s older sister?”

        “Mostly right,” Rainbow answered. “Scootaloo is my adopted sister.”

        “Oh…” Now that put a halt on Nicko’s thinking. It made him think back to when he was back home and no one had adopted him. How his brother and him became orphans… 

        He snapped out of the trance when Applejack spoke to him “Ya’ okay there, Sugarcube?”

        “Oh sorry… I just had a bad memory. That’s all.”

        “What kind of bad memory?” The Farm girl asked. Nicko’s blank expression and him looking at the ground told her that it was something that he rather not talk about it. Rainbow herself was confused along with Rarity. But somehow, one pony actually knew about what was the issue as she walked over a little bit closer to the Rune Slayer. She didn’t say anything, but knew what the feeling was. She felt the same was during her filly hood. 

        “I rather not talk about it.”

        “Alright. Ah’m sorry for if ah said anything-.”

        “It’s alright. It’s just not a subject I want to discuss with some new ponies I just met.” Nicko replied back. At the corner of his eye now, he saw a familiar pony from the station a few moments ago with Prince Artemis before he went to take a break from everypony talking about him in town. A Lavender Pony with a purple mane and tail wearing a sweater vest with sparkle like logo on the bottom of her clothes. Possibly her cutie mark if the Rune Slayer had to take a good guess. Also had shorts and long socks carrying a journal that looked like a college textbook. She was walking towards them. “Would that mare over there happen to be one of your friends?”

        Turning around, Rarity replied. “Yep. That’s Twilight.”

        “She doesn’t look crazy to me.” Nicko said. “In fact, she just looks like a workaholic that needs to take a break.”

        “Break isn’t one of the words in her Vocabulary.” Rainbow snickered.

        “Hey girls!” Twilight cheerfully greeted her friends. She soon noticed Nicko from the station upon arrival. “Hello there Mr. Nicko.”

        “You know him, Twilight?”

        “I ran into him back at the train station when helping out Celestia and Artemis.” So far, she did not show any signs of crazy. “Still though, it was daring of him to do what he did.”

        “What, save all the ponies on the train?” Rainbow asked.

        “No, what came afterwards after getting off of the train.” Twilight answered her friends question. “He excused himself for a moment and then talked to Amy. If you consider talking being challenging her to a duel tomorrow-.”

        “What!?” All of them said in Unison. “Why?!”

        “Being referred to my height ticks me off. Her fault for calling me a pipsqueak.”

        “She said you froze her in place for a few seconds.”

        “Well, Amy was throwing exploding fireballs at my head. I acted in self defense.”

        “Noted.” Twilight commented, writing some notes in her journal. “Would you come with me please? I wanted to ask you some questions back at my place.”

        Nicko thought it through for a minute, but noticing something on the ground, he thought that it would serve as a good tool to help make sure the “Crazy” side of this mare doesn’t happen. “Sure thing.” 

        Twilight, happy by the response, began to rush back home as Nicko bent over to pick up the plastic card that was on the ground. Turning back around, Rainbow was the first one to get in his face about his decision. “Are you stupid or just downright insane? You know pitching in to help her research is like having a death wish right?” Applejack and Rarity then commented and expressed their personal concerns with Nicko’s choice. All he did was just smile. 

        “Girls, I’ll be fine. I believe I’ll get to compromise with her.”

        “A compromise? Pfft, yeah right.”

        Nicko now chuckled a little, playing around with the card he found on the ground. “Let me ask you something Rainbow… Do you know what blackmail is?”



A few minutes later… 

        “Thank you for coming.” 

        “My pleasure, Miss… Twilight right?”

        “That’s right. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The Lavender mare answered the human’s question as they walked towards their destination. It was a huge tree sized home that made Nicko think that it was the literal version of a “Tree House” and when the two of them walked inside, he was greeted by shelves upon shelves of books. Definitely made the Rune Slayer think that either she was a workaholic or a bookaholic. Upon entering, they were greeted by the purple dragon Nicko recognized earlier from the train ride over to here. When Spike saw the human though, he groaned a little.

        “Oh Twilight… What did you do? ”

        “Nicko, I would you to meet my assistant-.”

        “Spike right? Sweetie Belle mentioned your name on the train yesterday.”

        “Wait…” The dragon spoke. “You heard our conversation?”

        “Duh… You guys were pretty loud when talking to each other. No offense.” Nicko was then offered a chair to sit down in as Twilight was seen walking around her home. The Mare looked like she was searching for supplies. Pads of paper, quills, inkwells and some other things that made Nicko think that this was a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Only, of course, with him being Mr. Hyde.

        “Twilight? May I ask what’s with all the equipment and supplies?”

        “Oh, I’m just getting myself ready.”

        Nicko now raised an eyebrow as he looked at Spike, who was seen shaking his head saying that whatever she was she doing was not good. “Ready for what?”

        “Just to pick your brain a little. Hehe…” She said mischievously. “I’ve been wanting to learn a lot about your kind for quite a while actually. There are only about five of you here in Equestria and no matter what I do or say, Amy isn’t willing to help. There are so many things we can learn about your kind, Nicko. I could probably write a book with the information I have.”

        And now seemed like the best time play Nicko’s trump card. “So, you like to write books as well as read them?”

        “Of course,” Twilight smiled happily, trying to hide her stalker like face from earlier. “In fact, I was going to check out some books soon-.” Now though, the librarian began to freak out a little. Not like a Rarity sized freakout, but like a personal freakout. She now looked directly at Spike like he was hiding something.

        “Spike…”

        “Uhh… Twi? What’s wrong?”

        “What’s wrong? What’s WRONG!?” The Element of Magic rose her voice. “Where is it? I asked you for it earlier before I left the house.”

        “Asked for what?”

        “My Canterlot Library Card!!” 

        Nicko now caught her attention as he held what she was looking for in his two front fingers of his right hand. Her lavender colored Library card that had the alicorns portrait on the card as well as some of her personal information. “Would this happen to be what you were looking for? It does have your name and everything on it.”

        “B-but how-?”

        “You dropped it when you opened your journal. Must’ve been trying to use it as a placeholder so you don’t lose track of… hmm, only 10 pages of notes? Looks like you still have a lot of clean paper in there.”

        Now Spike at this point was surprised, stepping backwards and away from both Twilight and Nicko. If this was a duel of intelligence, then he would want to have himself be a safe distance from both of them. But in all honesty, he also wanted to see how long Nicko would last against Twilight. After all, she was like a living encyclopedia. 

        “Well, now that you found it, could you please give it back?” 

        “I would… but I want to make sure we both come to an understanding first. Have you ever considered the reasons why Amy or her two other companions would want to keep a far away distance from you as possible?” That question brought up a good point inside Twilight’s head. She had tried the same methods from when she tried to find out how Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie Sense” worked, but it only led to her getting spotted on more than one occasion. 

        “I’m not quite sure.” She said.

        “Well, I might have an answer for you. Even you I believe you have the best intentions of trying to help everypony, your actions might be considered as something else to others. To you, watching somepony may be what you call field research. But to others, it’s seen as you stalking them. Plus, where I'm from, stalkers are very bad news.”

        Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “How bad?”

        “Like psychopath bad to the point where their obsession might lead to them killing innocent people. They harass other’s like a former lover, famous individuals and others in a aggressive and often threatening manner that’s illegal by the law.”

        “Oh my…” The response hit Twilight a little bit hard in the stomach. She felt defeated. If her actions did display this somehow, then field research wasn’t going to be the way to get the answers she desperately wanted. “Guess I’ll have to go with plan B.”

        Now Nicko was the one who raised an eyebrow in confusion. Plan B? What the hell would she mean by Plan B? Did it involve him or did it involve the Blazing Heart chick from earlier. “What’s that?”

        “I was going to challenge Amy to a duel.”

        Now the statement made Nicko laugh. Almost rolling on the floor like laughing. “You? Seriously? I don’t doubt your magic abilities but if you heard what I said earlier about the train, she wanted to demolish the damn thing when I punched her-.”

        “You punched her!?”

        “What? It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a damn thing. I didn’t know if she was a criminal trying to kill me or somepony that was lost.”

        “ … He does bring up a good point there, Twilight.”

        “Spike!” The Alicorn retorted. “It’s the only way I’ll be able to get the answers to all the questions I have!! What else am I suppose to do?”

        “Have you considered asking me?” 

        The question from the Rune Slayer had Twilight and Spike stare at him. Twilight was in shock while Spike was thinking that this kid somehow was insane to mention the thought to the Alicorn.  Nicko though, knew what he was doing. 

        “Which brings me to the offer I have. In exchange for having your card back and having me help you with any questions you have, there won’t be a need to do anymore “Field Research” or “tests” with Amy or any of the other humans here, including me. It makes it easier to find the answers you're looking for without all the tiring effort. So, what do you think?”

        Twilight now began to think through Nicko’s offer. She was curious as to why he said no to any tests. Her best guess was maybe because of a breach in his privacy. The Alicorn saw that the offer was a win-win situation, where both sides would get what they asked for. Nicko and the other humans would get a feeling of privacy and Twilight would be able to get the answers she needed for her research without having to go to extreme lengths by just simply asking Nicko (Or bring a bug catchers net). Plus, she really needed her library card back. It was the only way for her to get a few books on the social behavior of different species that were only in the Canterlot Library.

        “I think it’s something I can agree to.” Twilight told the human as the two shook hands. Nicko smiled and handed the card back to it’s owner. 

        “I’m glad you and I were able to agree on this. You’re a good pony Twilight. But sometimes one’s best intentions aren’t always displayed properly. Even though you think something could be helpful, how you act is a different story.”

        “That’s sounds like something Clover the Clever would say.”

        “Who?”

        “A very smart unicorn. She was a scholar and worked alongside Starswirl the Bearded.”

        ‘Why do I get the feeling that Starswirl sounds like this world's version of Gandalf?’ Nicko thought to himself. Soon, he noticed Twilight telling both him and Spike that she would be back in a while since she was off to the library in Canterlot and then told Nicko that he could stay for dinner when she got back. Before the Rune Slayer could even say anything, a bright flash went off and Twilight was gone by using her Teleportation spell. 

        Now, Spike was looking at Nicko as the two of them stood inside the town library. “So… Now what do we do?” The dragon asked.

        “Well, I got a duel with Amy tomorrow so maybe I should take some time to prepare for that.” Nicko said. That’s when he came up with an idea. “Hey Spike, do you know a place where we can train out in the open? I don’t like it when I have to stay indoors all day.”

        “Actually, there’s one not far from here.”

        “Great! Lead the way!!” Nicko told the dragon as he changed the sign on the windowsill of the library from OPEN to CLOSED.



A few hours later (Sunset; 6pm)

        “So let me get this straight… You two used the five hours I was gone to train and practice for Nicko’s duel tomorrow?!”

        “Pretty much, Twilight.” Nicko told Twilight as dinner was beginning to be prepared. “Leo was there too and so was your friend, Rainbow Dash. But… Let’s just say… things took an unexpected turn when they met.”



Earlier

        “Hey, I see that you’re into Daring Do.”

        “Oh yeah, I bought these four recently before boarding the-.” Before Leo could finish the sentence he was going to say, Rainbow picked up the copy of Daring Do and the Arctic Archives off of the ground and opened the cover, seeing the notice that was on the side.

        Reserved for Rainbow Dash

        “Uhh… I can explain-.”

        “GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE THIEF!!”



Back to the Present

        “I told him that he was going to get in trouble for that, but he didn’t listen and now might be the reason why some of the trees might have slash marks across them.”

        “I see… He sounds like somepony’s little brother.”

        “Actually, he’s my best friend… And for the record, he’s older than me.”

        Twilight herself was surprised at that last statement as she set the bowl of salad on the table. At first glance, she thought that Nicko was the older one of the two new arrivals. “Really? How old are you two anyway?”

        “I’m 18. He’s 27.” Nicko told the Alicorn. “His personality though is a bit different from mine. Similar to Rainbow, but he is very reckless when it comes to either the stunts that he wan’t to pull off or the fight he gets himself into. That’s why he’s also very tactical and uses anything he can see around him to his advantage. Also, even if he did not start a fight, he’s determined to finish any that he gets himself into.” Spike backed up Nicko be recalling how he climbed up the tree’s in the park in order to try and avoid Rainbow’s attacks until he took a hoof to the face. Then, Leo and Rainbow duked it out for a good twenty minutes until Leo apologized for taking her book and explained what happened. Despite not believing it at first, the cyan pegasus soon came around and accepted his apology.

        “Hehe… That reminds me of Gleaming shield when I was just a filly and we argued with each other over who got first dibs on the cookie jar.” Twilight said as they began to eat. Nicko was about halfway through his salad when he heard the name the mare mentioned.

        “I heard that name earlier today. Is she related to you?” The human asked out of curiosity.

        “She’s my older sister.” That was the first thing Nicko didn’t expect. The second came in Twilight’s follow up sentence. “Speaking of siblings, I forgot to ask you something. What’s your family like, Nicko?”

        It was the one question that Nicko froze at. The word family made his blood run cold and the room silent. This worried Twilight. Something seemed wrong from his body language and facial expression. Not to mention not answering her question yet (which she thought was quite rude).  

        “Uhh… did I say something wrong?”

        “No. It’s not that… It’s just that it’s a topic I’m not always comfortable with.” Nicko told her. “I don’t really have much of a family.”

        “You don’t? Not even parents-?”

        “My parents have been missing since I’ve been six.” Nicko interjected. “My brother and I have been living in an orphanage for the past twelve years and we’ve never truly found a place to call home. Twelve years that made me think that I was in my own hell. There are multiple reasons as to why we haven’t found a home at all. But it all just leaves me sleepless on certain nights because I feel like I’m somehow a freak or just inhuman. Like I’ll be stuck there for the rest of my life. Now, not only am I here, but my brother Anson is here too. I personally hope that he’s okay right now because so far, being here has helped me forget about everything back home that has me upset in a corner or curled into a ball like I’m trying to hide myself from the world. I just hope that he feels the same way. That he feels free as a bird... Like I do once I got comfortable with the people I knew like Leo and the friends I made like Vinyl and Octavia. I don’t feel like I’m in hell anymore. I now think that where I am……  is heaven.”

        Twilight was stunned. Nicko opening up on his troubles really shook her system. He had never really known was it was like to be with anypony that could care for him. He never had really been with a true family. One that loved and cared for him like her parents and her sister. In a way, the Alicorn felt sorry for him. This reminded her that not everypony was as privileged as her family was. When Nicko excused himself from the table to grab his belongings and walk out the door, Twilight snapped out of her trance.

        “Thank you for the meal. I really should get going-.”

        “Wait-!” Twilight called out, stopping him at the door. “Where are you going?”

        “Honestly… I don’t know.” Nicko coughed a bit due to the cool evening breeze. “Maybe an Inn or something. Get a room with a good view of the moon since it helps me sleep. Why do you ask?”

        “Well… Why don’t you stay here?” She asked. “I have an guest room nearby my study. You can stay there if you want.”

        The offer surprised Nicko and also caught him off guard. He did not expect the mare he partially blackmailed earlier to actually offer him a place to stay. This hospitality was very unexpected, especially with how the teen opened up earlier about his troubles. He had not even told anyone else he knew back home about how he felt at all and thought the sounds of the words he would say would just scare anyone he would try to open up too.

        “Are you sure? I’m very grateful for your hospitality but-.”

        “I’m sure.” Twilight told him. It was all the Rune Slayer needed to hear. He closed the door in front of him and turned towards the mare. A tear actually fell from one of his eyes as he said his next sentence and then went upstairs to retire for the evening.

        “Thank you… very much. You have no idea how much this means to me… I feel like I’m finally home.”



Next Morning

        As the sun rose, Twilight was seen with her friends as they walked behind an ever so eager Amy, a half-awake Molly, a restful Yuri and an over excited Lyra. The Alicorn was telling the others about the events that occurred last night and with Nicko at the dinner table. Scootaloo was with Rainbow when they heard about Nicko and how he lived at an orphanage before coming here. 

        “Gosh, I now feel a little bit sorry for him.” Rarity said.

        “I thought that something like that happened.” Scootaloo spoke like she knew something was up with the human.

        “How exactly did you “know” that, Scoot?” Applebloom asked as she caught up with her sister.

        “When he said yesterday that he had a bad memory, he looked like me when I was still at the orphanage before being adopted by Rainbow. Like he had bottled up emotions inside that spilled out.”

        “Like when we did the soda prank a few weeks ago?”

        “Girls!!” Rarity snapped as the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to hold in any giggles they had. She was not one to talk about that incident. Especially after gallons of Orange soda almost flooded the Carousel Boutique earlier in the week. 

        Now though was when the girls were starting to come upon the sight of the duel between Amy and Nicko. It was the old battleground the Twilight had fought on before when the Azure Unicorn named Trixie possessed the Alicorn Amulet. Celestia and Artemis were said to be here to watch the battle take place. But when they got closer. They saw something mysterious.

        Another individual was in the battle arena. A male by appearance and strangely enough, he looked similar to Nicko. Amy was also there, getting herself in a fighting stance.

        “Is Nicko here early by any chance?” Rarity asked. “I know that Spike was suppose to be with him, but aren’t they here a little early?”

        “No, I last saw Spike back at the library.”

        “Then who the hay is that guy right there then!?” Rainbow angrily retorted in frustration.

        “Maybe he arrived for my Welcome to Ponyville Party I was planning for Amy, Molly, and Yuri today!” Pinkie Pie joyfully told her friends as she was bouncing around like the happy mare that she was.

        “I thought you did that after Amy beat the changelings?”

        “Oh that was my “Thank you for saving Ponyville and being a hero to all the good fillies and foals.” party. Very different from what else I had planned.”

        “Uh… That still doesn’t answer the question of who this guy is-.”

        That’s when they saw this new figure wield not only one greatsword, but somehow held two. One with the color of red and the other one that resembled a shorter, but stronger blade. His appearance, upon a closer look, was now nothing like Nicko’s. His hair was spiked along his head like a hedgehog and his gloves extended across his arms. There was a lot more armor across his waist than the casual clothes that the Rune Slayer wore. A different pendant was also strung around his neck. One that resembled a sword with a topaz gem in the center where the grip would be. Even when they heard the boy speak, his voice was a bit different from Nicko’s as well as his personality when he talked to Amy after she said something about this person being her opponent. The Blazing heart must’ve mistaken this new individual as Nicko.

        “Look Lady… I have no idea what the hell your issue is and I could honestly care less about your life problems. I walked all the way from Appleloosa on foot in order to be able to come here and I was just trying to mind my own business until you accused me of challenging you to a duel. I don’t even freaking know you!” He remarked as he set his silver blade on his shoulder and pointed his first weapon at the human girl. A smirk of confidence was on his face when he continued to speak. “But if you want to know my name, then you are going to have prove to me that you are as strong as you say you are.”

        “Can you just say who the hell you are!?” Amy shot back at the boy. All the new guy did was just shake his head, smirking a little as he set the red sword upward and straight into the ground by his feet. 



        “Who the hell do you think I am?”

        Twilight just stared as the newcomer as he charged at Amy, summoning three swords behind him as he charged. “MIRAGE STING!!” 

        She now knew one thing for sure. Looking at her friends with a look of caution and concern, the Alicorn told them what she now knew immediately. This was a major problem. Celestia and Artemis were to be here any second along with her sister and now this kid was in combat with Amy and almost having an upper hand in the fight.

        “Girls… That’s not Nicko.”




End Chapter 4

> Chapter 5: Self vs. Self
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Self vs Self




        Normally on a Saturday morning, Spike would be either doing some chores that Twilight had asked him to do or be rereading a few issues of Power Ponies just for entertainment purposes. However, this morning was quite different. Twilight had asked the dragon to make sure that Nicko, the guest they had over last night, was ready for the duel against Amy Anderson. This while she and her friends go check on the arena that the battle was going to take place. Still though, it was a little past 6:30am and the duel was suppose to take at 7 o’clock. 

        Where was Nicko, you wonder? Still slowly trying to wake up in the guest room as the rays of the rising sun start to penetrate his curtains. 

        “Nicko. It’s time to get up.” Spike told the teen as he opened the door. Nicko was still trying to adjust to just waking up, which was why he rose immediately when the dragon abruptly opened the curtains to let the light flood into the room. 

        “Oh god… Natural light!!!” Nicko reacted as he shook his head a bit so he could focus and sprung from the bed. That’s when he saw Spike standing by the window and then looked around a little bit. “Spike? Where’s Twilight?”

        “At the arena where you and Amy are going to be doing your duel today. She told me to make sure you were ready before coming over.”

        Just as Spike was finishing his sentence, Nicko turned to the balcony door and cracked it open to let the morning air in. It felt good to breath in fresh air to jumpstart his body and system. But something else was mixed in with the breeze this morning. Something… off. 

        Turning towards his gear inside the room, he strapped his bag on his shoulder and equipped his sword onto his back. He went back to the ledge and smelled the air again. “Something’s burning…”

        “Burning?” Spike asked. “Like what?”

        “Something tells me we’re about to find out.” The human told him. He now gripped the rails as he placed both of his feet on the edge of the balcony. 

        “What about breakfast?” The dragon said. “You can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

        “Don’t worry, I got some things in my bag. Now, if you don’t mind me, I’ll be using the express elevator.”

        That’s when the Rune Slayer pushed himself forward and landed almost fifteen below in a somersault before going out in a full sprint. Nicko was so much in a hurry that he didn’t even notice passing Princess Celestia, Prince Artemis and Gleaming Shield as he ran and use the environment around him to climb to the roof. Along the rooftop of the normal houses, the human had to be careful due to the building structure and the slanted tile roofs. One small step could lead to a big disaster if he somehow tripped. Looking upward, he now began to see a small stream of smoke rise from the east where he was yesterday with Leo. He now had to hurry.

        For some reason, he felt like trouble wasn’t that far away.



Ponyville (five minutes ago)

        Moments earlier, Princess Celestia had just arrived with her brother as well as the captain of the guard by train. The duel that they were invited to see was to be starting shortly at 7:00am. As they began to walk to the library though, Gleaming Shield began to wonder something. She had heard many things about Amy… But this “Nicko” boy was completely new to her.

        “Princess Celestia, may I ask you something?”

        “Hmm? What is it, captain?” The Alicorn asked.

        “I heard that you personally were able to talk to the new human yesterday. The one named Nicko?” The Guard captain said. 

        “Ah yes.” Celestia nodded as they left the station and began to walk towards the Ponyville library. “He and I had quite an… interesting conversation yesterday.”

        “Interesting?” Artemis asked. “How so?”

        “Well, some of the things he said reminded me of Twilight in a way. For example, before I even was going to introduce myself, he already took a guess of who I was based on my appearance and you introducing yourself at the station, brother. He even was able to remember everything that occurred while he was on board the friendship express and save some of your men, Gleaming.” Artemis’s eyes widened at the mentioning of his name. This human did indeed sound… Impressive. “Still though, there was one thing that seemed… Strange.”

        Both Gleaming and the prince of the moon looked at each other upon hearing that. They were puzzled by the Goddesses words. “What do you mean, your highness?” Celestia sighed, trying to think of the right words to best explain what she meant. 

        “Some of his body language was rather odd. His hands for example didn’t stay idle. Instead, he was clenching and unclenching them every few moments. Also, when he left his hands unclenched, Nicko was curling and uncurling his fingers in a motion that made me think of rolling waves. I asked if he was nervous at all and he told me that he sometimes feels like that when talking to new individuals that he had not met before.”

        That was indeed strange. Gleaming Shield almost thought of Twilight being like that when she was just a filly. But this was a totally strange and different case. Twilight was only six when these behaviors occurred and was able to get over them as she got older. However, Nicko was eighteen. He was much older and still had these habits. What could’ve been the reason for that?

        “Well, at least he won’t be doing anything crazy like Amy-.”

        Just as Artemis finished speaking, the three of them saw Nicko jump from the railing on top of the Ponyville Library and bursted forward in a dash of speed. The human looked like he was in a hurry. Like a pony who was late for work. Shortly after seeing him jump onto the roof and running forward again, Twilight had teleported right in front of the library. She was unaware of the three arrivals behind her and was talking to herself… again.

        “Now then… All I need to do is find Spike, see where Nicko is and-.”

        “And then what, Twily?”

        The response made Twilight jump as she turned around. Her eyes widened upon seeing her sister and the royal siblings. “Oh thank the stars you’re all here. Did any of you happen to see Nicko?”

        “Sis, he just jumped off of your balcony and ran. Probably towards the arena-.”

        “Oh no no no no no no no. This is bad. This is bad. This is bad.” Twilight muttered. “We got a problem. A major problem.”



Back to Nicko…

        The Rune Slayer was off to races as he finally made it outside of town. He was following the beaten dirt path that led to the small coliseum that the duel was going to take place and from what he could see, a pillar of smoke was beginning to rise… And as the old saying goes, where there's smoke, there’s fire. 

        And from he knew already, that fire was bound to be Amy.

        ‘Eris? Can you hear me?’

        No response. What a bummer... Nicko thought that it must’ve been since she went home with her father the other day. Now he was seriously starting to worry that whatever was going on was not good. Plucking out a blue bottle from his bag, the teen drank a stamina potion so his legs wouldn’t have to tire out. Next, he did the quickest move he thought was possible to help get an advantage point. With a line of trees that stretched out to the battleground, the human hopped on them and used the big branches to propel himself forward. 

        Soon, he began seeing the crowd of ponies there and saw what was going on. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were there, Twilights friends were there along with Molly and Yuri, but no Twilight? That was not what caught Nicko’s attention though. What caught his attention was Amy dueling against another boy. A look alike that was an infinity sword, a warrior that had the magic to summon multiple swords at will. At first he didn’t recognize him, until he heard his voice when he parried Amy’s claymore and blindsided her with his second sword.

        “What’s the matter? Can’t keep up?”

        He knew that voice! Nicko definitely remembered that voice from before he came here. He had to make a move now. While Amy was on one knee and trying to get up, her attacker chose this opportunity to rush her. Now was where Nicko made his move as he accelerated forward from the treetop and put himself in between The Blazing Heart and the Infinity Sword.

        “The hell-!?”

        Nicko used his sword to deflect both incoming blades and then kick Amy’s attacker in the chest. As he skidded backwards, the Blazing heart pushed herself up and breathed a sigh of relief. “Honestly, I did not expect you to be the one trying to save my life.”

        “Yeah…” Nicko retorted. “Mind doing me a favor?” That’s when Nicko conjured a small rune that pushed Amy off of the stage and crashed into Yuri.

        “What the hell was that for!?”

        “The favor I needed you to do was step aside.” Nicko told her as he set his bag down on the edge of the arena. Looking back at the teen on the other end and not noticing the arrival of Twilight and the three guests that were with her, he spoke again.

        “Where the hell have you been, Anson?”

        The other boy now stared at the Rune Slayer for a short few seconds before cracking a smile. “Nicko? Holy crap, am I glad to see you!!”

        “Wait, you know this punk!?” The response came from Rainbow Dash, who was flying above her friends. Staying idle in the air and relaxing on a cloud.

        “Of course. He’s my brother.”

        The response had received mixed expressions from almost everypony present. Mostly, everypony stared in shock like it was a plot twist to a movie. Others though like Applebloom and her friends had numerous questions. The one thing that caught the brother’s attention was when the Cyan pegasus got off of her small cloud and landed near her friends. Something she said, to be exact.

        “Wow… no wonder you too look almost exactly alike.”

        Looking at each other, both Nicko and Anson chuckled a little as they had the comment set in a little. The Pegasus though, took it as an insult. “What’s the matter? Do you think I’m funny!?”

        “No, it’s nothing like that.” Anson said, looking at his brother as he strapped both of his weapon on his back. “Nicko, would you want to explain this or should I?”

        Nicko sighed. Looking back at the crowd, he noticed the expression on Twilight’s face change a little. Earlier, she looked like she was studying and trying to figure out a mystery. Now, her face lit up, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped a few inches. It seemed like she was the only one to figure it out because everypony else was either confused or came up with a weird theory on how some evil pony cloned Nicko in his sleep. When things got a little out of hand, that’s when he told them.

        “We’re twins.”

        Now everypony’s expression turned into Twilights. As for the girls though, only Molly and Amy were surprised. Yuri? Well… that’s the thing. When she wasn’t working as a maid before she got fired, the young girl was working at the orphanage on the side. Though she never really met them, Leo had told her a lot about the two brothers. Therefore, when she saw the two of them by each other, something clicked in her mind that told her it was the twins that Leo was talking about. 

        Shortly afterwards came a fury of surprise comments and an onslaught of chatter from the Pinkie Pie department. Anson and Nicko, while the others were talking to Pinkie, used this chance to talk to each other. 

        “So… How’s life?”

        “Alright so far. Fought some Outlaws in Appleloosa yesterday and met somepony named Braeburn who told me that his cousin in Ponyville named Applejack could help me somehow. What about you?”

        “Met two musicians named Vinyl and Octavia, woke up in this world’s version of Hollywood called Applewood, freed a train from a bunch of psycho bandits.”

        “Why do I get the feeling that most of the towns and cities in this world are puns off of places back home?” The Infinity Sword asked.

        “You tell me.” The Rune Slayer responded. “I was suppose to duel Ms. Firebreather until you did a number on her.”

        “No wonder why she was here.” Anson chuckled, putting his arms behind his head in a relaxed pose like Sora in Kingdom hearts. “She must’ve mistaken me for you. You must’ve been eager for a fight if you want to go up against someone who goes off like a dynamite.”

        That comment gave Nicko an idea. Looking over, he saw Amy trying to be attended by Applebloom and her friends; calling themselves “Cutie Mark Crusaders field medics!!” It looked like Amy was in no condition to fight. But he knew someone who was… and it turns out that person was actually right next to him. 

        “Hey Anson?”

        “Yes Nicko?”

        “Remember when you and I use to duke it out back home?” Nicko asked. Anson’s reply was a nod, but then a grin of satisfaction when he realized where he was going with this. “How about we see who is the strongest between the two of us?”

        “Oh hell YES!!” Anson’s reply led to everypony looking at the two of them in confusion. 

        “Change of plans… Today’s main event is a friendly competition between brothers… Heaven or Hell…” both brother said in unison, standing about 50 feet between each other. “LET’S ROCK!!!” 

        Both warriors unsheathed their weapons and charged at one another, crossing swords for the first time. The collision of their blades let loose a massive shockwave that could be felt for miles. Up close, it almost knocked Rainbow Dash off balance in the sky and everypony else (including Celestia and Artemis) had to hold their ground. One thing did surprise them though that was different from Anson’s previous fight with Amy. Earlier, the twin sword warrior was able to get the upper hand on her with his speed as well as his strenght. However, both him and Nicko were evenly matched and the Infinity Sword wasn’t able to get any openings no matter what angle he attacked from.

        After the first clash, Anson was the one who went straight on the offensive. Using both of his swords, he tried striking his brother with brute force, but only missed because of either a well timed block or he was able to dodge just in time. Nicko was even able to parry his brothers two blades with ease. Anson grunted a little as he gritted his teeth. Pushing himself backwards into the air, he threw his second blade straight at him. As the blade soared in the air, Nicko noticed a Sigil come from his brothers hand.



        “HARSH CHASER!!”

        When the blade collided with Nicko’s weapon, it didn’t deflect like how the Rune Slayer thought it would. Instead, it stuck to the sword as he faintly saw a magic line attached to it. When the warrior noticed Anson pull his arm back like he was playing tug of war, Nicko lost his footing and got pulled towards him.

        “Dammit! Not again!!!”

        Closer the Rune Slayer was to the Infinity Sword now and he was using the moment to strike and break his defense. Not this time though. No way in hell was Nicko going to try and escape again. Within striking difference, Nicko pulled off the unexpected.

        He gave Anson a fistful of fire directly in his face. “FALCON PUNCH!!!” 

        The fist struck his brother along the jawline and made him fly backwards in the air. But when he landed, The Infinity Sword only had a small bruise that barely inflicted any damage. But still, Anson did not plan to go down without a fight. Getting back up, he charged forward and began to cross swords with Nicko again. Their blades continued to clash until Nicko was caught off guard and Anson stabbed him in the left shoulder. 

        “Gah!!”

        A few of the spectators stared in horror as The Rune Slayer tried to hold his ground. He was beginning to bleed from the shoulder Anson struck him in and slowly tried to pull the blade out despite his brothers grip. Nicko felt the pain course through his left arm, but used the right arm that he held his sword in to knock his opponent to the other end of the arena. Still though, Anson used his powers to resummon his second blade, abruptly pulling out of his brothers arm and seeing it lay limp along his side. A new guest arrived at the arena. That new guest being Leo at the time the weapon was yanked out of his arm.

        “Looks like Nicko is fighti-. Oh dear god!!”

        Nicko just gritted his teeth as he dealt with the pain. With the arm he could move though, he went into the bag on his shoulder and grabbed something out of his bag. A moment later, he actually looked like he pulled out a small jar filled with blood red liquid that resembled blood. breaking the seal open with his teeth, he splashed the contents on his wound, gripping a little at the searing pain as his arm was getting fixed. Soon, his left arm was good as new as he tried moving it and was able to do so successfully.

        Anson himself stared blankly, baffled by what just happened. “What the hell did you just use to fix your arm?”

        “Healing potion. Not the strongest of them, but at least it gets the job done. Stings like applying rubbing alcohol though.” 

        “Heh… I knew for you to be resourceful, but this is not what I expected.” Anson spat at the ground and rubbed his foot before charging back at Nicko. This time though, he attacked with the same movements, but a different outcome.



        “SWORD BLASTING!!!” 

        The attack first started with Anson striking Nicko in the chest with his weapon, but then was followed by when he had summoned three more swords to continue his attack. Nicko blocked the first two blades, but the third struck him across the waist and was too close to becoming a hamstring injury. Still standing his ground, Nicko tried in stride to make a strong comeback, but Anson was still able to hammer him with more strong attacks that continued to bombard the Rune Slayer. His feet was even beginning to make the plywood of the stage slowly crack. 

        “Still standing strong!? Well, that’s going to change right now!!”

        Anson’s words couldn’t be more true. With a vertical swing, the same sigil that Nicko saw before began to glow again. This time though, he saw the sigil again in the air as he looked upward. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A huge sword that looked exactly like his secondary weapon. Nicko knew what this meant. But he couldn’t believe that Anson would try something this reckless to win a simple grudge match.

        “Anson!! Are you freaking insane!!?”

        “This is a free for all, Nicko. No holding back.”

        The weapon slammed on the battlefield as Nicko dodge rolled away to avoid the sword. What came next though was what Nicko was mostly worried about. Twilight herself began to worry a bit once the inside of the big sword began to crack open.

        “EVERYPONY, GET TO COVER!!!”

        The Rune Slayer’s warning was followed by the Infinity Swords shout of the skills he pulled off. “BLADE RAIN!!!!”

        The crack in the huge blade soon broke free as thousands of swords began to swarm the battle arena with an intent to cut anypony too close to ribbons. Twilight was quick enough to cast a shield before anypony got seriously injured, but her biggest concerns were now on Nicko caught in the middle of the storm of swords. She saw him as his clothes were beginning to tear to shreds as dust began to rise and distort everyponies vision. Even Molly with her Dynamo’s and gadgets can’t see from the events that were going on. However, everypony could still see Anson and he looked like he expended his energy.

        “That does it I guess…” The warrior said as he slowly was going to leave. Then he heard something… Something coming from his brother. He could faintly see him still standing as his half shirt was torn to shreds and he was covered in slashes and dripping in blood. But something was off about this.

        That’s when he saw the Red Aura glowing around his body as he was still standing…

        “Anson!!!” Nicko’s Way of the Sword had just kicked in and now he was enhanced with the Spirit of Destruction. Before his brother could even think, the Rune Slayer went at him.

        “You have to be a major jackass to pull off that hyper skill and not know how it could hurt everypony that was watching this fight!! Now it’s payback time!!!” Nicko and Anson clashed again, but this time things were different. When the Infinity Sword thought he struck him, the red aura released a shock wave that knocked him off his feet. Nicko only needed one chance to put an end to this brawl and now was when he got it. He conjured all the power he could muster and chucked the ball of magic into the air. When Anson tried to move towards him, he began to float upward like gravity had been turned off. Twilight now noticed that Nicko’s sphere wasn’t any ordinary sphere.

        It was a black hole. Created by his runes.

        “What the hell are you doing, Nicko!?!”

        “Well, since you like summoning swords so much, I thought I would give you a treat with some of my own.” When Anson reached the sphere, the surrounding area turned into a floating rune cage as he was imprisoned inside. Then, Multiple blades created by rune magic surrounded the floating cell on all sides, causing everypony to stare in awe and also shock by the raw amount of power the human was drawing forth. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves watched as they were spellbound by the might he was putting into it.

        “Oh… Oh… Oh… snap.”



        “SHINING RUNE BUSTER!!!”

        “Oh man, it’s even got a cool name!!!”

        All the blades created by Nicko’s Rune magic now converged on Anson’s small prison, striking multiple times as they crashed over and over. As the cage dissipated, the Infinity Sword soon crashed down as the Rune Slayer slowly walked over to him. When he was nearby, the teen crouched on his knees. Putting two fingers by his neck and waiting a bit, The Rune Slayer breathed a sigh of relief.

        The royal siblings now noticed something from Nicko. Despite being in a fight to the death with his brother, he still didn’t go full throttle on his power and used too much. Artemis saw it as a way to show that Nicko cared for Anson. Despite being a pain in the ass to each other, they were still family. And family matters…

        “So brother… Did you learn your lesson?”

        “How the hell was THAT suppose to teach me a lesson!!?”

        “With great power comes great responsibility?”

        “ … Oh, what the hell? Whatever works.” Staggering to his feet, Anson was assisted by his brother as they walked out of the battle arena and back to where everypony else was. Laying him down, the Rune Slayer gave his brother what looked like a blue Powerade bottle, only to have what looked like a recycling symbol on it. It was a complete recovery potion and the teen insisted on having Anson drink it so he would be back to normal within a short timeframe.

        He did so and (after some time) was back to his usual self. If you consider usual being a mash up of both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash when it came to his personality. The human had to spend a few minutes apologizing to everypony for being Reckless near the end of the battle involving his Hyperactive Skill. 

        “So Anson… Mind explaining to me the story of where the hell you were all this time?” Leo grunted, trying to get under his skin. 

        “Yeah, That might take a bit of time…” The teen told the Reckless Fist as he sighed and sat down. Anson suggested for Everypony to get comfortable first before the Infinity Sword start his story.



        “It started early yesterday. I was found unconscious by a buffalo named Little Strongheart, who brought me to somepony in the town of Appleloosa named Braeburn. He was concerned that I might’ve been suffering from heatstroke and brought me inside his house to lay me down and cool me off. I woke up a few hours later when he was trying to see if my condition had improved. I wasn’t hot or burning up (no pun intended), but I was more confused on where I was. 

        Braeburn took some time to answered my questions before he had to go check on the town’s crop yield for the upcoming harvest, so he left me alone so I had some time to adjust to my surroundings and also my current position. That’s when I found my bag, skill book and almost enough supplies for me to travel for quite some time. My skill book allowed for me to use the powers I demonstrated earlier in my bout with my brother. Still, my time alone only lasted for about fifteen minutes when I decided to walk outside and see what the town looked like. When I came on out, everypony was rushing inside their homes and locking their doors. 

        For a minute, it was because I thought they were afraid of me. Turns out I was wrong. It was because of a gang of outlaws that strolled into town and wanted to treat the place like they owned it. So I did the only thing I could think of… Beat the living crap out of them. Once that was over though, I thanked Braeburn for his hospitality in letting me stare there for the time I was there and he thanked me for helping the town. Before I left, he told me that he had a cousin in the Town of Ponyville that might help me out once I arrived. So, I crashed here and when I woke up the next morning, I found Ms. hothead wanting to fight me.”



        “Hey, in my defense, I didn’t know that you were a completely different person until after Nicko arrived!”

        “Really now?” Nicko folded his arms as he looked at the Blazing Heart. “You didn’t take into account the difference in clothes?”

        “For the record, Rarity could’ve made you some clothes for the event.”

        “What about him holding two swords or summoning other blades?”

        “Learning some new spells?”

        “I’m a Rune Slayer, not an Infinity Sword.” Nicko sighed afterwards, facepalming himself. Either Amy was having side effects from the Cutie Mark Crusaders medical treatment or she was brain dead.

        “Hold on a sec,” Applejack cut in afterwards. “Who was the pony that Braeburn told you about?”

        “Somepony that goes by Applejack.” Anson replied. After a few minutes, something clicked inside his head. The mare who asked him that question had the same description as the pony that Braeburn told him about the day before. “Just out of curiosity, would that happen to be you by any chance?”

        Applejack nodded as she adjusted her hat. Before she could say anything though, a letter appeared right in front of Celestia and Artemis. It wasn’t from Spike since it appeared in a flash of light instead of a green flame and it had a royal seal from Canterlot on the scroll of parchment.

        “A letter from Canterlot at this hour?” Artemis questioned as he looked at his pocket watch from his left jacket pocket. It was only a little after 8 o’clock. Who could be in such a hurry to send a letter to Princess Celestia and in such urgency as well. It was a mystery until Celestia opened the piece of parchment and began to read. Moments afterwards, her eyes widened just like the look on everyponies face when Nicko got shanked in the shoulder. Something major must’ve happened for her to be like this.

        “Everypony… we need to go to Canterlot now.”

        “Wait, hold on a minute!” interjected Nicko. “Who sent you the letter.”

        “Noblehorn.” came The Alicorns reply. “There has been a series of robberies conducted by swarms of changelings over the past few hours with their recent one being in Vanhoover. The only thing that they’ve stolen though has been large amounts of spellshards.”

        Now Anson looked at his other human companions in complete confusion. “Uh… don’t you mean “El Shards” by any chance? You know, something like these?” The Infinity Sword rummaged through his bag and soon brought out a fistful of red El Shards of the fire variant. “We would use these to acquire El essences that we use for our Hyperactive skills.”

        “No no no… Spellshards are different.” Twilight now spoke. “Spellshards are crystals filled with different varieties of magic that are used to power up multiple types of machinery and used for other purposes as well. They’re like batteries, but with a reusable source of energy and no need to take them out in order to replace them. Different colors can be used for different types of machines. I know that they’re commonly used at convenience stores like in snack and soda drink machines to provide flavor and taste.”

        Nicko started to get a feeling that whatever these crystals were suppose to be, it reminded him of “dust” from Rooster teeth’s popular web series RWBY. Leo had thought of the same thing and asked if they could used for other purposes as well. The follow up reply was not pleasant as Artemis told them that new guard tactics included the use of spellshards and that they were mostly used by races that weren’t completely familiar with magic. It made everypony now worry about what could the changelings be using these for. 

        “Artemis, talk to the head of the guard and tell him we’ll need three carriages to take all sixteen of us to Canterlot as soon as possible.”

        “Wait, aren’t you forgetting somepony?” came the question from Scootaloo as they helped Amy get back on her feet.

        “No, I’m not. I’m sorry girls, but this is a conversation that all of us need to talk about on our own. It’s an adult conversation.”

        “Aww…” Applebloom complained, before the Cutie Mark Crusaders were given some words of encouragement from Molly and Yuri. The carriages arrived shortly afterwards, with 5 passengers taking up each car and one having six with the inclusion of Spike. As they went off though, someone was watching them as they soared. A girl with mismatched eyes, black hair and look almost similar to Yuri. Again, almost… this girl now had a two headed spear and wore a different kind of fox pin in her hair and now she channeled her power to awaken her ascended fox form with nine tails, fox ears and red whisker like scars across the bottom of her face.



        “Well, this is getting interesting. But no matter how far you keep Amy away from me, I will get her Yuri. Just you wait...” 

        Then, the Fox sniffed the air as she felt something. The presence of two new but powerful entities. It wasn’t anything like the boys that arrived the day before, but for some reason, the two red haired boys felt somehow connected to this new pair. The Little Specter licked her lips as she smiled a devilish grin of satisfaction and ran through the forest that led to the castle. To her, she was no longer chasing humans in a flying cart like it came straight out of a Hercules movie. She was chasing prey. Powerful prey that could put up a fight. The girl never liked it when the prey she was hunting never put up a fight at all.

        But she could deal with the two twins later. Now, her main focus was on her older sister. As she ran through the trees, the animals and creatures of the forest ran away in fear because of her presence. In their eyes, they did not see a human. They saw a predator on the prowl. A serpent in the grass. A serpent with demonic eyes with a shade of Jade.




End Chapter 5

> Bonus Chapter (4.5): Vanhoover Beatdown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery, and Shenanigans- Vanhoover Beatdown





        One late night in the city of Vanhoover, many ponies were out enjoying the nightlife that the northern town had to offer. Whether it was dining or entertainment or even the chance to just be with friends, they had something for everypony. Tonight though was a special occasion. For the Wonderbolts, it would be a successful show day. For politicians, it depended on what the occasion was and if things went their way. But tonight, it was something different. It had nothing to do with sports or politics.






        It had to do with more for caring for those in need.






        Tonight’s occasion was a charity fundraiser for St. Clover’s Children hospital that focused on raising money for the foals, fillies and colts that were sick and needed desperate medical care. So far, it had raised over 500,000 bits, courtesy of not just the attendees, but also the ponies that called to donate to the cause. Many special guests were there tonight, including Spitfire- The captain of the wonderbolts herself. But the main highlight of the evening was when Princess Cadence herself made a surprise appearance to help provide a big donation towards the cause at the end of the festivities. 






        Right now though, it was quite some time after the charity event had ended. Almost half an hour specifically. Some of the guests have stayed behind, but most of them have left to return to their homes, go somewhere else, or head back to the hotel they stayed at. Of course, different ponies had different methods to go to their destination. 






        Princess Cadence though, had other thoughts on her mind. Thoughts of what occurred before the event tonight. 






        Being the niece of Princess Celestia was one thing that sometimes drove her crazy. Not because of the unexpected attention she got sometimes… or rather most of the time. But because of her sibling, Prince Blueblood. He was snobbish, Arrogant, Self centered, and just plain rude; seeing himself above others because of his status of nobility. It was also the reason why he never showed up to tonight's event, even though Auntie Celestia asked for both of them to be there. 






        As she walked back to the hotel she was staying at though, something new caught the Alicorns attention. Something quite… unexpected. A young girl that looked like she was twelve to thirteen years old and was nearby where the princess was standing. She was wearing a black & blue dress that had a short skirt, a white ribbon around the neck, two blue stockings and a small crown on top of her lightish pink hair that looked almost like Cadence’s fur as it stretched down her back. The girl was looking around like she had lost something and was trying to find it.






        ‘Maybe she is looking for her parents…’ The princess thought as the girl turned her head and saw Cadence. Her Azure eyes now focused as the child turned the rest of her body now. Cadence now noticed that the girl had a small tail that had a heart at the end of it that was the same color as her eyes. But it wasn't the only thing she noticed.






        She also saw the girl wearing a ring.






        “Hello? Who are you?” It asked politely, holding her arms behind her back in a relaxed manner. Cadence herself was personally surprised by the question. Almost everywhere she’d go, somepony would recognize her. But this time, it was different.






        “Miss?”






        Cadence snapped out of her moment to think and soon replied to the young child. “My apologies. I’m Cadence. What’s your name, Child?”






        “Ciela…” The response came out tense like the Alicorn had somehow struck a nerve. “And please don’t call me child.”






        “Oh? Why is that?” Cadence asked politely.






        “It’s a long story.” Ciela replied as she pulled up one of her long dress sleeves to look at her watch. The Alicorn looked at her hands now and had a better look at the ring she was wearing. It was stunningly beautiful with an amazing diamond in the center. It looked like something that was bought for a wedding.






        Wait a second… A wedding ring?






        “That’s quite a beautiful ring you’re wearing tonight.” The Princess praised.






        “Why, thank you. Someone special gave it to me.”






        “Oh really? Who?”






        “The same guy I’m looking for.” The young girl then handed a photograph of who that person was to the Alicorn. It looked like a male, but did not have a horn or wings. But instead, it had blue hair, pointy ears, carried two swords she was unfamiliar with and looked like a protector by appearance.






        “Is he your bodyguard?”






        “Nope.”






        “Butler?”






        “Na-da.”






        “Servant?”






        “Not even close,” Ciela told her, frustrated. “He’s my husband.”






        That caught Cadence off guard immediately. “Uhh.. Not to be rude, but how old are you?”






        “To be honest…” She replied, taking some time to think. “I’m about thirty… I think.”



         "You think?"



        “Like I said before, Ms. Cadence, long story. But I can make it simple for you. Have you heard of the saying “An adult trapped in a kid’s body?””






        Cadence nodded as the two of them started to walk. “A few times actually.” 






        “Well, when I first arrived here with my husband, a spell was casted to where I looked like a young girl with no way to reverse the effects.” Ciela explained the best she could. “And don’t even get me started on the fact that we were accidently sealed in stone-.”






        “Wait, what-!?”






        “Like I mentioned before, long sto-.”






        Right before the young girl could finish her sentence, the two of them heard the sound of shattering glass from a nearby street. Ciela looked in the direction that the sound came from before moving down the sidewalk to get a better look. Turns out, the glass shatter was from when somepony dropped a bottle of whiskey from their apartment balcony in a drunken stupor.






        “Maybe we should go someplace else. Have any ideas, Princess?”






        “Yeah, I-. Wait… How do you know I’m a Princess?”






        “You have both a horn and wings, and from what I remember, you only see Alicorns as part of royalty.” Ciela pointed out the folded wings with one of her free hands. “Not to be rude, but it is kind of obvious.”






        “Point taken.”






        The two girls left the premises quickly, hoping to not attract any attention. But as they were soon going to find out, attention comes in many forms from different ponies.








Few moments Later






        “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!!” came the holler from a male unicorn named Prince Blueblood seconds after Ciela entered Cadence’s hotel room. “Why do you do this to me, Cadence?!!”






        “Do this to you? You’re the one that’s overreacting.”






        “Overreacting!?” The stallion responded. “You brought in somepony off the street!! Who knows what hole this child crawled out of!!”






        “Cadence, is your friend here always a…” Ciela asked as she looked for a chair to sit down in. “ …What’s the word?”






        “Jerk?” Cadence asked, closing the door behind them.






        “I was going to go with Jackass but whatever works.”






        Blueblood himself took offense to the comment. The Unicorn was going to give her a piece of his mind until Cadence pulled him to the side. The princess began to explain Ciela’s “Situation” to her brother, piece by piece. However, he didn’t buy it.






        “That is most Ridiculous story I have ever heard of, Cadence. What proof do you have to prove her story is true?”






        “She has a wedding ring on her finger. What more proof do you need?”






        Prince Blueblood grunted, not satisfied. “For all we know, this mare could’ve stolen it… And I thought my troubles with the human girl two weeks ago was a problem.”






        That’s when Ciela got curious. “There are other humans here?”






        The comment had both the Unicorn and Alicorn look at her in disbelief. Not only was the question off, but there was now a new question that drifted in the air. What was Ciela. She did not have any features that resembled a pegasus or a unicorn. But the tail made the two have doubts that she was an earth pony. 






        “Yeah, but the only one I have personally seen is the fire girl. They’re five other that are in Ponyville I believe but I honestly could care less after-.”






        Before Blueblood could finish his sentence, dark blue fire covered Ciela’s hands as they formed a pair of gauntlets around her hands. Another motion had her left hand grow three times it’s size into a huge gauntlet as it grabbed Blueblood around the shoulder.






        “Watch your mouth, pretty boy!! You only had a bad experience because you treated them like trash!” Ciela then let go, dismissing the gauntlets she once had as she looked at the prince again. “If you treat them as equals, they’ll possibly do the same. Now, do we have an understanding?”






        Blueblood gritted his teeth and was still defiant over the topic of “Humans”. Additionally, he was partially stunned over how fast the previous events were and how some street rat like this child could possibly have magical abilities like what she had just demonstrated. “How could you know what they’re like-?!”






        “Because I’m human.”






        Cadence’s eyes widened over Ciela’s last statement. Blueblood was also in shock too. Over the course of the last few weeks, she had only heard rumors and seen photographs of these “Humans” that have been in Equestria the past few months. The Alicorn had never met one in person… until now.






        “I’ve been here for god knows how long and I have two children stuck at home and who knows what happened to them. That’s why I’m trying to find my husband Luke so we can try and refocus from where we left off and find a way to go home again-.”






        Turns out, as luck would have it, the one she was looking for wasn’t that far away.








Five Minutes Earlier






        Across the street from the hotel, a convenience store called “Spells and Snacks” was getting close to closing time. The owner- A mare by the name of Candy Crush -was thankful for it almost being this time right now. Beside the one individual in the back looking at the book section, the store was almost empty. Still, the one fellow that was in here looked… odd. Still though, her attention was not to be focused there as she heard the bell nearby the door ring.






        The door opening soon caught her attention. From the sounds of it, seven colts and a mare entered the store based on the sound of their hooves. But when he turned to greet them, a green flash set off the panic button inside his mind. Changelings… in his store!? Even their queen that disguised herself as Princess Cadence was here!!?! Dear Celestia, what did she do to deserve this?!






        “You know how hard it is to find a shop like yours open this late?” The queen asked as one of her drones pulled out a handgun and aimed it at the store owner. Now Candy Crush regretted not having some kind of weapon to defend herself with behind the counter. Before the cream colored mare could even speak, Chrysalis interjected and silencer her. “Now now…… we’re not here for your money. Just some “other” necessities.” Turning to her henchmen, she gave one simple order in the sharpest of menacing tones.






        “Search the store for Spellshards, Now!!”






        Like the drones they were, they complied with their queens orders. Spellshards were crystals that stored a dense amount of magic and came in different colors and sizes. In this stores case, the snack and refreshment machines were using these crystals to provide flavor & taste, heat & warmth to some treats and cold to the drinks that were sold in the store. Vending machines were also powered on shards since it helped control the flow of expended electricity. Immediately after being told, the changelings began to tear apart and dismantle the poor mare’s store piece by piece. But amidst this, one curious drone happened to noticed the individual in the back of the store.






        For some reason, it looked like he wasn’t aware of anything that was going on. Instead, this customer looked like he had his head absorbed in a book and barely paid any attention to his surroundings. A robbery was going on and he was ignoring everything!? That had to change.






        “Hey, put your hands in the air.”






        No response…… 






        “Sir?” The drone tried again. Nothing worked the second time around. Maybe a little bit of a threat would work better. Taking the weapon he was holding in one hand and having his other open hand channel magic, the drone poked the creature in the shoulder and finally got his attention.






        The Dark navy haired individual turned to see a stallion that resembled a gang member. Cap, chains, and everything. “Can I help you?”






        “What are you, blind!?” The disguised changeling aggressively spat as he tightened the grip on his hand blade. “Don’t you have any idea what the hell is going on right now?”






        “Hold on… Are you trying to rob me?”






        “What does it freaking look like!!?!”






        All that intimidation got the blue haired punk to do was laugh to himself. Whoever this guy was had horrible acting skills. “It looks like to me that you aren’t who I think you are.”






        In one swift movement, his sapphire eyes glowed viciously as he disarmed the drone and broke his arm in the disarm. The pain caused the changeling to not hold his transformation as he shifted back to his normal form seconds before being sent through the store with a powerful jab kick to the stomach. As the glass shattered, the customer holding the history book set the novel down and swiftly appeared outside. His face grimaced upon looking at the physical appearance of his attacker.






        “Good god, you’re a handful. At least my eyes could see through Illusions and disguises.”






        The changeling was grasping onto his broken arm as it staggered to it’s hooves and let out a loud shrieking hiss. For a moment, it looked like it was trying to be predatory. But it wasn’t. It was actually a call for backup. Soon, almost all the drones from in the stores and a lot more from the surrounding alleys and from under the sewer covers began to swarm around the one attacker in the Dark Navy blue coat outside the store and in the streets. There were literally hundreds of eyes staring at him.






        “Well Sh*t. Looks like I literally kicked a hornet’s nest.”






        “WHO DARES TO ATTACK MY CHILDREN!!?”






        The bellowing voice was followed by a furious Chrysalis bursting out the door. Her raging emerald eyes gazed upon the sapphire eyes of the bipedal creature and his appearance. 






        “And here comes queen bee.”






        “Who the hell do you think you are!?”






        The man shrugged. “You tell me, Swiss Cheese. Normally, you would say your name first before making idle threats-.”






        “SILENCE!!” The Changeling interrupted him. “You are in the presence of Queen Chrysalis you arrogant little twit… One false move and all my soldiers here will show you no mercy!!” The queens gesture was threatening, but the man in the coat wasn’t buying it at all.






        “Yeah…… you would sound a lot more intimidating if you were actually… you know, intimidating.”






        Chrysalis’s ears twitched. Her anger was bubbling and getting close to boiling over and spilling out like a hot kettle. “Grr… Are you mocking me!?”






        “Oh no no no no no no no………… pfft, yeah.”






        “THAT’S IT!!! CHILDREN, MAKE HIM PAY FOR INSULTING YOUR QUEEN!!!!” With that motion, all the drones began to swarm and close in on their target. The creature quickly grabbed the two weapons that was on the back of his waist, unsheathing them as a mark began to glow on his hands.













        “Big Mistake.”















        Ciela now began to feel a familiar warmth and glow around her hands. She saw a symbol that resembled a star bursting apart. Cadence herself noticed it glow the moment she heard glass shatter and shots run out in the street below. The human ran to the balcony outside the hotel room as she gritted her teeth and now looked ticked.






        “Oh god, why did he decide to do this outside!!?”






        Before either Cadence or Blueblood were able to say anything, Ciela channeled the gauntlets around her hands and she jumped from the ledge . The two royals now watched in horror as they saw her target below. 






        A massive swarm of Changelings.















        KLICK!! KLACK!!! BANG!!!!






        “FLICK SHOT!!”






        The first move that was made by the unknown  figure was him jumping backwards and firing two shots from his weapons that ricocheted off both the left and right sides of the surrounding changelings and turning some into piles of green cinders. Chrysalis herself was taken by surprise. The weapons on appearance looked like two combat blades. She did not expect them to function like firearms. Both of the blades had a sapphire hue on them while the rest of the weapon looked different. One had a black grip while the other was pure white. As some more changelings tried to corner the being, all he did was just look up and grin.






        “Heads up.”






        Without warning, a black shadow covered the five changelings that crept towards him. Just a few seconds later, a giant gauntlet slammed into the ground and destroyed them while it sent a powerful shockwave that blew another twenty or so to collide into the nearby buildings. A new fighter had entered the Arena. When Chrysalis looked at her, she honestly thought that this was some sort of sick joke. 













        “Luke, what the hell did you do this time?!”






        “Hello to you as well, dear.” The gunslinger greeted his companion. “This is what happens when you try to protect yourself from a robber in disguise.”






        “What the hell is a little girl doing here!!?” Chrysalis snapped as her troops reorganized themselves in a different attack pattern. Instead of surrounding the Duo in a circle, they all lined up in a massive head on force. “Just why would somepony your age decide to be out in the middle of the night?”






        “Hey, Watch it!!” Luke snapped. “You don’t know who the hell you’re talking to!!”






        “Oh yeah? Surprise me.”






        “My wife.”






        And now inside her mind, Chrysalis had basically see everything. A twelve year old girl married to a 32 year old stallion-.






        “At least being turned into a child gives me a reason to have fun while beating the Sh*t out of these bug like… things.”






        “Changelings, Ciela. They’re called Changelings.”






        “Really? That sounds like a 1960’s X-men Character.”






        Okay, now Chrysalis had heard everything. “By the freaking hive, Just what the hell are you two?”






        “Humans.” The Duo replied in unison. 






        Chrysalis gritted her teeth, memories of her encounter with the Burning Crusader flashing back inside her head and anger flaring in her eyes. “Okay, I’ve heard enough!! Kill them and bring their corpses to me!!! I have other business to attend to!” With a green flash, the queen disappeared as the Swarm began to charge straight at them with weapons and magic in hand.






        “Uh… Ciela? You think we can handle this?”






        “Not exactly what I thought about us spending our anniversary, but screw it.” The Brawler told her partner as she cracked her knuckles. The sword-gunner smiled as he clicked back on his weapons and prepared for combat,






        “Hehe… That’s my darling. Til death do us part then.”






        Just coming out of the entrance of the hotel, Cadence watched as the Duo gracefully fought side by side each other with each one of their attacks in synch with one another like two dancers in a ballroom. Switching sides with one another to keep pace with the horde of bugs that kept on charging and fighting them with Swords and Sorcery. Ciela’s gauntlets and Luke’s guns glowed with a starlight enchantment that looked like a white seal. This allowed them to strike harder and faster while their attackers aim and attacks were weakened. It was a symphony of two souls locked in combat.






        “Ciela, duck!!” Luke called out, motioning a movement with his weapons. It served as a visual cue for the Fighter so she could stay out of her husband’s line of sight as he performed a special attack that conjured three sets of blue orbs that were composed of Hellfire (Appropriately named “Flame of the Devil”). Firing each orb; the balls of flame exploded on contact and set a few unlucky changelings on fire, burning them to a piles of ashes. Another skill followed afterwards where Luke aimed his weapons towards his enemy and fired off multiple shots at once. 






        “TRIPLE SHOT!!” 






        The bullets went outwards in a spray of three shots as the street brawl continued and the Duo continued to try and lower the numbers of the changelings. “My Turn!” Ciela shouted out as she jumped in the air and slammed back on the ground using her “STOMP” ability to crash into the drones and start with her string of punches and kicks. She even had skills where her gauntlets could grow twice the size of their standard look in order to stun her attackers and deal critical damage. As the fight continued, the human slammed her right hand into the pavement below and channeled energy into that hand.






        “EVIL CLAW!!!”






        Shortly afterwards, a phantasmal claw rose from the ground where the changelings were and sent them flying into the air, destroying a good collection of them with a loud POP! From Cadence was standing though, she saw more bad news as the couple was by each others side again. 






        More Changelings were coming and they greatly outnumbered them Two hundred to two. 






        “Luke, this is getting out of hand. We need to finish all of these creeps in one last attack. Got any ideas?”






        “You tell me, honey.”






        “How about a combination skill?”






        Luke’s ears twitched. He definitely liked the sound of that. Plus, the combination gauge he was keeping track of was at full power. “Alright, I even got one in mind!”






        With that, Ciela jumped as Luke helped push her into the air. All of their attackers began to close in on the two of them as they each readied their weapons. Once in the right spot, the Duo shouted in unison.










        “NETHER SHREDDER!!!!”






        Without warning, the magic that Ciela was channeling emerged as a huge claw and chains that immobilized the rest of the swarm as Luke open fired a Barrage of Bullets. The last shot the blade-gunner fired caused an upward explosion of blue magic that caused the remaining attackers to disappear and turn into ash and cinders that blew away with the morning breeze as the sun began to slowly rise to the east. The duo was now exhausted after this battle. They haven’t fought in a long time and with their current situation, they weren’t even at their strongest yet. Ciela and Luke now sheathed their weapons as they turned to each other. “Well, that took care of that.”






        “Yeah,” Ciela replied to her husbands remark. “Just what were you doing this whole time?”






        “Acquiring information.” Luke told her. “A convenience store I was in had a history book so I thought I take a look and see how long we were trapped in stone for. Turns out, we’ve been away longer than we originally thought.”






        The couple began to walk out of the street as Ciela returned with a follow up question. “Oh really? How long?”






        “What would you say if I told you a thousand years?”






        Ciela’s eyes widened. The statement scared her just as much as it caught her off guard, “Oh god… The kids-!”






        “Honey, we don’t even know about this place timewise.” The husband tried to comfort his wife. They did not know how much time passed back home for every day or year they spent in this world, but were worried about the “What-ifs” of certain scenarios. “We’ve talked about it before.”






        “Yeah, but I’m still worried. What if we never make it home!?”






        “Don’t worry, sweetie.” Luke said. “We’ll make it back home. I promise.”






        That’s when he noticed somepony by the hotel looking at them as the sunlight now began to light up the city. Pink fur, mixed color mane and tail, cyan eyes, cutie mark of a crystal heart. It was an Alicorn.






        “Cadence?” Ciela asked the mare. “What are you doing out here?”






        “I was wondering if the two of you were okay after fighting against all of those Changelings just now.” 






        “Could’ve been better. But it was still fun to kick their-.”






        “Ciela? Who is your friend?” interjected Luke.






        “Oh, my bad. Luke, this Cadence. Cadence, this is my husband Luke.” The Two of them proceeded to greet each other properly and introduce themselves. Once that was out of the way, Ciela spoke again. “Now, where were we before the short interruption?”






        “You were talking about the changelings.”






        “Oh right. Man, I wish that queen lady stook around and didn’t run off like a wuss. What a coward she was-.”






        “Wait… Queen lady?” Cadence asked. “You don’t mean Chrysalis do you?”






        “That is what she referred to herself as.” Luke replied calmly. Cadence’s mind now freezed up at the thought. What could she be doing here of all places? Proceeding to ask lead to Luke explaining about how he ran into them in the first place and how he saw her carrying a case of shards in different sizes and colors. The Alicorn was even surprised when she heard about how Luke’s eyes could see through a Changeling’s transformation. Cadence though had to give the two of them a quick explanation on what spellshards were and how “important” the were to society.






        “If she is stealing high amounts of spellshards, then she is obviously planning something.”






        “For some reason, I smell a plot device-.”






        “Shut up, Luke”






        “We’ll need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible.” Cadence said to them as she had the couple follow them to a nearby Royal chariot a few blocks away, which took them about fifteen to twenty minutes to get there by foot. “Celestia and Artemis need to hear about this immediately-.”






        “Who-?”






        “The rulers of Equestria.”






        “Wait? You know the rulers?”






        “Of course,” came the Alicorns reply as the three of them got seated. “They’re family.”






        “Family?” 






        “Celestia is my Aunt and Artemis is my uncle.” 






        Both Luke and Ciela stared at each other before looking back at Cadence. Though Ciela spoke first and asked if she was forgetting about Blueblood, Cadence just told him that leaving now was a way to teach him a lesson about respect (Plus leaving him stranded was an added bonus). Then, Ciela asked something different.






        “Quick question. Would your Aunt happen to have white fur, pink eyes, be an Alicorn like you and can also raise the sun?”






        Cadence’s head nodded. It was the only answer Ciela needed to hear. “Oh boy…”






        “Is something wrong?”






        “Not really, but-” Ciela’s comment was interrupted when she saw her husband turn around and look towards the southeast. “Luke, are you okay?”






        “Yeah… it’s just something I felt. Remember the feeling I get when the kids are fighting each other back home.”






        “All the time. What about it?”






        The gunslinger adjusted himself as he looked back at his wife. “Well, for some reason, I’m having that feeling right now.”






End


> Chapter 6: Released Power
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Released Power




        The chariot ride over to the majestic of city of Canterlot took some time to arrive there since all three chariots that carried everypony was moving as a unit instead of individually at their own pace. It was a good ride over there for the most part, but then again, some things always crop up. Right now though, Nicko was listening to Lindsey Stirling on his Ipod and his brother Anson was taking in the sites below. Leo was trying to relax despite the fact that The ponies on the chariot he was on either wasn’t quite the “carefree” type or was too shy to conversate with. Those included Applejack, Rarity, Yuri, Amy and Fluttershy. Molly was stuck with the pair of brothers, but spent the time on the trip playing her 3DS. Twilight was with the Princesses and her brother on the lead chariot while Rainbow Dash, Spike and Pinkie were all on Nicko’s transport. About a few minutes in though, The Rune Slayer could hear Amy from the other carriage pester Twilight with the classic “Are we there yet?” line from the Simpsons. 

        Molly’s response to all of this was her rolling her eyes and giving a deep sigh. For the Blazing Heart being her older sister, she was the one who seemed the most mature out of the two right now (Besides Yuri). Nopony else really cared for how she behaved though. Probably because they just either flat out ignore her or pretend to strangle her inside their head.

        Leo though actually surprised Nicko and a few others when he actually started up a conversation with Fluttershy. It all started when Angel decided to sit on Leo’s lap and was actually quite comfortable. This led to him talking with Fluttershy and how back home, he volunteered at an animal shelter and wanted to be a foster parent for some cats, but couldn’t since the Orphanage he, Nicko, and Anson lived at didn’t allow pets. The reason was because some of the caretakers in the facility were allergic to pet hair. Still though, despite having a mechanical Nasod arm, the bunny didn’t seem to mind when Leo tried petting him with it. 

        Nicko himself was doing fine a third of the way through the trip. That’s when a familiar voice was heard over the song “Take Flight” when it was just finishing up. One that he remembered being inside his head the day before on the train ride to Ponyville.

        ‘Hey Nicko, mind lowering the volume down a bit? That song, despite being well composed, was killing my eardrums.’

        It was Eris. Once again, she seemed to surprise the Rune Slayer. For being a spirit of chaos, she seemed to have a talent of coming inside Nicko’s head at the most unexpected of times. Hence, Chaos being in the title and everything. ‘I was wondering when you were going to show up. I thought that you and your father would be in Ponyville this morning.’

        ‘We overslept. When I felt you clash with a similar magic signature, it served as a personal alarm clock. Speaking of which, mind telling me and my dad what happened?’

        ‘Sure-. Wait a minute… Your dad?’ Nicko asked inside his mind. He was a little puzzled by the statement the Draconequus said. That was… Until he heard another voice make a surprising introduction inside his mind. One that reminded him of when one of the caretakers tried to do their best “Star Trek” impersonation of a character he couldn’t remember the name of during one Halloween party.

        ‘You called?’

        Nicko himself did not know what to make of this weird and uncomfortable situation. Still though, He tried to make the best of it. ‘Uhh… Eris? Mind doing the thing you did yesterday?’

        ‘What thing?’

        ‘You know… The thing with me being in my conscience?’ 

        ‘Oh yeah… That thing. Sorry Nicko, but I can’t. Certain powers that Dad and I can do can only be done every few days. Right now, you just have us inside your spacious head of yours.’ Nicko sighed upon hearing this. Having a voice inside his head was one thing. Now having two voices was another thing. Then, he heard Eris talk to him again. ‘Anyways, back to the topic at hand…’

        ‘Yeah, maybe it would be best if I start with a question I want to ask you Eris.’ Nicko told the two of them. ‘Do you remember when I challenged Amy to a duel after she called me a pipsqueak and she agreed to it?’

        ‘Yeah. How does that relate to what we felt earlier though?’

        ‘That’s the thing. I never got the chance to fight Amy because when I got to the arena, I found someone else fighting her. That person, as it turns out, happened to be my twin brother Anson. Amy had mistaken him for me, despite the fact that we both wore different sets of clothes and also have different combat styles, weapons and skills. Shortly after I arrived and had Amy “Step Aside”, Anson and I decided to duke it out to have some fun.’

        ‘Would your brother happen to be the one next to you in the carriage you’re in and also the one who's taking in the sights like a pegasus who just began to fly?’ He heard Discord ask him. 

        ‘Yeah, that’s him. His abilities specialize in wielding more than one weapon, or what I call him; The Infinity Sword. He fights with two greatswords and can summon multiple blades at once to cut apart anything that tries to get in his way. He unleashed a hail storm of swords when he fought me and could’ve accidently hurt everypony else who was watching.’

        ‘Interesting. That’s quite different from the Rune Magic you’re capable of… as I’ve been told by my daughter.’ Discord replied. ‘Mind if I see it for myself?’ Nicko nodded and flexed the muscles in his right hand, making a small mini rune before dismissing it a few seconds later. 

        ‘That is quite impressive. You seem to have a great amount of control over your powers.’ Inside the spirits head though, Nicko seemed familiar to someone Discord had seen before. It was about… oh a thousand years or so (Give or take). His appearance wasn’t the same, but the calm demeanor and control Nicko had over his rather impressive abilities reminded the Spirit of a Navy haired man he had seen once before. 

        ‘Thank you for the compliment.’ Nicko replied politely inside his head.

        ‘If I may dad, I wanted to ask Nicko something else. Where are you guys right now?’ Eris asked Nicko. ‘We were told that this was all going to be done in Ponyville, but we didn’t see you guys when we arrived here ten minutes ago.’

        ‘We had a emergency that required all of us to be there. Remember when you told me in the letter you originally gave me to look out for those “Changeling” creatures that can change their appearance? Well, there’s been more activity since Leo, Anson and I arrived. Were on our way over there right now with Amy, Molly, Yuri, Twilight and also everypony else.’

        Now Discord was the one that was confused. Lady Swiss Cheese never focused on evil deeds that would sacrifice the lives of her kin unless it was for an important reason or cause. ‘What kind of activity?’

        ‘So far, from what I know, they’ve been robbing stores and stealing mass quantities of Spellshards. We don't know a reason why, but whatever it is, it can’t be good.’

        ‘Spellshards hunh? Anypony with a large amount of those could possibly equip an army. Then again, it really focuses on the Type of Shards they are.’ Eris mentioned. 

        ‘They’re different types?’

        ‘Yes, nine to be exact. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning, Ice, Light, Shadow, and Arcane. Each with it’s own advantages, disadvantages and purposes for use.’ Eris explained. ‘You seem to have some shards similar to these in the bag I gave you.’

        ‘Yeah, but those are called El Shards. I use them to extract El Essences, a source of energy that I use with my Mana to pull off my most powerful abilities. Unlike Spellshards though, there are only six types. Fire, Water, Wind, Nature, Dark and Light. You can also enchant Weapons and Armor to have different effects to disable your opponents in battle. However, I’m just having them on hand for if I need my strongest spells.’

        ‘Hehe… Very smart thinking. You never cease to impress me, Nicky.’ Eris teased. Discord himself chuckled at the nickname his daughter gave the teen. Given that his name and the word nickname both had “Nick” in it. Not to mention how his magic was the same kind of magic that no other Unicorn besides Starswirl was able to master. Speaking of Starswirl...

        ‘Hey Nicko?’

        ‘Yes Discord?’

        ‘I just remembered something that I think might help you expand on what you know with your magic. Are you familiar with Starswirl the Bearded by any chance?’

        ‘You mean Gandalf?’

        ‘Who’s that?’ The confused spirit asked him, having a sound effect play off in the back of his head like he was the host of a game show.

        ‘A wizard in a book series I read back home.’ For a moment inside Nicko’s head, it sounded like the inner sanctum of his brain became a home theater system with the memory of the scene from Lord of the Rings involving Gandalf using his “Intimidating Voice” on a startled and elderly Bilbo Baggins. 

        ‘Well then, that was… Interesting. He definitely reminds me of Starswirl back then. Same booming personality and everything’ Discord added on.

        ‘And how does this relate to the current topic?’ Nicko asked moments afterwards.

        ‘Because one of the journals written by him contains a gold mine of notes based on your Rune magic. Consider the possibilities of what you could achieve with your magic if you learn from the research of a Grand Magus.’ Now Nicko was convinced. 

        ‘And where would I happen to find this Notebook of his?’

        ‘In the Royal Library in Canterlot. I believe Eris can help show you the way, right?’ 

        ‘Sure thing, Daddy.’ Eris confidently replied. Before Nicko could say anything though -and around the tenth or eleventh time Amy asked “Are we there yet?”- he felt the carriage begin to lower towards the ground like an airplane coming in for a landing. Looking down below, The Rune Slayer was able to see the Royal city of Canterlot for the first time. It looked outstanding from the location where he was. The Mountainside castle reminded Nicko a bit of Disney Castle from all the times he saw Disney movies when he was a child. Eris and Discord had to end the current conversation, telling them that they will see Nicko and his friends soon enough once they land the chariots. Nicko could hear Amy from the other chariot sound relieved that they finally were able to make it after an hour and a half long trip. Still though, Nicko had a feeling that they might be here for quite a while. 



Landing Platform, Canterlot

        Moments after landing the chariots, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis were greeted by Nobleheart as everypony stepped out of the carriages and walked towards the Royal Guard Captain. Princess Cadence was also there to greet them as well as one additional guard that dressed himself in a Royal Suit and wore white gloves over both of his hands. He was an earth pony with cream colored fur and a short black mane. He kept his arms behind him and stood in position like a bodyguard. Leo though, noticed that every once in a while, that this pony seemed to look at him. More likely, his arm.

        “Welcome back, Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis.” Noblehorn greeted the Royal Siblings. “I presume that you received my message?”

        “Indeed we did,” Artemis replied. “We came as quickly as we could. However, with the railways undergoing repairs, our only method to bring everypony here safely was to come by carriage.”

        “I understand completely.” Noblehorn nodded as Everypony followed him through the city. Cadence used the chance to introduce herself to everypony, including Nicko, Amy and all the other humans. However, Amy’s reaction to Cadence’s title of “Princess of Love” was just a sly snickering and then Yuri smacking her over the head. Nicko and Anson were taking in the sites of the city, but Leo though was thinking about that one pony who was looking at him and his arm earlier. He also noticed that every once in a while, the left shoulder of his shook a little like it was out of place. The Reckless Fist had a strange feeling that he might be having a conversation with him about it later as everypony arrived by the Royal Barracks.

        The Barracks itself was a two story building that stretched out quite a ways. It almost resembled a school building based on what it looked on the outside. Inside though was a different story. The entire bottom floor was a weapons locker and armory with the back rooms being a rest area/training room that leads to the outdoor sparring grounds. The top floor was a meeting room and also held Gleaming Shields and Noblehorn’s personal office. This top floor also contained the map room and was also where everypony was planning to meet. 

        As they walked on up, Celestia was first to speak as everyone was adjusted to the new room and comfortable. “Now, Noblehorn. Would you mind explaining more on what you said in the letter you sent to us?”

        “Certainly.” Noblehorn pointed out his right index finger at a City up in the northwestern section of the map in Equestria called Vanhoover. “Last night, Queen Chrysalis was spotted with one of her swarms and robbing stores that sold or used Spellshards. Quantity wise, were still trying to finalize the total number of shards stolen. But that’s not my major concern…”

        “Your major concern?” Leo asked, just as confused as some other individuals in the room.

        “Some other robberies like this have occurred about two months ago when the three girls you know as Amy, Molly and Yuri first arrived, but they were small in scale due to the changelings defeat in Ponyville. However, these crimes have been more rapid in scale since the Arrival of Nicko, Leo and… My apologies, but who is the other boy?”

        “I’m Anson, Nicko’s twin brother.”

        “Okay then, Anson.” Noblehorn added on. “Furthermore, They have been spreading out in locations and not doing the robberies in one single town or place. Vanhoover was only the eighth town that they have stolen Spellshards from.”

        “Just out of curiosity, what were the other towns?” Leo proceeded to ask. Noblehorn proceeded to pull out some red dot like pins and place them on different locations on the map. The towns he marked in Red meant the most recent occurrences while the pins in navy blue were from two months ago. Questions were continually asked around the room for details involving details that focused more on the details that didn’t make a difference to Leo. Because he saw something that no one else could see. 

        “So we have no way of knowing where they might hit next, if they are going to steal more shards?” Leo heard his friend Nicko say.

        “We have put security in all towns and cities on high alert as of this morning to ensure the safety of the civilians.” The guard captain told them. 

        However, Now was when Leo interjected. “I’m not sure if they would be wanting to rob another store. I believe there’s something that we are possibly overlooking.”

        “Overlooking?” Artemis asked, a little bit in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

        “Well, what if you look at it from a different perspective. Not as in what they stole, but what they could be using it for? Having a whole bunch of pretty stones isn’t going to do much good if you can’t use it for something.” Leo explained. Turning towards Twilight, he then asked his next question. “Twilight, can you tell me again what these shards are used for?”

        “Well, they can be used for powering up machinery, enchanting weapons for the Royal guards and a variety of other purposes.” The Alicorn answered the Reckless Fist’s question. “How does this relate to what you said though?”

        “Because every criminal leaves a trail no matter how clean a crime scene might look.”

        “Leo brings up a good point.” Nicko added on. “He always has a talent for seeing things from different perspective and uncovering hidden clues. A very smart cookie if you ask me.”

        The cookie comment caused Pinkie to be like “Did somepony say Cookies?!”, not knowing that it was a figure of expression. Twilight herself asked if the older teen needed anything. Specifically, Leo asked if they had case files regarding all changeling activity besides the robberies. He believed that a trail could be found looking through previous cases. He also asked for a copy of the map of Equestria. Both items were provided to Leo shortly afterwards. Noblehorn though, added something else to it.

        “Mr. Leo… Given the current events that have transpired recently, I believe that it would be best if I have a guard with you to protect you. Changelings can take on the form of anypony and it would be best to have a smart mind like you under the protection of a soldier I could trust.” With a hand motion, the black mane earth pony that Leo saw earlier was called to the High Captain’s side. “Watchmen, make sure Leo is escorted to his quarters and assist him with anything he needs.”

        The pony nodded as the two of them walked their way out of the barracks and towards the main castle. Despite looks from passers by and some of the younger fillies and colts asking their parents about his arm, Leo felt comfortable for the most part and didn’t mind the attention. He soon came across the room and set down the cardboard box of the case files on the queen sized bed, Separating each of them by when it occurred. That was when The Reckless Fist turned to see the guard pony still there. 

        “You’ve been very helpful. Thank for your assistance.” The compliment was only met by silence. The human began to think that either it was because the guard either needed permission to speak or he was just plain nervous. With a sigh, Leo spoke again. “If you need permission to speak, then-.”

        “Oh, sorry.” The male pony spoke, covering his mouth to clear his throat. “I just had some thoughts on my mind. I wasn’t trying to ignore you.”

        “It’s alright. If I may ask, what’s on your mind?” 

        “Well… I was wondering about your arm. How do you handle living with it everyday? Doesn’t it make you stand out?” The guard asked.

        “Not quite. I feel fine with it……… Something tells me you’re not asking just for casual conversation.” The Earth pony was quite surprised himself. This human definitely had a talent for finding hidden clues. So, he proceeded to take off the glove that was on his left hand. What Leo saw surprised him.

        A metal hand. 

        The pony then took off his coat and that’s when the Reckless Fist saw the metal plate around his left shoulder. This pony had a metal arm just like him. With his arm being covered in steel. The guards face though looked like he wasn’t too thrilled to show it off. 

        “I lost my arm during the Canterlot Invasion two years ago by protecting some civilians that were trying to get to safety. My right hand had my sword and my left one had my shield. However, when I took on some changeling drones, their method for disarming my shield was hacking off my arm. I was lucky to have a Light spellshard to close my wound, but the recovery process took very long. Still, I’ve had problems before where my arm can accidently hurt somepony even though I never intended to. When I saw you walking around normally with your arm, I thought you knew a way to be able to know how to use it without possibly hurting somepony. Right now, I’m worried that I might accidently do more than just harm somepony on accident if I don’t do something.”

        Leo himself was just speechless. He did not expect for a guard that was just watching him to not only have an arm like his, but a story behind it. This pony came to him for his help. Fortunately, The Reckless Fist did have something that could help him. But he needed to know who he was first.

        “What’s your name? Because I don’t believe it’s what Noblehorn addressed you as.”

        “Caliburn, sir.” The Stallion replied. 

        “Well, Caliburn. I believe I can help you. I just want to make sure of a few things.” The Human told him. “First, you don’t need to address me formally. Just call me Leo.”

        “Okay, S- I mean Leo.”

        “Next…” Leo shuffled through his shoulder bag that he had and pulled out what looked like a skill book, but was not like the one he had. This one had a gold book clip holding the book tightly like a private journal. But instead of a Metal claw on the front of it like on his book, this one that Leo brought out had a sword on the front of it. “I would like you to open this for a minute. Only to the front page. I want to see if you can read it.”



        “Okay, but if I may ask, how does this help me?”

        “My book here taught me the skills that I needed to fight. Theres a difference between you and me though, Caliburn.” Leo told him “I use my arm as a weapon. However, you are different. Therefore, you should use your new arm as a shield like you did with your original arm. Use it not to fight, but to protect others. Let your sword be your weapon to fight. Now… the reason why I say this is because this book here could teach you the skills that are necessary for you to go down this path.”

        Thinking it through, Caliburn saw sense in what the human told him. Using his right hand, he unclipped the front of the journal and was greeted by a series of symbols on the front page. But to his surprise, the symbols began to morph into words that he could read clearly. The front page had what resembled an oath or a vow.

        “Leo… I can read this.”

        “That… is a good sign. What does it say?”

        The guard pony calmly cleared his throat as he began to speak. The words that came from his mouth were said in rhythm like a poem. But the words themselves represented his traits.


As one I am, A powerful force


of one mind, body and soul,


And no evil will enter or attempt to


reduce me because of the gifts I hold.


And with this power, combined with my strenght


I protect the innocent with all of my might,


A Taker I am, wholeheartedly


During the day and the Night.


        The moment the guard finished speaking those words, a surge of energy could be felt through his veins as he glowed for a brief moment in a pillar of light. Leo smiled a little as he rested a hand on Caliburns shoulder. “Congratulations, you’ve completed the first step. You may keep the book. It will be your guide to learning the skills on the path that you want to follow.”

        “Wait a minute! What do you mean by first step?” The earth pony asked in confusion.

        “The second step is to train you of course.” Leo explained. “You might know already how to use a sword. But again, that book is a guide. It teaches you more skills that Noblehorn or any of the other instructors don’t know how to pull off in a lifetime. I’m helping you Caliburn because I want to give you a second chance. Read through the book while I look through these files. Then, since I believe all of us will be here for dinner, meet me afterwards where you would train back at the barracks.”

        “Okay, but what happens then?” The guard pony asked. 

        “Consider it as a test. You use the time to study now and tonight, I’ll see how much you have learned.”



Meanwhile

        Shortly after Leo left the barracks, the meeting wrapped up with Nicko, Amy and the other humans were outside with Spike, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Rarity herself had wandered off on one of her personal shopping sprees after hearing about a famous clothes designer at one of the nearest fashion outlets. 

        “So… Now what?” Spike asked. “We got a few hours to kill so does anypony have a suggestion on how to pass the time?”

        “Maybe a tour through the city?” Anson suggested. “I’ve never really been through a city like this one before and maybe I might find something that I want to check out. What do you think, Nicko?”

        The words check out made Nicko think of a library. Which also reminded him of the Notebook of Starswirl the Bearded back at the Royal library that he needed to look at/acquire. “I think it’s a good idea. But I got somewhere else to be. I’ll catch up with you later.” With that, he took a right turn and made his way through the streets of the sprawling city. Using the directories and signs as a guide, Nicko followed each one and continued to keep going for another five to ten minutes. That was when he found the entrance of the library. It was massive. Like he was looking at the entrance to the Jedi Archives in a Star Wars Movie. Many ponies were going in and out of its entrance like it was a busy commute. 

        ‘Is this the place?’ Nicko asked inside his head.

        ‘Yup.’ He heard Eris answer. ‘This is the Canterlot Library. One freaking huge room filled with a freaking huge amount of books.’ 

        ‘I now see why Twilight likes it so much. So, is your dad going to guide us or he too busy with Royalty?’

        ‘Yeah, Ms. Sunbutt needed him for a minute. Though, daddy said it wouldn’t be hard to find it. I wonder what he means by that...’ Nicko wondered too. When the Rune Slayer walked in, he noticed that there was a map of the library and took a moment to analyze it. There were three floors. First floor was the Fiction/Non-Fiction section. Second floor was the reference section with the third floor being a study hall room. Before he went to any floor though, he saw one of the workers by a desk that says For Sale and had a few desks on a pile by a small register and some more in a basket. 

        Curiosity attracted the attention of the human. Moving over there, he scanned each of the books to see if Starswirl the bearded came up as the Author of anything. Turns out, halfway through the bin, Nicko found something that resembled an old leather journal. Symbols covered the front of it, but the Rune Slayer had a feeling that this was the right one. The front page of the book had the same symbol of the Rune marking on his shoulder. 

        ‘I think this is it.’ Nicko told Eris mentally as he inspected the next couple of pages. ‘The Secrets of Rune Magic: A reference guide. By Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the clever.’ 

        ‘Yeah, that seems about right. I wonder why somepony would have that be here though? Unless they’re looking for a quick way to get some bits off of you.’ 

        Eris’s comment brought up a good point. As Nicko walked over to the register and quickly glanced at the book’s barcode number, he saw the mare at the register reading the paper. The front page article had his face on it as he was coming out of the Friendship Express. Well, this was just great…

        “Hello sir, How can I help you?” The mare at the desk asked him, her head looking down and not making eye contact at all. She had coffee like fur and a Light colored mane that resembled coffee creamer, dressed in a set of casual work clothes. Talk about anti-social.

        “I would like to purchase this book please.” Nicko replied politely. He saw the Mare nod her head as she looked for the number of the book in a binder below her arms. Nicko soon heard the scanning of a code as the price appeared on the register. Something though, did not seem right.

        ===> Price: 3,000 bits.

        “Uh, Ma’am. I’m not sure if that’s the right price.”

        “Excuse me?” The mare asked. Before she was able to say anything else, the earth pony mare looked up to see who she was talking to. Her eyes widened a bit as she gritted her teeth. 

        “You scanned the barcode of the wrong book. My books code is 82130 and the one you scanned was 82259, which is the code for an Algebra Textbook.”

        Upon looking back at the binder, the mare soon realized that the human boy was right and rushed to correct her mistake. She couldn’t believe that the job that she saw as a “Dead-end” had led to her being face to face with the ‘Friendship Express Eidolon’ that saved the lives of countless ponies only yesterday. She soon pushed the book towards the Rune Slayer as a new price came up on the screen.

        ===> Price: 400 bits.

        “Sorry about that.” The earth pony said. “Having a late night last night doesn’t really help if you have a 9 o’clock shift the next morning. Say… would you happen to be Nicko Nocte? The boy who saved all of those ponies on the train?”

        Nicko nodded his head in approval, answering the mares question. The human tried to play along the best he could as he counted the amount of bits he needed to pay the cashier. It was natural for him to feel uncomfortable around new people he just met. But it was even more uncomfortable for him to feel this way when they knew his name and he didn’t know why. This time though, he knew why. Guess being a hero gets you unwanted attention when you least expected it. 

        “Well, I’m just honored to be able to meet you.” She told him as she flipped over a triple sided nameplate that was face down. The name “Hazel Ink” showed up in gold lettering as she spoke again. “I’m really grateful for what you did yesterday.”

        “Grateful?” He asked out of curiosity.

        “My husband was coming home on that train when it was being taken over. If you didn’t do what you did, I wouldn’t know if he was okay or not. You’re a real lifesaver” 

        Now Nicko knew the reason. He almost forgot about all the other ponies that were safe after they came out of the train. Most of the passengers probably have families that they wanted to get home too. It felt good that Karma was on his side. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. Oh and heres the money for the book. Keep the change.”

        With that, Nicko set a small pouch on the desk as he began to walk to the lobby and turn to the front page of his new book. Hazel on the other hoof, looked inside the small leather sack and gasped. The human had paid her almost five times as much as the book was for sale for. She felt like this was a mistake of some sort. But then again, there’s no mistaking somepony’s generosity. She looked as the human sat down, enjoying the book that he had recently purchased.

        ‘Just out of curiosity Nicko, why did you have her keep the change?’ Eris asked inside Nicko’s head. ‘You did give her 2000 bits after all.”

        ‘I was feeling generous.’ Nicko replied mentally. ‘Many ponies here see me as either a alien or somepony under the protection of Celestia. I want them to see what kind of person I am through the action I do, not through who I’m with. First impression really affect how somepony see’s you, so giving good first impressions makes them see that I’m not different from them in any way at all.’ 

        Nicko continued to read for a good eight to nine hours as he processed the knowledge into the mental computer that was his brain. Seeing notes and pages that reflected skills that he knew previously, the Rune Slayer decided to call this book the one that contained his “Skill Notes.” Some of these notes included ones that allowed his spells to cost less Mana, his “Rising Wave” spell to follow curved paths and his “Burning Fist” to last longer and deal more damage. It also taught him a few more spells and the skill notes on each of them. It felt good to have some extra tricks up his sleeve for if things got out of hand. 

        As he left the library though, another pair of eyes seem to be watching him besides the mare at the desk. These eyes belonged to an individual in a long navy coat as he was looking at a book that he kept on him as a journal, notebook and a sketchbook. Closing the book, he whisked around a shelf and into the back of the room, out of sight from Eris when she looked beside the Rune Slayer she was with.

        The Spirit of Chaos felt like she was being watched. Then again, barely anypony could see her right now. Must’ve been some sort of freaking superstition she had. 

        ‘Something wrong, Eris?’ Nicko asked her. The Rune Slayer could hear her breathing differently than before and also her sighing inside his head. 

        ‘No, I’m fine… I just can’t shake this weird feeling I have though.’ 

        ‘What feeling?’ 

        ‘That we were being watched.’ Eirs told him. ‘It might just might be a mirage playing tricks with my eyes. With the sunlight reflecting off of the glass and what not.’ 

        Nicko though, despite understanding Eris, had also felt the same feeling and decided not to tell her. He feared that it might distract them if they were going to run into somepony. Sooner than expected, somepony actually came looking for them. It was one of the guards, a orange pegasus with a blue mane and tail with a cutie mark of a shield and a lightning bolt. Instantly, Nicko recognized him from the train ride yesterday. 

        “Hello, Flash Sentry.”

        “Hello to you to, Nicko. Your presence is being requested at the Castle.” Nicko began to wonder the many possibilities of why he would be called until he noticed that his surroundings were getting… dimmer. 

        That’s when the teen noticed that the sun was completely set and now the moon was out. He looked at his watch on the phone he kept in his pocket. 6:00pm. Yup, Night had fallen. “I guess it’s because dinner will soon be served.”

        “Yes and because your brother was a little concerned about you.”

        “Hehe… Typical Anson.” Nicko said. “Alright, Captain Sentry. Lead the way”



A few minutes later,

        No later that the moment Nicko walked in did it feel like a Volcano erupted because of the amount of shouting that came through the mane hallway. from the sounds of things, it seemed like someone had the guts to piss off Molly this time as she now was acting like a Mischievous Mastermind that her powers were based off of, summoning Apocalypse to chase somepony wearing a formal suit for attire and had a gold mane. He was a Unicorn from a quick glance and judging from the fact that he dropped a wine glass, he had EXTREMELY high standards. Acting quickly, Flash led his human accomplice to his room and AWAY from the ongoing chaos. Despite Eris being a spirit of chaos, this was not the kind of chaos she was expecting. Soon, both Nicko and Eris were informed of what exactly was causing this and why. When Nicko turned around, Yuri was in the same room as they were, reading a book from a nearby bookshelf.

        “Hello there, Nicko. Seems like you made it through the craziness.” Yuri greeted. The Teen himself; was exhausted at this point, falling backwards onto the nearby couch. He nodded.

        “Any idea why Molly is acting… You know… like that?”

        “Have you heard of Prince Blueblood?”

        “No, but from judging by the name -and excuse my language- he sounds like a complete jackass.” Nicko replied. Moments afterwards, Eris decided to come out in her physical form so she could join the conversation between the Rune Slayer and the Sakra Devanam as Flash Sentry left the room to give them some peace. 

        “Preaching the choir on that one, Nicky.”

        Yuri herself looked startled by the Draconequus sudden appearance. “I’m sorry, but who are you and where did you come from?”

        “I’m Eris, spirit of chaos and daughter of Discord at your surface.” The spirit bowed as she formed a pink cloud with a snap of her eagle talon to rest herself upon. “As for your question, I was with Nicko.”

        Yuri looked confused for a minute, trying to understand what just happened. Nicko recognized the expression as one that he saw on Twilight’s face before. Looks like he needed to step in. “Eris has been inside my head and helping me out. Remember when you and I ran into each other in the dining car?”

        “Oh… So when you said Eris, you were referring to her?”

        “Basically,” The Rune Slayer said. The sounds from outside made it sound like somepony was screaming bloody murder and pleading for forgiveness. “Now, should we return to the topic at hand?”

        “Oh yes… That.” Yuri replied, not with a lot of enthusiasm though. “I’ve known the girls for quite a long time and have known Amy for being the one that sometimes gets more offended than Molly. But there are some things that should not be said or even refer to when around Molly. Like at all.” 

        Nicko and Eris looked at each other for a few seconds before returning their gaze. They pondered on the thought of if they should even ask what set her off like a Nuclear warhead. “And what is that?”

        “Blueblood said a rather… disturbing insult about her mother……  her dead mother.” 

        The Sakra Devanam straightened her clothes for a moment as she continued to speak. Yuri told Nicko and Eris about how raising Molly was hard at times because she knew that she couldn’t comfort her as much like her actual mother could. The Rune Slayer himself, looked at an old family photo was kept in his wallet. That way, he could preserve the memory of his parents. 

        Shortly afterwards, everypony gathered in the hall of elements for a three course meal courtesy of the best chef’s in Canterlot. Tonight’s meal included Ceasar Salad, Spaghetti (But no meatballs, Which was a bummer to Anson), garlic bread, and also a special cake made by Pinkie Pie. Blueblood decided not to show to dinner since he felt that his string of bad luck was going to continue with more humans being at the dinner table. But despite what he thought, everypony was having a great time. Especially when Nicko and the others met Eris’s little brother, Chaotic. He was only 7, but he still had a lot of traits that resembled his father. When asked who was the mother of Eris and Chaotic, the spirit told Nicko inside his head that she would only tell him if the two of them somehow ended up in stone or worse. 

        As time passed, everypony was directed to their rooms as they went to go get a good night’s sleep. However, good was not exactly what happened for Nicko.



        “Don’t worry, Nicky. You’re dad and I won’t be gone for long.”

        “Please don’t leave, mommy.”

        “Everythings going to be alright, honey…… We’ll be home soon. I promise.” 

        “No, stop… Please… Don’t leave…” 

        ‘Nicko? Nicko?! Nicko!!!’ 

        The Rune Slayer jolted from his queen sized bed faster than it felt like to be woken from the dead. He was startled, with beads of sweat running down the side of his face as he grasped the front of his face with his left hand. The teen laid there without a shirt, but still had his pants from earlier. He couldn’t sleep. Not like this.

        ‘Dear Chaos, are you alright?!’

        ‘Eris?’ Nicko thought inside his head as he reached for his half shirt. ‘What happened?’ 

        ‘You were having some kind of flashback during your sleep. It happened moments after I was trying to settle down and retire for the evening. Had you talking in your sleep and was haunting you, so I tried waking you as soon as I can’

        That’s when Nicko remembered that Eris decided to stay inside his head for the remainder of the evening. It felt odd because of the fact that him asleep in his bed and the spirit sleeping in his mind might cross a few boundaries if someone thinks of it the wrong way. Putting on his shirt, the Rune slayer then decided to put on his gloves and shoes. A breath of fresh air was much needed right around now. So, after equipping his sword, the boy left the room and had the draconequus join him. It would be best for the emotional support since he did see a nightmare of his parents. 

        Before they left the room, Nicko made sure to put his wallet and phone in his pocket as well as check the time. It was an hour after midnight and the light of the moon brightly casted it’s glow through the windows of the empty hall. Both the Rune Slayer and Draconequus did not expect anypony to be up besides the guards on the night shift. So on that matter, it was easy for them to reach the balcony by the hall of elements and look upon the dimly lit Canterlot that was illuminated by Artemis’s moon. To the Rune Slayer, it was beautiful. The moon to him was like a rare treasure. A sacred one that should be kept safe. 

        “The city looks even more spectacular at night.” Nicko said aloud, thinking that nopony besides Eris would hear the stray comment. Eris herself decided to come out from hiding in Nicko’s head and talk to him as well. 

        “Yeah it does. Though, the moon has scared many before.”

        “It has?” 

        “Yeah. There were originally two Royal Pony Siblings. But something took form from Artemis’s built up anger and emotions. It represented everything that was the opposite of him, including it’s appearance. She was called Nightmare Moon and wanted to cast the world into a never ending night. She was stopped though twice.” Eris explained as she snapped a talon finger and formed a glass of leftover punch from the dinner table.

        “Why though?”

        “Hmm?” Eris asked. “What was that?”

        “Why did she want to do that though? Did Nightmare Moon have a reason?”

        The Chaos spirit’s only answer was a shrug. “Nopony knows. You can’t really have a trial if you banish her to the moon.”

        That got Nicko thinking. The thing he knew about family members was that sometimes, one got more attention and praise than another. This led to hatred, anger, and in a lot of cases, envy. “What if she wanted to feel free?”

        “What do you mean?”

        “Well, Celestia and Artemis are siblings and despite the fact that I don’t know a thing about the two, there are some instances where you want to break away from the feeling of being held back, only for ponies to hide from you if you did show yourself.” Nicko pointed at the sky for a moment at a flying bird. “The feeling to be free as a bird and make your own choices. The feeling to be loved or appreciated for the things you do for people. Artemis must’ve had those emotions, but they formed a mind of their own and wanted to act on their own. Maybe she just wanted to feel free.”

        The comment wasn’t just heard by the spirit of chaos though. Princess Celestia was nearby, hearing the teens words. She didn’t make her presence known yet. The Alicorn wanted to hear more from the boy.

        “I have that feeling too. At times, Anson and I feel pulled back due to the both of us being on the Autism Spectrum. At times, it’s a blessing. But other times, it’s a curse. It affects how I communicate and how I behave in certain situations. Sometimes, I loosen my hands because I don’t want to feel like I’m standing Idle. Standing Idle to me feels like being frozen in ice. If I keep moving, then I can move on from my past and look forward.” Nicko calmly took a deep breath. With what came next, he had to make sure that he could stay strong.

        If he could open up to Twilight, then he could open up to Eris.

        “You’re a lot luckier than I am, Eris. On a lot of things. You have your parents, your little brother, friends. I just have my brother. The memory that you saw when I tried to sleep was of my mom and dad before they disappeared. They were invited to a Fantasy Themed Masquerade Ball by their co-workers and never managed to return home. For me, the memory remains inside my mind when I sleep and at times when certain events or motions resemble those of the past. I remember opening the door, anticipating my mother when I instead saw a family friend of ours with a look of worry and sorrow in her face. I remember people talking about our parents possibly being dead or murdered while we were in the next room and the words echo through the halls of the orphanage we live in. I remember everything.” 

        Nicko cleared up his face a little, to stop himself from emotionally breaking down. “Coming here made me feel free. But for the last few hours, I have a strange feeling. I heard that sometimes dreams can be used as a way to show something. But what though? What would showing my parents help me with?”

        “I don’t know, Nicko. But we’ll figure it out. We do make quite a team, after all.” Eris then heard something from the hall of elements. A thud like sound that sounded like somepony dropped something. Leaving the ledge and coming back inside, the two of them were Surprised to see Princess Celestia standing in the hall. 

        “Princess?”

        “I was wondering why you two were out here when I thought you would be asleep.”

        “I can explain-.” Nicko ushered the motion like he wanted Celestia to give him a moment to speak. But that didn’t really come to him.

        “It’s okay, Nicko. I heard everything you said.” The sun princess told him. “Could you follow me for just a moment?”

        Looking at Eris and then nodding, the two of the followed the Alicorn to her throne inside the hall. 

        “Through all my life Nicko, I met thousands of interesting ponies. But you and your Brother and best friend are quite extraordinary. In fact, you and your brother remind me of two humans I met about a thousands years ago actually.”

        “Wait… we do?”

        “Yes. They were a married couple, but the wife of the two was turned into a twelve year old girl because of a spell casted on her.” Celestia continued. “The young girl reminded me a bit about you since the two of you have some similar traits while your brother reminds me of her husband with the way he fights with two swords. The Duo wanted to get back to their world as soon as possible because they had two sons that they wanted to see again when they returned home. A pair of twins actually.”

        The last comment had caught Nicko’s attention like it was hook, line and sinker. A married couple that were raising two boys that were twins? What did that mean?

        “Who-?”

         *CRASHHH!!!* 

        Before Nicko could even pose his question, the three of them were startled by the sound of the door to the Hall of Elements smashing through the hallway after being torn off it’s hinges. When the smoke cleared, they saw two new individuals that entered the hall. One was a young girl that looked like she was twelve years old in a black and blue short dress with a white bow around her neck and a black crown on top of her head of white hair. The other was taller- about 5ft 8in height wise- and wore a dark navy coat that matched his hair and had two swords holsted around his waist. Celestia’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

        These two were the Duo that she saw a thousand years ago. 

        “Ciela, I told you before… no dramatic entrances.” The taller one addressed the little girl. She just rolled her eyes as she coughed a bit before looking back at the few people in the room. She remembered the Alicorn, but not the red headed human or… wait a minute. A human?

        ‘That boy…’ The Brawler thought to herself as she looked at the teenager. ‘Why does he seem… familiar?’

        Nicko himself was not sure of anything that was going on right now. One moment, he was talking with Celestia. The next moment, these two just dynamically entered in the hallway like they intended on making an entrance. Looking back at the Princess only brought him concern when he saw the expression on her face.

        “Celestia, are you okay? Who are these two?”

        “These two… are the duo I met a thousand years ago.”

        Now, the individual with the two swords startled to walk up to Celestia. “Funny that you remember us now… after all, you were the reason why we got trapped in stone in the first place-.”

        “What-!?”

        “That was an accident! My brother and I never intended to harm you or your companion-!”

        “Bullsh*t!!” He blurted out. “You knew that we have a family that we wanted to return to, but couldn’t do anything to try and free us sooner! Even after that damned Esper reduced our strenght and we still fought on, you… did… NOTHING!!!”

        Now Nicko had a bad feeling about this guy. His hands were very close to his weapons and seemed eager to draw them. Quickly, Nicko put himself in between Celestia and this individual. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to them. Not as long as he was here and he could do something.

        “What are you doing kid?” The adult said. “Step aside… I need to talk with Ms. Princess here.”

        No response came from the Rune Slayer. Eris herself was worried about him. What was Nicko trying to do.

        “Child, I said step aside.”

        “I don’t take orders from people who are trying to hurt my friends.”

        The older swordsman was surprised by the young boy’s response. He had guts, that was for sure. He walked backwards a bit, but Nicko watched as his hands grabbed his weapon handles and heard a *KLICK* go off. That’s when he realized that he wasn’t holding two blades. He was holding two gunblades.

        “Luke, stop.” came the voice of his companion. “You told me that we weren’t fighting anyone unless necessary-.”

        “Pfft! Coming from the toddler that blew down the front door instead of knocking.” Eris slyly commented. The spirit of chaos thought that she wouldn’t be able to hear that. But, as it turns out, she did. Her anger was now rising like high tide on the coast of Seaddle. Almost like if you called Nicko a name that referred to his height. Hellfire churned around her hands as she summoned her weapons. Two gauntlets that could change their size based on the user. 

        “Don’t… call me… A TODDLER!!!”

        The young girl sprung forward, intending to smash her fist in the Draconequus face. But on instinct. Nicko leaped over and blocked it mid-flight with the face of his sword. a kick to the chest sent the girl flying backwards. He was going to tell everyone to calm down, until the young girl decided to open her mouth again. 

        “That was rude… Didn’t your parents teach you how to be more respectful.”

        Now Nicko was ticked. This little wrench just crossed a line. Gritting his teeth as he held his sword backwards and the runes on his sword and the cuffs on his wrists began to glow. “Eris, take Celestia, get out of here and find Artemis and him.”

        “Wait?! Whose him!?”

        “You know who it is.” Nicko cut off the spirit before she could say anything else. 

        “What about you though?” 

        Celestia’s question only had one answer. Nicko was going to stay behind. For the reason why… Well, there was only one reason why. 

        “These two made this fight personal.” The Rune Slayer growled. Eris used the chance to get the two of them out of the room. Seconds afterwards though, Luke bolted for the window in pursuit and his accomplice prevented Nicko from allowing him to stop the Bladegunner. The Brawler and the Rune Slayer were now the only one’s in the room and nothing was off limits to how this fight was going to go down. 

        The first move was made by Ciela as she used her huge fist to yank a statue from the floor and throw it towards Nicko. The teenager casted his Wind Blade skill and had the conjured sword shatter the statue into pieces, using leftover debris to hit it back at his opponent like it was a home run derby. This caught the fighter off guard and had her cast something the Rune Slayer never expect.

        “FLAME OF THE DEVIL!!!” 

        The young girl now had three hellfire pillars burning around her as she leaped in the air and crashed by Nicko. The impact caused the teen to not be able to see his opponent as she struck him three times. Each time he was hit, her three flames exploded on contact and caused Nicko to howl more in pain. Ciela wasn’t done though… As the boy was about to land, she smashed her gauntlet into the ground and had a phantasmal claw emerge from the ground and savagely tear at him.

        “Come on, now? Is that it?” She mocked as the young girl just looked at Nicko, laying on the ground. “I expected more for someone who-.”

        That’s when she saw something float in front of her eyes. It was a photograph. A family photograph. One that she had seen before and remembered. She even had one just like it after all.

        “No…”

        Ciela couldn’t even speak as she saw Nicko slowly struggle back up from his face being on the floor. Flashbacks were coming inside her mind with what the kid said next. 

        “No way am I giving up! I don’t quite and I never run!! If I did, then I wouldn’t be able to overcome anything that got in my way. My parents weren’t around for 12 years after they disappeared one night. But I’m not letting that hold me back!!”

        The blue cinders of hellfire began to churn rapidly as it changed from a cool blue to a violent orange flame. Nicko was now back on his feet as the runes on his clothes and weapon glowed even more and he was channeling a small rune inside his hand. But this rune was different. It formed wings of fire that resembled an ancient beast of legend as the Rune Slayer cracked a grin.



        “This ends now.” He declared as the fire turned into an all out blaze and the Rune formed a giant bird of fire that soared into the air and through the roof of the broken hall. It landed back downward on Nicko’s body, the energy becoming one with his own. Now was when this fight got serious.

        “PHOENIX TALON!!!”



End Chapter 6
> Chapter 7: Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Nightmare




        It was an hour past midnight and for the Pegasus Guard named Flash Sentry, he couldn’t get any sleep. The stallion was lucky that he wasn’t asked to attend the night watch tonight; but despite getting an early rest after having to handle one of the humans going after Prince Blueblood, things just continued to make his head spin. The time right now was a little after midnight and as he began to dress himself in some pants and a coat, he began to hear noises. Noises coming from outside.

        Now… the thing is, Flash Sentry lived at the bunks where most of the other recruits and other guards live unless if they have an apartment or a place they rented out. The pegasus’s room was actually nearby the training yard, which is actually where the noises were coming from. He opened the curtains to his room to see a strange sight. It was the Human named Leo and… Caliburn? ‘What’s he doing out here?’ 

        “So, you made sure to study the book?” 

        “Yes I did.” Caliburn replied. He took off the glove on his left hand to show a hand of… Metal!? Flash’s eyes widened. He never knew that Caliburn’s left arm was actually artificial. He drew the sword that he brought with him as Leo prepared his weapon. “You ready to see what I learned?”

        Leo Grinned, his teeth shining with the minimal amount of Moonlight that glimmered in the night sky. He made the first move by charging and trying to strike the Earth pony with his Mechanical Arm “LIMIT CRUSHER!!” 

        Flash thought that Caliburn wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack coming at that kind of speed, but the pegasus was surprised to see his comrade move backwards to dodge the attack and then moved forward in the air to attack from above.

        “WOLF FANG!!!” 

        The strike had not only surprised the Reckless Fist, but also impressed him. It showed him that Caliburn took his advice when he told the guard to study and prepare himself. Of course, knowing the skills in the book was half of the battle. Action was the other half. The two warriors continued to clash, each one demonstrating their skills with their preferred weapon type. Caliburn was able to easily parry and block Leo’s arm as many times as Leo had surprised the Guard pony. Flash Sentry had now left his room and come down to the training yard to have a closer look at the small battle that had commenced. 

        “GUARDIAN’S STRIKE!!”

        “SHOCKWAVE- CUTTER!!!”

        “ARMOR CRASH!!”

        “FINISHING SLASH!!!”

        The two swordsmen became exhausted moments after beginning their battle, but the human had a smile of satisfaction on his face as he looked at the pony he was training. He began to clap his hands. “Well done. Caliburn, you have really impressed me with the skill you put into your training. For that, I am proud to give you this.” The Reckless Fist now handed what appeared to be a set of folded clothes and a titanium sword to replace the one from the training barracks that Caliburn used for the clash with Leo. 



        “You have now successfully become a Blade Master. An expert in Swordsmanship and a guardian to those who can’t defend themselves on their own.” Leo told the former guard pony.  Caliburn himself was proud of his accomplishments, but was surprised to see Flash Sentry in the training yard as well. The fight between him and Leo must’ve woken him up. But to his surprise, Flash was clapping his hands and congratulating the Earth Pony on his accomplishments. But despite all this though, the celebrations for this evening were short lived.



Canterlot Garden

        Running through the Hedge maze in the garden during the night would make any of the humans think of a play on the “Maze Runner” book series. But right now, It had to serve as Eris’s shortcut for both her and Celestia. Nicko had told them earlier that they needed to reach Artemis and another individual that he only described at him. Eris had a good guess in mind of who this him was, but that wasn’t her major concern. That part was already taken place by the Male Human named Luke who was in pursuit of the two of them and left his Partner named Ciela to fight against Nicko. Of course, something else bothered her as Celestia and the chaos spirit weaved around another corner. 

        These two new individuals that just introduced themselves moments ago had similar Magic signature to both Nicko and Anson. It didn’t make sense inside her head, but something told her that her question would be answered soon. They were like forty feet away from Luke when the two of them finally came across Prince Artemis nearby the royal quarters of himself and a few other guests that were staying there tonight.

        “Artemis!!”

        “Sister! What’s going on? You look like you ran for miles!!”

        “That’s because we were. Do you remember the Duo that fought against Eric 1000 years ago?”

        “Why of course! Why would I-?” Artemis’s question was cut off by the sight of Luke barreling towards them in the air. Eris herself now felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She couldn’t exactly fight this guy, nor did the Draconequus find the person Nicko asked her to get.

        That was, until he was seen in the air above them and sending the bladegunner flying backwards.

        “Anson!!” 

        “Are you guys okay?” The Infinity Sword asked as he turned towards the Royal Pony Siblings and Eris. However, someone else now spoke. As he got up, Luke heard the name of this new individual and somehow made him have a flashback to where he saw one of his sons before coming to Equis.

        “D-did you say… Anson?”

        Anson turned to face the human in the navy cloak. “Yeah, thats me.”

        “That’s also the name of one of my sons. Tell me boy, what’s your full name?” 

        The question had Anson thinking a number of thoughts that made him wonder what he should say. This person could obviously be trying to acquire information, but he wasn’t fully sure. He could be just trying to make him talk. But it was hard to tell at this rate. He even still had his weapons on his person, so this guy might attack him once the Infinity Sword answered his question. So, Anson kept his greatswords on his person as he composed himself. 

        “My name is Anson. Anson Conrad Nocte. Now That I told you my name, it would be polite of you to tell me yours.” The reaction that the teen got though was unexpected. This individual’s eyes widened and he actually sheathed his weapons. But the most strangest thing that happened was that a tear was coming down his face. 

        “My god…… You have grown a lot, my son.”

         Anson’s eyes widened immensely at that statement. He now sounded exactly like… dad before he and his mother left that fateful evening. Now that he thought of it, he even looked exactly like his father. Now… he just gasped and let the question he had stumble out of his lips.

        “Dad? Dad?!…… DAD!!” The only response that came afterwards was the shocked reaction of Celestia, Artemis and Eris along with Father and Son embracing each other in a tight and warm hug. Tears came from both of them as they were finally able to see each other again after being apart from each other for twelve years.

        “Oh Anson! I thought I lost you!!” The bladegunner told his son as he looked at him. “How much have you grown since I’ve last seen you?”

        “Well, Nicko and I are both eighteen-.”

        “Wait!? Nicko’s Here too!!”

        Before Anson could reply, an explosion went off in the direction of the Hall of Elements as a Bird of pure fire rose upward through the roof and crashed on down. Celestia was shocked by what she saw. Was that Philomena? Or could that be something different?

        “Anson,” Eris shouted towards the Infinity Sword. “That surge of magic just now came from Nicko!!”

        “What’s going on with him?”

        “He’s having to fight another human who tried to attack us after she couldn’t take a joke when I called her a toddler since she looked like she was twelve years old-.” Eris stopped talking when she noticed Luke personally panicking a little to himself. Like something wasn’t going to plan at all. In a hurry, she disappeared as she tried her best to make it back to the hall of elements as soon as possible.

        “Anson, What did your brother look like?”

        “Red hair, ponytail, half-shirt, Cargo pants, blunt sword.”

        “Damn… That’s not good.” Luke cursed, realizing what was going on. “We need to hurry back there now. Nicko isn’t fighting just anyone in there…”

        He’s fighting your mother.



Hall of Elements

        Nicko was known for many things, including tactics. One of the strangest tactics that he had done now was the one that occurred before he activated Phoenix Talon. The goal was to see what his opponent could do in combat. It looked like she could only perform three active skills and two special active skills, only from using a few moments of being thrown around like a toy. It also allowed him to see what were the limits of his skills. With Phoenix Talon now active, he had only thirty seconds to try and start a comeback in the fight he was engaged in before Ciela’s partner came back. 

        He didn’t plan on wasting any time.

        With a quick push, the Rune Slayer dashed forward in a burst of speed. His blade clashed with Ciela’s gauntlets, almost causing her to lose her balance from the force of the strike. With the strenght the brawler could muster, Ciela executed her “Strong Strike” ability and struck Nicko’s sword. The blow pushed the Rune Slayer into the air, but what Ciela didn’t know was that he had a new skill to be able to use his current situation to his advantage. 

        Quickly, he had the flames that churned around him surround his blade as he pushed off of the ceiling and barreled towards the ground. 

        “SWORD FIRE!!” 

        The fiery inferno exploded outward in a wave of roaring flames, throwing Ciela off of her feet. The flames began to burn some of her clothes, but she ignored that and focused on making this kid pay. However, Nicko though, was just getting started.

        Ten seconds have passed. Twenty seconds remained.

        The two fighter clashed again, both of them with an intent of gaining the upper hand in the fight in the hallway. After a few sword strikes, Nicko tried to channel his magic into his hands to pull off his “Rising Wave” skill and put his hand on the floor. Ciela, expecting this, jumped in the air towards the wall and hold onto it like she was Spider Man. However, she was caught off guard when Nicko didn’t put his hand on the floor and instead slammed it against the wall that she was holding onto. The magical blades soon emerged from the wall, shredding through the brawlers defenses like it was paper. 

        Twenty seconds now. Got to make this count!

        While Ciela was falling towards the ground, Nicko channeled a high powered amount of magic and power into his Right Fist. He flipped his sword to where he was holding it backwards and soon dashed forward. His “Explosive Fist” made contact with Ciela’s face after The Rune Slayer used his blade to lower her guard; sending her flying across the room. Phoenix Talon’s buff was now gone and he could feel the buff being dismissed. He dropped to one knee, exhausted from the amount of power he used. Fortunately, the fight was now over and he could use the chance to try and-.


*BOOM!!!*


        The noise startled Nicko as he looked in the direction the sound came from. In front of him now, Ciela could still be seen standing even though Nicko’s fist should have sent her into the wall. The golden button that was used to keep the white bow the brawler had on her had now cracked. But inside it, something glowed a wicked navy blue. It almost resembled a star, but it was one that Ciela was able to grab hold of. 

        Putting it close to her heart though set off a chain reaction that Nicko never expected at all. A Sigil of the same color appeared underneath the fighter, having her tattered clothes disappear in a glowing light. Her gauntlets have also disappeared in the same glow. The glow then turned from light like to almost demonic. The color had darkened immensely and many changes began to take place. For one thing, there was a new pair of gauntlets that looked more fearsome than the last pair and the end of the tail she had resembled less of a heart and more of a fearsome arrowhead. 

        In addition to this, her clothes took on a new appearance that looked more fearsome, but also put flashbacks inside Nicko’s head. He had seen it before somewhere. The small dress from before was ditched completely for a hood and jacket that reminded the Rune Slayer of Strength from Black Rock Shooter mixed with the resemblance of Little Red Riding Hood. The crown on top of her head also changed and her hair looked like it was split into two pigtails. Her stockings also changed and she was also wearing Jeans shorts to add on to the complete wardrobe change. 

        But this wasn’t the only thing Nicko saw as he now had the strength to stand firmly. Her magic had also completely changed. Now it looked like she was wielding a dark form of sorcery. One that was the opposite of what she was using earlier. It even felt like he was looking at an actual demon, even though he knew that this girl was human like he was. 

        When the transformation was complete, the girl looked at her newfound Magic Gauntlets and her appearance and smiled to herself. When she looked at Nicko, her eyes were as cold as ice. Ciela was still unsure if this boy was who she thought it was, so the only way she would be able to find out was to beat the answers out of this Short, red-headed brat. As she looked at the Rune Slayer, the Chiliarch was now ready to unleash hell.



        “You brought this on yourself,” She warned as her newfound control over Terror began to surge around her body “POWER OF ORIAX!!!”

        ‘This is bad,’ Nicko thought. Not only had his opponent became stronger, but one of her new spells had pushed her body to be as strong as he was when he had activated Phoenix Talon. In a blink of an eye, she was now in his face and preparing to strike. Nicko quickly raised his blade to block, only to be surprised to see the Fighter be behind him this time. 

        Swinging forth, she showed no mercy in her attacks. “DEAD HANDS!!” 

        The powerful strike landed on Nicko’s chest, almost knocking the wind out of him. But that attack wasn’t the only one that the Chiliarch had in store as she followed up with a second attack. “RUINOUS IMPACT!!!” 

        The second blow made Nicko feel like his ribs were cracked as the attack sent him flying like a ragdoll. He was coughing up some blood by the time he got to his knees. But something else was affecting him. Voices were heard inside his head. Voices of the memory he had earlier.

        “Don’t worry, Nicky. You’re dad and I won’t be gone for long.”

        “Please don’t leave, mommy.”

        ‘No no no… Not now!!’ He thought to himself. However, no matter how many times he tried to forget it, it still kept on happening. Ciela’s new form also came with new passive traits. One of them was called Encroaching Fear and it was applied to whoever was struck by her attacks. Not only did it serve as a chance for the Terrormancer to dish out some extra pain, but it also allowed for her to see her opponents nightmares as well as recent memories. However, what she found from this boy was nothing like she expected at all. 

        “Everythings going to be alright, honey…… We’ll be home soon. I promise.” 

        Ciela’s eyes widened a little. She remembered those words. In fact, it was her who said those to her son… Nicko. She then heard another voice, which turned out to be the voice of the boy she was fighting right now. 

        “You’re a lot luckier than I am, Eris. On a lot of things. You have your parents, your little brother, friends. I just have my brother. The memory that you saw when I tried to sleep was of my mom and dad before they disappeared. They were invited to a Fantasy Themed Masquerade Ball by their co-workers and never managed to return home. For me, the memory remains inside my mind when I sleep and at times when certain events or motions resemble those of the past. I remember opening the door, anticipating my mother when I instead saw a family friend of ours with a look of worry and sorrow in her face. I remember people talking about our parents possibly being dead or murdered while we were in the next room and the words echo through the halls of the orphanage we live in. I remember everything.”

        As the voices played on, she tried to ignore it as she fought against a weakened Rune Slayer who still had the willpower to stand on both of his feet and fight back. This continued for another five minutes until both of them were in a state of exhaustion. Ciela thought the voices would help her find a way to make her opponent submit and accept defeat. However, all she found were flashbacks of the past. Then, one line struck her as she looked back at her opponent one more time. 

        “Please don’t leave, mommy.” 

        “Oh my god…” The connection was finally made on who this boy was. But could it be possible was another thought that popped up inside the Chiliarch’s head. As the Rune Slayer tried to stand again, Ciela dismissed the weapons she had and tried to brush her hair to the side as she got closer to him. “Nicko? Is that you?”

        This now came as a shock to the teen. His opponent now knew his name? Was it because of the nightmares inside his head? “H-how do you know my name?”

        “I’ve always known you are,” She told the boy. What came next though was sure to have Nicko’s world come crashing down. He saw the girl hold the photo that floated out of his pocket and then her holding an exact copy of the picture. “A mother never forgets about her children.”

        Shock and disbelief hit Nicko like he was shot by a paintball. The memories kept flowing in of when he was a child and all the fun times he had before that fateful night. Outside the hall, Twilight Sparkle had been woken from her slumber due to the explosive comeback from Ciela. But as she looked now through the open doorway, the alicorn saw two beaten warriors (One she couldn’t recognize) but also saw… tears coming down Nicko’s face? What exactly got Nicko to become emotional? 

        She was about to find out once Nicko spoke again.

        “M-mom?” 

        The Chiliarch soon embraced her son in a deep and warm hug while the Rune Slayer hugged her back as the sun began to rise. She had waited twelve long years to see one of her children again. Tears of joy were running down both of their faces. Twilight could not believe what she was seeing. The friend she had made whose parents were missing had now found one of them. It seems like miracles really doe exist.

        Nicko soon noticed that Eris returned to the hall a few moments later while they were in their Emotional Reunion. “Oh, what the actual hell!?”

        Ciela turned around upon hearing the voice of the spirit of chaos. Her angered still spiked through the roof from when Eris called her a toddler. Nicko now had to put himself between the two of them (again) as he turned towards the Chiliarch. “Mom, stop! Eris is a friend of mine!!”

        “Wait a minute… Mom!?”

        “That’s right-.” 

        Before anyone else said anything, Nicko turned towards the sound of hooves and feet running into the hall. He looked and saw Anson, Twilight and also the individual named Luke. Both Anson and Luke were shocked to see the state of Nicko and Ciela as everypony was shocked at the crumbling condition of the hall of elements.

        “Anson! Thank god you’re here!!”

        “Holy crap, you look like you got the sh*t beat out of you.”

        Seconds afterwards was when he turned to see Ciela. His mother. The Chiliarch was excited to see her children now as she had Anson come closer so she can hold the two boy’s in a group hug. Soon, Luke walked over to Ciela’s side to join his wife. 

        “You’ve changed, honey.”

        “Hehe… so you noticed?”

        “H-hold on a second… Mom, is that… Dad?” 

        Luke nodded his head, answering the teens question. Now Nicko and Anson were both completely overjoyed. Apparently dreams do come true for the two brothers. Princess Cadence had once said that the heart of a hurt individual could be healed by the company of family. Now that the Nocte’s had finally reunited, their combined hearts can slowly recover. 

        Still though, none of this though didn’t really go unnoticed. From the entranceway that led to the guests quarters, some familiar faces were attracted by the sounds of the fight that had occurred earlier. The Royal Pony Siblings as well as Twilights friends and Flash Sentry had noticed the missing door that was kicked off its hinges and wondered what could’ve caused that. As they arrived by the side of the the Royal Siblings, all of them saw Luke and Ciela by Nicko and Anson’s side. Still though, some were confused on why they were there. 

        “Okay, just what in tarnations happened here!!?” Applejack was the first to speak at the sight of the Hall of Elements looking like a Battlefield with the broken statues, craters and torn bannisters. 

        But what happened next was not because of what she said. It was because of the follow up comment from a mare with a Technicolor mane. “And who the hay is the little girl and the butler?”

        Nicko smacked his forehead in a facepalm that could be heard across the moment. “You two just had to kill the moment, did you?”

        “And what is that suppose to mean, Sugarcube?”

        The question the earth pony asked did not get answered just yet. Instead, things only got a little more out of hand when three familiar faces walked into the hall.

        “Okay, can I ask who had the- Holy sh*t!!!”

        Nicko looked up to see that Amy, her sister Molly and Yuri had just entered the room and were shocked by the current state of the throne room. The Blazing Heart was going to ask how a broken statue crashed into their room in the middle of the night. But given the condition of the room, that question basically answered itself. Amy and Yuri were going to ask about who the two new humans were, but then they were shocked to hear what came next from Molly.

        “Hello, Ciela. How are you doing this morning?”

        “Doing quite well, actually.” The Chiliarch said, despite the series of events that have occurred throughout this morning. 

        “Molly, you know this girl?” Yuri asked, puzzled.

        “Of course. I met her yesterday while I was waiting for Anson to be done with helping Pinkie Pie make last nights cake.” Molly then took into account that she was by Nicko, Anson and also one other individual. “Who’s the dude in the trench coat?”

        “That’s my husband, Luke.”

        “Woah woah woah!! Back up a minute…” Rainbow now was the one to burst out of turn. “Husband!!? You look like you’re younger than Scootaloo. How can you be married?”

        “I had a spell cast on me to where I look like a twelve year old girl. In reality, I’m in my thirties and so is Luke. We’ve known Celestia and Luna since they were children, but in a battle between a Diabolical Esper a thousand years ago, we got turned into stone-.”

        “On accident, mind you!”

        “Well excuuuse me, Princess.” Ciela delivered her snarky reply to Princess Celestia. “A warning could’ve been helpful.”

        “She does have a point.” Amy added on, supporting Ciela’s statement. 

        “Oh and that reminds me. Molly? Would you care to introduce me to your companions?”

        “Ah yes. I’m Molly Anderson the fourth, this is my sister Amy Anderson III and my mother/maid Yuri.” 

        “Wait… You’re Jane’s girls?”

        The comment from Luke had both Amy and Molly look at the Gunslinger with a mixture of shock and surprise on their face. “You know our mother?”

        “Of course we do.” Ciela replied. “Jane was my roommate in college.”

        “Uhh…” Nicko just looked at Ciela with a look that meant ‘You’re going off topic’. Lucky enough, the topic was changed moments later when Twilight said something. 

        “Nicko? Don’t you have something to tell the rest of us?”

        “Oh yes…” The Rune Slayer Cleared his throat as he straightened himself and got off of the floor. “Everypony, meet Luke and Ciela… After twelve long years, Anson and I have found our parents.”

        “Oh my stars…” That was one thing that everypony didn’t see coming. 

        “Dad… I have a question for you though,” Anson said as his father turned to look at the Infinity Sword. “What happened when you and mom first arrived here and what lead to you two getting stuck in stone?”

        Luke sighed for a moment. “That… is going to be an extremely long story to tell. I suggest everyone to get comfortable. This might take some time.”



        “When we first arrived, Ciela and I had landed in the royal gardens. Back then, it looked as dense as a forest and we had no idea if we were kidnapped, dead, or in some kind of crazy dream and I was personally surprised that your mother turned into the size of a child. However, we soon found our way when a young Prince Artemis found the two of us and helped lead us out of there. Turns out, that “Forest” we thought we were in was actually an overgrown hedge maze that the gardeners have not had the opportunity to trim. While inside though, both of us found out that we had magic and found out that it was stronger when we fought as a team. Artemis soon introduce us to his sister Celestia, who in turn had suspicions about us for being spies of the Kingdom of Gryff and insisted we go visit her Father. Lord Apollo the Brave.

        Your mother and I explained our situation to Apollo and his wife, Lady Evelynne. They welcomed us with open arms in exchange for being able to help them if a time of crisis were to come upon the kingdom and that we serve as protectors to his children. Starswirl the Bearded, Apollo’s Grand Magus, helped us with understanding and developing our powers. Celestia and Artemis over time soon took a liking to us as they grew up. Even though your mother would chase them around the garden every time Celestia teased her because of your mothers size.

        However, even though times were peaceful, this peace did not last long. Three months after arriving, another human made an appearance. One with white hair and blacked out eyes.’



Canterlot Castle (1000 years ago),

        “Whee!!” The sounds of young children playing filled the halls as a Duo of Husband and wife were returning a pair of Royal Siblings to the main throne room. They had just spent the entire day playing in the garden and also learning another lesson magic with Starswirl the Bearded. Both Celestia and her little brother were tired out as they stood by Luke and Ciela. Ciela looked different as she wore a calm and cool sapphire dress that was provided to her by the finest tailors in Canterlot while Luke wore a special blazer that was tailored and enchanted.

        “Now now, you two. You can’t be running around the halls at this time of day.” Starswirl had just taught Celestia how to raise the sun that morning and the white Alicorn had received her cutie mark for obtaining such a feat. Luke was still surprised though that she still had this much energy in her system. “The two of you remind me a lot of my children back home where I’m from.”

        “You have foals, Mister Luke?” Artemis asked, surprised by the comment. 

        “Why of course,” Ciela followed up on the comment. “Two twin boys. One of which remind me a lot of your sister.”

        “Oh really? What’s his name?”

        “His name is Nicko-.”

        Before Ciela could finish her statement, the four of them walked into the grand hall. It seemed as if Lord Apollo and his wife was having a private meeting with an unknown individual. Some guards stood by his side for his protection. But Luke had a bad feeling that something would go wrong. 



        “Oh… Who do we have here? I wasn’t aware that there were any other humans in this place.” The voice of the teen sounded like a pit viper. Venom dripped in his words everytime he opened his mouth to speak. 

        “Don’t even think about laying one of your hands on my children. Your proposal is already insane as it is.”

        “What proposal, Apollo?” Luke asked. 

        “This boy wants to use a powerful and forbidden source of magic to crack open a rift and cause chaos to break loose in my kingdom. He’s desperate enough to continue his own research that he would want to put the entire population in danger! Guards, seize this boy and banish him from the castle!!”

        Celestia and Artemis hid themselves behind the towering figure that Luke was to them. The teenaged boy just cracked a vicious smile that matched his insane persona. “Well, aren’t you a bold lord.”

        PING!! CRAAACK!!! A shot went off that was so loud, everypony in the room had to cover their ears. When the sound was gone, a new one filled the air as a horrified Celestia looked at her father… And the cracked hole in his chest. “I don’t like bold lords.”

        “DADDY!!!!” 

        The white Alicorn couldn’t stop crying, trying to rush to her limp fathers side. Lady Evelynne tried her best to have the Lord stay alive, but it was too late. The projectile the boy fired had pierced his heart.

        “HE KILLED LORD APOLLO!!”

        “STOP HIM!!!”

        Despite the guards best efforts, the boy went on a rampage. Killing each one of the poor souls who tried to stop him. Another shot went off from the time tracer’s attacks and had gravely wounded Lady Evelynne. Artemis and Celestia tried to stay by their mothers side, but all it did was make them targets. The boy didn’t care who stood in his way. He was fueled by bloodlust. 

        This could not go on any further.

        “FLICK SHOT!!” 

        The attack that commenced from Luke struck the boy at the side of the head, but all it did was lay a scratch. Still, it provided the opportunity for him to step in between.

        “That’s far enough!! You must be soulless if you intend to hurt children and their wounded mother.”

        “I have my own rules, pointy ear freak. One rule in particular is no witnesses.”

        “Ciela-!!” He turned to see her partner checking the pulse of Lady Evelynne, only to drop her head in sadness. Now the Lord and the Lady were dead. This was a horrific tragedy. One that can not go on any further.

        “Ciela, take Celestia and Artemis. Get them out of here!!”

        Ciela looked at her husband in shock. She wanted her to leave him with this monster!? Why? Then he saw the duelist draw out his weapons to the side and his magic surging around him. She saw this as a sign to follow the lead as she used her magic gauntlets to take hold of both children. “Stay safe, Luke. I will be back as soon as I can!”

        He nodded back, now looking at the boy with the look of a guardian.



        “Prepare to pay for your crimes, you monster!”

        “Intriguing… Let’s hope you don’t bore me like the others.”



        “Following that, Ciela had Celestia and Artemis stay with Starswirl the bearded while the two of us faced him. Midway through the fight though, a uncontrollable energy was released, changing his clothes and making his eyes become that of the devil. He was too strong for us to take on our own. 

        But when we were near defeat, the impossible happened. We saw Celestia and Artemis, but they had six glowing gemstones around them. Each one crafted differently from one another. The power released from those gems was able to set the monster we were facing in stone, but since the power couldn’t be controlled, your mother and I were caught up in it as collateral damage. Next time we were awake, we were in a forest called White Tail woods and a short walk away from a town called Vanhoover.”



        “I believe you may know the rest, My sons.” 

        The story Luke just told had answered a lot of questions that both Nicko and Anson had. It explained why their parents were gone for so long and why did they already know Celestia and Artemis. 

        ‘Wow, it seemed like Celestia has taken a bit of a personality check from my dad.’ 

        “You think?” Eris answered back. 

        “Well, not that this has been enlightening at all or anything like that, but I have things to do, places to go and an apprentice to train. Not like anyone else has decided to take on that task yet.”

        “Actually,” A voice echoed from behind everypony. It was Flash Sentry. “Leo did that.”

        “Excuse you?”

        “Leo did it… the whole apprentice thing. Besides, who are you training?”

        “Scootaloo.”

        “Yep, and that was after Leo and Caliburn had a conversation that must’ve gave you the idea while you were trying to find your room.”

        “But this is completely different!!” Amy hollered. However, almost everyone was not convinced. But one person had the guts to actually say it to her face. That…… was Ciela.

        “Yeah, just like how much you’re different from Nicko, skill wise.”

        “SHOTS FIRED!!”

        The moment the comment was said though, a loud rumbling noise could be heard from inside the room. “Well… Seems like we got to get something to eat.”

        “OOOOH! We could use this chance for a Family Reunion breakfast party!! With Pancakes and Pancakes that are made with actual cake batter!!”

        “May I assist in making that?” Anson offered out of generosity.

        “YAY!! I have my own Super Duper Number 1 Assistant!!!! Come along now, Sonny!!” Pinkie encouraged as the Infinity Sword followed the hyperactive party pony out the door. What just happened though left Luke and Ciela in a state of shock of Confusion.

        “What the hell just-? I mean… How-!?!”

        “Don’t try to question it, Dad. She’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.”




End Chapter 7

> Chapter 8: Cold Blooded
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Cold Blooded




        Anson normally hated it when he woke up in the morning because it was usually the same old routine. Eat a bowl of cereal, get dressed, study or find something to pass the time. However, the morning he woke up in canterlot was not like any other mornings. 

        First off, he woke up in the middle of the night to dreams of his parents disappearance. This was followed by the small conversation he had with Artemis before they ran into Eris and Celestia being chased by a bladegunner in a blue trench coat. When they did clash, The Infinity Sword discovered that this individual was actually his father, Luke Nocte. Not long after they finally reunited though, they both had to hurry over to the hall of Elements since his brother Nicko was actually fighting his mother. When they finally got there though, his mother had figured out who Nicko was and the Nocte family was fully able to reunite after being separated for twelve years (about a millenia for Luke and Ciela give or take the 1000 years they were in stone). 

        Now though, it was after his parents told everypony the story of how they were turned to stone. Anson offered to help out Pinkie Pie with making todays breakfast; or as she called it, Cake Batter Pancakes. The Infinity Sword thought of this moment as a good way for him to learn necessary life skills. Back at the orphanage, he always was in the kitchen cooking his own meals for both him, Nicko, and even Leo at times. He also spent just as much time with baking treats to surprise all the other children and staff members there. Plus, he enjoyed having Pinkie Pie by him. The two of them immediately became friends yesterday when he helped her make a ten foot tall chocolate cake. Nevertheless, the pink party pony enjoyed Anson’s company.

        The two of them had now just entered the kitchen as Pinkie pulled out a pen and paper list from out of nowhere and began to inspect it. Despite the circumstances in which the list appeared, The teen soon took the guess that the paper was a list of ingredients needed for making the pancakes. 

        “Alright!! Let’s get started!” Pinkie Pie cheered gleefully. 

        “Okay, what can I help out with?”

        “Oh Ansy Pants, you do really know how to be kind to a mare… Could you get the mixing bowl from the top left cabinet, pretty please?!”

        ‘Ansy Pants? That’s a new one in the book of nicknames.’ Anson thought to himself as he got out the bowl just like Pinkie Pie asked him to. He was thankful that everything was cleaned from yesterday. Probably due to the servants that work in the castle or maybe just magic? It could work similar to how the broom servants worked like in Fantasia with Mickey and Yen Sid. He diminished the thought inside his head after getting the bowl and setting it down, only to find Pinkie Pie back already with the ingredients. 

        ‘When did she even leave? ...You know what, who really cares? I’m random at times and she’s random at times. It’s a win-win.’ He told himself. “So, what do we do next?” 

        “Heehee… I need your help with the mixing. Crack all those eggs over there and pour them in.” Pinkie Pie told him, pointing to a pile of eight eggs laying there in a small bowl. Anson did so, ignoring the questioning thought of why so many of them when Pinkie Pie plopped a whole bowl of flour and other ingredients. Once that was done, all Anson saw was a pink spinning blur almost like a whirlwind as it mixed everything together for about two to three minutes. Anson himself used the moment to prepare the griddle as he put on the same apron he wore yesterday.

        The front of it said “Keep calm and Party with Pinkie.”

        By the time the Party Pony had done enough mixing to make her head spin and her eyeballs bounce around inside her head like a pinball machine, Anson had the griddle ready and was prepared to start flipping flapjacks (No pun on Applejack intended). He was able to put on eight pancakes at a time and was quick enough to continue doing so. He began thinking about the moment in the deadpool comic books involving pancakes as well, which in total made him think about what was happening right now. 

        “I love the smell of pancakes in the morning… Smells like victory!”

        “That’s the spirit Sonny!!” He heard Pinkie Pie cheer him on like he was in a race to see who could cook the most amount of pancakes in half an hour. Even though it technically was not a race, Anson still saw it as a challenge. It was different from the challenges he had faced previously with him fighting both the bandits in Appleloosa and his Brother in Ponyville, but it was one that made him eager to see what the results were. Cracking his knuckles and holding the two spatulas he was using in his hands, the Infinity Sword began to challenge himself.



Half an hour later 

        “Whoo...whee. That finishes that. You did a super duper job, Ansy Pants.”

        “Hey Anson, Your brother and father were wondering how you were doing in- oh, WHAT THE HELL!?!”

        When Ciela walked into the kitchen, she was treated to the sight of twenty places full of pancakes that were towering up and almost was twice as tall as her small size. It looked like they had been cooking for hours when only thirty minutes had passed and everypony else had already eaten a small appetizer since they were waiting on the pancakes Pinkie pie was making.

        “Oh hey mom.” Anson said cheerfully like nothing out of the ordinary was going on. “We just finished making the Pancakes.”

        “Y-you… made… all of those?”

        “Well, Pinkie Pie mixed all the ingredients together. I was cooking with the griddle.” Anson clarified as he took off the Apron and hung it back up. “Something tells me we made a lot of leftovers though.” 

        “Hey Anson, hows the cooking coming along-?” 

        That was when Twilight came in and froze at the sight of everything inside the kitchen. “Twilight, do you think you can help us take these out to the dining table?”

        “I-i… well, yes I can.” The alicorn replied as she zapped the plates with all the food on them, making them disappear. The four of them could hear the sounds of everypony in the dining room being surprised by the sight. Anson then grinned as he began to walk on out to the main hall.

        He had a feeling that today was going to be a good day as he sat down in between Nicko and Pinkie Pie. His brother felt the same way as everypony was enjoying breakfast. The two brothers were happy. 



Some time later

        “Man, you made one hell of a breakfast Anson!” Leo complimented him as the two brothers were with their friend and Caliburn out in the hallway. 

        “Thanks man. I appreciate it.”

        “You’re welcome.” The Reckless Fist said, noticing two other individuals coming out of the hall. Leo couldn’t get the chance to talk with them, so he wondered who they were exactly. “Hey. Do you guys know who are those two guys over there?”

        Nicko turned around, only to notice that he was pointing at Luke and Ciela. Chuckling, he sighed a little as he looked at his friend. “Something tells me that you’re not in the loop.” He waved his hand at them and then motioned with his hand for them to come on over if they were able to. Out of both of them, the male in the Navy trench coat walked on over as the girl in the hood walked into another hallway. Once close enough, Nicko began to speak again.

        “Leo, I would like you to meet Luke. He’s my father.”

        “Wait a minute, I thought your father disappeared along with your mother?” Leo asked. The three Nocte’s sighed and began to explain everything to the both of them. Due to Leo and Caliburn using last night as a training session, they couldn’t hear or see the noise that was going on in the hall of elements. Flash Sentry was able to see it though, but was in such a hurry that he forgot to tell the two about what was going on. 

        As the conversation continued, Nicko soon excused himself so he could get the chance to walk around and talk with other people. Of course, Eris was inside his head again. But he now felt like he was hearing different things at random times. This continued more as he walked on out into Canterlot square. But now he heard snippets of Eris giggling.

        ‘Eris? What are you doing?’

        ‘Um… Nothing?’

        ‘We both know that’s not true. Just what are you doing inside my head?’ Nicko asked as he turned another street corner.

        ‘I’m checking out all the apps you have.’

        ‘Oka- Wait… I have apps?’

        He could hear the draconequus giggle again playfully as the Rune Slayer sighed. The teen lifted up his head and looked up across the street. Nicko could see that a clothing store that was on the next street corner had busted up glass windows. It looked like the place got torn apart by a ravaging animal with clothes everywhere and many workers trying to get the place cleaned up. Among one of them though was a figure in a pair of khakis and a collared shirt that had a slick black mane and a cutie mark of three sacks of money. He looked like he was their boss based on his description, but something made Nicko think he was like one of the guys on Shark Tank. Like Kevin O’Leary or Mark Cuban, but as an earth pony stallion who was a business entrepreneur and billionaire investor. 

        That’s when somepony behind him caught his attention. “Hello again, Mr. Nocte.” Turning around, Nicko was greeted by the sight of Ms. Lauren Order. She wasn’t quite in a business suit like when the teen last saw her, but instead in a set of casual clothes to match with the summer weather. 

        “Hello to you too, Ms. Order.” Nicko addressed respectfully. The earth pony chuckled a little at the display of manners he was showing despite the fact that she already told him that he didn’t have to address her by that way. The Rune Slayer saw it as a way to be kind and proper. Treat others the way you want to be treated. 

        “What brings you to Canterlot?” The mayor of Los Pegasus asked. 

        “Well, we have some important things to discuss due to recent events. Everything feels like a Roller Coaster ride, honestly.” He said, putting his right hand behind him to scratch his head, looking a little bit like he took on too much work and accidently overdid it. “Remember when I told you about my brother?”

        Lauren nodded her head, remembering her conversation with Nicko from three days ago.

        “Well, I ran into him yesterday,” Nicko told her as he looked back up, seeing him across the courtyard with Pinkie Pie. The Rune Slayer pointed him out so Lauren was able to see who he was. “That’s him over there. His name is Anson and Pinkie Pie has grown quite accustomed to him.” 

        “He seems to be having fun.” She replied back, seeing Anson playing a couple of arcade games with Pinkie Pie so they could win a huge Plushie that was the grand prize. 

        “Anything that’s a new experience for him is fun. He’s just as energetic as Pinkie and honestly, the only person I know who could actually keep up with her.” 

        The two of them now noticed that the earth pony stallion that was in the khakis was walking over towards the two of them. “Sorry about that Lauren, I was preoccupied with trying to check on the amount of inventory we still had in store……  Who’s your friend?”

        “Apology accepted brother,” Lauren replied back. “Remember the boy who risked his life to save me on the train? Well, this is him.”

        “I’m Nicko Nocte, nice to meet you sir.” He said to the stallion, gesturing for a handshake. The earth pony smiled, accepting the handshake. 

        “Filthy Rich, though I prefer being called Rich. Being called Filthy doesn’t really fit with me.” Eris herself snickered inside Nicko’s head upon mentioning the last part, which Nicko ignored as he looked at the store.

        “So, what exactly happened here?”

        “Well, from what some of the employees here yesterday told me as well as my daughter, a group of three girls were in here and one of them named Sweetie Belle attacked My Diamond Tiara for no reason. Of course, not everything that is said is normally true, so we’re going through the debris to see if there was any evidence to show what really happened.”

        Nicko remembered hearing about this last night when Amy was talking with the girls. “No reason? At all?”

        “None.”

        “That sounds very suspicious if you ask me. Not to offend anyone, but from where I’ve come from, no one does anything without a reason for doing it.” Nicko told the earth pony as he tried to remember the conversation he overheard yesterday. He was now in Sherlock Holmes mode (without the pipe). “What’s your daughters relationship with Sweetie Belle?”

        “Well, they’re classmates. But when Diamond talks about them, she’s always talking about them like troublemakers trying to harm her. The same thing happened with the human named Molly and she was the one who saved Ponyville with her sister.” Eris again snickered, referring to when she saw Molly hang both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon up on the top of the school's flagpole by their underwear. Dismissing the disturbing thought from his mind, he took this and tried to put everything he knew together. 

        “Rich, I don’t think Sweetie Belle is to blame for this.” 

        “You don’t? What’s your proof?” The business stallion asked him.

        “When I saw her yesterday, she was very angry because of something Diamond Tiara had said inside the store about her sister. You might know her as Rarity Belle?” 

        “The Owner of the Carousel Boutique?”

        Nicko nodded his head to answer Filthy Rich’s question. A new question though took place of the old one.

        “But what exactly would my little Tiara say that would cause this to happen?” Nicko wondered himself as he noticed something from the debris. Picking it up and brushing the dust and glass off of it, The rune Slayer proceeded to asking a new question. 

        “Would this happen to be a recording of some sorts?”

        “Yes, it must be from the security cameras we had set up. The audio crystal still seems to be intact, but the footage from the video camera is a goner.” Filthy Rich told him as he detached the crystal from the leftover cartridge. It took Nicko thirty second to figure out how the device worked, but he soon had the audio playing. 

        “Ugh, It’s you Blank flanks.”

        “That’s… Diamond Tiara’s voice.”

        “What are you two doing here?”

        “Well -if you must know- we were enjoying ourselves. Shopping for new clothes, that is until you freaks came along. What is with that weird outfit of yours? Are those the only clothing you could find in the lost and found?”

        The audio continued to keep playing, revealing more of the conversation as seconds turned into minutes. Then, the one moment in the conversation that defined the events that happened was said. Both Lauren and Rich could not believe what they heard.

        “But that’s not fair! Who do you think you are? You can’t do that!”

        “We can because we are rich and you are poor. So, what are you going to do about it? Call your *censored for obvious reasons* sister, Rarity on us?”

        “ ……… What did you say?”

        “Oh no.”

        “Diamond, you better st-.”

        “What, you didn’t know? I mean you have heard the rumor about your sister inviting colts into her shop late at night?”

        What played out next was the final straw that released the raging demon inside Sweetie Belle and a loud SMACK!! that could be heard across the store. Rich couldn’t even believe what he was hearing. This was exactly the opposite of what he was told by his daughter. Nicko though had another feeling. A bad feeling that some more trouble would be brewing very soon.



Elsewhere,

        Ciela was calmly walking through the streets of the huge metropolis that was Canterlot. She had not been in this city in a long time and thought it would be a good chance to get herself familiar with the town once again. Many things have changed, including the people here. 

        She saw one of her sons with the pink earth pony called “Pinkie Pie” winning a extra large Ursa Major plushie and competing at a variety of arcade games that were open because of the summer sun celebration as well as her other son walking around town. The Chiliarch felt glad to be able to reunite with her children again last night. Still though, she was really surprised by how skilled Nicko was in combat. He reminded her of Luke when it came to fighting with weapons. 

        Then there was meeting Amy and Molly. The children of her best friend, Jane Anderson. They definitely had traits that reminded Ciela of her friend. Especially Amy. Even though the two of them looked nothing like their mother, they still resembled her in different ways that wasn’t so obvious. 

        After coming across the barracks for the royal guards, the Chiliarch could hear some sounds come from the training yard. The sounds of swords clashing. Curious at what the commotion was, Ciela followed the noise. It lead her to the training yard, where she was seeing Amy spar with her apprentice, Scootaloo.

        The two of them were only training using their weapons right now and Ciela could think of the reason why. Combat skills are not as effective if you can’t keep a tight grip on your weapon. Scootaloo was trying her best as she held her sword to block Amy’s attacks. But then, she was caught off guard when the Blazing heart used her right foot to kick her apprentice down to the ground and catch her off guard. Even her friends and Molly were surprised by how Amy was able to surprise Scootaloo with that move of hers. The Orange pegasus though, despite being pushed to the ground, didn’t let it hold her down as she jumped back onto her hooves. But she still had something to say to the Blazing Heart.

        “Oww! Amy, I thought this was suppose to test my fighting skills!! Theres no kicking in swordsmanship!” 

        “Yeah, but not everypony when it comes to combat fights fairly.” Amy instructed her apprentice as she helped brush the dust off of Scootaloo’s shoulders. “Did you notice what’s the one thing that could’ve helped you stand your ground?” The little pyro knight shook her head, but Ciela knew the answer. She walked on into the yard, answering the question for Amy.

        “It’s the placement of your hooves.” The Chiliarch told her as she resembled a defensive stance, planting her feet down on the ground. “Your upper body strength helps you with your sword, but your lower body reflects on balance. The stronger your stance, the more power you can put in your upper body.” She then gave a small demonstration by throwing a few punches, drawing power from her hips and legs. 

        “Well, I didn’t expect to have any visitors for our training session,” Molly added on. “Shouldn’t you be with your husband, Ms. Nocte?”

        “Luke is helping out Leo and his companion go through those files on the changelings so I used the chance to walk around. I heard you guys training so I thought I see what was going on and help you guys out.”

        “What about Nicko and Anson?”

        “Both of the boys are doing their own thing,” She answered Sweetie Belle’s question. “Anson was with Pinkie Pie trying to get a few prizes at the Arcade and Nicko was with Eris talking to a couple of locals.”

        “Did Anson win anything?”

        “Last time I checked, he was holding a huge Ursa Major teddie bear.”

        “Aww……” All three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders sadly moaned in Unison. “We tried winning that yesterday and we were so close!”

        “Yeah, we could’ve stayed longer if someone didn’t cause a panic at the clothing store that you busted, Sweetie Belle.” Molly said, her tone being sincere. 

        “Hey, Diamond Tiara crossed a line. She deserved it for what she called Rarity!”

        “Yes, but actions speak a lot louder than words.” Ciela said. “Just... what exactly did you do to her?”

        “I punched her.”

        Ciela groaned a little as the whole story was explained to her with all the gruesome details, from what this girl said to what unfolded throughout the entire day. Something told her that Sweetie Belle needed a way to SERIOUSLY let loose her anger. She looked around a little bit to see what she could do to help the white unicorn. She found a wooden training dummy in the back courtyard to use as a target. Now to find a weapon for her…… 

        That would be the most difficult for Ciela to figure out. She sounds like somepony to use her fists and hooves, but isn’t like Applebloom where she had a lot of leg strength from Apple bucking. Maybe a weapon to work with her Magic?

        “Uhh… What are you doing, Ciela?”

        “Trying to find something that you three can use to take out your anger on… because apparently, you have a LOT of it.” Ciela told her as she got a piece of paper and wrote on it. Taking some tape, she taped up the sign that said “Diamond Tiara” on it and drew a silly face. “Now, since all of you have some possible fighting experience, I want each of you -one at a time- to release your anger out on this dummy.”

        That seemed to do just the trick. Seconds after Ciela instructed them, Scootaloo charged at the dummy. The Chiliarch had only seconds to run before the girls released an all out blitz on the poor wooden structure. Amy and Molly were quite surprised that did the trick as well. “Whoa!”

        Ciela was chuckling to herself as she watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders furiously unleash a storm upon the structure. “Works every time……”

        Molly, now interested, turned towards Ciela. “Every time?”

        “I used this similar method to teach the boys how to deal with bullies in kindergarten. They might have almost gotten kicked out, but you’ve should have seen the look on the teachers face when she heard about it! Your mom also got a kick out of it as well.”

        “Our mom?” Amy asked. 

        “Of course. You were practically in the same class as the boys.”

        “So wait… Nicko and Anson were the boys that I stole candy from?”

        “You were always the mischievous type.” Ciela told the Blazing Heart of them as she helped herself up onto a nearby tree. 

        “Despite the early years, the three of you were always finding ways to get in trouble and have fun with each other. Tell me something though… What were Nicko and Anson like when they were growing up… you know… Without Luke and I?” 

        That was a hard question to answer. 

        “Well… When we first heard about it, we didn’t know who it was until after we saw them. Our mother had them stay in the Orphanage that she had opened and they were the first of many guests that were to follow. We really wanted to see them and mom promised we could, but that was before she had surgery a year later… and didn’t make it.”

        “Oh dear god…” Ciela cursed. She didn’t know her best friend had actually passed away. 

        “After that, we started homeschooling. Our dad though was always busy and never spent any real time with us. But during this time though, we had our friend Yuri help us. She was a maiden that helped take care of us, but treated us like a mother. So in a way, Yuri is our mother/maiden and was taking good care of us.” Molly cleared her voice before continuing in place of Amy. 

        “When Amy first disappeared though, I didn’t know if it was some joke of hers or if she was really gone. Day after day, week after week, month after month passed until it was a few years later and she never came home at all. Yuri went to investigate, but got fired for doing so. Then… I just wanted to find my sister. So, I went to the same store and was convinced to buy this outfit and moments later, I end up here. All five of those years and I only find out that it was only a day or two here in Equestria. Despite my sister being… random at times, I still appreciate her being there by me. Sisters stay together after all.”

        The Chiliarch couldn’t agree more. She wondered what her sons felt while she and Luke were gone, but now was thankful for being able to be by their side along with being by the side of the two daughters of her best friend. Now though, was when they noticed that the dummy they left alone a few minutes ago was thrashed around and turned to ash by the works of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three of them stood proudly over the destroyed heap of ash as they cheered on their success and we’re boasting about how they will be able to teach Diamond Tiara a lesson she would never forget.

        However, despite all of this, none of them noticed the bystander that was watching them say all those words. Words that she didn’t like to hear from the likes of them.  

        “What was that you were saying about me, you blank flanks?”

        Ciela turned her head to see that the girl that they were talking about and also her best friend has just walked in through the street entrance. Acting like the snotty brats that the two of them were known for. Judging from the way her emotions were, she had a bone to pick. But not just with the Cutie Mark Crusaders for what happened yesterday at the clothing store she and Silver Spoon were at. She had one to pick with Molly as well. For the time the human humiliated her when she strung the two of them up on top of the School’s flagpole like they were clothes hung up to dry. 

        “You three caused a huge mess the other day. One that my father has to spend all day fixing with my aunt while your sisters friends are playing games and having fun.”

        “Oh really now?” Ciela shot back after she got out of the tree. “What can you prove that they are the mess? Or are you just using it to try and entertain yourself?”

        “THEY, broke the rules!” Diamond snarled as she pointed a finger at the three of them. “Only customers with Cutie Marks are suppose to be allowed insi-.”

        “Oh god, here we go again… Blame it on the rulebreakers. Like you suppose to be some angel that hides behind that Tiara and your fathers bank account.” That insult made the girls behind her go “Oooh!” like they were wanting to know how she was going to come back to that. Apparently, Diamond though had a few words of her own to say.

        “Hey, unlike my father, you look like you took some bedsheets and rags off the streets and called them clothes, you filthy street rat!!” 

        “Coming from the royal pain in the ass that you’re suppose to be. I’ve raised two kids and have a husband! All you have is a friend that looks like your personal secretary.”

        “DAMN!!” Amy hollered in response. “This is getting interesting.”

        “How can you be able to raise kids for someone your age? Aren’t you suppose to be thirteen-.”

        “Thirty.” Ciela corrected. “Which is probably the amount of times you had to have your tail be stuck in between your legs for being a whiny b**** that can’t do sh*t for herself unless her father writes her a check.”

        Now this was beginning to turn into a show. The emotions brewing in the air would result in an all out catfight between the two. One with words, no less. But Diamond Tiara also had some fighting words of her own. 

        “Thirty? You look a little too small to be a little old lady that dresses like a dirty smelly pirate (Censored again for obvious reasons).”

        Now that was what lit Ciela’s anger like a forest fire. One, calling her small and little. Two, calling her an old lady. Third, the prime insult. Diamond Tiara followed her insult by throwing a stone at Ciela, which was dodged due to her Combat Readiness passive skill. The rock however, landed on the one place that you would not want it to crash on if you were Diamond Tiara right now.

        Amy’s face.

        The Blazing heart, now with a bruise on her face that was dripping a bit of blood wiped the blood off her forehead. She looked at Ciela with the same expression of rage on her face as the Chiliarch. One that would express an expression that says “You screwed up bad, kid.” 

        “Hey Amy. Why don’t we play a game with this little one?” 

        The sentence by itself made Silver Spoon run for the hills, leaving her friend all alone. Diamond Tiara should’ve run when she had the chance.

        “What kind of game?” Amy asked with a devilish tone in her voice.

        “A game of tag… And this little weasel is IT!!”



Back at the clothing store

        Moments after meeting with Lauren Order and Filthy Rich, one other pony that Nicko knew came by for a quick hello. A white Unicorn with an Electronic blue mane and tail. She caught the teens attention by tapping his shoulder. The Rune Slayer himself was surprised to see her.

        “Well well well, I didn’t expect to see the ‘Friendship Express Eidolon’ in Canterlot. I thought with all the hero stuff you’ve been doing that you would need to take a break.”

        “I barely can catch a break, Vinyl.” The teen told her. “Something crazy always happens the longer I’m here. Did I ever tell you that I had a brother named Anson?”

        “No, not really. But Octavia mentioned it after she heard about it from her friend, Lauren Order. She also mentioned to me about your missing parents”

        “Well, heres the thing. He and I had a duel yesterday morning that was suppose to be against Amy until she mistook him for me. You might’ve seen him around today since he’s with Pinkie Pie.”

        “That red head was him?”

        Nicko nodded, but before he could say anything regarding his parents, he was interrupted by the sounds of screams and something rumbling. It sounded like an earthquake, but the ground wasn’t shaking. Nicko turned around, wondering what the commotion was about. That question was answered almost immediately when he saw Amy and Ciela chasing a girl around the age of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The girls themselves were with Molly, trying to catch up to them. But the two Femme Fatales were let loose like wolves hunting prey. Once they start the hunt, there was nothing that could stop them. Nicko sighed deeply, facepalming himself at the sure embarrassment of what was going on. This looked so wrong on so many levels that he couldn’t even begin to describe why. Especially since Vinyl was the one who was confused the most out of the three ponies that were nearby.

        “Uhh, what is going on?”

        “Is that… Diamond?”

        “Who’s the girl in the hoodie chasing her with the oversized claws-?”

        Lauren, Rich and Vinyl did not expect though Nicko to curse as Diamond was now running towards his direction. “Oh god damn it… WHAT THE HELL-!!?!”

        He didn’t even get the chance to finish his statement when the light pink earth pony raced around behind him and tried to hide herself by using him as a barrier. “Please protect me! These mongrels are trying to hurt me!”

        “Only because YOU offended me.” Ciela shouted back.

        “You offended my mother?!”

        “Wait, SHE’S YOUR MOM!!?!” The reaction came from both Diamond Tiara and Vinyl Scratch. Almost in unison. Both Lauren Order and Filthy Rich were also shocked. Lauren even thought that the boy’s parents were dead because of the way he looked when she mentioned the topic on the train to Ponyville three days earlier. 

        “Yes and it’s been only almost a few hours after I finally reunited with my children and you had the audacity to call me a filthy street rat!!”

        “If she offended you, then why is Amy chasing her as well?” Nicko asked.

        “That little b*tch threw a rock and it hit my face!!”

        “Only because Ms. Hood here dodged it-!” Diamond Tiara tried to protest until she was shut up again by Ciela and Amy’s joint verbal abuse. 

        Then came the punchline that sealed the deal from the Chiliarch. “We were only trying to defend Applebloom and her friends until she made it personal when she called me a little old lady that dresses like a dirty smelly pirate (Thank god this is censored).” 

        Now, Nicko was speechless. This little wretch crossed a major boundary and now, he was as equally pissed as his mother. “So……” He asked, now looking back at the pissed off Pyromancer and the cheesed off Chiliarch. “She offended you, called you little and old, threw a rock that hit Amy in the face and you expect me to just hand her over?”

        Both of them just nodded her heads. Diamond Tiara was just looking like a scared and lost puppy right around now as she looked at Nicko, hoping for protection. However, what she got was exactly the opposite.

        “Then by all means, teach her a lesson.” The teen remarked as he now stepped behind the earth pony and lightly tapped her.

        “What the hay are you doing!? Don’t you know who I am?!”

        “Of course,” The Rune Slayer commented as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had just arrived. “I had a talk with your father and things were going good until we found the Audio recording that led to the reason why this store was destroyed the other day.” Nicko was now holding the audio crystal from the camera and played a little snippet. Diamond Tiara’s expression was now one of despair as she looked at her upset dad. 

        “I am so disappointed in you, young lady.” Filthy rich soon walked over and had her daughter be by his side as they walked off. In a last ditch effort though, she made one last cry to Nicko.

        “H-help me!!”

        “Sorry, I don’t get involved in family matters.” 

        “You’re evil!!!”

        “Nope, I’m just a bystander in all of this. You only have yourself to blame.”

        Ciela was surprised about how this played out. Her son was calm and collective, but stern and opposing. He taught the brat a lesson without having to use force. The Cutie Mark Crusaders soon jumped up over Nicko and gave him their thanks for what he was able to do. The Chiliarch himself was proud of her son. Despite his emotions, he kept his cool and not let them spill overboard.

        “So… now what should we do?”

        “Well, I was trying to do some training…” Scootaloo said, thinking to herself. Then, she had an idea. “I know!! Why don’t both you and Amy train me!?”

        Both The Rune Slayer and The Blazing Heart looked at each other moments after the suggestion. The little Pyro Knight had just come up with a great idea that the both of them could offer their assistance with. Nicko only had one question now though

        “When do we get started?” Scootaloo pounced on the opportunity, grabbing Nicko by the hand and pulling him all the way to where the girls were last. The trail left behind by Nicko’s greatsword almost resembled tire tracks when car wheels are burning rubber. He tried his best to keep up, but the eager apprentice kept on yanking him like he was walking a puppy on a leash. By the time they arrived, his arm felt like it was getting yanked off. 

        “Okay, how does this work?”

        “Well, I was wanting to learn more on combat so I can help other ponies. Maybe you can help me so I can help them.”

        “So let me get this straight… You’re asking me to be your… life coach?”

        “Yes!” She squealed cheerfully, “What should I do, coach?”

        Nicko sighed to himself for a minute. “Step one, never call me “coach” again.” Now noticing Scootaloo giving two thumbs up like a school filly, Nicko had her put her hands down and relax. “Step 2, never do that again. Step 3, let’s see what you need to make you the most badass apprentice ever.”



        Meanwhile, in the halls of Canterlot, three individuals were busy going through case files that involved incidents with the Changelings and placing each one on the map with a thumbtack. The Reckless Fist named Leo was trying to think through what everypony could possibly be overlooking. Then, he notice something in the little web of locations that he was making. Taking the angle of each one, he used a marker and a ruler to draw out a straight line. 

        Of course, there was a method to his madness. All the lines he drew were converged at one point and he knew a lot about insects like the changelings he was told about, the swarm must have some kind of underground network of tunnels that lead back to wherever they considered home. His hard work and almost sleepless night was finally rewarded when he made a major breakthrough. Even he himself was shocked at the results.

        “Oh Horseapples!!”



Half an hour later,

        After seeing a basic combat demonstration from Scootaloo, Nicko now knew how to help the filly improve upon what she had already been taught previously. Of course, even though a Pyro Knight’s skills were a lot different from a Rune Slayer’s, there were still some similarities that could be used by the teen to help teach her a few things. It was effective for her to know these now while she was still learning. Out of her friends, Applebloom decided to stay behind and watch while Sweetie Belle and Babs seed decided to go exploring with Molly and Ciela. She was a little bit bored, but soon came across an old textbook that was by a combat crossbow she happened to find nearby. Nopony seemed to be paying attention though, as Nicko was giving pointers to Scootaloo on her defensive stance. 

        “Okay, Scootaloo. Your arms are in the right place, but your grip needs to be tighter so you don’t drop your weapon. Have a strong posture with your legs and make sure to bend your knees before any big overhead slashes. You’ve almost fallen flat on your face a few times before because you lost your balance.”

        Applebloom herself decided to take her eyes off the three of them for a minute as she flipped to the front page of the book. To her surprise, she could read the words as she saw a crest with what appeared to be a crescent apple. But turned into a new kind of Sigil as she heard a soft song enter her head. The song imbued her soul with power and strenght. She did not know it just yet, but something strong was inside of her. Something she never even knew she had. 

        The young earth pony soon took the textbook and the crossbow that was there and put them in her saddlebag. “Hey Scootaloo, Ah’m goin to catch up with you later. Ah want to see how Applejack’s day went.”

        “Okay, stay safe!” Amy told her as she left the training yard. “Something feels off about her though.”

        “Define off, Amy.” 

        “It’s almost similar to the feeling I felt when Scootaloo became a Pyro Knight. A flow of power and newfound energy……”

        Applebloom herself was busy trying to navigate through the streets of the City as dusk was close to approaching. Many ponies were trying to get home and traffic was beginning to flow. Her bag accidently hit somepony as she was trying to go through the courtyard.

        “Ah’m sorry!” She called out as the earth pony turned around. However, who she bumped into was now starting to scare her. 





        “Oh I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you… I was just wondering where your Blazing Heart friend of yours is.” 

        Applebloom soon did the one thing instinct told her to do. Run. But running from someone who has crossed the borderline of insanity was dead near impossible. Especially when he had his weapons primed and his taste for destruction at an all time high. 

        “GRAVITY BUSTER!!!”

        The attack the psychotic human executed rained down death from above as it set off a massive explosion in the courtyard. Hundreds of innocent bystanders were thrown backwards like a bomb had went off. The overall panic of the situation had gone through the roof as this would be described by some as a terrorist incident. All that was in the courtyard right now was Eric and the red maned earth pony with a bow in her hair. 

        “You… little one… are interesting.” Eric commented, his voice sounding like the hissing of a Cobra. “I feel power from you, but you refuse to display it-.”

        That was when a fresh red apple hit Eric on the side of the head, followed by a switch kick to his face. However, it wasn’t Applebloom who did that though. But somepony else she knew.

        “Sugarcube! Are ya alright?”

        “Applejack, run!! He’s the one who caused the explosion just now!!!”

        However, her words were fallen on deaf ears as a electric ball of plasma energy struck the element of honesty. Before she could even do anything to fight back, Eric had used his first attack to corner her and continued his rampage. He was surprised that the mare could take a beating and still stand. Therefore, he continued to thrash out at her with all his might. This even included one instant where the Diabolical Esper hurt the Apple Farmer severely by striking her in the chest and breaking her ribs.

        Now, Eric used his powers to have the beaten pony rendered useless so he could deal the final blow. Applebloom knew she needed to do something. She had to!! For her sister's sake!!! Taking the box from her bag, she found the book that she held in her hands and placed it to her heart, praying for a miracle. But to her surprise, she didn’t know that she herself would become that miracle.

        Time felt like it slowed to a complete stop as Applebloom saw the book fade away into mini balls of light that resembled fireflies. The small masses touched her fur and her clothes, covering her in a basking light. The young earth pony now began to feel alive again as memories of the techniques she read about were inscribed into her mind. Lastly, the crossbow that was on the ground was now along her wrist. 

        A small rhyme echoed through her mind as time now began to return to normal. One that set the next string of events in motion. 


‘I am the wind that moves with the birds and the trees,


through the lowest of valleys and the highest of Peaks,


I fly like a phoenix and sting like a bee,


and protect family and friends through the wind in which you sneak.’


        Applebloom now reopened her eyes and saw that Eric did not notice her change in appearance. She needed to take this chance right now. For Applejack’s sake.

        “GET THE BUCK AWAY FROM MY SISTER, YOU SICK CREEP!!!” 

        Eric turned his head, only for his face to make contact with Appleblooms hoof as it sent him flying into a public bathroom stall. Her newfound agility soon came in handy when she dashed next to Applejack’s side to see if she was still breathing. She was, but her broken ribs were another story. 

        “Dear Maker, you’ve been through too much.” The newly channeled Wind Sneaker groaned as she picked up her sister. “And you’re quite heavy at that…” She set her sister down on a small cart that was nearby and then whistled into the air. You might think that she was doing it to attract attention, but in a few seconds, a good friend of hers showed up.

        “Winona!” Applebloom called. The dog was here today since Applejack was asked to have her be examined by the vet while she was in Canterlot. “Girl, go get help. AJ is hurt and we got a Maniac on the loose. Find Nicko, Twilight and Amy and lead them here as quick as you can!”

        The loyal companion barked once, nodding her head as she dashed off. Appleblooms attention now turned back to the task at hand as an explosion went off, destroying the building that Eric was thrown into.

        “You… are going… TO PAY FOR THAT!!!” He roared in a fit of rage. “VOID FIELD!” Applebloom saw the magic radiate from the floor and jumped up into the air and out of the way. The next few attacks came from Eric in a blinding rush, but Applebloom threw him off balance with an attack of her own.

        “CRESCENT KICK!!”

        The Esper himself was getting very annoyed. This girl didn’t know when to-

        “SHARP FALL!!” 

        Another attack struck Eric, this time, around the head as he was falling down and all he could see is Applebloom preparing her hooves once again. This time, with a lot of might and strength into her strikes as she hit the Esper with a “Assault Impact” followed up by a “Natures Force” that sent Eric flying through the air as he tried to fight back. He soon found the Wind Sneaker right behind her as another attack was coming

        ‘She’s going to kick me again, isn’t she?’ Eric thought to himself.

        “VIOLENT ATTACK!!” Applebloom cried out as the attack slammed the Diabolical Esper around his spine. He now was standing on his own, badly bruised. But what really flowed         through him was rage… And he had the perfect attack to catch this newfound warrior off guard.





        “PARANOIA!!!”

        Gathering as much Void Energy as he could muster, the insane human ruptured a major crack in Space and Time, the energy exploding outward in a violent pulse that threw Applebloom to the ground. She staggered to her hooves, but the explosion did hurt her a lot. She wasn’t even quick enough to get out of the way of Eric’s attacks. The Diabolical Esper’s rampage was too fast for her to block or counter attack. 

        “REVERSE CIRCLE!!”

        To the Wind Sneaker’s surprise, the human was now behind her as he began to charge at the earth pony with his Dynamo’s and the energy they created.

        “FORCE NOVA!!!” 

        The energy ball struck her with a lot of force as he began to attack in quick succession. Applebloom herself was able to get back into the fight and land a couple of attacks herself, but the insane human had tipped the scale of this fight. Though, that didn’t mean that Applebloom couldn’t do anything to help herself. Using the agility that remained, the earth pony got a far distance away from Eric as soon as he began charging power to crack open a rift in Space above both of their heads.

        “STARDUST SHOWER!!!”

        Now was the time Applebloom used her own skill.

        “AIRELINNA- NYMPH!!”

        The skill summoned a young and small breezie that was known as the Spirit of the forest and placed a enchantment around the mare before disappearing in a small flash of light. The yellow circle that was around her began to heal the scars that she had received and restore her strength. In addition to taking care of her, she began to feel stronger and light on her hooves. With newfound confidence; she took aim at the human and fired a crossbow bolt at the human, followed by a knee to the face and a kick to Eric’s jaw. It sent him flying and at the right time too.

        “Applebloom!!”

        She turned around; but who she saw was not who she expected. It wasn’t Nicko, Twilight or Amy at all. But instead, she saw Nicko’s friend Leo. “Are you okay?”

        “Ya, but where’s Nicko?”

        “Fluttershy and Winona are looking for them right now. I came over as quickly as I could so I can help you.” The Reckless Fist told her. That’s when he noticed the pummeled state of Applejack. He was quite shocked by what happened to her as she laid unconscious and in pain. “Something tells me though that he’s attacking up for more than just because he feels like it.”

        Applebloom raised an eyebrow as she looked at the human. “What do ya mean by that?”

        “Earlier today when I was going through some files, I came across a major discovery. Something that this lunatic would kill for it to not be revealed and in the wrong hands.” The Reckless Fist now had his mechanical arm primed for action as both him and the Wind Sneaker had to prepare to fight the Diabolical Esper and his increasing source of power. That’s when Leo told Applebloom what he discovered.

        “I found out the location of the Hive. The home of the Changelings.”

        The earth ponies eyes widened. “Y-you found their home!?”

        “Yeah. Not only that, but I also found out a lot more. It’s information that would lead to having this psycho try to kill you in order for it to not get out.” 

        “Do ya have a plan of some kind on how we can beat him?”

        The Reckless Fist shook his head. “We can’t beat him. Not like the way he is now. I have an idea on how to fight him though.”

        “Okay, Ah’m all ears.”

        “We take turns. I’ll go first and when I say switch, you start attacking. When you say switch, I can hop in and keep attacking.”

        Applebloom didn’t have time to ask for an explanation. Like it was on cue, Eric’s power exploded from around him. It demolished the building that he was thrown into as his power skyrocketed. His Dynamo's Awakening had been unlocked. Nopony would be able to avoid the onslaught that was to follow. In Leo and Applebloom’s case, they were the only line of defense and had to hold him off. 

        “DIE!!” came the Espers scream as he channeled the kinetic energy that encased his hands. He threw three orbs of Void energy, but then followed with a fourth attack that had him rush towards The Reckless Fist and the Wind Sneaker. Applebloom jumped out of the way while Leo stood his ground. The Human slammed his fist into the ground, having a series of Spiked Spheres shoot out of the ground

        “CHARGED BOLT- BLOODY THORNS!!” 

        The thorns caught Eric off guard, surprising him as he was struck by the rising spikes. Leo didn’t waste any time after that, attacking head on with his metal fist and using his sword to deflect the oncoming dynamo’s that were trying to strike him. When close enough, Leo hit him again with his “Armor Crash” skill and left a hole in his defense.

        “SWITCH!!”

        Applebloom didn’t plan to waist any time. She quickly laid a series of jab kicks across Eric’s chest and shoulders before striking him with a “High Kick” that sent her opponent flying a little. Using her newfound speed, the mare attacked again from behind even though Eric had tried to counter-attack the incoming assault. However, her plan was different as she got on her hands and knees, springing upward and smacking him near the spine. Rapidly, she proceeded to put all her remaining strength in a “Back Kick” that caught the Esper off guard.

        “Leo, SWITCH!!”

        That was all the Reckless Fist needed to hear as he grabbed a El Essence with his mechanical hand. “INFERNAL ARMS!!!” 

        The Reckless fist soon had a demonic hand rise from the ground and furiously slash at Eric like a ragdoll. The beating lasted for almost a few minutes, tearing at his clothes and leaving bloody wounds all over his body. Leo thought that the battle was over soon as he heard the sounds of footsteps and hooves in the background. He turned to see both Scootaloo and Amy running towards them as they assessed the situation.

        “What the hell happened guys?” Amy asked, seeing Applejack’s beaten state and Applebloom’s new appearance. 

        “Well, mah sis was beaten to a bloody pulp by Eric, but then I gained these new powers from a textbook I found and sent Winona to go find help. Leo and I were able to hold him off and we think we tired him out.”

        “Good job. Now let’s get going before-”

        SHHNNNK!!!

        Amy looked down at her chest as she felt searing pain from across her body. A crystal that was as big as her forearm had punctured through her body and dangerously close to her lungs and heart. She turned to see Eric struggling to his feet, a hand channeling the time cracked crystal that he shot at her.

        “I don’t believe you are going anywhere, Burning Crusader.”

        Another shot went through her body, this time actually hitting her upper chest. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as her teacher began to fall backwards into the cart that held Applebloom’s sister. 

        “AMY!! NO!!!”

        The Blazing heart fell into the cart. But when Scootaloo came close to her teacher, she could lightly feel her pulse weaken. Her hands moved to the necklace that was around her neck, taking it off. Doing so caused Amy’s clothes to change, becoming a series of red gowns that matched the blood that was dripping. She used what strength she had left, not to say anything. But to instead hand the pendant to the young pegasus. Faintly, she whispered into the pegasus’s ear.

        “Don’t…… worry about me…”

        Scootaloo was going to ask why, but couldn’t. Her eyes had already closed. But she could still feel her energy faintly. Now though, the young Pyro Knight had only only thing that she had to do. Holding the crystal Amy gave to her, Scootaloo placed the pendant next to her heart as fire began to churn and dance wildly around her like a raging inferno. The pendant had now begun to fade into Scootaloo. Her body absorbing it in a bath of Fire and light. Her original set of clothes that she had worn before had now turned into the same clothes that Amy had once worn. Her Claymore had also changed too, now reflecting the same style of weapon that her teacher had used. Her eyes though, now had fury and hatred burning inside them.

        “Applebloom, you and Leo get them out of here.” Scootaloo ordered with a snarl as fire burned around her free hand. “I’m going to make him PAY for what he did to my teacher!!”

        The two bystanders didn’t have any other choice and followed her commands. Applebloom wished for her friend to be safe when this was done. She did not want to explain what happened to Rainbow if they lost both Scootaloo and Amy. 



Meanwhile,

        A different kind of chaos had flowed through the streets when thousands of Civilians were taking refuge in nearby buildings and inside the castle. Nicko himself was beginning to wonder what the hell was going on with all the insanity that was going on. Eris was wondering the same thing as well. But something caused the chaos spirit to panic when she felt a powerful disturbance course through her.

        “Rrgh!” She grimaced, holding off the pain that seared through her like touching hot metal.

        “Eris?! Are you okay?” Nicko asked, worried about the Draconequus. 

        “Somethings wrong… Very wrong. I felt Amy’s magic signature get ruptured just now.”

        “Ruptured?” The teen asked. “What the hell is that suppose to mean?”

        “It means the worst case scenario.” The Spirit told her as she looked at the young warrior. Her eyes and gaze made Nicko feel like the worse was yet to come. What he heard next was confirmation of what their fears were.

        “It means she might be dead.”

        Nicko’s eyes widened. No way in hell did he think that the possibility of her being dead could actually be true. He personally denied it. Without even thinking twice, Nicko left the castle and went towards the roof with Eris following him. He could smell the smoke rise from the destruction that had already taken place. Using his instincts, he went towards the source. 

        ‘Eris. Do you feel that?’ He asked when the two of them got closer.

        ‘Yeah. It feels familiar.’ Eris told him. ‘ This presence is almost similar to Amy, but not quite. In fact, it feels a lot like the young pegasus you told me you were training earlier.’ Things began to click inside the teen’s head. He almost forgot about Scootaloo!! 

        “Oh damn it, Rainbow Dash is going to kill me if I let Scootaloo get hurt!”

        With a spring in his step, Nicko began to pick up the pace. If Amy’s apprentice was there right now, the element of loyalty would have his head if she got hurt in any way, shape or form. The teen gripped his sword as he continued to hop from rooftop to rooftop. But at one moment, he stopped when he heard Eris gasp in shock. He looked down to see Applebloom and Leo running to the hospital. With Applejack looking beaten and broken while Amy had two crystals that pierced through her body like spears.

        “Oh god…” Nicko cursed his timing. He should’ve gone with them earlier to help them find Applebloom instead of help out Rarity and the others with all the ponies coming into the castle. Amy would still be alive if he would’ve been there and did something. If he took the hit instead of her…

        “RRRR AAAAHHHH!!!!!”

        The warcry made Nicko turn around and hurry over to see what was going on. Down below, he found Scootaloo. But this time, she was different from the young apprentice she was earlier during her training. The happiness he saw beforehand was now consumed by Anger and Rage. Her flames now looked like they were a glimpse of what hell looked like. 

        Violently, they began to channel into a tornado around her as she let loose her power with Eric being in range of her wrath. “ETERNAL FIRE!!” 

        The burning flames hit their mark as Eric skidded backwards and channeled his void energy in an another forward blitz after launching three static spheres. However, the apprentice expected this and used her “Fire Wall” ability to conjure a barricade of Blazing Flames that burned the Esper. But he was still able to get his blast off and for good reason too. Using “Reverse Circle” to teleport himself to behind Scootaloo, Eric made her dash backwards and away from him. But this was what he wanted and for good reason.

        “REVERSE STIGMA!!” 

        Like she was being pulled by an unknown force, Scootaloo fell forward and began to be pulled towards Eric. Nicko reacted as quickly as possible; jumping from the rooftop and launching a rune a Eric to disrupt his concentration, followed by a “Explosive Fist” that put him in between The Esper and the pegasus.

        “And the freaks just keep on coming!!” The Esper snarled, cursing the Rune Slayer’s timing. He was done with playing games and was beyond exhausted. Using what remained of his powers, he cracked open a Spatial Rift and stepped in. Scootaloo, in her anger, tried to hit the Esper one last time with a fireball she conjured, but the rift closed before it reached him. 

        “ARGH!! I almost had him!!!” Scootaloo yelled, almost slamming her weapon into the ground in pure frustration. “Why did you had to interfere, Nicko!?”

        “Me? Interfere? I just saved your life!!” The Rune Slayer retorted. “You could have gotten yourself killed or worse going against him. He has no regrets over who he hurts. Think about how your sister would react if she saw both of you clinging to your lives inside a hospital bed. How would she react?” Scootaloo didn’t even realized that possibility. Rainbow Dash would be devastated if she saw her in the hospital.

        “She wouldn’t forgive herself if something happened to me.”

        “And I wouldn’t forgive myself either.” Nicko told her. Eris then surged out of Nicko’s body and appeared right next to them. She had just found out some shocking news.

        “Guys, I just got back from the hospital. Amy’s still alive!” The news had both Nicko and Scootaloo shocked and fill up with hope. 

        “How is she?”

        “She’s right now in a coma. Doctor’s said that she’s been through quite a lot and is right now in a temporary coma. Let’s hurry and get over there before Sunbutt rushes over here and wants to know what happened.” With that, Nicko and Scootaloo agreed as Eris snapped her Eagle Talon and the three of them disappeared in a small flash of light. What was left behind though was a formerly peaceful courtyard that had been through a warzone and had embers of hope burning in the streets.

        Hell hath no fury than a student who grieves for her master.




End Chapter 8

> Chapter 9: Hymn for the missing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Hymn for the missing




        Inside Canterlots local medical clinic, doctors were beginning to assess the extent of both Applejack’s and Amy’s injuries. Nicko, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Eris waited patiently while they operated on the two of them and worked on making sure they were stable before they had any visitors. Out of both of them, the hardest to operate on was Amy. She had two jagged Shard pierce through her upper and lower chest, which required not only careful precision for when they removed them but also used up a lot of Light Spellshards in order to effectively close her wounds. Applejacks injuries just required a couple of Spellshards and bandages around her lower chest. A lot easier and less time consuming.

        After almost two hours, the doctors allowed Applebloom and the other to be able to come visit them. They entered the room and saw that both girls were on opposite sides of the room, facing each other by the window in the back. Amy was silent, but Applejack was just waking up and laid her eyes on the sight of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Nicko. Eris decided to reside back inside the Rune Slayer’s head for right now since she thought it would be easier if Applejack didn’t have too many people visiting her.

        “Sis!” Applebloom was first to speak as she ran over to her older sister, careful not to hug her due to the extent of her injuries. “Are you okay?”

        “Applebloom? Is that you? …… You look…… different.”

        “Yeah, that might take a little bit to explain.” Scootaloo said. Applejack now noticed that the young Pegasus was wearing Amy’s clothes now. The white coat, the black shorts and also the long claymore. The earth pony mare was now really puzzled by what was going on.

        “Uhh, Scoot? Why do ya look just like Amy?”

        “Like I said, it’ll take a bit to explain.”

        “Ah got time. Doctors say that ah won't be going anywhere for a while and that ah need to rest tonight before ah can go anywhere.” 

        “Well, remember how Scootaloo became a Pyro Knight when Amy gave her the Determination Badge?” Applebloom asked. Her sister nodded; recalling the events from yesterday before they began to go around Canterlot with Amy & Rainbow and accidently get themselves in trouble. “Well while Scootaloo was training with Nicko and Amy, ah found a strange textbook along with a small crossbow. Later, when it looked like Eric was going to finish you off, the book glowed and gave me some strange; but cool powers. They became pretty useful since a lot of it was based off of all the times I’ve been helping on the farm with Applebucking.”

        Applejack just chuckled. “Really now. And ah thought ah never live to see the day that you decided to wear a dress like that.” Applebloom wasn’t always the one to wear fancy clothes like her friends or her sister sometimes. In fact, she sometimes despised dresses because they got in the way of her legs when working on the farm. The clothes of the Wind Sneaker though was not exactly the case though.

        Scootaloo chuckled as her earth pony friend blushed a little. Nicko himself grinned a little, liking the fact that both Applebloom and Scootaloo right now were happy. But now, his attention was now focused on Amy. She just laid on the bed there. Almost like a lifeless body, despite the machines saying she had a pulse. 

        “Did the Doctors say anything about Amy?”

        “All ah heard was that she’s in a coma right now.” The Earth pony replied as Nicko looked at the human girl that laid in the hospital bed. “Nopony knows how long it’ll be until she wakes up.”

        As Nicko looked at her, he noticed the heartbeat that the pulse machine was reading beating normally. Amy was VERY lucky that the crystal that hit her did not strike her in the heart. If so, she would’ve been killed on the spot. Nicko knew that too. Both of them knew the risk of putting themselves in harms way. Though, the Rune Slayer really didn’t think that this would actually happen to her. 

        ‘Something’s not right…’ Eris told him inside his head as he outside to see the moon’s light shine brightly into the room.

        ‘Not right? What do you mean by that?’ The confused teen asked. 

        ‘I always had an odd feeling about Amy ever since we first saw her, but now I know the reason why. I feel another soul besides her own inside of her.’

        ‘Another Soul?’ Nicko asked mentally. ‘What the hell is that suppose to mean?’

        ‘Remember when I always stay inside your body? Think that, but with Amy and somepony else that’s not me or daddy.’

        ‘What about your little brother?’

        ‘Chaotic?’ Eris asked, then sighed to herself. ‘He’s way too young to know that. Besides, he’s only three.’

        ‘Hey, I was just allowing for the possibility.’ Nicko replied sarcastically. ‘It seems like a habit that runs in the family. Does your mom happen to do it as well-?’

        ‘My mother is Celestia, you twit!!’ Eris snapped, then gasped like it was a secret that she wasn’t suppose to say. Nicko himself was also quite shocked by this reveal too. But in a way, he was also confused. Eris was a Draconequus. So was her father and possibly her little brother. So how exactly could an Alicorn like Princess Celestia be her mother. She seemed to be the opposite of Discord’s type in every possible way. Then, Eris began to explain what she meant.

        ‘Well, I didn’t have a birth mother, but Celestia is Chaotic’s birth mother. My father and her are married, but not many ponies actually know that. Now you’re the first human that knows.’

        ‘So that means that Chaotic is… Half Draconequus and Half Alicorn?’

        ‘Exactly.’ Eris stated. ‘Now back to what we were talking about, I believe Amy has a spirit or another soul of some kind that’s helping her in her recovery process. It’s probably the only reason why her heartbeat and condition is stable.’ 

        Now this had Nicko wonder a few things. First, who could this spirit possibly be? Second, what was it exactly doing right around now? Third… Could there be a possible way for him to communicate with it? He wanted to talk to it so he could find out more about them and how exactly they were helping Amy. The Teen had an idea, but it sounded like an invasion of privacy. 

        ‘Hey Eris?’

        ‘Yes, Nicko?’

        ‘Remember when you brought me inside my conscience? Well, is there possibly a way you can bring me into her conscience. That way, I can talk to her little “Friend”.’

        Now Eris was surprised by his question. How could she not think of something like that? ‘It’s possible. But if we do try this, there is a few things that you need to be aware of.’

        ‘Okay, tell me.’

        ‘First off, your plan is insane. Second, it would require you and I to use a LOT of magic. Third, you can only be in there for a certain amount of time.’

        ‘Okay, how long exactly?’

        ‘Fifteen minutes at most give or take.’

        Nicko grinned a little to himself as he took a seat on the empty bed that was next to Amy. It was all the time he needed. Despite the circumstances, the teen still prepared himself as he noticed Scootaloo leave the room and Applebloom turn towards him and ask a question. “Nicko, what the hay are you doing?”

        He looked at the young earth pony as he positioned his feet in a criss-cross format, smiling at the youngster. “Something complicated. Can you do me a favor and watch my body for a while? I’m going to be somewhere.” Before even hearing Applebloom ask, Nicko told Eris to cast the spell and he was off. His body now stood as an asleep shell that was deeply focused. Nothing could disturb him now.



        For a moment, Nicko felt calm. But then again, he was going inside someone’s head. Matter of fact, the head of one of his friends. Still though, he didn’t have time to waste though since he was on a fifteen minute clock and it was slowly beginning to tick.

        When he opened his eyes again, he didn’t find himself in the hospital room. Nor did he find himself in a vast expanse of emptiness like when he was inside his own conscience. Instead, he found what looked to be an old and worn castle. The moon was full and it was shining brightly; however, the castle itself looked very grim. Like dark ages grim. Just the feeling of this entire place was starting to make Nicko feel nervous. 

        Then he heard a voice. A demonic like voice that sounded feminine. “WHO DARES ENTER MY DOMAIN!?” Nicko turned around to see a huge cloud of mist that looked exactly like the night sky mixed with a demonic blue. Then, the mist took form into a creature. An Alicorn with dark colored skin, wore black garments that almost looked like armor and had her magic pulse around her like it was a living flame. The mark on her clothes resembled a crescent moon and so was the scythe that she conjured using her magic.

        “Holy Sh*t!” Nicko cursed.

        “STATE YOUR BUSINESS OR-. Wait… you sound familiar…” The Alicorn said as she dismissed her weapon and moved in closer. “Would we have happened to have met before?”

        “Uhh… I remember meeting Amy. She is a good friend of mine.” The Rune Slayer replied honestly, swallowing his nervousness down his throat. The Alicorn herself began to think a little, wondering who this boy was. But then, a thought came into her mind.

        “Would you happen to be the boy who punched Amy aboard the Friendship Express?”

        “That was an accident.”

        “How so?” She asked, folding her arms.

        “It was dark, I couldn’t see anything, and Amy did the one mistake that she shouldn’t have done by calling me short. So I presumed that she was one of the thugs that was hijacking the train, but didn’t find out it was her until after she used one of her techniques to yank me towards her.”

        “What about the duel with the boy and the two swords where you had us “Step Aside”?” 

        “Have you not seen Amy? She’s the hotheaded kind of person who doesn’t back down from a challenge. Plus, for your information, that boy is my brother and he’s always the guy who gets extremely hyper when you give him a challenge.” The Alicorn now took this thoughts into account as she sighed a little and began to think. 

        “You… have a good point. Tell me, what is your name?”

        “Nicko. Nicko Nocte.”

        “And how did you get inside Amy’s mind, “Nicko”?”

        That’s where the teen began to tell the Alicorn everything. About how Scootaloo and the others were worried for her condition, how Eirs felt another soul inside Amy’s body and his plan on going to see who was the lucky fellow that was inside. The Alicorn herself personally smirked a little by the time he was done talking. “So, Eris was the one that brought you inside here?”

        “Yeah, but only for a limited amount of time. She said I had about fifteen minutes at most, give or take.” 

        “Pfft… And Discord’s daughter actually thought that she sent you inside her mind? Oh, that's hilarious!!” The Night Alicorn laughed to herself, not having any limit on how loud it was. However, all this did was leave Nicko a bit puzzled. Seeing this, the Alicorn soon clarified things for The Rune Slayer.

        “My friend, you’re not inside Amy’s mind. You’re in her dreams. Only two ponies have ever been able to do that and one of them is Artemis.”

        Nicko himself was surprised by the recent turn of events. But some questions still lingered in the back of his mind. Very important question that had answers he would like to know. “And who would the other pony be?”

        “Why Artemis’s other half exactly. I think you referred to it once in a conversation with your spirit friend as “She who wanted to be free”.” 

        Then, the puzzle pieces were slowly starting to reform. “Okay, and who are you?”

        “That other half.”

        Now, the pieces fully clicked into place. “You’re Nightmare Moon.”

        “Indeed I am,” The Alicorn replied. “Although; I would prefer to be called Selena if that’s okay with you. Being called Nightmare feels a little unsettling at times. Makes me look on the mistakes I’ve made in the past.”

        “Okay then, it’s nice to meet you Selena.” Nicko and Selena shook hands as a friendly gesture of kindness, before moving inside the worn castle. They moved into a room that would resemble a private study or an office. Selena used her magic to close the doors behind them as she straightened herself and sat down. She used her index finger to pull up a chair for Nicko as well, offering for the teen to sit down. He complied so he wouldn’t be rude or offending her on accident.

        “So, I believe you have some question that you would like to ask?”

        Nicko nodded in response. But before he could say anything, Selena spoke ahead of him.

        “Well, I have some questions for you two that I think you can answer. So, we’ll take turns. You first, then me. Sound fair enough?”

        “I believe that works out,” Nicko said. “For my first question, how is Amy?”

        “Well, after getting surprised by the cursed Eric, I brought Amy’s soul here to the dream realm so both her and her body could recuperate. It’s going well, but she can’t see anyone from outside her dreams due to the fact that it can disrupt the healing process.”

        Selena was taking off the bracers that were on her wrists and straightening her mane when she began to speak again. “Now though. I have a question for you.”

        “Sure. Ask away.”

        “During the healing process, I wasn’t able to feel Amy’s mana. It’s the source of magic that she needs in order for her to perform her abilities as a Blazing Heart. Would you possibly happen to know why that is?”

        Nicko grimaced at the thought. Eris was in a lot of pain when she felt what happened. Maybe he should take this a bit slowly. “Remember when Amy got attacked? Well, how I found out about it was because Eris flinched for a moment in agony before coming back to her senses. After that, she said that she felt her magic rupture and thought that she was possibly dead.”

        When he said Rupture, Selena’s eyes widened a little. “Oh dear…… If what you said is true then…”

        “Then what?” Nicko asked, not worrying if that actually counted as a question or not. 

        “Amy is completely cut off from her magic. She can’t become The Burning Crusader ever again.” 

        Selena’s words struck Nicko like a dagger to the heart. Her not being able to use magic again? Not only did that suck, but he could not really picture Amy being… well normal. 

        Before Nicko could even ask, the Alicorn began to explain by conjuring up a few “When it comes to magic users, if a powerful sorcerer or sorceress is killed, gravely disrupted from their magic, or gravely wounded in battle, other powerful conjurers in magic feel the backlash in an outward explosion of the targets original element. Eris must’ve felt some sort of hot burning pain when this happened and was affected by it.”

        “My god.” Nicko cursed. He didn’t think that it would be this bad.

        “Now though, what Amy last saw was her handing her pendant to Scootaloo. Did anything happen to her?”

        “She’s the new Blazing heart,” Nicko told her. “I saw her going out at Eric in an assault of fire and fury before I arrived. Still though, even though with the new skills and her control over it, she let her emotions and anger affect her and lost focus.”

        The teen continued on to explain a bit that her actions was a Passing of the Torch as humans would call it. Amy was passing on the legacy of the Blazing Heart to Scootaloo, her apprentice. She would be proud of the pegasus right now, he thought.

        “Now to my question though. Could there be a possible way to restore her Mana?”

        Selena just shook her head. The Alicorn continued to explain how that the only possible way for someponies magic to be restored was for another Magic user to give up theirs. Additionally, they could not have the same skills or expertise that they once had before. Which meant that Amy would not control her Fire powers again. 

        For a moment, Selena winced a moment in pain before focusing her attention back to Nicko again. He noticed this and was a little worried for her, asking her if their was anything he could do.

        “No, it’s fine. It’s just a drawback to this whole process. I use more magic the longer I have Amy recover and sometimes it hurts. But it’s for a good cause. I am a spirit after all.”

        That got Nicko thinking. Spirits don’t have physical forms, but they do have magic. Amy has a physical form, but doesn’t have magic. “Why don’t you give her your magic?”

        “I beg your pardon?”

        “Well, if the pain from this operation is hurting you, couldn’t you just give your magic to Amy and have her become full again?”

        “I don’t think she would want my magic. It’s stained with the mistakes I’ve made and the ponies that died because of it. It’s stained with their blood.”

        “It’s just an idea. I think you should ask her.” Nicko told her before standing up. “Because from what I remember; if you can’t defend them, then you can damn well avenge them. I should get going though before everypony back in the real world worries about me being asleep or possibly dead.” Selena agreed with the human on that statement and used her powers to help send the boy back. But now, the boys words echoed in her mind. Maybe what he said didn't sound like a bad idea after all. Still though, she had to wait for when the time was right.



        Back in the hospital room, Nicko reopened his eyes and found himself in the same position that he left himself in. Criss-crossed legs and his arms were at his side, hands in his lap with his fists together like he was pulling off the meditation pose in The Legend of Korra. A good sign for him was not just being in his body again, but also hearing and seeing Eris again. This time though, she seemed a little more confused than thankful by the fact that he was back.

        “Welcome back.”

        “Thanks.” Nicko checked his watch for a moment. Fifteen minutes have passed from when he first came into the dream realm and now, he was back out. Probably due to the Draconequus thinking that he was actually in Amy’s mind. But the teen was forgetting about one important thing.

        “Just out of curiosity, how did you get back? I didn’t even cast the return spell.”

        And now here comes the explanations. Not just for Eris, but also for Applejack. Her little sister had already left and she was still awake and talking with the Draconequus by the time he got back. The Rune Slayer began to explain everything surely and slowly. From the fact that he was actually in Amy’s dream to what was going on. Both of them were surprised to hear that the pony keeping her alive was actually Nightmare Moon. They didn’t really think that the mare that wanted to cast Equus into an eternal night was not only helping her, but also being sympathetic. Additionally, they never really thought that Amy actually lost her powers. It was quite a lot to take in. 

        But soon, Nicko and Eris had to leave. It was around the time that Anson would probably be worried about his safety. Especially since he was seeing Flash Sentry walk towards the clinic. “Well, I hope you have a speedy recovery Applejack. See you tomorrow.”

        “See ya tomorrow, Sugarcube.”



Meanwhile,

        It took a long while to get the city of Canterlot settled, to have everypony return to their homes and to bring the wounded and injured to the infirmary. Anson right now was with Pinkie Pie, Molly, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders inside Canterlot Castle. The Infinity Sword, The Mastermind and the party pony were shocked to hear about the attack by Eric and how Applejack and Amy were caught in the psychopath’s crosshairs, but also surprised to see that Scootaloo had become the new Blazing Heart and how Applebloom had become a Wind Sneaker. Anson himself even offered to help them get use to her new powers by having them do some sparring tomorrow morning after breakfast while Molly promised to help teach Sweetie Belle and Babs Seed. Soon though, all of them heard footsteps in the hallway and the knocking on the door to their room.

        “May I come in?”

        Anson recognized the voice of his brother and proceeded to opening the door. “Welcome back, bro.” 

        “Thanks man. I just had an... interesting experience recently.” Nicko told them as he entered the room and laid his sword against the wall. The Rune Slayer then sat down next to Scootaloo so he could keep her company. He thought that she needed someone to be by since her mentor was right now in a hospital bed in a coma.

        “Ooooh!! What kind of super duper experience, Nicky!?!”

        Wow… Pinkie was now only the second person ever that actually called Nicko “Nicky”. The first one being Eris, which had the Spirit of Chaos emerge from Nicko again to the point where she was holding the teen tightly against her. “Only I have the authority to call him that!”

        “Uhh… Eris? It’s fine.”

        “Yeah, Eris! Besides, it fits well since Nicky and Sonny are brothers!!”

        “Sonny?” Nicko asked, looking at his twin brother as he chuckled. 

        “One of a couple of nicknames that Pinkie has come up for me.” 

        “One of a couple?”

        “It’s better if you don’t ask.” Anson warned him before changing the flow of the conversation back to the original topic. That’s when Nicko gave them the lowdown and caught everypony up to speed. About how he entered Amy’s dreams, meeting Selena and the conversation that followed after that. Despite the circumstances, everypony took it quite well considering that mostly everypony except Anson had heard of or met Selena before. But what really shocked them was actually when I told them the situation with Amy and her powers. There wasn’t a point in sugar coating anything since Applebloom and Scootaloo had already see the state in which she was in. But her young apprentice was still shocked by the fact that she could no longer become the figure that was her idol. It hit the Pegasus hard. Like getting hit with a sledgehammer hard.

        Still though, all of us as a group were able to cheer up the little Pyro Knight with enough encouragement and telling her that she was Amy’s successor. It made her think that she had big horseshoes to fill with the amount of responsibility a position like this would hold. Nicko agreed with her on that point. But everypony’s attention was focused elsewhere when they were called to the dining room for tonights dinner. Something that almost everypony in the room was looking forward to (considering that Applejack probably either already ate or was fast asleep right now).

        Dinner was a tomato soup with a side salad and fresh bread. Simple, yet just as filling and effective as last nights meal. Nicko and Scootaloo sat next to each other in the middle of the table across from Celestia, Twilight, Cadence, and Artemis. Luke and Ciela were by Anson along with most of the other human guests. This included Yuri and also her sister Jade; which by her personality and by the way she behaves made Nicko hope that she was somehow not insane. Still though, one guest made him feel very uncomfortable.

        As it turns out, Prince Blueblood actually decided to try and eat with humans at the table. Though, tension still lurked from the other night when he offended Molly’s mother. He tried to show himself as proper while Molly looked at him with an evil look of “Don’t you even think about it” when it came to conversations. The fact that Rarity was sitting next to her didn’t help the tension either because the fashionista still remembered the actions the Prince did during the Grand Galloping Gala. Gleaming Shield made sure though that Blueblood was on his best behavior as the night progressed. 

        After dinner, everypony proceeded to leave the room. But Nicko decided to stay behind. When Scootaloo and Applebloom noticed him staying, they turned towards their friends and sisters. “You girls go on ahead, we’ll catch up with you later.”

        Soon, the only ones in the room were the two Cutie Mark Crusaders, The Rune Slayer, and the Royal pony siblings. Celestia and Artemis were actually confused when they saw the three of them still here. “Nicko? Girls? I thought you would be going with the others.”

        “Actually, there’s something I think the three of us need to talk to you about.”

        When Nicko said three, he truly meant three this time. Eris had left the room with her father and brother earlier. So it left the human and the two youngsters with Celestia and Artemis. 

        “You do?” Celestia asked. Her voice hinted a little sign of concern as she and her brother looked at each other with puzzled expressions. 

        “Do you remember the events from earlier? Something like an explosion going off in the middle of the Mane Square?”

        “Indeed. It is why thousands of civilians had to take refuge inside the castle. The guards are calling it an accident, but some believe that it was an attack by a terrorist.” Nicko was surprised. He honestly did not expect for either of them to say that word. Vandal more likely, but terrorist was a bit extreme.

        “Well, we know who’s responsible.” Nicko told them as he used a new trick he learned with his rune magic as he conjured a piece of paper and used another kind of rune to draw out who was responsible. Both brother and sister were shocked by who Nicko had put on the paper. Either because it brought back bad memories or something worse.



        “This is the same guy who was the reason why there were dead members of the White Talon cartel on the Friendship express. I saw him kill them myself.”

        “Ya! And he’s the reason why Applejack is in the hospital!!”

        “How did this happen?!” Celestia now asked.

        “Ah bumped into him on accident and he thought that ah would lead him to Amy, so my best guess was that he wanted me as a hostage.” Applebloom replied. “However, Sis threw an apple in order to distract him and thats when… He began to tear her apart. She’s now in the hospital and lucky to not be dead because ah stopped him at the last second.”

        “Stopped him?”

        “Remember when I got these powers from Amy yesterday?” Scootaloo now joined in. “The same thing happened with Applebloom after she found a book while looking around finding a way to cure her boredom.”

        “Anyways, Ah held my own against him for a while, then Leo and ah teamed up against him, and Amy and Scootaloo showed up. But then… Eric struck Amy.”

        Both siblings were now confused again. That was until they explained the gruesome and graphic details. Scootaloo finished up with saying that she fought Eric for a bit and when Nicko showed up, the Esper ran away. Nicko then picked up the ball from that point and continued.

        “When we got to the hospital, Applejack was doing fine. But we found out that Amy was still stable and just in a coma.”

        “How long?”

        “I don’t know.” Nicko told them.

        “But how is she in a coma. Something as graphic as what you said would normally kill somepony.”

        “That’s the thing… Another soul is making sure her soul is still in her body as it recovers. In fact, I had a talk with her earlier today inside Amy’s Dreams.”

        That’s when the room went partially quiet. “Her… dreams?”

        “Yes, your highness. That is correct.”

        “And who is this Other Soul that you mentioned?”

        “Her name is Selena.” Nicko calmly swallowed the doubt in his throat before continuing. “But you might know her by a different name. Nightmare Moon.”

        “THAT FIEND!!?!” Artemis hollered in the Royal Canterlot voice. It almost caused Nicko to lose his footing due to how loud it was and the fact that Artemis was tempted to draw his sword. “HOW IN MY SISTER’S MANE IS SHE STILL ALIVE!!!?! THAT DEMON SHOULD BE GONE!! DISPOSED OF BY THE ELEMENTS!!!”

        “God damn, you’re loud.” Nicko cursed. He made a mental note to never try and piss off Artemis anytime he felt like pranking somepony. “All she is now is just a spirit that Amy had helped before in the past. Now she is helping make sure that Amy is completely recovered. She is also tormented by her past mistakes and wanted to do what she can to help Amy so she can forget about the past. But Amy’s recovery is not going well despite all she is doing.”

        “OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE OF THAT-.”

        “Calm yourself, brother.” Celestia preached to Artemis. “If Discord could be reformed, then I believe that Selena could be as well because of Amy.”

        “CALM!?” Artemis snarled back. “DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT THE BUCK SHE IS CAPABLE OF?!! SHE POSSESSED ME!! MATTER OF FACT, SHE COULD BE POSSESSING HIM!!”

        In a quick instant, Artemis’s sword became unsheathed as he dashed towards the unarmed Nicko. The Rune Slayer had made the mistake of leaving his sword back in Anson’s room and now was unarmed against a Pissed off Prince. Scootaloo herself also left her claymore back in the room too and so did Applebloom. But out of all three of them, the earth pony did not require a weapon to pull off the new techniques that she was capable of. 

        Moving lightly across the floor, the Wind Sneaker caught Artemis by surprise. She placed a swift kick that was meant to try and hit his hands to disarm the prince. But instead, it hit somewhere else. Somewhere much lower.

        “Uh oh…” Applebloom spoke softly. All color drained from Artemis’s face as he passed out, quivering in pain on the ground. Celestia herself just chuckled a little bit. She watched as Artemis laid on the floor. “I-i’m sorry! I didn’t mean-.”

        “It’s quite fine actually. Artemis was out of line and needed to calm down. I just did not expect it to happen like that though.” Celestia couldn’t stop herself from chuckling at her unconscious brother as she zapped him with a teleportation spell so the night prince would end up in his room. Now it was just the princess and the three other individuals. “Now, you were saying her recover was not going well. Why is that?”

        “Because she’s been disconnected from her magic. She can’t cast or use her powers anymore because of the damage Eric has done to her.” Nicko explained. “Selena is healing her as I speak; but to make sure she’s okay, Selena is using a lot of magic just to keep her stable right now.”

        “Yeah, and we need Amy’s help after what Leo told me.”

        Now Nicko, Scootaloo and Celestia were all looking at Applebloom. “What exactly did Leo tell you?”

        “Earlier today, he figured out where the changelings were hidden.”

        “HE WHAT!!?!” The three of them said to the Wind Sneaker in unison. Even the guards that were positioned outside the door were startled by their collective screech. 

        “Yeah and he thought it was the reason why Eric attacked. Because it was a secret anypony would kill in order to keep a secret.”

        “Well… That was… enlightening.” Celestia told them. “It’s getting late though. I’ll make sure to talk to Leo about this issue in the morning.” As the two crusaders and the teenager left the room, the two guards that were on duty stood and watched as they saw them leave through the doors on the other end of the hall. 

        “Hey, what do you think of those guys?”

        “Hell if I know. The pink pony was already complicated enough, I rather not try to figure out what’s going inside their heads.”



Next Morning,

        Anson was up bright and early as the crack of dawn came with a party pony using her party cannon as an early morning wake up call. It was almost a test of reflexes to the Infinity Sword. One that would involve her not getting a table cloth and confetti to smash his face. Though, he personally challenged the reason why she would use a freaking cannon as a wake up call when it could wake up everypony else in the castle despite the fact that he didn’t mind.

        “Good Morning, Sonny!!”

        “M-morning Pinkie.” Anson stuttered as he wiped a few pieces of Confetti off his face. “I guess you’re ready to help with breakfast?”

        “Oh that I’ve already taken care of. Today, were doing something special as a “Hope you Get well really soon!!” surprise for Applejack since she’s in the hospital.” Like the others, everypony at this rate heard about the farm pony ending up in the hospital. So it would make sense to come up with something special and encouraging for Pinkie’s best friend/sort of sister. They had a lot to do.

        To start, Pinkie wanted to prepare a special breakfast. All Apple themed because it was for Applejack. Apple Pancakes, Fresh Apple Slices, Apple Oatmeal and even a few Apple Fritters (Since Pinkie had mysteriously had obtained the Apple Family’s special recipe). To add to it, she pulled a special “Get Well” card out of plain air like how would she would basically get out everything else. The two of them then went into the marketplace in order to get a few more things, including a bouquet of flowers for her nightstand and also a Ursa Minor “Get Well” teddy bear. 

        Now Pinkie was being her usual self as they made her way to the front day to the front of the clinic. “Hello? We’re here to visit Applejack.”

        “Down the hall, second to last room on the left.”

        “Thank you so much!!!” Pinkie happily expressed her gratitude by stretching over the counter and hugged the mare at the counter to where she was just staring in disbelief by the time she looked at Anson before the party pony shot down the hall like the Looney Toons Roadrunner.

        “Trust me, that’s normal for her.” Anson said as he followed his companion and saw the earth pony back up. Something told the teenager that she was going to make a dramatic entrance and lo and behold, she bursted the door a few minutes later with confetti in her hands.

        “It’s morning… It’s morning…… it’s MORNING!!!”

        “What the hay-!?”

        Anson walked into the room to find that Pinkie Pie had decided to wake up Applejack the same way she woke him up. Without the party cannon of course. “We thought that we would treat you to a little bit of breakfast in bed since you weren’t feeling so well. We even got you a card and a teddy bear.”

        “Why thank you, sugarcube. Ah’m surprised that you did all of this for me. Both you and Anson.” The Element of Honesty told her friends. “Ah’m very grateful.”

        “I’m glad you like it.” Anson replied back with a smile on his face. “How are you feeling today?”

        “Almost as good as new. Doc says I can leave the hospital, but not do any physical activity for another day so the bandages don’t come undone.”

        “That’s great news!” 

        “Indeed. Ah just wish that it was a different story for Amy.”

        Both Pinkie and Anson turned around to see the red haired girl lying on the bed. They were told about everything last night, but never expected to see her look like this. Even Pinkie herself was shocked at this and thought that the extra pancakes she had made would somehow make Amy wake up because of the smell. But after a while, it seemed silly. Even by Pinkie standards.

        Soon, Applejack was able to get up on her own two hooves and move around comfortably. The doctors checked her out and gave her a clean bill of health before the three of them were able to walk on over to the royal barracks. Why? So that was Applejack could see her sister and her best friend train with both Nicko and Anson. That way, the Element of Honesty could see what her sister’s skills were and how she herself had matured over the past few days. 

        When they arrived, Applejack was surprised to see that her sister was actually practicing against Nicko. He stood there with his hands behind his back as Applebloom tried her best to hit him. However, every time she tried to land a hit, the teenager just simply dodged or moved his body out of the way. Then, at one moment, Applejack thought that her sister had got Nicko when she tried to get him around the upper arm. However, what had resulted was him catching Applebloom mid-strike, but then her sister knocking him down afterwards with the other leg.

        “Very good.” The Rune Slayer said. “Catching your opponents off guard is a tactic that comes in many forms. For you, it’s all in how you use your kicks. It’s very important to have a plan no matter how quick your enemy can move or dodge out of the way.”

        Ciela was there as well along with Scootaloo and Molly as they saw the two of them turn towards Anson, Pinkie, and Applejack. Applebloom was overjoyed to see her sister again and she wanted to hug her, but didn’t because she didn’t want to hurt her or undo her bandages. “Sis!”

        “It’s good to see you, Applebloom. You seem to be quite fond of those skills of yours.”

        “We’ve been helping her a lot with basic training.” Ciela replied. “Mostly, Nicko has been helping her out, but now I think it’s my turn to help pitch in and help both her and Scootaloo.”

        “Me?” The Blazing Heart asked. “Why do I need help?”

        “Because while I watched both of you spar against each other for practice, Nicko told me that you needed more control in your abilities.”

        “Oh yeah… Right…” Scootaloo replied sarcastically, duly remembering the brief encounter she had with Eric before he ran off. “So, when do we-.”

        Before Scootaloo could even fully answer her question, Ciela’s gauntlets came to life as she lunged at the young Pyro Knight. “We start now.”

        Nicko, Anson, Pinkie and Applejack had mere seconds to get out of the way before the royal barracks training yard became a battlefield. Punches and Kicks were thrown as claymore and crossbow clashed with Ciela’s gauntlets. The two sons of the Chiliarch were glad to find cover because of the amount of power that was exchanged between the three combatants. So were the two earth ponies. 

        This continued on for quite some time. Almost an hour or two. That was until the seven of them got a surprise visitor. 

        “Hello, Everypony.” 

        It was Caliburn. The Blade Master was an unexpected arrival that no one ever expected. Well, to be fair, he didn’t expect them to be here either. What he was here for though was to make sure and pass along a message. “Princess Celestia wanted me to inform you about the train she requested so it can take all of you back to Ponyville when you are ready.”

        “What about Amy? She’s still in recovery.” Scootaloo asked.

        “She’s being airlifted to the hospital in Ponyville right now by carriage with some of our best trained medical staff. The guards even made sure that the human you would refer to as “Jade” did not disguise herself as part of the medical team.”

        “Who?” Anson asked as he and Nicko looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

        “Yuri’s sister.” Molly told the brothers. “She’s basically the one woman Amy Stalker Squad.” Anson himself just snickered at what Molly said and Nicko facepalmed. Having a psycho on the team felt just as bad as having to fight one. 

        “On that note, how long until the train leaves?”

        “Forty minutes. We already made sure precautions were taken so we don’t have a repeat incident of what happened earlier this week.”

        “Wait… Earlier in the week?”

        “I’ll explain later mom.” Nicko assured his mom as they left the training yard. It took them ten to fifteen minutes to find everypony they knew before being able to safely board the train. It seemed like almost everyone Nicko knew at the time was either with a pony (Except for Yuri keeping a VERY short leash on Jade). Leo was with Fluttershy, Anson was with Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Applebloom, Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were with Molly, and his father was actually starting up a conversation with Rarity after she complimented him on his coat. Which left him with his mother, and it felt like he was with someone who looked more like a sister than a mom. Especially by her height. Which of course, Nicko made sure not to say anything that could set her off.

        Later though, he was met by someone who he had only seen yesterday.

        “Hey there man. Is this seat taken?” Yep. Equestria’s one and only DJ-PON3 was also on board this train. Nicko allowed for her to sit next to him, which felt like a bad decision when his mother came back from getting a few treats from Pinkie to see them sitting next to each other.

        “Oh… Well, this is a surprise.” The Chiliarch commented as she looked at the two of them. “Nicko, would you care to introduce me to your… friend?”

        “Oh yeah. Vinyl, this is my mom Ciela. Mom, this is my friend Vinyl Scratch.”

        “Nice to meet you.” Vinyl commented. “You look badass for being Nicko’s mother. I see where you get a lot of your traits from, man.” She continued on to explain about Nicko’s heroics on board this train four days ago. His mom was actually quite surprised by some of the things Nicko did to save the lives of many ponies. She chuckled at the part where it all started when a drunk unicorn called him “short” and he punched them. Yep, that was her son.

        “So Nicko… I was wondering… when did you two first meet?”

        Nicko sighed. “Maybe I should say this one…… It started when Vinyl found me in Applewood…”






End Chapter 9

> Chapter 10: Castle of Glass
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery, and Shenanigans- Castle of Glass




        The train ride back to Ponyville felt different than the previous one that Nicko, Leo and Yuri were on. Unlike last time they were on the Friendship Express, nothing was trying to kill them or their companions. This time though, their group of friends and companions was MUCH larger than last time. Counting Twilight, her five friends, the four members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders that snuck onto the Chariot to Canterlot two days ago, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Molly, Anson, Luke & Ciela, Jade, Caliburn and the four other guards that were with there and lastly themselves; there were twenty five individuals on board. In most online games, this would be considered as a raiding party. But right now, it actually served as an opportunity for a “train party”.

        Due to the multiple opportunities that Pinkie Pie had been interrupted for throwing a Welcome to Ponyville/Birthday/Family Reunion party for the two brothers, the party pony used the opportunity right now to turn the dining car into a party room just for the occasion. She wanted it to be a surprise, but thought it would take longer to make those kinds of preparations. Even Anson pitched in to help her prepare for it while his father personally questioned how Pinkie Pie was able to do all these things at once. 

        About three hours after they originally left, the gang was slowly approaching Ponyville. They had spent almost two hours partying, eating cake, and celebrating; but most of the gang was tired out from all the “activities” that the Pink earth pony was having everyone play. One even included “dodge the dynamo”, where Molly took shots at people and you had to try your best to not get hit (Thank Celestia there was no casualties). 

        When the train reached the station, Pinkie Pie was the first one to burst straight out of the gate along with Anson. Everyone else soon followed, either with their hands filled with items to carry or with an agenda to do. Nicko himself felt like he should take care of something before he went back to Twilights. 

        What he didn’t expect though was for that opportunity to actually come to him. 

        ‘Nicko……’ A voice whispered to him, softly and flowing with the faint wind that was in the air. The Teen looked around, trying to find where he heard the voice came from. Only one thought came into his mind.

        ‘Selena?’ 

        He looked around and a glimpse of a figure moving in the shadows of an alley caught his attention. Curious, he walked on over. The alley was covered in shade on all sides. A perfect place for a being of darkness to hide themselves. Turning around, Nicko’s eyes soon laid upon Selena’s as she emerged from a shadow that was cast on the wall. 

        “Why hello there, My little Rune Slayer. I see that you made it safely back to Ponyville.”

         Her appearance looked rather normal this time. No fancy armor or weaponry. Just a casual dress and heels. Still though, Nicko was surprised by quite a few things. Mostly how she was here in the freaking first place.

        “I thought you would be back with Amy. Wouldn’t she need you?”

        “I can be anywhere as long as there is a shadow that I can stay attached too.” 

        “How is that possible?” The Rune Slayer questioned.

        “I’m a spirit.” She explained. “Similar to Eris, but I have more limitations. I’m just lucky that Amy’s room is on the opposite side of this wall or else I would accidently cut off her life support.”

        “I see. So why do you need to talk to me?” Nicko then asked. Selena sighed deeply. Nicko knew from previous experiences that doing so… wasn’t really a good sign. Something about it seemed off to him. 

        “I’m running out of time. My magic can only keep Amy together for around a few more hours or so at least.” 

        “Oh.” Nicko was shocked by the news. “Could there be anything I can do to help?”

        “Do you have a mana potion?”

        The Rune Slayer nodded, grabbing a Advanced Mana Potion out of his bag and handing it to Selena. She opened the bottle and drank the potion seconds afterwards. The effects of the mixture brought some color back to her skin and her mane. The Spirit felt a little more relieved now thanks to the boy’s generosity.

        “Thank you. This should help me with healing Amy a little while longer.”

        “Your welcome.” The Rune Slayer said.

        “Now though, theres one thing I need to tell you about before I get back to Amy.” Selena told Nicko as she began to fade into the shadow of the wall. “Be careful. I can feel something stirring nearby. Like the fabric of reality itself will soon tear apart.”

        Before Nicko could even ask, Selena was gone. He was left alone in the alleyway with another puzzle to solve. Still though, maybe this one wasn’t quite that hard to figure out. A quick trip to the local library should be able to solve his questions if he looked in the right place. 



        When Nicko came back to the library, he wasn’t greeted by Twilight this time. Instead, he was actually greeted by her “number one assistant” Spike. The Dragon told him that the element of magic had to go into town to pick up some supplies from Quills and Sofas and also go see how his parents were settling in. Rarity offered them a place to stay after striking up a conversation with Luke and Ciela on the train ride back.

        “So how was Canterlot?” The young dragon asked as Nicko stepped inside and sat down on the nearby couch.

        “Lets just say it was very…… eventful.”

        “Eventful? Just what exactly happened up there?”

        “Remember when I told you and Twilight about my past a couple of nights ago? Before I ran into my brother at the arena?” Nicko asked him. Spike nodded, recalling when the teen opened up to both Twilight and him about his past.

        “Well, I ran into two of the most unlikely people I would ever find in Canterlot. My parents.”

        “Woah, Woah, Woah! Back up a second!! You ran into your parents? I thought they disappeared when you were little.”

        “That’s what I thought as well.” The teen replied. “But as it turns out, they were actually stuck here.”

        “How does that even work?” The dragon asked as he sat down on another couch across from Nicko.

        “That… might take some explaining.”

        So, for the next twenty minutes, Nicko told Spike everything. From first arriving in Canterlot and encountering Luke and Ciela for the first time to actually having to fight his mother before even finding out it actually was her. He even told them about what happened when the duo first arrived and how they were the bodyguards/caretakers of a Young Celestia and Artemis. Shock went across Spikes face when Nicko had to recall the brutal and bloody encounter with Eric when he killed Celestia’s parents and also how the Diabolical Esper was turned into stone along with Luke and Ciela.

        “Wow… That’s quite a story.”

        “Indeed it is. But that still wasn’t everything that happened in Canterlot.”

        “It wasn’t?”

        “Of course not.” Nicko told him. “Amy made Scootaloo her apprentice and Apple Bloom became a Wind Sneaker. Now the two of them have powers like ours, but still need practice in controlling them. My brother and I were training them this morning before we left to come back to Ponyville.”

        “That sounds awesome!” The dragon exclaimed in excitement. “Speaking of which, where is Amy? I thought I would see her in town today when you guys came back.”

        That… was unexpected. Nicko thought Twilight would’ve told Spike about her current condition. But it seemed like she had not gotten that opportunity yet. “Amy… is in the hospital. We got attacked by Eric last night while in Canterlot and she’s right now in a coma and trying to recover.”

        “Oh… Sorry to hear that.”

        “It’s okay, Spike. Sometimes, things happen in which you don’t have control over.” Nicko told the dragon as he turned his wrists. “During those times, it’s best to try and do what you can to ease the pain a little.” The dragon nodded his head as he got up from his chair. He turned around to a stack of papers that laid on top of a stool and began to start going through them with a heavy sigh.

        Nicko himself was wondering what he was doing and walked over. It seemed like he was sorting some… research papers. A few stacks of paper focused on spells involving teleportation, transformations, telekinesis and other subjects. But one of the subjects actually caught his attention as he picked it up and looked at the title.

        ‘Theory of the Displaced; A research report by Clover the Clever.’

        “Hey Spike. Mind if I have a look at this?” 

        The dragon turned and looked at the paper stack Nicko was holding before scanning a sheet that he had attached to a clipboard. Flipping through some pages, he was soon checking off something on a list with a quill that he was holding that looked like one of Twilight’s feathers. “Well, that one isn’t on the list. So, go ahead I guess.”

        “What list?” 

        “A list of research papers by famous sorcerers and scientists from the past few centuries. Twilight likes to read them to see if she could learn any new spells or improve upon the one she already knows in her spare time. I was asked to organize them while you guys were in Canterlot and I was almost done by the time you arrived.”

        “Ah I see. Would you like some help with that?” The teen offered, just to be helpful since he was staying under their roof for the time being. 

        “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass. Twilight promised to give me a few gems for if I finish this by the time she returns home. Plus, I’m almost done anyways.” With a relaxing sigh, Nicko smiled as he turned to the first page of the document that was in his hands. Without further ado, he began to read the contents of the pages inside. 

        “Welcome. 

        To first understand the contents provided in this paper, you must understand the Multiverse Theory. Many ponies in the scientific community have agreed on the possibilities behind the theory of other worlds being out there and also parallel universes of our world, as previously theorized by William Manes. There are infinite possibilities to what these worlds are, but due to recent events, it had me thinking a bit more about those who could be affected by them. 

        Therefore, I introduce the premise of the Dimensionally Misplaced, or Displaced for short. This theory refers to beings or individuals from other worlds that are brought to a single point in the universe by an unknown force. That point being Equestria, or the infinite number of realms of our world that exist. An example of the Displaced that would best fit this situation would be the two humans that served under Lord Apollo and were the caretakers and protectors of the young Princess Celestia and Prince Artemis. In relation to this, the individual they fought before turning into stone was another Displaced and also was the murderer of both Lord Apollo and Lady Evelynne. But this individual… His powers would be much greater of a threat if the elements of harmony did not seal him in stone.

        After careful evaluation and seeing it firsthand, this one had control over time and space. Elements that could rip apart the fragile fabric of existence. Power like this, if remained unchecked, could throw our world into chaos. We were thankful that the elements of harmony had frozen him in stone. But how long will it be til the stone begins to crack? We must all be cautious with any Displaced that might end up in our world. Like anypony we know, they are just as smart and strong as any one of us. Because we can’t tell who can be our ally… and who can be our enemy.”

        -Archmage Clover the Clever.

        Seeing this now made the teen’s brain hurt a little. All this science and stuff was making him think of Stephen Hawking and a bunch of other scientists that they named on ‘The Big Bang Theory’, which ironically made him think of Twilight as Sheldon Cooper. Just less crazy and without saying that her mother or the princess had her tested. But still though, this document brought up some important notes that referred to Eric and how powerful the Diabolical Esper was. Just what was he planning on doing though?

        Remembering the conversation with his parents on when they encountered him, Nicko recalled the Tracer then asking for the use of a forbidden source of magic to “crack open a rift.” Given these notes, he must have been wanting to crack open a spacial rift into the unbound void. The reason for it still remained unclear, but at least it shined a little bit of light on the subject as well as showed what he was capable of. The Rune Slayer would have to prepare himself.

        A creak of the door caught his and Spikes attention as they turned to see Twilight return to the library. She was carrying a few plastic bags with her magic. Must’ve been the shopping she got when she was out at Quills and Sofas. “Oh hey Nicko. I didn’t expect for you be here.”

        Nicko raised an eyebrow at that statement. “Really? Where did you think I would be?”

        “With your brother or parents?”

        “Anson is helping out Pinkie Pie and the cakes at Sugarcube Corner while my parents are settling in at the Carousel Boutique since Rarity offered them a place to stay.”

        “Oh… Well, nevermind then.” Twilight replied as she set down her shopping. She noticed Spike was done with the task she asked him to do and went to the kitchen to grab some gems. Nicko himself, kept the research document by Clover the Clever to himself.

        “So Twilight, what’s next on the to do list?” He heard Spike ask the princess as she hung up her jacket on the nearby coat rack. 

        “Well, we should finally figure out the examination plans for the old castle before we construct it as a gift for the princess.” She replied as she took a folder that she had and placed it’s contents on the nearby table. This includes photographs and also old sketches of the original design that dated back several hundred years ago. In addition, Twilight added some sketches of her own on how she thought the castle should look upon finishing up with the building process.

        “Can’t we have somepony else help with this?” Spike asked as he took a seat by where Twilight was sitting at the table.

        “Sorry Spike. Applejack is still partially recovering from her injuries. Rainbow Dash is checking on Amy at the hospital. Rarity is helping Nicko’s parents settle in. Pinkie Pie and Anson are working at Sugarcube Corner; and I believe Leo is helping out the Animals back at Fluttershy’s cottage.”

        “What about the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

        “Do you really think they’re up for the task after trying to help Amy fix the town a few months ago?” The Lavender Alicorn asked. Spike thought about it for a few minutes, then partially agreed with what Twilight was saying.

        “Good point.”

        Nicko now got up from the place he was on the couch and walked on over, taking a seat by both of them. “I can help out if you guys want.”

        “Are you sure? You are a guest here.” 

        “Whether I’m a guest or not doesn’t matter. I still can pitch in and help out around here. Plus, it might make things a little easier on the two of you.” 

        Inside Nicko’s head was another reason for looking at the information behind this castle. He had an odd suspicion about it, like something about it didn’t seem right at all. As he was told about the castle and looking at the maps and photographs, he was starting to sense some kind of pattern. All he needed to know now was the story behind the castle. Maybe once he knew that, he could figure out this puzzle.

        When he asked the question, Twilight gave him a full explanation about the building they were looking at. It was an old castle that use to be the home of the royal family before they moved to the city of Canterlot. Currently though, it was empty and some may say that the place is “Haunted.”

        It seemed like the perfect place for someone like Eric to be hiding. Just what he could possibly be planning there was something Nicko could not figure out. Something involving the stolen spellshards? The “research” that he wanted to perform? Something entirely different. There were many different possibilities. 

        “I’m going to go out on a walk. I’ll be back in a little while.”



Fields outside Ponyville

        “Okay, now Sweetie Belle. Try and focus on your posture. Your moves only work if you are still on your hooves and move quickly while you strike.”

        For Molly, she was now doing the most craziest of tasks that the Mastermind thought she would have to undertake. On the train ride back to Ponyville, Sweetie Belle had asked her if she could be her student and teach her how to fight. She wanted to stand up for herself whenever Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon tried to bully her; but didn’t want a repeat incident of what happened at the clothing store in Canterlot. After seeing both Applebloom and Scootaloo gain powers of their own, the young unicorn thought that Molly would be her key to making this happen since Yuri was too busy making sure her sister was on her best behavior. 

        She had been teaching Sweetie Belle for half an hour now the ways of the Psychic Tracer. It was quite different from the Arc Tracer that Molly specialized herself in. Arc Tracers specialized there weapons with an advanced AI that allowed them to control and summon a series of drones using a method called “Dynamo Factory” that could let the Tracer switch between different drone types that had various forms of mechanical weaponry. Psychic Tracers, on the other hand, focused on a object called “Nasod Armor” that changed it’s appearance depending on the users will. It allowed the user to fight with enhanced strength and speed. But this could only work when the Dynamo that they’re using are in their “Configuration Mode.” 

        The problem with Sweetie Belle was that she needed to have a clear mind in order for her Nasod armor to function properly. However, numerous practice rounds later and she was still frustrated by the fact that she wasn’t able to activate her awakening yet. When she finally did though, it didn’t last for a long time because she was either distracted or used up too much of her newfound power at once. She was hopeful that with Molly’s help that she will get the hang of this sooner or later.

        While practicing her combat skills on a dummy, Nicko spotted the two of them and walked on over. He was personally surprised by Sweetie Belle’s new clothes and skills. She now wore a Black leather jacket and Black jeans with a pair of gloves across her hands in the same color. She had a white shirt on underneath with a power button symbol by her neck and had a small pendant with the same symbol on it too.

        “There you go! Nice job!!” Molly praised. The Mastermind was unaware of Nicko’s presence and was surprised when she finally noticed him. “Well, I’m surprised to see you right around now. How are you?”

        “Alright. Things so far since we’ve come back have been very… eventful.”

        “Molly? What do I do now?”

        The Arc tracer turned around to see the young unicorn was channeling energy from her Dynamo’s in her palms. “Just practice with your new skills, Sweetie belle. I need to talk with Nicko for a minute.” 

        The young Unicorn nodded as she refocused her attention on her attacks. Molly and Nicko backed up a little bit and then they got back to the original conversation at hand. “Can you describe what you mean by “eventful” Nicko?”

        “I talked with Selena earlier. She gave me some bad news. She could only keep on healing Amy for a few more hours. I gave her a Mana potion earlier, but it’s unknown as to how much time we have.”

        The news caught Molly be surprise. But she was also confused. A few details were missing. A few “important” details. “What kind of mana potion did you give her?”

        “Advanced.”

        “Did she say anything else besides that?” was the Mastermind’s next question as she crossed her arms. 

        “She said that she felt something stirring nearby, almost like the fabric of reality was being torn apart. In addition, I came across this after I talked to her when I was at Twilights.” The Rune Slayer told her as he handed the research report that was done by Clover the Clever. She took a few minutes to analyze the content of the paper. Especially when she got around the point when they mentioned Eric and what his powers were. Then, Molly handed the papers back to Nicko and posed a new question.

        “So do you think what Selena said is related to the guy who is the reason why my sister is in a coma?”

        “That’s my only guess so far. I’m not certain of it, but from what we know in the reports and from personal experience, there’s no denying that it might be him.”

        “Okay, smart guy.” Molly smirked. “If what you theorize is somehow right, then where the bloody hell do you think he might be?”

        “Before I left the library, Twilight was talking about plans for the construction of something where an old haunted castle is right now. Something tells me that it’s not actually haunted and that Eric might be working on his “research” inside the building.”

        Molly took what he said into consideration. Boy, did it sound too good to be true. Here was an opportunity to get much needed payback and to put a halt on his plans. But to pull this off would require some planning. Additionally, the stepped up security in Ponyville would probably be keeping an eye on them while they were in town during the day. Given that, the best thought of when to do this would probably be under the cover of night. 

        “Not to be rude, but I’m not sure that we’ll make it out alive if the two of us were doing this. Plus, Yuri might be a little bit “overprotective” in making sure that we don’t do anything crazy and Jade is… well…”

        “Jade?”

        “Let’s go with that, yes.” She sighed as she tried to think. “Your parents are obviously out since they just arrived in town and need a much needed rest.”

        “Good point.”

        “And Leo would probably be brain dead after all the work he was doing in Canterlot.”

        “Another good point there, Ms. Watson.” Nicko smiled a little before Molly punched him in the shoulder. 

        “Look, this isn’t elementary, so can we refocus back on the topic?” She asked.

        “Alright, alright.” Nicko replied. “Hey, why don’t we go down by Sugarcube Corner for a minute?”

        “Why? Are you hungry or something? Because I’m already full after having the baked goods Pinkie Pie was serving on board the train.” The Rune Slayer shook his head a little and sighed as he crossed his arms. Nicko then told her that there was a different reason for going over and it was not for the food.

        He knew someone there that they could ask.



        “Okay, so let me get this straight… Based on a hunch that Selena had, a report that you got from Twilight’s library, and some information on an empty castle that you found out from listening to her; you two think that the insane psychopath that put one of us in the hospital is nearby?”

        “Yes Anson. We’re planning on checking it out tonight. Everyone else is either exhausted or occupied and we could use someone with your skills.”

        “Hmm…” The Infinity Sword was with both his brother and Molly outside around the backside of Sugarcube Corner. He was now considering his options and also the risks with doing something like this. After a few minutes though, he made his decision.

        “Alright, I’m up for it.” He told them. “What time are we going?”

        “Midnight tonight.” Molly told the boys as she pulled up an analysis with her dynamo. “The limited visibility and the darkness provided by the clouds in the night sky would provide a good cover since it affects the visibility of the guards on duty.”

        “Okay then. Us three against one maniac. Doesn’t sound too hard.” Anson smirked as he put his arms behind his head. That’s when the three of them were caught off guard by a familiar voice. 

        “Aren’t you forgetting somepony?”

        Nicko turned around to see a familiar face. Matter of fact, two familiar faces. Eris and her father, Discord were right behind the two brothers.

        “Eris? Discord? What are you doing here?”

        “Isn’t it obvious?” Discord chuckled a little as he floated over by Anson. “We want to help the three of you. It’ll be too boring to stand around and watch things happen… When we can make things happen.” 

        “He does make a very good point.” Anson said. “The more the merrier.”

        “That’s the spirit, my boy!!” Discord cheered before disappearing in a bright puff of smoke. Eris just facepawed herself and shook her head a little. The Infinity Sword was just confused as he looked at his brother.

        “Uh… What just happened?” 

        “Remember when I told you once about Eris being the Chaos spirit that was inside my head? Now think that, but replace Eris with Discord.” Nicko explained.

        “And the fact that my dad is a little more dramatic when it comes to these things.” Eris mentioned before she went into Nicko’s mind. Both brothers now had an extra pair of eyes and ears to help them tonight.

        “Alright… Now comes the boring part… We wait…”



Eleven hours later (Midnight)…

        The moon shined brightly tonight as Ponyville and Equestria was now covered in a blanket of Twilight and stars. Almost everypony that wasn’t a guard on duty was currently fast asleep. Dreaming away inside Artemis’s playground of the night. Again though, almost everypony was fast asleep. Three individuals were wide awake. 

        Each of them came out of where they were staying as quietly as humanly possible. Nicko casually used the same “express elevator” that he tried when having to hurry to where his brother was fighting Amy only a few days ago. Molly had used her Dynamo’s to silently sneak out from her room in Lyra’s house and sneak away. Anson was the one who also had to use the “express elevator” tactic, but he had to jump off the Roof of Sugarcube corner onto the nearby building before jumping on down. 

        Avoiding the guards, all three of them soon met in Ponyville’s Mane Square. They were equipped and ready for whatever awaited them inside their destination. 

        “Alright, before we get going, does anyone have any final questions to ask.”

        “Yeah… Just one.” said Nicko as he pointed behind both Molly and Anson. “Is that who I think it is?” Both of them turned around, jaws dropping as they saw who was standing there. 

        A woman stood there. A woman in red garments, black boots, and red hair. She looked too familiar for them to not recognize who it was.

        “Holy Sh*t.” 

        “Oh my god…”

        “Sis!?!”

        “Guess who's back… Back again… I’m back b*tches… Tell a friend…”

        Yep, this was definitely Amy. Despite her new appearance, she still acted like her same old self. Taking a blood red scarf that was in her hands, she used her newfound magic to conjure a sword out of if and then set it in front of her. Her claymore was a lot bigger this time and looked like what somepony would use to cut a tree in half. 



        “Wow… You look… different.” Anson said blankly as she put her newly conjured claymore on her back and walked on over. 

        “Well, that’s what happens when you have a new set of powers. Selena used the last of her magic to restore mine and gave me a new set of powers before I woke up. Her magic is now mine.” Amy explained. “I may now be the Burning Crusader anymore, but now I’m something new. I may not be able to protect everypony like I wanted too, but I can damn well avenge them.” 

        “Well said, Crimson Avenger.” Nicko smirked a little. “That new look of yours looks rather… what’s the word?”

        “Sexy?”

        “DAMMIT, Anson!!” The Rune Slayer cursed before he smacked his brother over the top of the head. Soon, they got moving as quickly as possible. The recent outburst could have alerted any guards that had sharp enough hearing to hear from the other side of town. The four of them left town and proceeded to the Everfree forest. Nicko used a small rune that he conjured as a source of light for them to find their way in the darkness of the forest. It worked out well for the most part, but also attracted some unwanted attention. 

        The four of them were soon blindsided by a Stone like Chimera that attacked them. The Lion like creature had a rock like mane and a tail that looked like a spearhead. Amy used the opportunity to test her new powers and struck the creature with Assault Strike before allowing Anson to perform the finishing blow. The Dark Knight was getting used to her new powers and felt great with being able to use her newfound skills to get back into combat. One of the things she needed to pay attention to though was called Blood for Blood. It allowed her to sacrifice her own health to deal extra damage to her opponent. So Amy needed to pay attention and make sure that she didn’t give up too much health in order to dish out pain to her opponents.

        After the battle with the Chimera, the three of them soon came across their destination and entered a broken stone courtyard that was part of the castle that was in front of them. It definitely did look haunted by appearance. But no one could feel anything that was off about it.

        “Okay… so we spent twenty minutes going through a forest to end up here… Now what?” Before anyone could answer Molly’s question, a surge of energy coursed in front of them and led to the front gate of the castle opening. Strangely, no one was there to open it. This made Anson worried.

        “Is it just me or does it feel like we're walking into a trap?”

        ‘We won’t know unless we go inside.’ Discord told the Infinity Sword mentally as he slowly walked through the castle door. Everyone else soon followed suit and now all four of them were inside the main hall of the building. The doors slammed behind them. The four humans were now stuck inside… with no way out.

        “Well now, I seem to have some uninvited guests.” A foul demonic voice echoed throughout the room as everyone turned around. It showed Eric, standing there calmly and clapping his hands like he was congratulating them. Molly, out of pure anger, tried to use her Phantom Seekers to strike the Diabolical Esper, but the spinning blades just went through him as he laughed a little.

        “Oh I’m sorry. I forgot to mention that this is just a holographic projection of myself. The real me is busy working on an important research project.”

        “Coward!!” Molly taunted as she caught her Seekers and put them away. 

        “I wouldn’t consider myself as such. I would more likely say that I’m a genius at work. I’m close to being able to get farther with my work than before I was turned to stone by that Damned Celestia and Artemis. I want to be able to show it to you, but you will have to come find me first before then.”

        The hologram began to fade as three black onyx doors began to rise from the floor. Each one looking more imposing than the last. “In order to come visit me, you must make it through the doors in front of you. You may only go through one door and only one door can be entered by two people. I wish all four of you the best of luck. It would be a shame if you died trying to reach me. But then again, it would also be quite hilarious!”

        A foul and wicked laugh echoed throughout the cavern as Nicko and the others now looked at each other. There were four of them, but three doors. Plus, only one of them could be in a two man group. 

        “Hey, I just had an idea.” Anson said as he turned towards Amy and the others. “Why don’t Amy and Molly go together as a group? Since Discord is with me and Eris is with Nicko, we kind of already have an extra pair of eyes to watch our backs.”

        “That’s a good idea.” Molly agreed. Amy shortly responded in approval of the plan. The two sisters soon walked through the door in the middle, while Anson walked through the door on the left and Nicko walked through the door on the right. The doors faded away once they stepped inside. 



        Amy and Molly were greeted by the sight of what looked like a barren wasteland. They had no idea where they were, but could tell that something was really off. Especially with the multiple sources of magic that they felt around the wasteland.

        “Uh… Amy?”

        “Yeah Molly?”

        “Why do I feel like this is somehow a case of Deja Vu?”

        That’s when they saw multiple pairs of glowing green eyes as far as the eye could see. Then, they found a pair of green snake like eyes in the front. A pair of eyes they saw before in Ponyville.

        Queen Chrysalis.

        “OH HELL NO!!!”



        Upon entering through the door, Anson notice that his surroundings were different. It looked like Celestia’s throne room, but different. It had a lot of more open space, but looked old and beaten. He thought that he was in another room inside the castle and used the moment to look around. 

        But that’s when trouble started for him. A few minutes after entering, he could hear the solid clanking of plate armor moving. As Anson turned around, he stared face to face at what he previously thought was a statue.



        “Okay, that’s new.” Anson told himself as he looked at the guardian like figure. He couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl… or if someone was actually inside there. A soul could possess an object and control it like it actually had a body. But he was unsure with this one. So he did the next best thing that came up in his mind. 

        He asked the question.

        “So… would you happen to be a guy or a girl?”

        No answer… 

        ‘Well, that’s rude. It didn’t even talk.’

        ‘Maybe it’s mute?’ Anson said mentally. ‘Like it can’t hear us say anything or we’re not speaking in it’s language.’

        Then, Anson thought of another question to ask. “So… since you’re not answering my previous question……… Can I call you a transgender?”

        This time he did get a response. But not a friendly one.



KA-CHINK!!

        “God, why do I always get myself into these situations?” Anson asked himself before drawing both of his swords. This was going to be a very tough fight.



        Inside his own room, Nicko looked around at the place he was in. The walls did not look sturdy at all. This place was like a Castle of Glass, and everyone inside was only just a crack. But as he looked around, he felt something odd. Like it was Eric’s magic, but more vibrant. 

        Just like what Selena was telling him before, it felt like the fabric of reality was going to get torn apart. The only thing that Nicko remembered after that was a bright flash of light and a loud ROAR that pierced his eardrums. Whatever was coming for him… felt incredibly powerful.



End Chapter 10
> Chapter 11: You will know our names
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery, and Shenanigans- You will know our names




As the night progressed, some ponies usually are sleeping peacefully. Around this time though, Spike was starting to get a little restless. His stomach grumbled as it urged him for a midnight snack. 

When he began to walk downstairs, however, he felt that something different inside Nicko’s room. Usually the human would be there, already sleeping at this hour. But something felt off.

Quietly, the young drake snuck into the open room only to find an empty bed.

“Oh horseapples.” The dragon muttered. “This is bad.” Leaving without making any noise wasn’t like him.

The dragon quietly left the library. He needed to find the human and the best person to check with first was probably Molly. She was at Lyra’s at the moment, so it was a safe bet to start there. After reaching the house he knocked on the door.

He heard a groan and some sluggish shuffling coming closer. He could relate to the feeling, but for now finding Nicko was more important.

“Who is it?” 

“It’s Spike. Is that you Lyra?”

The door opened and the mint green unicorn greeted him at the entrance. “Spike, it’s two in the flipping morning. Why are you here? Do you need to pick up something?”

“Actually, I was wondering if Molly was here? I woke up and found that Nicko wasn’t in his room.”

The mare groaned as she rubbed her eyes. “I can go check right now…” she muttered as she went back inside. It didn’t take long for him to hear her cry out in panic moments later. “Oh no! Molly’s gone!!”

“What!?” The dragon hurried inside the house, and met the unicorn running back to him.

“She’s not in her room! Where do you think they are?” 

“I don’t know!” Spike told her, the feeling of panic was starting to build up inside him. “Get to the hospital and see if Amy is still there. I need to see if Anson is still at Pinkie Pie’s”



Nicko groaned as he came to, his head felt like it someone wrapped it around in string and let it loose like a top. His vision was blurry and his sight was out of focus. The ground under his hand felt like stone bricks, like the ones he’d seen in Canterlot. He remembered that Eric had space and time distortion abilities. So he was probably one to blame for this.

‘Eris? Are you okay?’

‘Ugh… My head… I feel like I got turned into an anvil and somepony tested the hammer to see how hard I was.’

‘You and me both.’ The Rune Slayer said as his vision finally came into focus. He saw the stone brick path he was on, but it was different from Canterlot, a little darker. He heard screams, but they sounded nothing like a pony’s screams and more like a hawk or an eagle’s cry. 

“What is that thing!?” 

“Call the guards, quick!”

Nicko’s shook his head and got to his knees. He could now see what were making those noises. They were quadrupeds, half bird and half cat. Even with the different colorations of some of them, it was easy enough to guess that they were Griffons. Some of them were running away but more than a few were on high perches and glaring down on him.

‘Eris, where the hell are we?’

‘I don’t know, but this place looks very familiar. It looks like… Griffonia. The Kingdom of the Griffons. But still, this place doesn’t feel like the one in Equestria we know. Everything feels… off. I can’t even feel your brother or my father’s magic signature.’

Seeing that they weren’t walking on two legs was obvious enough for him. The griffons here were more like the ones in human mythology than the ponies that he was used to.

Now Nicko was back on his feet. His sword was on his back and his bag was slung across his chest from his right shoulder. Before he could even step forward or ask anyone for clarification, he was swarmed by a flock of Griffon Guards with swords, spears, crossbows and spiked maces pointing directly at him. 

“Don’t even think about trying anything.” the head guard in charge of the battalion hissed at the teen. 

“Okay, just what exactly is going on-?” Nicko tried to ask before all the most of the weapons moved in closer to his chest and neck.

“I’m the one who’s going to be asking the questions, runt.”

‘Oh no...’ Eris thought inside Nicko’s head.

“What did you call me?” The disturbingly calm Rune Slayer asked the guard, his tone gaining a hint of edge in them. 

“Listen runt,“ the guard emphasized the word. “I told you I would be asking the questions here and there’s no possible way for you to escape-.”

“Listen up, feather duster!! I have no freaking clue how the hell I ended up in this place and I’m trying to find a way to get back home. But you are being a complete jackass and thinking that when I haven’t even done anything, yet.” Before the head guard could even give an order, Nicko curled his fingers and swiped his hand around him. A ring of runic magic appeared around him, causing the guards to jump back in surprise.





“It’s a spellcaster!?!”

“What the heck is he doing!?!”

‘What in chaos are you trying to do, Nicko?’ Eris demanded as the symbols swirled around him.

‘I’m trying to make a distraction. I don’t want to hurt any of them, but we need to get out of here. Can you possibly put a smoke bomb by my feet?’

‘Yeah, but why-?’

‘I’ll have the runes hit it and cause a smokescreen. In the panic, we can make our move and get out of the city.’

Eris grinned. She liked the plan. Inside Nicko’s mind, the Draconequus conjured the spell while Nicko slammed the ring of runes into the ground. The Smoke Bomb went off, clouding the area. The guards coughed and covered themselves in what they thought was an attack. The Rune Slayer then made his move, knocking some of the weapons out of the way and then running down an alley. 

“Don’t let him escape!!!” 

He ran around the unfamiliar ways of the city, ducking through every alley he could find. The guards scrambled into the skies and scattered, using their sharp eyes to find the Rune Slayer. Though the smoke bomb had been a great idea, Nicko still stuck out amongst the griffons, especially with his vibrant red hair.

“There he is! After him!!”

The guards followed the direction of the Rune Slayer and dove down to trap him once again. They were more cautious now that they saw him cast magic.

“Oh come on.” Nicko muttered as he stopped and turned around. “SPLASH EXPLOSION!!” 

He unleashed the spell and had the medium sized rune hit ground to create another smoke screen for him. The pursuing griffons covered themselves to protect their eyes from the dust, giving Nicko enough time to climb the roof and clear a number of buildings before the guards resumed their chase. 

‘Eris, would you happen to know a way out of here. we can’t keep running forever.’

‘Yeah, I got a plan. Just go towards the wall and jump off the edge.’

The city was built on a mountain, and unlike Canterlot it didn’t dangle on the side like the royal sibling’s castle. It reminded Nicko of the old Assassin’s Creed setting.

‘Are you insane!? That’s suicide!!’ The Rune Slayer mentally screamed at the spirit, even though he knew that he was running out of options. And roofs. 

The guards coming from both the ground below and the air above, leaving him limited amount of room to move around without getting cornered. The only option he had was to trust the spirit of Chaos as he was being corralled to the edge of the outer wall.

“You have nowhere to run!” he heard the same guard in charge taunt behind him. 

That really made Nicko want to spite the guard. “Actually, A Rune Slayer like myself always has a place to run. Just some ideas are crazier than others.” 

With that, Nicko took the leap of faith off the edge. The guards still tried to follow the wingless maniac down his fall. It was a smart move, but he forgot that they had wings. Only when they were about to reach him, a bubble of magic enveloped Nicko where he disappeared with a sound of a snap.

“What in the Ancestor’s name?!”

The captain roared as he and his squad pulled up. He looked around, searching for any indication of where the runt had gone to, but there was no trace of him anywhere. “I don’t know and I don’t care.” he snarled. “Have every able guard on high alert and have them search the outside of the castle as well as the streets. Stop anyone suspicious and if they resist-.”

“Sir!” a frantic guard flew over to him, panting heavy breaths as he flapped his wings to stay in place. “The King was attacked!”

The captain’s eyes widened and clenched his beak. “The King!?”

“Yes, His highness is in critical condition and the healers are trying their best to keep him alive.”

The captain on the guards nearly broke his talon from the grip that he had on his sword. This was all a distraction. While they were chasing that so called Rune Slayer the blasted rebels were back to their old ways once again. He still questioned why the King kept their families alive. 

“All Guards are on FULL alert as of right now!! Look high and low for that bastard. We’ll turn this city inside out if we have to. Anyfeather who resists will be arrested and charged with treason!”

“But sir-.”

“NO BUTS!!! Now GO!!!”



As the guards were searching the city, the Rune Slayer reappeared in one of the cave pockets on the mountain, panting heavily as adrenaline coursed through his veins. 

“Nicely done. Just where are we though?”

“In a cave, duh?” the spirit said with a roll of her eyes. “Back home, I use to come here all the time if I wanted to take some time to just think when I was just tired or stressed. I call it, The Crow’s Nest.”

Right. Because crows are birds and griffons are part birds. Haha. “Will we be safe here?” Nicko asked.

“Yeah, I used Aura magic on the door to make it look like it’s just the side of a cliff. Barely anypony would know how to remove it unless they too knew the same kind of magic.”

“Good job.” Nicko replied as he sat down in a Lotus crossed legs position. “Any ideas on how we should go from here?”

“Yeah. You stay right here and try to regain some of your energy. I’ll go see what the commotion back in the city. A few griffons mentioned something about “rebels” so maybe the history section of the library would have some information about it.”

“Wouldn’t they see you though?”

“Not if I use an invisibility spell.” Eris replied as she snapped her fingers and disappeared. 

“Heh… Very clever.”

“Alright. I’ll be back as soon as I can. You stay here.” The spirit told him as she left the cave, leaving the Rune Slayer to reread his skill notes. He wanted to refresh on his powers, because it seemed like he needed to use some new spells given the current situation. That way, he could prepare himself for whatever he was put up against.



Down the mountain, in the village where Ryu and Gilbert were, the drake was watching 
the old griffon’s students run through drills he himself thought of for his friend when he was younger. He was especially enjoying the aerial acrobatics meant for dynamic maneuvers for aerial chases.

Those who walked by eyed him warily. Thirty griffons. Those were how many he had knocked out last night. Even if they were still trainees, they still had at least two years of training experience.

It had definitely been a disconcerting experience for them. It was different when it was them that were hunted down, instead of the other way around.

Sir Gilbert had tasked them to follow Ryu into the forest, and kill him if they could. They became overeager when the old knight promised that they would be recommended personally to the crown if they succeed. They didn’t know how a daunting task it had been.

Ryu used [Chill] to slow them down and bring forth dread with the cold. He used [Thunder Strike] to knock them out, and used [Evil Eye] to paralyze them with fear. Being a race of predators themselves, that had been a big blow to their prides.

At the very least, all of them learned something from the test. Though they differ from each other, they all agreed to be more vigilant in the future, and train harder so that they may get the blue haired human back for what he did to them.

“Ryu.” the old griffon came up to him. “I see you’re still here. Normally you’d be gone after a day. Aren’t you going to say hello to the rest of the family as well?”

“I was planning on it.” he replied, leaning back under the shade of a tree. “But ever since last night I haven’t been feeling well.”

Gilbert raised a curious brow at him. “You’re sick?”

Ryu snorted at the old griffon. “Dragon immune system. If there a virus out there that could bypass that then it would be something of legends. I also have healing spells that would magically burn any ailment in my system.”

He had [Cure], [Remedy], and [Purify]. He also had other spells that would accelerate his healing. But with the way he fights, anyone that actually manages to injure him severely must have done something to force him to out of hiding. That, or he made the dragon pissed.

“Of course.” Gilbert said sarcastically, palming his head. “How forgetful of me.”

“I know a spell that can turn other creatures into eggs, Gilbert.” the dragon warned his friend. “Don’t test me.”

[Ovum] was a transfiguration spell. A terrifying skill that turns something into a fragile egg. Though it’s not like Ryu knew how to cast it.

“Do it, then.” Gilbert dared. “It would be good to have my youth back.”

“I will boil you.” Ryu growled, only for the griffon to laugh at him instead of feeling threatened.

“Sir!”

Both griffon and drake paused in their banter as a messenger glided down to them from the mountain. The old knight stood straighter while Ryu quietly slid inside the shade and into the shadow dimension.

“What is it?” the old knight asked.

“There’s been a disturbance in the city.” the messenger reported.  “While the guards chased down the culprit, an attempt was made to the King’s life.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened before they turned into a determined glare. “Did they catch the one to make the disturbance?”

“I’m afraid it escaped, sir.”

“Damn.” the old griffon cursed. “And the King?”

“In critical condition. We don’t know if his majesty will make it, sir.”

The old griffon cursed once again. This was the work of those damned rebels again. This was the closest that they’ve come to killing a member of the royal family in decades. Hopefully his majesty will pull through.

“And?” Gilbert asked. “Why come to me? I’m already retired.”

The messenger saluted. “Sir, we need all available griffons. I’m afraid they called for you and some of the trainees to help hunt down the cause of disturbance.”

“Peachy.” the old knight grumbled. He looked over to where the younger griffons were observing their interactions and stopped doing their drills.

This could be good, or this could be bad. They were still inexperienced, but after what happened last night they were more than likely to treat this more seriously than they would have the day before. Still, if it was for the crown…

“Matilda!” he called out. “Get over here with the rest of the sharpshooters!”

The female griffon and eight others came before the old knight, lining up in a row. Each of them stood in attention, and showing not even a hint of emotion.

“I’m sure you all heard him. We need trackers to find whatever it was that distracted the guards. You’ll all come with me to the capital.”

“What about the rest of us, sir?” another griffon, Bret if Ryu not mistaken, asked.

“The rest of you will stay here. Be prepared in case you get deployed. Even if you all haven’t graduated yet, you’re still trained for moments like these. Make sure that none of you embarrass me.”

“YES, SIR!” the trainees all saluted.

Gilbert turned back to the messenger, nodding. “There you have it. Tell your superior that we have nine able trackers, and twenty-one battle ready troops. I’ll be up in the city shortly.”

“Sir!” the messenger saluted before flying away.

From under the shade of the tree, Ryu phased out into view. “Their pulling you out of retirement?”

“So it seems.” Gilbert grunted. “But I’m not doing this alone.”

The drake raised a brow, prompting his friend to continue.

“You were planning on showing yourself to the world, right?” the griffon asked his old mentor. “What better way to do that than to help the crown.”

Ryu hummed in thought. “I suppose you make a good point.” he said. “This could also be a chance to gain the favor of your kind. If Celestia finds out that I helped she might make one of those sour expressions of hers when I bring it up.”

“Celestia?” Gilbert asked. “As in the ponies’ princess?”

“Yeah.” the dragon nodded. “We don’t really get along well.”

“It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who hates your guts. Hahaha!” the old griffon laughed.

“Let’s just go.”



Ryu and the ten griffons flew up to the mountain city. The dragon had to forcefully grow his wings through his clothes without going full dragon. He groaned and complained how that still felt so unnatural. It wasn’t so bad during full transformations. The change was almost instantaneous that way. But partial transformations were slow and he could feel all the change happening in his body.

He made sure that he was in the middle of the flock. He knew that other creatures acted irrationally after they see something living and know nothing about it. He’s been chased by enough mobs to be certain. Being in the middle made him look less threatening.

They all landed in the main street leading to the palace. The area made Ryu think of an old game based on earth’s history. The houses were made of slab, with barely any amount of wood to be seen. Even though some them have been rebuilt to modern designs, there were still those who chose to follow traditions and lived a minimal lifestyle.

Ryu decided to keep his wings for a while. Being in a mountain gives you more opportunity to fly than to run. Also, similar to growing them, they also give him a sense revulsion when they shrink back under his skin and disappear.

The streets of the city were quiet. But unlike the ponies, Ryu could see a few glaring eyes peering out the windows, each one carrying a weapon with them. Being a militaristic race, each griffon had at least some form of combat training.

“Sir?” one of the griffons around Ryu spoke.

“I’ve noticed.” said Gilbert.

Every time they pass a house, the eyes of its residents were solely glued on them. They could hear weapons being readied and hostilities were obvious for all of them to see.

“Ryu?” the old griffon called out to his friend.

The drake had deep frown on his face as his eyes roamed every open window in the city. Those citizens weren’t pointing their glares at the ones around him, but directly at him. He held himself back from growling as their actions made him want to react in kind. He didn’t understand why they look like they wanted to swarm him.

“Sir Gilbert!”

The dragon was thankful that there was someone who distracted him. All those eyes were starting to wear him thin. The griffon who arrived reminded Ryu of his old friend’s armor back when he was still in service. His helmet and shoulder guards were more stylized than the other troops flying in the sky.

The griffon looked at Ryu and glared at him. “I see you’ve caught one yourself.”

“Caught one?” Gilbert asked. “Explain yourself, Captain.”

Both the Captain and Ryu were looking each other in the eye, glaring at one another. “A few hours ago one this thing-” he pointed at Ryu. “-appeared in the city. It fled before we could take it in for questioning. My squad chased it all over the city streets where it jumped off the mountain and disappeared soon after. We believe that it was some sort of teleportation.”

Gilbert turned to Ryu in surprise. The dragon shook his head from his friend’s questioning look. “Not possible. I’m only one that looks like this.” he gestured to his human form. “Trust me, I’ve looked for a very long time.”

The Captain scoffed at the drake. “Looks like you didn’t look hard enough.” He could see that his taunts had visible effects, and that the bipedal creature was straining to keep himself from lashing out. “While we were busy with the chase, the palace had been attacked. The Queen and her children were fine, but the King was severely injured from defending them.”

“How is his Highness?” Gilbert asked.

“Weakened.” the Captain spat. “We believe that the weapon used had been poisoned. Only time will tell if the King will recover.”

“If it helps, I know a spell that burns most type of poison and accelerates the healing of the body.” Ryu offered.

“How delightfully convenient, then.” the Captain growled. In a blink of an eye, his sword was out of his sheath and pointed directly at Ryu’s throat. “For the attempted murder of the crown, I hereby place you under arrest. Surrender peacefully or we will use lethal force.”

From the rooftops of the houses, dozens of griffon knights rose up into the air, creating a cage of feathers with Ryu, Gilbert, the Captain and all nine trainees inside.

“I’m trying to help.” Ryu growled, glaring at the Captain. The younger griffons huddled together with their mentor, who pushed them off to the side as Ryu conversed with the stubborn Captain.

“Stay your blade, Captain!” Gilbert commanded. “He is not one of the conspirators who tried to murder the King!”

“I’m sorry, Sir Gilbert, but this is the closest that they’ve gotten in killing a member of the royal family. We cannot take any chances.” the Captain turned back to Ryu. “What say you, Monster?”

“What say I?” Ryu repeated. “I say: You have five seconds to stop this idiocy, think carefully and rationally before I bring down [Lightning] on every single one of your troops.”

“I dare you to try.” said the Captain, pressing his sword to the unconcerned dragon’s throat.

Gilbert dove between the two, pushing the sword away from his friend. “Stop this foolishness. I can vouch to you that Ryu is no threat! He has been with my family ever since my grandfather’s time!”

“But he is our only lead, Sir Gilbert!”

“And I’m telling you now that he knows nothing!” the old griffon roared. “He can help us! The more you antagonize him, the more he’s liable to refuse his offer to aid us!” he grabbed the Captain by his armor and pulled him close. “He can bring anyone from the brink of death. I’ve seen him do it, and experienced the same thing myself.”

Gilbert pushed the guard away, moving back beside his old mentor and friend.

“Do not be so impulsive, Captain.” said the old knight. “As you’ve said, we need all the help we can get. Then what better way to help than have a dragon on our side.”

“Dragon?!”

The guards all turned back to Ryu, who shifted his scaly wings blew smoke from his mouth. His eyes were slitted and glaring hatefully at the Captain.

“You were this close in dooming the city.” said Gilbert to the stunned captain. “Angering a dragon is foolish, but angering an Elder Dragon is the height of idiocy.”

“An Elder Dragon?!”

Once again surprise ran throughout those who were present. Though much were still unknown to the titanic drakes, the griffons still held the most experience when it comes to knowing how destructive they are in a fight. Battalions were needed to fight one, and Armies would probably be required to even face an Elder.

Legends were still told of their ferocity, of how the griffons warred against the beasts over a thousand years ago before they simply stopped their pillaging.

Fuego would have burned them all to a crisp before devouring them.

Agua would have cut their mountain in two and wash away the remains.

Sora would have buzzed his wings until they crash, and laugh as they fall from the sky.

Titan would have simple roared and they, along with their mountain, would have crumbled from the power of his voice.

Da Wan would have used his magic to grow in size and send their armies across the sea while he rampaged across the city.

“That’s not possible!” cried the Captain. “This thing cannot be kin of those giants.”

“Would you like to test that?” Ryu asked. His arms slowly shifted into a dragon’s, and his boots disappeared while his legs also began their transformation.

The Guards above readied their weapons as the Captain took a few steps back.

“That’s enough, Ryu.” Gilbert warned his friend. “We need to cooperate if we want to bring the bring those who did this to Justice.”

“Then they can start by bringing me to their King.” he told the old knight.

“We will never let you near his Highness!” the Captain roared, brandishing his blade.

Ryu glared at the stubborn griffon. “Then you leave him to die. If your King really was poisoned then he grows weaker by the minute. Unless you already found the cure.”

“Well, Captain?” Gilbert asked. “Was the antidote already given?”

The griffon hesitated in answering. His weary eyes were still on the blue maned dragon. In a few moments of reluctance, he lowered his sword and sheathed his blade. “No, I’m afraid that this seems to be a new type of poison. The healers are doing all they can to find the an antidote for it.”

“Then would you at least let him try helping the King?” Gilbert asked.

“I’ll even let you chain me.” said Ryu as he presented his transformed hands. The captain would have believed his sincerity if it wasn’t for the infuriating smirk that he had on his face. Dragons were strong, naturally, and chains would have done nothing but inconvenience them at best. If they could chew through gems, then what’s stopping him from merely gnawing his restraints.

“Let them pass!” he ordered the troops, but begrudgingly so. They parted a path towards the palace, with some grumbling under their breaths. He stopped the drake just before he walked by. “If you do anything--”

Ryu didn’t let the Captain finish as he quickly bent down and got into his face. “If I did anything then you wouldn’t be able to do a thing but watch as I burn everything you care about.” he hissed. “I wouldn’t even care for your kind if it weren’t for the Downing Clan. I would have been content ignoring your existence.”

The griffon clenched his beak as both of them glared at each other. With a final scoff the dragon turned away and followed his friend to the palace. The captain watched until they disappeared inside, feeling the anger bubble inside him.

“Sir?” another griffon came up to him.

“Investigate the Downing Clan.” he ordered. “Find out everything you can from Sir Gilbert’s grandfather up to their descendents today. I want to know who that creature is and his motives.”

“But sir, Sir Gilbert said--”

“I KNOW WHAT HE SAID!” he turned to the guard sharply. “But that doesn’t mean that we have to accept his word for it. Find out what you can and bring it to me. The Downings used to be part of the rebels. If they went back to their old ways then we must be prepared. GO!”

“Yes, sir!”

Glaring at the palace one last time, the Captain jumped into the air and resumed his search for the red haired runt. He will find the brat and make him pay for this humiliation. Him and that dragon bastard.



Eris felt tense. Despite the fact that nopony could see her in the spirit’s current state, something made her think that a pair of eyes were watching her. Upon returning to the castle, she could tell that their arrival had caused quite a stir. Guards were everywhere and every one of them seemed on edge. Well, it was a given since their species was very militaristic. 

As she slithered through the streets, she could hear the guards talking amongst themselves. Mostly about who was this “Rune Slayer” that jumped off the wall of the mountain castle. Others about non important issues that were the least of her concern at the moment. She just stayed focused on her goal on reaching the Griffonia Archives. 

A positive sign for her that she was going in the right direction was when she saw the archway that led to the inside of the building. Eris found a directory and began to search for where she would need to go. The spirit’s best guess was something involving history. So looking through the guide, her eyes soon found the place where she needed to be.

⇒ Historical References: Floor two, Row 137

‘Well, at least I’m getting somewhere.’ The Spirit told herself as she floated up to the second floor and swiveled to the right row. Now the hard part. To try and find the most accurate book in the row. Most of the books she found were either illustrated or for Hatchlings in grade school. It wasn’t until reaching almost the very end of the row where she found a valuable source.

Here and Now: A guide to Griffonia’s History 

‘Bingo!’

She didn’t even question the convenience of it all. But then again, being a spirit of chaos, conveniences were hardly anything new.

With another snap of her claw, a pair of glasses appeared in her other paw. They looked similar to normal reading glasses, but unlike those these ones were a bit special. It was one of those little items that would have made Twilight Sparkle start frothing in the mouth. It gave the wearer the ability to Speed read through books. Eris was personally thankful that Twilight did not try to steal them from her yet. 

The glasses began to work the moment Eris put them on and opened the book. Hundreds of pages began to flow and blur as she kept flipping them one after another. One particular spot made her stop in the middle of the mind-numbingly thick book. There was something within the Griffon’s history that was different with the one back in her home. 

A War.

Putting a claw on the top of the page, Eris began to softly read the scripture on the page. “Many years ago, there was a war that split Griffonia in half. The Royal Family only wished for prosperity of the nation, but wanted to stay in their home continent. However, an uprising began as the more foolhardy of the Griffons wanted more. They wanted to go beyond the seas and conquer the lands and place them under their banner. Both groups clashed and after years of conflict and bloodshed, the Royal Armies won at the cost of disgracing multiple noble families for their participation in the rebellion-.”

The Draconequus stopped as her ears picked up voices coming in the hallway and noticed two guards by the stairwell leading to the first floor. She slithered in the air and hovered above them. Something about their conversation intrigued the female Draconequus.

“Hey, did you hear about what happened in the city with Sir Gilbert?”

“No, I’ve been moving along these damn floors for the past few hours. Isn’t that old fluke retired?”

“Was retired. Thanks to what happened with the Red maned brat, the guards have been on full alert and called for everyfeather able to lend a claw for help. But when he came with a few trainees, a dragon was with him.”

“You’re joking? A dragon?”

“Not just any dragon, but an Elder Dragon from what I heard.” The griffon emphasized. “It was on two legs and had the same body structure like the little runt with the sword in the courtyard. He even offered help heal the king’s wound and extract the poison out of him.”

Eris stopped listening to the guards at that point. She never heard of any “Elder Dragons” before and with the description of the individual the guard just mentioned, it almost made her think of a human, if they made the comparison with Nicko. That tidbit made her curious, though. 

Turning towards an air shaft in the back of the room, the chaos spirit squeezed on through and made her way back outside. Eris had something else that she needed to do now.

She wanted to see who or what this “Elder Dragon” was. Her curiosity was getting the better of her on this as she slid past the tightened security in the hallway that led to the kings chambers. Boring old history would come later, this was more interesting.



Boots, claws and paws scraped over the marble floors of Griffonia’s royal palace. Nine military trainees sent as trackers now served more like an escort as they passed through each grand halls. The ceilings were built high above the ground, enough space for griffons who chose to fly in order to reach their destination faster.

Few who served as staff and guards alike threw scathing looks at the group. Though none were aimed at their fellow birds, the young soldiers-to-be felt a sense of unease the further they went inside. The cause of the feeling came more from their companion, rather than the looks sent their way.

Ryu was clenching and unclenching his hands every time he caught a griffon glaring his way. He fought back a snarl for each one, and resisted the urge to paralyze them with an [Evil Eye]. It was only because of Gilbert, walking by his side, was the only thing preventing him from doing so. There were also the guards who tried to silently follow them into the palace.

Though the group of ten guards tried to be silent, there was no hiding the sounds of their armors unless they trained for it. The Griffons prefer open combat rather than Ryu’s more efficient style in battle, thus their lack of a more subtle branch in their military. 

Ryu had turned his feet back to normal and reformed his boots. He kept his hands in scales and his wings out as proof that was what he claimed to be. What he didn’t expect were the looks that they were sending him as he passed. Each one was slowly chipping away at his patience. The sooner he heals their King, the sooner he’ll be out of the palace in search for what could probably be another Displaced.

That was the only explanation he could come up with. The person that they chased in the city was more than likely another of his unfortunate fellow human thrown into Equestria. Based from the description that he learned from one of the passing guards was that he was able to create explosions using some sort of runes. It reminded him of Gwen from that other Equestria and her impossible application of Formalcraft.

Hers had been instantaneous magic circles to create a phenomenon in reality, and this one sounded similar in application but focused more on a single outcome: Explosions. But he couldn’t be sure of that. This Rune Slayer had only cast two spells that created explosions. He may have more in his arsenal. After all, even though Ryu himself focused more on [Shadowwalk] and [Magic Ball] he still has his Psionics and Elemental Magic.

As the group approached an ornate set of double doors, the standing guards gave Gilbert a respectful salute.

The old griffon returned the gesture. “We’re here to see the King.”

Both guards took a quick glance over to Ryu before looking to the griffon. “Sir, are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” He turned back and looked at one of the younger griffons. “Matilda, you and the rest are to stay here. We’ll be back in a moment.” He looked at Ryu. “This won’t take long, right?”

“Not unless I have to reattach a limb.” the dragon answered.

Gilbert nodded. “Come on, then.”

The two guards opened the doors for them. The room was the royal bed chambers. It was a little bigger than Luna’s room in that alternate Equestria that Ryu saw.

Surrounding the bed were two griffons in white outfits. If the drake had to guess, they were the medical staff. On the other side of the bed was another griffon, though this one was garbed in a very expensive looking ensembles worn by the royal family. Based from the way she held the claw of the bird on the bed, she was most likely the queen.

“Sir Gilbert.” she greeted in surprise. The old griffon giving her majesty a respectful bow. “And who is this?”

She turned and faced Ryu. He expected the same look that the rest of her kind had given him, but was surprised when she merely looked confused and startled. She gave no malicious looks directed to him.

“My Queen.” Gilbert greeted. “I am here with someone who may be able to help his Highness in this time of great need. Allow me to introduce to you my mentor, the Emperor Dragon, Ryu.”

Said drake resisted the urge to slap his former disciple. Gilbert knew how embarrassed Ryu was when someone mentions that atrocious title.

“Emperor?” the Queen repeated in surprise. “Were the dragons not governed by the Elders?”

“They are, and currently still are.” Ryu answered, placing a clawed hand over his chest and tilting slightly forward for a small bow. “I am one of six who rule over the drakes. Emperor Dragon is what the ponies have given me a thousand years ago. I am referred to as Kaiser by my fellows. I am neither above nor below the Elder Dragons for we six are all equal in rank no matter the age, gender or power.”

“I see.” her Highness muttered carefully. “May I ask why you have come here, Lord Kaiser?”

Lord Kaiser. He liked the sound of that.

“I wish to help your King.” Ryu gestured to the heavy breathing griffon on the bed. The stab wound on his chest looked rather severe, even when covered by bandages. “If I am not mistaken, the rebels this time have summoned something not of this world. They used him as a distraction in order to catch the King and guards unaware of the assassination attempt.”

“You know who did this?” she asked. A sharp glint of edge shone in her eyes. He knew that look. That was the look of someone who wanted revenge.

The dragon shook his head. “I’m afraid not. But I am here to aid you in search for the culprits. For now, however, I am here to heal the King. I have a spell that should be potent enough to close the King’s wound and burn most, if not all, of the poison that ails him.”

The griffon looked at him warily. “I’m afraid that I cannot allow that, Lord Kaiser. I hope you understand, given our situation, I cannot trust the life of my husband to an outsider.”

“Perfectly understandable.” Ryu nodded. “I commend you for your caution, your Highness. Had I been in a similar situation I would have done the same.”

He placed his hand on his chest once again, then bowed to the Queen in show of respect. This time his tilt had been deeper. 

“You needn’t worry, however. I swear by my name, as a member of the Elder Council of Dragons, in accordance to the Dragon Code, that I am here only to help you and your kind. I only wish that this situation be resolved as quickly as possible, and clear the name of the fellow that I believe to have been wrongfully summoned into this world.”

“Does this mean that you know of the one who created the commotion in the city?” she asked in surprise.

“Not personally, I’m afraid.” Ryu said. “But I am fairly certain that this person is not only similar to me in appearance, but also in circumstance as well. I also wish to clear our names and not be associated to the rebels that plague this kingdom.”

“I see.” the Queen sighed as she visibly relaxed. “So that is your motivation?”

“Of course.” Ryu gave the griffon a tiny smile. “As a dragon I cannot allow these vermin to slander the image of my kind.” As a human being. “I will make those rebels pay dearly for succumbing me to the hate and glare of the populace when I myself have done nothing wrong.”

“I understand.” she said. “I do hope that you will accept my apology for my subjects’ grievance. This attempt on the King has been hard on us all.”

“I accept your apology.” the dragon said. He took a step forward closer to the Kings bed. “If I may?” he asked.

“Please.” she pleaded. “Help my husband.”

Nodding to the distraught Queen, the medics by the bed gave way for the dragon. Ryu held up his hands over the suffering King as he channeled his magic.

“[Cure]”

Light descended from his hands as the spell began its work. The effects were almost immediate as the King’s labored breaths began to calm, his expression easing as well.

[Cure] was a unique spell unlike some of healing spells in his arsenal. It accelerates the body’s healing and burns any ailment inflicted upon it. Every healing spell that Ryu knew was a product of a special type of energy: Life Magic.

He’s seen how powerful his healing magic was, and the effects that they do. Similar to the original game, they also deal damage to the undead. That had been one of the proof he needed to convince himself the his healing was a form of Life Magic. He has also been able to [Resurrect] dead animals whose time has not yet come.

Some of his friends, however did not see this skill as a gift. They treated the ability to bring people from the dead as dark sorcery. Even when he tried to convince them that it was not a type of necromancy, they still did not believe him. Twice had he only considered to use them, but he was rebuked on both times.

The first time was when he discovered them a few centuries ago, long after his surrogate mother had passed. He wanted to bring a friend’s recently departed mother back to life, but he was met with scorn and hate when he brought it up to them.

The second time had been for Applejack’s sake. Granny Smith, however, stopped him before he could even attempt it.

Ryu nodded as his work was finished. He stepped away from the bed and looked at the two medics. “Most of the poison is gone, and the wound has also been healed. He still requires the antidote, but his life is no longer in danger.”

Beside the King, the Queen was weeping tears of joy as she caressed her husband’s peaceful face. He looked at Ryu in gratitude. “Thank you, Lord Kaiser. How can I ever repay you?”

“If you would allow me.” Ryu began, “Then I wish to personally execute the ones responsible for this.”

From his spot near the door, Gilbert sighed. He’d been watching how his old mentor worked, and how his Queen’s spirit was lifted after hearing the state of the King. “We can’t let you do that, Ryu.” the old knight said. “This is our country’s business. A foreign power has no place in this.”

The dragon clicked his tongue, clearly dissatisfied by the answer. “I was hoping that I’d be allowed to, this time.”

“I am sorry that I cannot give you your wish, Lord Kaiser.” the Queen spoke, wiping away her tears. “If it is any consolation, I will immediately spread the news of how you helped the King in his recovery.”

“And hopefully that would be enough to piss the rebels off.” said the deviously grinning drake.

“You look like a villain, Ryu.” Gilbert commented.

“I never said I was a Hero.” he countered.

“Given that you did this to save your reputation…” Gilbert said. “I can believe that.”

The dragon shrugged in nonchalance, have no problems in being called a villain. “I suppose that now would be a good time for me to search for that red haired human that the guards are looking for.”

“You’re still going to help?” Gilbert asked with a bit of disbelief in his tone.

“If I’m right…” Ryu began, “Then that runt is trespassing on my world.”

“Trespassing?” the Queen inquered. “I’m afraid that I am lost in what you mean.”

“It’s nothing that you should be worried about, your Majesty.” the dragon waved her off. “If you consider these rebels as your business, then this boy is mine. Even if he does fall in your jurisdiction since he caused a disturbance into your city.”

“Hmm…” the Queen pondered. “If you wish, Lord Kaiser, I am willing to pass this task onto you. You may seek this “Rune Slayer” at your leisure while my troops focus on rooting out the ones responsible for my husband’s attack.”

“That would be the best course of action, I believe.” Ryu agreed. “If he’s anything like me, then he’s more powerful than he looks.”

“Is that your head I see swelling, Ryu?” Gilbert laughed.

“You’re lucky you’re old, Gilbert, or I would have smacked you for that.”

“How will you find him?” the Queen asked. She didn’t ponder on the fact that the two got along well together. If he truly was Sir Gilbert’s old mentor then that would explain why.

“I have my ways.” said the dragon.

Closing his eyes, Ryu drowned out the world around him. He began to feel the magic inside himself and focused on a particular ability.

The dragon’s body began to glow in a golden light. He raised his head as the radiance slowly concentrated on his forehead. When all of the light gathered into one spot, it rose in the air above him. Ryu opened his eyes to see it, and focused on a single goal.

To find the Displaced.

The bright speck above him suddenly created a string of light, pointing into a direction past the chamber’s wall.

[Prana: The Eye of the Gods]

It was an ability given to the original Ryu by the witch Deis. They sought her out and freed her from her imprisonment when she told them that she knew where Ryu and his friends could find the Goddess Myria.

Deis had been weakened by her five hundred years of imprisonment. She said that she would have take them directly to the Goddess herself, but her powers had been drained by the passage of time. In exchange, she awakened original Ryu’s [Prana] to point out the direction of the Goddess.

The Queen, Gilbert and the medics all looked at the light and the string, never having seen that type of magic before.

Ryu breathed out deeply as the light slowly faded. In the original game, that ability would have been used to find Myria. But since the Goddess was not in this world, it more or less had no purpose. In his years of training, however, he found a way to make the [Prana] search for beings with great power.

The Displaced, while seemingly lacking the raw output of a God or Goddess, still have enough power in themselves for the [Prana] to work. Or at least that was what he was hoping. It could be pointing out to a rather powerful artifact instead. Ryu prayed silently that it was directing him to the Displaced and the artifacts that they have.

“I have my direction.” he said to the griffons in the room. He looked at the Queen and bowed. “By your leave.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” said the startled Queen. Now that she thought of it, a dragon was bowing to her. That was a rather strange experience.

“See you later, Gilbert.” the dragon said.

“Until then, Ryu.” the griffon saluted. Then he turned to the others in the room. “You all may want to close your eyes.”

The dragon chuckled as his friend was given odd looks. He raised his hand and created a [Magic Ball]. “You may want to do what he said.” he warned,

Without even waiting for the other griffons, he raised the spell high above his head and discharged it into a bright flash of light. He ignored the cries of alarm from the Queen and medics and quickly sunk into the darkened shadows.

Now all that’s left to do is find that Displaced.



Meanwhile, 
As time ticked on, Nicko became a little antsy. He was trying to calmly meditate in peace, but this was harder given the present situation. The Rune Slayer and his Spirit friend were chased out of the city of Griffonia by the guards that protected the city. Now, Eris was trying to find information about this place that could help the two of them. However, it had been almost an hour since she left and Nicko was now beginning to get a little nervous. She wouldn’t normally take this long in order to find out something as simple as some information. 

 	He spent most of the time waiting in deep meditation. He wanted to make sure his flow of magic was not cut off by anything or disturbed in any way. The Rune Slayer was now looking back at his skill notebook that contained the notes from Starswirl the Bearded’s research on rune magic and also his spellbook so he could remember the additional spells he had been processing. 

Now though was when Nicko decided to get off of the floor and onto his feet. His legs had been sore from sitting in the lotus position for so long. He needed to stretched them so his reflexes could still be sharp for the moments that he had to fight. 

But his thoughts drifted on to something else. He was worried for his brother. What was going on right now that he was here? What if he came back to find that Eric had ravaged everything back in his Equestria? The Rune Slayer shook his head, dismissing the thoughts as he straightened himself up after flexing his leg muscles. 

“Alright, now to practice my swordsmanship.” The teen told himself as he grabbed his blunted greatsword and began to practice his basic attacks. He started with his basic attack combinations with his right hand and then switched hands to his left. Once he was done with that, he was going to focus on his active skills. He stopped when he heard a strange noise that attracted his attention. For a moment, he thought that it was Eris coming back. But soon realized something.

Eris never walked on her two legs, nor did she wear boots.

Nicko tensed as he turned around towards the entrance. From there, he saw something he never expected. Another human. He had blue hair and an odd choice in garments. He remembered that there was a barrier that prevented anypony from seeing him. But something told him that this person was a different case. Maybe someone like him…

For a moment, he saw that the man outside looking around. Nicko waited for a few seconds to see if he would do anything. What worried him though was the Katana this person had in his hand. Why he had his weapon out, he had no clue, but it was definitely not a good sign. 
For the moment, he thought he was safe. Then, the man raised a hand and touched the outside surface of the barrier, tapping and knocking on it with his fingers. The Rune Slayer wasn’t sure why he would do so, but he watched as the person inspected the texture of the fake stone wall. Something made his blood run cold as he said one word off the tip of his tongue.

“[Simoon]”

The man’s hand glowed and braced himself. In a flash of fire and wind the stone barrier exploded, sending Nicko skidding backwards. The Run Slayer used his sword to hold his ground from the wave of force that followed it. Whatever this person did, he just destroyed Eris’s barrier spell. It may have looked simple, but it was still created by a spirit of chaos. Just what the hell was he?

The unknown individual said nothing as he walked through the entrance tunnel of the Crow’s Nest. He looked at Nicko calmly, but his slitted eyes reminded him of something ferocious. Like when he saw Smaug in the Hobbit movies. But his appearance was mostly human. Why would this guy make him think of a dragon?

“Red hair… and human. You must be the Rune Slayer, am I right?” This person spoke; emphasizing on Nicko’s job class as he said the question. 

“Yeah, but what’s the big idea with blowing up the door?” Nicko stated. With the wall of rock behind him and the only exit was through the other guy, he felt really cornered. “Matter of fact, who the hell are you?”

“You’re not what I expected you to be.” The man muttered with his hand by his side and switching the grip on his sword in reverse. “My name is Ryu. Now, can I ask for your name?”

“My name is Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” He replied. The teen was feeling uncomfortable given the current situation. He wasn’t the best when it came to talking to new individuals he hadn’t met before and, threat or not, this guy was no exception. He curled and uncurled his left hand while his right hand held his sword.

Ryu saw the action and pondered over it in his mind. He thought that the teen might be a little tense. Coming in with sword in hand probably wasn’t his best decision.

“Now then, Nicko, let me ask you something… Why are you here?”

“Excuse me?” The Rune Slayer shot back. “I didn’t ask to be here. All I remember was going into the Castle of the Royal Pony Siblings with my brother and two friends to stop a crazed maniac, a bright flash of light went off and the next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a platoon of guards interrogating me like I’m a criminal.”

Quite jumpy, Ryu noted, and so quick to assume. There something about what he said that bothered the drake, however. “You mean Royal Pony Sisters, yes?” 

“No, I mean Royal Pony Siblings. You know… Celestia… Artemis…?”

“Artemis?” The dragon repeated. That can’t be right. Did Luna have a different name in that Equestria?

Nicko was now beginning to be a little frustrated by this guy. Sighing, he palmed his face in exasperation. “Forget it… I have a question for you, though. Why are you here?”

Ryu shrugged as she turned his attention back to the teen. “Isn’t it a little obvious? I’m here to help.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“Well… little boy.” He decided to describe him based on his appearance. Nicko was five foot two, while Ryu was a little over five foot ten. “What if I told you that-?”

Before Ryu could even finish his sentence, Nicko leaped forward and swung his sword at the Elder Dragon. Ryu’s katana quickly intercepted the blow as he gave a small grunt at the surprise attack. The expression on the Rune Slayer told the dragon that he may have angered the kid.

“Never… Call me LITTLE!!!”

Ah. So it was a height thing.

Nicko’s next move was to try and kick Ryu across the face, only to have it blocked by Ryu’s other hand. The dragon pushed forward, shoving Nicko back further into the cave.

“Look,” the dragon started. “Will it help if I said sorry? I didn’t know that you had a thing about your height. I didn’t think that you had a short-fuse over--”

“Stop calling me SHORT!”

The red haired kid lunged once again, swinging his sword at the dragon. Ryu could only sigh internally as the kid reminded him of a certain blond alchemist. Though Nicko seems a little more immature and definitely has a shorter fuse than the elder Elric.

Both Displaced clashed once again, with Nicko more on the offensive. The Rune Slayer hacked and slashed with abandon, swinging his sword at any spot he thought was an opening. He had power and speed, but the dragon noted the subpar sword skills and technique.

After years of sparring with Griffonia’s knights, Ryu has learned a lot from them. He also taught Gilbert for a few years. He saw the inexperience in Nicko’s swings, but his power and speed make up for them. If he hadn’t been directing the blows to slide off his blade, his [Mind Sword] would have probably shattered after a couple of blocks. Thankfully, though, the boy lacked the skills to force him to absorb the blows.

In one swing, Nicko swung with a little more strength in his attack. After redirecting the blow, Ryu shot out his hand and hit the Rune Slayer in the chest with a palm thrust. Thanks to his enhanced strength, the blow managed to push Nicko back, skidding on the ground. The boy hacked and coughed, holding his chest where the blow landed, glaring at the dragon.

Nicko went for another lunge, but hesitated at the last moment. His sword felt a little heavier, his muscles straining a little further. His joints also felt rigid all of a sudden.

From where he was standing, Ryu watched as how the boy tested his body’s movement. Nicko’s eyes were still on him, but still hasn’t attacked.

In Ryu’s arsenal of spells, some of his Psionic abilities have a special effect on the body. He had a skill that could lower his opponent’s muscle tension, slows nerve impulse, and addle’s the mind’s thinking processes. It allowed the Elder Dragon to gain the upper hand in battle for most beings with a brain.

[Blunt] and [Weaken] lowers the attack and defense in the original game. But here, Ryu can use them to weaken the muscles by hindering the brain.

[Slow] lowers the speed of the signals that the brain sends to the body, thus the sudden drop in speed and reflexes.

[Mind Flay] was an attack that also strikes the brain. It leaves a psychic block that makes mental processes to commit error in their deduction.

When he attacked Nicko with his palm thrust, he used his Psionics to force those effects on his body. Doing them all at once may have lowered their effects, but with every clean hit he can lower his opponent’s [Attack], [Defense], [Speed], and [Int] by 3% per blow.

Using his free hand, he conjured a [Magic Ball] that went off like a flash bomb, causing the Rune Slayer to cover his eyes. When the teen reopened them, his opponent was gone. 

But that was when the cold edge of the Ryu’s blade touched the Rune Slayer’s cheek, having used the flash to blind him and using [Shadowwalk] to get behind. 

“You’re clumsy when it comes to combat, kid. Give up.”

Nicko though, just grinned a little. This was the right opportunity to try out one of the new spells he was reading up on earlier. “I’m not clumsy. I just simply miscalculated.” 

Not cool.

With one quick motion, Nicko snapped his fingers as what looked like a rune appeared from under his feet. The magic from the single symbol rose upward into the shape of a sword’s tip. Then more blades bloomed around its edges as it began to spin in a rather spectacularly hypnotizing display. “STORM BLADE!!!”

Ryu himself was surprised by the technique. Jumping back when it rose from the ground, he took a few shallow stab wounds before he managed to step out of their range. The Drake allowed for the possibility that the kid was able to do more than just cause explosions, but he didn’t think that the boy was strong enough to form blades out of just magic. It reminded him of his [Mind Sword], but this one conjured up more than one blade. It was stylish, if he had to admit.

Ryu countered Nicko’s attack with one of his own. He raised his hand and made a [Snap] just as soon as the blades disappeared. Ethereal jaws of a bear trap appeared in the air above Nicko and chomped on him multiple times. The Rune Slayer hadn’t been expecting the move, hoping that the surprise of his own skill would give him enough time to attack. He could only watch as the transparent jaws come down on him before it threw him to the nearby wall. He cried out as his muscles failed to tense and protect his ribs from cracking at the impact.

[Snap] left no visible wounds on the teen as it was purely Psionic. The image of the phantom jaws clamping down on him were enough for his psychic skills to realize the pain that would have come with them had they been real. From the pained expression that Nicko was showing, the secondary effects were also met. [Snap] had the ability to lower [Defense] as well.

Nicko gritted his teeth as he tenderly got to his feet. Ryu was still just standing in place, looking at him and not attacking. That really pissed him off. He couldn’t give up, though, he had to hold out until Eris comes back. Then maybe they’ll be able to get away from this lunatic.

In the dragon’s side, though, he was just waiting for Nicko to stop attacking. To think that all of this just because he called the boy short. At the very least he got to practice some of his skills. It was good to know that he still remembered them.

Using the blood that was on his hands, Nicko began to draw a rune symbol on the wall he was against.

Breathing out a tired sigh, Ryu kicked off the ground at full strength and propelled himself towards the kid. Thanks to the small size of the cave, it wasn’t much of a distance. He grabbed Nicko by his throat and held him up, preventing him from doing anything else lest he got choked to death.

“Just stop this right now. I really am trying to help.”

‘Says the guy who’s holding me up by my neck. Is this how you help other people?!’ Nicko shouted in his mind. He was going to say the words, but instead coughed up a bit of blood. Ryu’s grip was tight and it felt like he was crushing his windpipe. The drake was so preoccupied on the boy that he didn’t see the incoming bolt of Chaos magic until it curved in the air and struck him dead on the face. 

Nicko dropped down and coughed turning towards where the magic came from. He was relieved to see who was standing there. “Eris!”

“Dear Chaos, Nicko. I leave you alone for thirty minutes and you already are attracting unnecessary attention.” She said as her eyes locked on to the individual rubbing his face on the ground. She recognized him as the “Kaiser” that healed the king. But why he was here was another mystery. She only stayed long enough in order to watch him perform his magic to heal the Griffon king before making her way back into town to gain information. 

“How did you know?” asked Nicko.

“I felt a reaction from my barrier when it was dispelled. Shortly after that, I felt your magic like you were casting and I hurried as fast as I could.” Eris now turned towards the Elder Dragon that was on the ground as she floated over him. 

Ryu was now starting to come back to his senses as he saw what was next to Nicko. “A Draconequus?”

“Yeah, so?”

Ryu groaned, lumping back on the ground. She looked a lot like Discord. “Who are you, then?” he asked.

“Names Eris. Spirit of Chaos and Discord’s daughter. Now, you better tell me one good reason why you’re here and why you attacked my friend.”

Great. A chaotic spirit with a temper. Just lovely.




        End Chapter 11

> Chapter 12: You will know our Names (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- 
You Will Know our Names (Part 2) 




It took a while, but only a bit of convincing to alleviate the temper of the chaotic spirit. It seems this Eris knew her friend well and started laughing when Ryu mentioned that the fight began when he mentioned Nicko’s height.

“So, I take it that the subject’s a little touchy for him?” Ryu asked as he sat down on the ground. They’ve all decided to talk civilly, at least. Ryu took one side of the cave while Nicko and Eris took the other.

“Oh yes.” the female Draconequus nodded, still chuckling at her friend’s expense. “This isn’t the first time that this has happened.”

Ryu sighed, shaking his head. “At least it was me who was winning.” he said. Then he pointed at the Rune Slayer who was rubbing his sides. “Had it been Nicko who was more powerful than the two of us then I would have gone straight to lethal methods in subduing him.”

The red head stopped nursing his side to look at the dragon. Eris finally stopped laughing to do the same. The Rune Slayer was still feeling his tender ribs even after Ryu healed them. It would take a few hours for them to stop aching, but it was better than the pain of walking around with cracked ribs.

Both spirit and Rune Slayer exchanged uncomfortable looks. Eris had informed Nicko on who the dragon truly was after things had calmed down. To think that the human looking Ryu was actually a dragon was a shocking surprise. Matching Nicko in speed, power and surviving a surprise Storm Blade at almost point blank range while in human form said a lot on Nicko’s chances of winning. To hear him admit that he would have likely went for the kill had the tide of battle been different was a very frightening thought.

“Um,” Eris started. “You wouldn’t have really killed him, right?”

“Yes, I would have.” Ryu said in a matter of factly. He propped his chin on his palm as he looked at Nicko tiredly. “He started the fight, and was coming at me with a sword. So it was either him or me. I don’t know about you, but I like living.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you!” Nicko exclaimed in his defense. He would have just given him a simple beating. No way was he going for the kill.

“I didn’t know that.” Ryu retorted. “You just came at me all of a sudden. What else was supposed to think?”

“That it was a misunderstanding?” Nicko said.

The dragon shrugged. “It’s not like you were willing to listen to me at the time.”

Eris looked over to Nicko. “Well, you do tend to go overboard when you’re angry.” she pointed out to her friend.

Nicko groaned before throwing his hands up in the air. “Enough of this. We’ve got better things to talk about.”

“He’s right.” Ryu agreed. “Right now the griffons think that you’re a criminal who served to distract the guards while one of the rebels went after the royal family. Thanks to that I’m also seen as a criminal because I look human, like you.”

“Hey! We’re not part of those rebels that you’re talking about!” Nicko exclaimed. “I didn’t ask to be sent here!”

“I know.” Ryu assured, taking the Rune Slayer’s indignation calmly. “You were forcefully summoned here against your will, so I don’t blame you.”

“Wait,” Nicko said. “How can you tell?”

“Just a hunch.” Ryu shrugged. Displaced were called by using Tokens.

Tokens were a Displaced’s symbol, their sign. It’s a part of their being that could be used to summon them through dimensions or alternate Equestrias. Ryu knew that this was true, having already experience it.

The summons can go both ways, however. Ryu had accidentally activated a token fairly recently and, instead of calling the Displaced into his own version of Equestria, he was sent to theirs.

Tokens are what connects the Displaced together. It lets them know that there are others who had similar circumstances as them. Ryu was forcefully sent to Equestria, Allie and Gwen were also forced as well. It lets them know that they weren’t alone.

“So, what do we do now?” Nicko asked.

“Well, for starters,” Ryu pointed at the Rune Slayer. “You and me are going back to the city, go to her Highness, the Queen, and you will plead for your innocence.” Then he turned and pointed at Eris. “You one the other hand will try to gain information based on where the rebels are hiding. If you’re a complete hax like the Discord I know, then this task should be easy.”

“Chaos Magic is not hax!” Eris exclaimed. “It's the primordial force of the universe that allows us Draconequi to break the laws of physics.”

“So…” Ryu trailed off. “Like the ultimate cheat code?”

“Exactly.” Eris nodded in satisfaction.

Ryu left it at that. Chaotic spirits were chaotic. You could always count on them to do or say random things that make no sense to others. Ryu, though, already learned to take many things in stride. Dealing with Discord all those centuries ago made him realize that pushing the spirit away just made him want to cling onto you more. Discord found it funny to get on the nerves of others.

Centuries after Ryu’s escape from the pony princesses, the dragon realized that getting on the nerves of other creatures was indeed entertaining. If Eris was anything like her father then random things are to be expected.

“So…” Ryu prompted. “Do you think you could find the rebels?”

“That depends.” the spirit shrugged.

He should have known. Nothing the dragon did was always easy when it came to situations like this. Even when he was still helping Sven.

“What do you need, then?” Ryu asked.

“I need a lead.” said Eris as she reclined on the empty air. “You can’t expect me to just prance around hoping to find something, do you?”

Actually, that was what Ryu was expecting. But he supposed that she had a point. “If I’m right, then you could probably find a lead in the area where you and Nicko first arrived in.” said the dragon. “Pulling a creature from a different dimension really isn’t something that you could do easily. Something like that would definitely leave some excess magic in the air.”

“Hmm…” the spirit pondered, tapping her claw on her chin. “You’re probably right. It probably drowned out my senses earlier when we woke up, that’s why I didn’t notice. If it’s still there then we might actually get a lead.”

“It should be.” Ryu said. “Griffons aren’t really the type who use magic, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t know any. They have ceremonial rituals for them, and they gain their power from their worship over their Ancestors.”

“They sound different from the griffons that I know.” said Eris.

“That shouldn’t be surprising.” Ryu commented. Different Equestria may mean different lore.

“Whoa, hold on a minute!” Nicko shot back.

“Yes?” Ryu asked.

“Why is it that I have to apologize?! All I did was end up in the middle of town and it wasn’t my fault!” The Rune Slayer was a little frustrated. Sure, he wanted to find out how he ended up here in the first place. But that didn’t mean that he had to make a plea that wasn’t entirely his fault.

“You caused  a mass panic, set the guards on high alert, resisted arrest, got them to chase you, and became the scapegoat of a rebel faction that we don’t even know the location of.” summarized the drake. “If you had just let them take you in you could have just explained to them your situation without the extra violence. But you didn’t. And now we’re here.”

“For your information, I didn’t hurt anyone. That has to count for something.”  Nicko grumbled. “When I was in the town square, that stupid guard captain prevented me from even asking any questions before he called me a runt. If anything, I think he’s suspicious. Like there’s a reason for his attitude.”

“You mean besides being the captain of an entire army?” Eris commented.

“Isn’t there a saying: “Innocent until proven guilty”?” the redhead snarked.

Ryu couldn’t help but palm his face. He could easily picture the scene in his head based on what he knew of the griffons and his short battle with Nicko earlier.

The griffons were a very serious military nation. They’ve had constant struggles with the remnants of the rebellion for centuries. This ensured that they were on edge most of the time. To hear how Nicko reacted to what was probably a regular arrest made the dragon wish that he went against Sven’s wishes back then and actually went and eradicated the rebels that he found.

“Nicko, kid.” Ryu tried to say. “You really are an impulsive one. It’s people like you that have the most interesting of lives.”

The dragon was content with living a sedate life. He took care of his problems in the most efficient ways so that they won’t haunt him in the future. That left him with a lot of free time for his friends and family, but in turn made everyday a bore when he wasn’t in their presence.

Nicko gritted his teeth as he glared at the dragon. “Interesting? You don’t know what my life was like.” he was lucky that he had his brother with him through it all. “It isn’t my fault that I’m impulsive! I just hate it when people always refer to me based on what I look like rather than what I’m capable of. It’s the same thing with my Twin brother.” 

Both Nicko and Anson were thought of as weird when they were young because of a medical issue called Autism Spectrum. They weren’t highly affected by the disorder, but it was still enough that when it came to social interaction via verbal and nonverbal communication. When Nicko was young, he thought of himself similar to a Nobody from the Kingdom Hearts series since back then; they weren’t able to understand peoples emotions as much as they could now. Nicko took a little bit more time to explain everything to Ryu about what he and his brother had been through, including finding their parents after they thought they were originally dead or just disappeared. 

After some time though, Nicko thought of something. Something that went along with what Ryu asked for. “Okay… I’ll come along. But, I want you to help me with improving my combat skills. Going up against you just a few moments ago taught me that I can improve upon my swordsmanship despite the fact that I already mastered my skills in Rune Magic.”

“Rune magic, huh? Would that happen to be the kind of magic you used earlier?” the dragon asked. It certainly piqued his interest when he saw it in action. If Ryu could learn how to do it himself, then the possibilities of what he can do with his magic would gain a significant boost.

Nicko nodded, creating a single Rune above his hand to show the drake. “The one you saw was one of my mid level skills called Storm Blade.” he took out his skill book and showed it to the dragon. “I know a bunch of other skills that also have different purposes, depending on the situation I’m in. How I fight might take a lot to explain, but I want you to help me improve my combat abilities before I go back to my world.”

Nicko was pretty confident of  what he was capable of. Powers like his weren’t always used for attacking the enemy head on. Critical Sword was an ability that allowed the teen to increase his strength and chance for a critical strike for a short amount of time while Magic Chain was a passive debuff that encased his enemies in a mystic chain that decreased their Magical Defense. Phoenix Talon was an ability that served as an attack and also enhanced the caster depending on how it’s used. If enemies were in the caster’s range, they would get burned by the phoenix while it ascended into the sky.

Ryu stared at the single page of Nicko’s skill book. Though he couldn’t understand the what was written inside, he pretty much got the gist from what he saw earlier. It was like combining [Aura Burst] and [Mind Sword].

By using the energy gathered for the [Aura Burst], Ryu could convert that energy into a series of [Mind Swords], impaling everything around him and sending solidified magic swords in every direction around him. The dragon gave off an intrigued humm. That could work.

Thank you, Nicko, for the idea that you provided for Ryu’s new [Blade Burst] skill. The dragon supposed that he should pay the kid back for his help.

“I don’t mind Apprenticing you.” the dragon pondered. Ryu tried not to show any expression on his face, but the small upturn of his lips clearly expressed how eager he was at that prospect.

Back in the original Breath of Fire 3 game, there was a Master System. The Masters provide bonuses on the stat growth of those Apprenticed to them every time that character level-ups. But the Master System also has its downsides. Some stats may gain some bonus points, but there were also areas where they decrease.

Masters could be used to balance out a character’s stats, or specialize in the area that they excel in. With seventeen Masters to choose from, it was a tricky system to find out which one would be best for who.

“We’ll see if we have time.” Ryu said. “Eris, can you please start looking in the city now? I’ll take Nicko to the palace myself. They’ve already seen me once. If they have any problems with Nicko, I’ll be sure to take care of it.”

“Yessir!!” Eris playfully replied as she saluted and disappeared with a snap of her eagle talon.

Ryu sighed when the spirit left. He stretched his back and muttered to himself. “Alright then.” With a mental command and a grunt of discomfort, two spikes made of bone pierced through the dragon’s clothes on his back, shocking the Rune Slayer at their appearance.

“Whoa!”

The dragon ignored the teen, having to focus his thoughts mostly on the transformation. Muscles began to cover the bones, and slowly completed the draconic pair of wings. Once the last set of scales settled in, Ryu breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to repulsed looking Nicko.

“Right.” Ryu started. “Let’s go. I’ll carry you to the city.” He went to approach the kid, but stopped and looked at him. How was he going to carry the boy?

Shaking his head, the dragon bent down and wrapped an arm around Nicko’s mid-section before lifting him on his shoulder.

“Hey wait! Put me down!” the teen flailed as he tried to pry himself off the dragon.

“Shut up before I decide to paralyze you.”

Ignoring the Rune Slayer’s cries, the dragon started sprinting towards the exit. Before Nicko could voice anymore complaints, Ryu leaped out of the cave’s entrance and began to fall.

“AAHHHHH!!!!”

“Hahaha...” Ryu laughed at his passenger’s cry of panic before spreading his wings and started to glide, taking control of his descent. With a powerful flap of his dragon wings, and Nicko lurching from the force, both of them shot up straight into the sky and made their way towards the city.

Nicko saw the ground quickly shrinking away as they flew higher up. After the initial shock of falling, the teen began to feel a mixture of shock and awe as he realized that he was flying. He had always wanted to know what flying was like, but never thought it would be like this. Screw thinking of Smaug, nicko felt that Ryu was ten times better than that! “God, this feels incredible! Now I know why Rainbow Dash likes flying so much!”

The joy of flying mostly came from the liberating sensation of freedom. Ryu felt the same before, and still could feel some of it every time he took the skies. 

No walls barred his way, no ground to hold him down, no cloud too high, and no place was definitely too far. He could see so many things into the vast horizon from the embrace of the sky. The feeling of absolute freedom was amazing. One of the things that Ryu liked about his dragon blood was his ability to experience this joy.

The dragon soared higher and higher, even going past the mountain city. He gave Nicko a view that he would probably rarely see…

Even if the way Ryu carried him wasn’t the most dignified position.

High above and beyond the clouds, higher still, the dragon soared beyond the height of what other creatures flew. He stopped and flapped his wings in a timely beat, allowing him to hover in the air. The winds roared at the high altitude, but Ryu created a steady stream of wind magic pushing out of him in the shape of a sphere to allow them to talk normally.

“So kid, what do you think?” Ryu asked.

“What do I think?” Nicko said. “I think this is beyond anything I’ve seen before.” 

The Rune Slayer marveled at the sight. He could see Griffonia’s entire continent, as well as the sea that surrounded it. Their land had many mountain ranges, but all of those were flooded below by a literal sea of trees. He had never seen so much green.

The Griffons respected the land their Ancestors passed on to them, and they never cut down their forests unless they were in dire need of them. Their castles and mansions were made using stones and bricks, with hardly any wood. They had a solid foundation, and even their houses could be considered as a bunker.

Nicko still looked on in awe of the country, pushing on the dragon’s shoulder to raise his upper body to give him a better view of his surrounding. He had Ryu to thank for the unforgettable sight, because this was a memory that he would truly cherish. “It’s almost like a dream… Thank you for making it come true.”

“Watch it, now.” Ryu started, a small amused smirk forming on his face. “You keep talking like that and you’ll make me think that you’re trying to come on to me.”

Nicko sputtered in embarrassment, dropping his grip on the shoulder so that he wouldn’t be able to see the dragon’s face when Ryu tried to look up at him. “Good god!! I’m not like that! I’m just being thankful!!” Images played and… Eugh! Definitely not that!

“Good.” Ryu nodded, “But then again, I stopped caring for genders four hundred years ago.” 

If you couldn’t find the time to relieve yourself because you're too busy training your magic, then it wouldn’t be surprising to find yourself expanding your preferences. Thankfully, however, Ryu still likened himself as a well polished sword than a snug sheath.

With another powerful flap of his wings, Ryu suddenly stopped their beating. They were suspended in the air for a moment, before gravity remembered that its job also included them as well.

Both humans fell from the sky at an incredible rate. The dragon releasing his grip on Nicko so that he could see his new Apprentice scream in terror without his support. However he was sadly disappointed when, instead of screaming his lungs off, the kid just kept his silence and watched as how the ground came closer. Nicko was falling with his body facing downwards and his arms and legs spread wide to catch draft.

“Uhh Ryu? Is it just me or are we falling to our death?” said the kid with the medical disorder.

The dragon sighed dejectedly. Nicko wasn’t screaming like he hoped to. Ryu was controlling his descent so that he would be at level with Nicko’s body. The kid was acting so casual about falling from a height near the stratosphere. Something was definitely not right in his head.

For Nicko, however, he was having the time of his life. He was grinning broadly as they fell. He was never scared of heights. In fact, the teen was one who always enjoyed coming down from big falls. It reminded him of a scene in Devil May Cry 3 where Dante dove off a gigantic tower that was as tall as the mountainside of Canterlot. Nicko always wanted to find a way to do that in real life. This was the closest he had gotten to that.

He wasn’t a son of sparda, but Nicko didn’t really care at this point. He was having a blast, that’s what counts.

“Stay close to me when we land and play along.” Ryu said as he grabbed Nicko under his arm. 

Nicko nodded as the dragon’s wings began spread wide, gently slowing their descent. Ryu made sure that the landing was soft enough that Nicko wouldn’t suffer any whiplash before setting the boy down on the ground. No sooner after they arrived that guards showed up with their weapons ready. Ryu recognised them as the sharpshooters under Gilbert’s tutelage. He saw the old Griffon coming forward from the line of young soldiers.

“Well Ryu, it seems like you found our troublemaker.”

The dragon nodded before gesturing to the other human. “Gilbert, this is Nicko Nocte. He is the one the guards came across earlier today.”

Many looks were exchanged from the griffons behind Sir Gilbert. Nicko wanted to say hello to be polite, but was unsure of what to do. They did kind of blame him for the course of events that happened earlier even though he had no intention of causing them harm. Right now, he just stayed silent. Like an old rule in the Military, do not speak unless spoken too.

The old griffon looked at Nicko, raising his brows when he gazed at the boy. “This child? I didn’t expect someone this young being capable of some of the things that I’ve read in the report.” Gilbert said, taking out a piece of parchment from the sack hanging by his side, and reading Nicko’s description again.

The teen thought that the knight was actually talking to him. He even saw the Griffon make eye contact with him before looking at the papers again. Still, he remained silent. Unless Ryu said otherwise, he would have to be quiet for the time being. Damn his Autism Spectrum. He didn’t know what to do at the moment.

“Gilbert, is her majesty able to see us?” Ryu then asked. “I believe there are some things that we need to clear up with the queen.”

“I’m afraid not, Ryu. She wanted some time alone with the King for the time being. It may be a while before you will be able to see her.” He gave the dragon a thankful nod. “What you did helped a lot. The King has recovered enough to regain his consciousness.”

“That’s good.” Ryu said. Still. Even with the King well and awake, that left the solution to Nicko’s predicament on hold. Hopefully Eris finds something on her side of things. “Would you happen to know where the Training Barracks are?”

“The Training Barracks?” Gilbert repeated. “Why would you need to go there?”

Ryu pointed over to the silent redhead, who was standing in attention and was stiff as a board. “The boy asked for me to help him with his swordsmanship. He has a temper when somebody refers to him by how… tall he is and during a brief clash we had, I saw that his emotions affected his combat skills.” 

Murmurs came from the griffons that were behind Gilbert, the soldiers who still training to be a full guard. The old Griffon was surprised that Ryu got a new student. Though the queen said that the boy was Ryu’s business, training the Red-maned youngling wasn’t something that he expected from his friend. 

Gilbert went to point out something that was off sight beyond the houses. “It’s not far from the palace. I can take you there if you want.”

“Are you sure.” Ryu asked, “Don’t you have to find the rebels that attacked the King?”

“The Queen’s soldiers have been tasked with that job.” the griffon snarked with a roll of his eyes. “They just had us make sure there wasn’t anything lurking in the area that we have to deal with later.”

The Griffon made a gesture for both humans to follow him. Nicko looked at Ryu, unsure if they should or not. But a nod from the drake was all he needed to see before the two of them started walking. Gilbert himself was in between Nicko and Ryu as they made their way over to the barracks. Nicko was personally surprised though when the Griffon actually began to talk to him.

“So, Nicko. How old are you?”

Following the rule of do not speak unless spoken to, the Rune Slayer replied as he put his hands in his pockets. “Just turned Eighteen about a week ago, Sir.”

Social situations were one thing that wasn’t Nicko’s strong point. Sure, he could talk. But talking to new individuals he never met before was a challenge for the teen. Not knowing much about that person really made it hard for him to find out anything about who he was talking too. So instead of asking questions, he simply answered the questions Gilbert asks him. They continued to talk as Ryu soon joined in and caught the older Griffon up on everything so far. The only part they left out though was Eris. Letting them know that a Draconequus was helping them would cause panic given the way that Discord’s actions had driven the world into chaos. So, they just referred to her as an Associate.

As they made it into the barracks, they turned their way to the wide open field where the griffon soldiers had their drills everyday. There wasn’t much activity there as most of them were out in the city searching for the rebels.

Ryu didn’t wait for Gilbert and Nicko when they stopped for the Rune Slayer to take in the facility. The dragon went ahead and stepped into a large circle of dirt and kicked some it with his boots. It was a good place to train in.

“Nicko!” the dragon called out, gaining the Rune Slayer’s attention. “Get over here. Since I don’t think we have a lot of time until our mutual friend finds a lead, we should get at least some training in.”

“Right.” the redhead nodded, unholstering the sword on his back and making his way into the circle.

Gilbert watched with no small amount of amusement at the boy’s eagerness. Ryu was definitely going to make him regret that later. The trainees behind the old knight stood off to the side, also eager to see how the two humans would clash.

When Nicko stepped inside the circle Ryu clenched his fist and created a katana from his [Mind Sword]. He examined the blade, making sure that the edge was blunt. He wouldn’t want any accidents in the training.

“Right then.” Ryu began. “First off, Nicko, tell me what you are.”

“What?” the teen asked in confusion.

“What are you?” the dragon gestured to the boy’s body. “Here’s an example. My name is Ryu. I’m a human and a dragon. I can transform into a dragon because of a bloodline. The name of my kind of dragon is Brood. Now you.”

“Well, um.” the teen scratched his head. “I’m Nicko Nocte, a Rune Slayer.”

“What do you specialize in as a Rune Slayer?”

“Um, Runes?”

“I’m sorry, what?” the dragon said, cupping his ear towards the teen. “Did you say Spoons?”

“No. I said Runes.”

“Prunes, you say?”

“I said RUNES!” the Slayer shouted.  Nicko didn’t know why the dragon wanted him to repeat himself when he knew that Ryu heard him perfectly. It was starting to get on his nerves.

“There.” The dragon declared. “Say it properly and make sure that you know it yourself.”

After saying that, the dragon lunged, swinging his blunted sword in a wide arc above the Rune Slayer. Nicko gave a startled cry as he moved to block the blow. Both blades clashed, with Nicko straining to hold his sword in place as the dragon continued to press against his weapon.

“Now, Rune Slayer, what is your specialty?” the dragon asked, adding more pressure on his sword.

Nicko grunted. With a cry of exertion he pushed back and jumped away, raising his hand towards the dragon.

"Too slow!" the dragon roared as he lunged at the retreating teen. He grabbed Nicko by his vest with his left hand and pulled him back then threw him to the side. "So obvious! You attack, you cast! You defend, you cast! You need to know how fast you can make a rune, and how well!"

The dragon went into the offensive once again as the teen recovered, swinging his sword in wide arcs and giving Nicko enough time to react.

Every attack, Nicko blocked. Ryu continued his assault, deliberately sliding his sword over Nicko's blade. He attacked from every direction; up, down, left, right. He forced Nicko on the defensive, repeating the slashes even as the teen grunted after every blow.

"Deflect, Nicko! Redirect! Parry! Don't block!" Ryu shouted as his sword swung to the side, shifting Nicko's sword into that direction and leaving the teen exposed. The dragon roared and shoved his foot into Nicko sternum, kicking him back and making the teen tumble.

Nicko's face twisted in pain as his tender ribs took the blow. He held his side as he righted himself into a crouch and looked up at the dragon staring down at him without a hint of emotion on his face.

"You're not a tank, Nicko. You're a runt."

The Rune Slayer glared as a tick appeared on his temple.

"Don't give me that look. You're tiny, but that doesn't mean that it's a disadvantage." the dragon dashed over to the downed teen, Nicko jerking his head back as the Ryu stopped in time and held his sword at his neck. Both humans made eye contact, with Ryu looking down at him. "You're agile. You're quick. You're strong. But you're not very bright."

"What?!"

Ryu withdrew his blade and started walking back to the middle of the circle. Nicko took this time to get back on his feet and rub the spot on his neck where the dragon's sword had been.

"You're not inventive." Ryu called out with his back turned to the teen. "If you haven’t noticed, both our fighting styles should be the same.”

“Huh?” Nicko stopped glaring as he looked at Ryu with confusion.

“Don’t be so surprised.” the dragon swung his sword in his right hand, slashing the air once, then twice. Then he pulled back his sword hand so that it was behind him, shifted his legs and made sure that his left hand was in front. His hand was spread open. “[Simoon]!”

Nicko and the other spectators flinched as an explosion made of fire and wind came from the dragon’s hand. Ryu turned and spun, swinging his sword into a sweeping slice, then stopped with his left hand out once again.

“[Sirocco]!”

Tiny balls of fire sprayed out of Ryu’s open palm, where each light exploded into individual [Simoon] spells in the air.

Looking back to the gaping Rune Slayer, he opened his arms wide, showing Nicko his sword held in his right hand and the excess magic leaking out of his left hand. “This is what I meant. With Sword in one hand, and the Arcane in the other, our style in fighting should be the same.”

Even though Ryu had powerful magic spells, he rarely has any uses for them. Most of the spells were too noisy and too flashy. Maybe in time, when the world knows who he is, he’ll get the chance to unleash every spell in his arsenal. But for now he’ll focus on teaching Nicko his more subtle and efficient style.

“Focus on your speed, technique, and stamina, Nicko. My style is based on those.” Ryu said. “I have enough stamina to leave me standing after days of non-stop fighting. I have speed fast enough to lead my enemies on and drive them into an ambush. I have the technique to fight opponents who can easily overpower me, and hold my own until I find a way to win.”

Nicko nodded as he paid attention. Both him and Ryu had more or less the same type of body build. Ryu was slightly different, only because he was older and had the time to develop his muscle based on his style.

“Also, the most important thing about my style.” Ryu tapped his temple. “Innovation.”

“Innovation?”

“To create new, and clever ways of using your skills.” the dragon explained. Ryu held up a [Magic Ball]. But instead of creating a flash with it, he directed it to the ground and fired. The spell dispersed in a violent discharge, but there was no blinding light that came from it.

He created another [Magic Ball] in his hand, then tampered with its creation. The ball of pure magic ignited and turned into a [Fireball] after Ryu added the element within the composition.

“Just because a spell is used in one way doesn’t mean that it could only be used like that.” Ryu explained. “Experiment and learn through trial and error. Break down the components of your magic and create new ways to use them. An explosion is loud, flashy, and carry concussive force. With enough practice and control  you could use that force factor to aid you in your movements. You could use their flashy display as a distraction. You could use the noise they make to disorient your enemies. The are many methods for you to choose from, not just these.” 

Even the most harmless of skills could have a devastating effect. Ryu made enough of them to know himself.

The dragon continued. “You could use the explosions to add more power in your sprints by creating them under your feet and propel you forward faster. You could learn to plant runes and use them as traps. You could learn to carve them into rocks and create grenades.”

Nicko gaped at the dragon’s absurd ideas. Ryu rolled his eyes as he looked at the teen’s expression.

“This is what you call Mastery, Nicko.” the dragon declared as he created four [Magic Balls] around himself.. “It’s not a matter of how many times you can use it; not how well you could perform it; not with how fast you can cast it. It’s about being diverse.” the four spells changed and turned into a [Fireball], [Snowball], [Gustball] and a [Lightningball] “One spell for different situations, creating different uses out of it. You do this right and I guarantee to you that you will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Nicko stood still as he looked at Ryu’s display. He looked down at his sword and hand before clenching them tight. That was a good point: Diversity. Back in Elsword the number of skills he could learn were limited. But here that might not be the case. If what Ryu says is true, then maybe he could create skills of his own.

Fire Rune, Splash Explosion, Storm Blade, and his other skills. If he could somehow find a way to break them down, maybe creating a new skill wouldn’t be so hard.

“Heh.” Nicko looked up and stared at the dragon straight in his eyes. “You know, if I didn’t know any better then I’d say that this was a training for me to gain a new Job Class.”

“Job Class, huh.” the dragon smiled at the idea. “What would that Job Class be?”

Nicko shrugged, holding his sword in one hand and leaving the other free, similar to how Ryu held his own weapons. “Don’t know. But it probably has something to do with sword and magic, like a Rune Slayer.”

Ryu gave Nicko a satisfied smile. Seeing the teen ready for more training made the dragon proud. “Let’s think about a name later, for now let’s concentrate.”

“Yes, Master!”

Ryu’s smile sudden turned evil as he heard what Nicko addressed him as. Off to the side, the feathers of Gilbert and the rest of the trainees all became ruffled as they shivered at the look in the dragon’s eyes.

“On to the next lesson.” Ryu declared. “Beating the crap out of someone is easy. It’s keeping yourself from getting the crap beaten out of that’s hard!”

“What?” the Rune Slayer asked, gaining a perplexed expression.

“Prepare yourself!”

The birds looking on turned their heads away as the one sided beating began. Gilbert shuddered as he heard the sound of blunted sword hitting naked flesh. “I think I just had a flashback.” he muttered to himself before wincing as he heard the same sound again. “Arcane Blade.”

That was a good name. The mysteries of Sword and Magic. Both learned and exploited, creating a master of the unorthodox swordplay and magic tricks. If there was a Job Class with a name like that, then Ryu definitely belonged in that category.



As time ticked on, an invisible Eris continued to search for some kind of lead that could explain how she and Nicko ended up into Ryu’s world in the first place. According to the drake, summoning rituals like the one that brought them here would leave some leftover magic in the air. Additionally, a token would be needed as a catalyst in order to summon them specifically. Using these as the only clues she had, the spirit began looking for the ones responsible for bringing her and her friend here.

Her Chaos magic was quite useful right now for multiple reasons. First off, she was able to hide herself from the all the guards that patrolled through the streets. Second, she was able to sense magic in the air. But how she sensed it though was different from how Unicorns or Alicorns would feel sorcery. 

Draconequus such as Discord and herself feel magic based on smell. It may be different to other Draconequi, but that was how it works in her world. Each spellcaster has a special kind of aura that defines themselves and is based on their personality and traits. Her father’s aura, for example, smelled like warm chocolate chip cookies. Nicko smelled like cinnamon sugar and Ryu smelled like apple pie (For some odd reason). Those with a sweet scent would be known to have a good heart and care for somepony, while those with a foul scent are known to be the opposite. 

Speaking of foul scents, she was beginning to smell something of that nature not far from the courtyard of the palace.

Slithering through the streets and above the heads of the civilians living in the area, the spirit followed the smell until she came across what looked like a trashbin. Whatever Eris was feeling, it was inside there. Using her Chaos magic to make the metal tin can disappear, the daughter of Discord was soon surprised to find what was hiding inside the bin as she picked it up with her paw.

It was a small stone, but it had the same symbol as the one that Nicko had on his left shoulder. 


        


	


“Well, that must explain how we got here.” The Spirit said to herself as she looked around a little. The smell of the object reeked of rotting flesh. Something Eris thought was a little disturbing. But still, she was going to use the scent of the object to track it’s caster. Which was easy to do because objects could not have their own magical scent unless they were enchanted items. 

That meant that the scent that was left on here was the scent of the individual responsible for this. Or individuals. 

Any fool that doesn’t know how to cover their tracks leave a trail behind. Using her nose, Eris carefully followed the smell back through the courtyard. The Draconequus was careful not to bump into any of the griffons that were in her way while she was moving and made her way over to the outside of a closed office. It seemed to be the living quarters for the guards. 

Unlike Canterlot, where the living quarters and the barracks were part of a two story building, Griffonia’s living quarters and barracks were two separate building that were right next to one another. Based on her magical senses, her friend and the dragon were close to where she was. 

Creeping through the window that was already open, Eris took the convenient opportunity to make her way inside and wait. Soon, a griffon wearing a cloak entered the room along with one other individual.

The captain of the guard. Wow. Nicko was right with his guess earlier.

“I could not have been more specific with my instructions. Now, thanks to you idiots, I have more problems to deal with and your assassination attempt on the king failed.”

“Failed!?” Squawked the other griffon. “May I remind you that I was the one who brought that boy here, disposed of the evidence and made sure to poison the king with the most vicious of mixture that would kill a minotaur within minutes!”

“Yes, but thanks to that brat, the city was on full alert and the king is alive thanks to the Elder Dragon that healed him-!”

“That is on you, not me! You were the one who hired me to do a simple job of summoning that runt and using it as a distraction. What happened afterwards is not on my head but yours. Besides, the procedure itself was risky enough given what was needed to perform the ritual.”

“Damn you. I knew I should’ve never trusted a wetboy like yourself.” The captain snarled. “What do you plan on doing now?”

“I plan on leaving. You asked for one simple thing and that was already done. Everything else is not my responsibility but yours. So if you want to become king that badly, you better finish the job yourself!”

This was followed by the griffon in the cloak brushing through the captain and out the door. Eris decided to follow him until he was in an alleyway and then give him a nice surprise. If you count that surprise being getting tied down by rope with just a finger snap.

“What in the ancestors-?”

“Sorry, little birdy. But I have some friends who want to meet you… And they have a few questions for you.”



By now, Nicko was starting to get the hang of what Ryu was teaching him despite multiple bruises and pain coursing through his body. The Rune Slayer had not demonstrated all of his abilities to the drake, but Nicko wanted to make sure and start off slowly with only a few abilities using Ryu’s teachings on mastery. He had a few ideas of how he could be innovative with his powers, but wanted to make sure to try them out before doing anything crazy. 

The redhead positioned himself as he looked at his teacher. Ryu still had a lot of energy to spare and so did he. The dragon had taught him about the diversity of his powers as well as for defense. Two elements that were very important to survival. Now was where the Rune Slayer needed to prove to his teacher that he understood what the dragon taught him.

“[Siricco]”

But first he needed to dodge that.

The Rune Slayer ran around inside the sparring circle, dodging all of the little bombs that the dragon sent his way. Ryu hasn’t moved from its center, giving Nicko the chance to retaliate if he ever chose to do so.

“Come now Nicko, think!” Ryu called out as his left hand continued to spray the spell, controlling the power in them to a minimum. “From your list of skills what can you do to counter!”

“I can’t think of any!”

“Then make one!”

The dragon ceased his barrage and made to grasp the air. Nicko found himself locked inside Ryu’s telekinetic grip. The dragon swung his left arm with effort and the Rune Slayer soon found his body following its direction.

Nicko was flung outside the sparring circle, rolling on the ground dirt when he made contact to reduce the damage. He recovered quickly, however, already accustomed to being thrown around by his new instructor. By the time he was on his feet, he was already moving back towards the circle, Ryu stopping his assault until he steps back inside.

The Rune Slayer himself had an idea of where to start with his counter attack, but first; he needed to get closer to the drake. Using one of the idea’s Ryu suggested earlier during his explanation, Nicko ran forward, using his Runes to create tiny explosions under the soles of his feet, giving him more distance and speed with every step.

Ryu made a sweep with his left hand, sending another spray of his [Sirocco] spell. Nicko dodged every tiny balls of fire coming his way, swerving left and right and ducking under them. He swung his sword when he was close to the dragon instructor, however it wasn’t aimed at Ryu. Nicko swiped the ground near his feet, sending a wave of dirt towards the drake.

Since Ryu gave himself a disadvantage by refusing to move from the middle of the sparring circle, Nicko made sure to exploit it. The dragon sweeped his left arm and pushed the incoming dirt away with a burst of wind, only to blink in surprise when the Rune Slayer used another of his Rune’s explosions to propel himself forward and slide between his legs. Nicko slapped his hand on the ground just under Ryu, creating an Ice Rune underneath him to hold him in place. 

The Rune created the same effect as the dragon’s [Chill] spell, but it slowed down Ryu’s movement purely by using the sudden drop of temperature around him. Before the dragon could even make his counter, Nicko channeled a blue colored magic around his hand as he swung for in a low diagonal motion. “LUNA BLADE!!” 

A huge aquamarine blade emerged from overhead and slammed down nearby Ryu’s prone location. The dragon, however, didn’t stand idle. Even with his body slowed, his magic was still quick and free of obstruction. He created another spell, this time a single [Simoon]. He hopped slightly off the ground as the spell detonated beside him, the force of the explosion pushing him away from the Ice Rune’s area of effect.

The Rune Slayer expected the dodge, and picked up a few nearby rocks that were made from the impact of the Luna Blade for a few extra surprises. Chucking them at Ryu, he snapped his fingers once they landed on the ground by his feet.

“RISING SLASH!!” 

Normally, the spell would summon forth a barrage of blades from either side of the Rune Slayer, as a source of protection when enemies came too close to him. But for this tactic, he placed the runes used to summon the blades on the stones he threw towards Ryu. The Elder Dragon was caught off guard once four huge blades sprung from the stones and scratched his arms.
Ryu at the rather devious tactic. The boy was improving and his teachings were paying off. It showed him that helping the redhead was not a waste of time.

“Impressive.” Ryu complimented, looking at the scratches on his arms. “Grafting your runes on an object and using them like a grenade, at least you’re taking my advice. But I still believe you can improve a bit more.”

Before he could do anything though, a new voice began to speak to the two of them. ‘Hey Nicko? Ryu? Can you hear me?’

‘Loud and Clear, Eris. Find anything?’ the redhead replied.

Ryu himself was confused at first. but it only took him a few moments to realize that Eris was talking telepathically. Quite a handy trick. Being a Psionic he should to see if he could learn it.

‘I did more than just find something.’ said the spirit. ‘I found the griffon that performed the summoning ritual. Meet me in the alleyway between the marketplace and the forge inside the city and I can show you what I mean.’

“Hmm…” the dragon hummed, healing his own injuries and walking over to Nicko to do the same. “I suppose that’s it for now.”

Off to the side, Gilbert and the trainees gave the two humans confused looks. The old knight shrugged before walking close to the circle since both looked like their lessons were over.

“That was splendid, Nicko.” the griffon praised. “It’s nice to see the scaly bastard get hit for once.”

“He had magic,” the dragon shrugged. He rarely had time to fight others who could use combat magic like Nicko. “But for now, we need to get going.”

“Where?” Gilbert asked.

“Our little tracker seems to have found a lead.” Ryu said. “We’ll tell you what we know when we get back.”

“I’ll go with you, then.” the griffon offered.

“It’s fine Gilbert,” Ryu assured his friend. “We’ll give you the information once we get them. I promised you that I won’t get involved in this. But--!” he pointed at the Rune Slayer. “Nicko will. Being unwillingly summoned, he should be there when you make the arrest.”

The old griffon looked at Nicko, frowning as he studied the teen. “Well… I suppose we could allow that. He was used for their schemes unwillingly.”

Ryu nodded, content with the decision. He took his attention back to the Rune Slayer. “From the moment we get the info, it’ll be just you and the knights. I won’t get to join you since this is their country’s problem. Don’t forget the things that I taught you.”

“Yes, Ryu. I’m extremely thankful for your teachings.” Nicko gave his new Master a grateful bow before straightening again.

Ryu just smiled as they began to walk to the location Eris directed to them. Gilbert was not far behind them, along with his trainees. Shortly after arriving at the location though, the drake gave Gilbert a look that would say “Stay Here” as the two of them walked into the alleyway. Shortly after losing sight of the old griffon, Eris dropped her invisibility spell. The dragon and Rune Slayer looked at the Draconequus as well as the guest that she had tied up beside her. 

“Ah perfect. I was beginning to wonder if you two got lost on the way.”

“What did you find?” Ryu asked, getting straight to the point. 

“Well, this here birdy is the culprit responsible for summoning Nicko and I with the use of this.” The Chaos Spirit told him as she tossed the Rune Slayer’s Mark to the Elder Dragon for both of them to inspect. The object pulsed in his hands and felt warm to his touch. “Furthermore, he says that he was hired to perform the ritual.”

That was an interesting thing to know, Ryu pondered. So a Displaced could also be summoned by other creatures as well, not just by other Displaced. But based on what Eris said, they can’t just call on them easily. Even so, he’ll have to remember to give Gilbert and the rest of his family his own token.

“Hired by who?” Nicko asked.

“That’s what we need to find out.” Eris grinned as she untied the rope she had around the Griffon’s beak. The cloaked griffon coughed violently and was gasping for air. Those things were plugging his air holes.

 Nicko facepalmed to himself during this. He did not expect for Eris to hold the bird like a hostage.

Ryu snorted when the chaotic spirit took out a feather. The dragon wasn’t wrong in his assumptions about her intentions with it when Eris started tickling their captive.

“Tell us what you know.” she said with an eager grin. When the captive griffon gave her a look that said he was not amused by her antics, she turned to her other companions while still wiggling the feather. “He must be trained for this.”

While amused by the Draconequus’ little game, they still needed the information from the griffon’s skull. Unfortunately for the bird, Ryu had a skill that could do that.

The dragon suddenly grabbed the griffon’s head, startling Eris and Nicko.

“Allow me.” said the dragon. 

[Monopolize]

Without warning, their captive jerked for an instant before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Ryu continued to peer down at the griffon, barely moving any muscle. Nicko looked confused when he saw nothing happening except the griffon twitching every so often, but from the way Eris’ eyes widen she may have an inkling of what he’s doing.

The griffon gasped suddenly as the dragon released his grip. He didn’t move even as their prisoner collapsed on the ground unconscious.

Ryu breathed out slowly, closing his eyes as if to calm his nerves. When he opened them he looked at his hand in confusion, and began to examine it.

“Ryu?” Nicko called out to the dragon.

“It’s nothing.” he said, shaking his wrist as he turned to the redhead. “Our friend here is Solov Hazing, a scholar of the local academy of Arcane. He was hired a week ago to enact a ritual using an artifact. Even though the employer seemed shady, he didn’t refuse because he thought that it was a chance to further his study in magic. He, along with a few others, were definitely the ones behind bringing both of you here and he was the one who attacked the king.”

Solov Hazing was one of the disgraced families. Him and his friends. But unfortunately it seems that his other family members had nothing to do with the plot. The same goes with the others. They were simply a bunch of teenagers who did something stupid because they thought it was interesting, and that they were going to get something out of it.

Unfortunately what they got was something too interesting, as well as a place under the guillotine once Ryu tells Gilbert of what he knew. Based from the memories that the dragon leeched off from the griffon, his friends were enjoying the pay that they got from this situation.

“Here’s what I found out.”

The dragon began telling what he knew to Nicko and Eris first. Telling them how they’ve set up the ritual as well as position the assassination near the area where the King and his family frequented. Throughout the explanation, Eris was unnaturally silent.

After finishing, the dragon left in a flash of light and, as promised, stayed back to allow Nicko and Gilbert to deal with the situation.



“Solov Hazing? Is this correct?”

“Yes, Sir Gilbert.” Nicko confirmed for the old griffon once the guards have seized Solov and began to escort him to prison. “According to Ryu, he was hired around a week ago to perform a summoning ritual. The only reason why he performed the summoning was because he believed it was an opportunity to learn more in the field of Magic he was studying.”

“Which is?”

“Ancient Arcane.” The Rune Slayer explained. “He and his friends were part of one of the families that was disgraced. However, Ryu also said that they’re just simply a bunch of teenagers who only did it because either they thought it was interesting or because they would get something out of it. Sheer stupidity if you ask me.”

“Aye.” The griffon replied. Arcane sorcery was used for plenty of purposes, but it really depended on the caster. This kind of magic was rare and can only be controlled by a certain few individuals. 

One thing concerned the Griffon, however. Even though he was told that somefeather hired him to perform the job, Solov never said who hired him. If he was a puppet in all of this, then who was the one that was pulling his strings?

“Well, the rest of the guard could take him in for questioning. Right now though, I think the Queen might be ready to see you now.”

“Alrighty. Lead the way.” 

The boy’s enthusiasm made Gilbert smile a little as they walked back towards the palace. He was not as nervous as he was earlier in the day. In fact, he seemed a little more comfortable. 

They soon reached the Palace as they walked inside. Nicko himself was more relaxed with being by Gilbert. not to mention the fact that Eris was inside his head again. Both Human and Griffon walked through the marble-floored halls; ignoring the stares and murmurs that came from the other griffons that were in the room. 

The two of them soon reached the door to the Queen’s chamber as the guards once again saluted Gilbert.

“We’re here to see the King and Queen.”

Both guards now looked at Nicko before looking back at the old Griffon. “Yes sir, but… If I may… Are you sure that it’s safe? This… being, matches the reports that-.”

“I understand that. But this boy is under my protection as well as the protection of my Mentor. There is a misunderstanding that we must clear up.”

The two guards looked at each other in confusion for a few seconds before opening the doors. Both Griffon and Human stepped inside as the doors closed behind them. They were inside the Royal Bed Chambers, a place where Gilbert had only entered a few hours ago with Ryu. There, the King of Griffonia looked as if he was on the verge of death, but now his condition had greatly improved. Ryu’s spell must’ve done wonders for him. 

“Sir Gilbert,” The queen greeted once again as the old Griffon respectfully bowed in her presence. Her gaze now turned towards the boy that was with him, looking very confused. “I’m to assume that you’re the boy who has caused quite a stir inside this city?”

“My lady,” Gilbert began to speak. “This here is Nicko Nocte. He is indeed the one known as the Rune Slayer, but my mentor believes that he was summoned here against his will.”

The Queen looked at Nicko, suspicion lurking within her eyes. “Please explain your claims, Child.”

“Well, earlier, we caught the individual who summoned me here. His name was Solov Hazing, a scholar of Arcane magic. His only motivation for the act was to improve his study in magic and to satisfy his own curiosity.”

“Hazing, you say?” The King coughed, surprising the two visitors when he opened his eyes.“If I recall correctly, that is one of the dishonored families… Would he have happened to mention who hired him?”

Before Nicko or Gilbert could say anything, a loud screech could be heard from outside the doors in the hallway that lead to the chambers they were in. A sound of a sword slicing through solid flesh could be heard as more cries of agony echoed throughout the room.

“What in the Ancestors name is going on!?” The Queen demanded as she raised herself to defend her husband.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Nicko told them, readying himself for whomever entered through the door. It swung open as the guards that protected the front door were thrown in like ragdolls with bloody wounds across their chests. Gilbert rushed over to them, only to realize that the first one was already dead and the second guard was barely breathing. 

‘Nicko, watch out!!’

Eris’ warning couldn’t have come at a better time as the Rune Slayer ducked, avoiding the blade of the assailant. Returning back to his feet, the teen’s eyes widened as he realized who it was. 

The captain of the guard was standing right in front of him, holding a blood covered broadsword in one claw while having the other one unsheathed for when he needed his sharp talons. The Black Griffon lunged forward again, thrusting his sword forward towards Nicko’s chest. A predictable move that the Rune Slayer blocked with his blunt sword before kicking him backwards. 

“You little piece of trash.” The Attacker taunted. 

“What the hell is your problem? First you call me Runt and now you call me Little!!? Are you just asking for trouble!?”

“What is the meaning of all this?!” The Queen hollered. She was shocked at finding out the head of her own guard had just barged into the castle, killed the guards, and now came after both of them while they were in the middle of a discussion with Sir Gilbert and the Rune Slayer. She wasn’t the only one who was confused. Nicko and Eris were just as confused as the lady griffon.

“The meaning of all this is to finish what that damned Solov never did and never could  complete. Because you don’t leave a hatchling to do a hunters job!”

The Captain tried to use his wings to propel himself forward towards the King and Queen in a fast paced blitz. However, Nicko predicted this and used his newfound trick of a small rune explosion at the soles of his feet to put himself in between the enraged warrior and the frightened sovereign. With a quick motion, he deflected the incoming sword and went behind the Griffon to try and grab his wings. But doing this though caused the Black Bird to react, almost striking the teen with his back claws.

“You stay out of this, Freak! Or else I’ll end your life just like I’ll end the king’s!!”

“Oh really now?” Nicko taunted. “Very well then… HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!!!”

The former captain snarled in satisfaction. But soon, he realized something when he tried to move his wings. His muscles became stiff. Like they were locked in place. Turning his head, his eyes widened at the sight of two of Nicko’s Ice Runes right where the wing joints met his back. 

“What the bloody hell-?!”

Nicko grinned silently. “Looks like Ryu’s teaching have paid off. He taught me that when fighting against others who are incredibly fast, strike them in an area that would slow them down.”

“But you didn’t even hit me-!”

“Remembered when I tried going for your wings?”

Now the Griffon realized what he meant. The boy wasn’t trying to grab hold of them, but get close enough to cast his blasted spell! He cursed the ancestors for his bad luck. But realized that he didn’t need wings in order to move. Running on all fours, the assailant charged at the Rune Slayer blindly. Unknowing of what the boy had in store for him.

Nicko himself was so confident to the point that he set his sword back on his back for this one. He cracked his knuckles as he prepared his right fist, pulsing with magic. The Griffon lashed out furiously with it’s claws, but barely managed to get a hit on the boy. 

Nicko though, had a surprise for him.

“WIND BLADE!!” 

The Attack surged from Nicko as it shattered the guard’s armor and left him lying on the floor, unconscious. Nicko walked over and checked the birds pulse, making sure that he didn’t put TOO much power into that last attack. He was relieved when he felt the creatures heartbeat. Turning towards Gilbert, he sighed. “Well, seems like another arrest is in order.”



Ryu frowned as he watched the clash through the shadows under the room. Though he was happy to see Nicko practice his advice, something about this whole situation nagged the dragon.

The Guard Captain was one of the most trusted soldier of the crown. They were those who were noticed by a member of the Royal family itself and was recommended personally. They either became the head of the soldiers, or became a personal bodyguard for the royalty.

Ryu still couldn’t tell what drove the captain to betray his liege. The position came with fame and prestige, love of the masses and a welcome back to the ranks of nobility if they had been disgraced.

The captain’s actions now also didn’t match with his earlier schemes. Summoning Nicko and using him as distraction while his assassins tried for the king was a clever ploy, but charging into their majesties’ presence while blatantly telling them that he was the one behind it all just screams stupidity.

Ryu’s frown deepened. No, the captain wasn’t behind all this. He was nothing but a lackey. Someone’s pawn. Even so, the dragon still had to keep his promise. Like Pinkie Pie’s little rhyme, Ryu had to abide by the Dragon’s Code.

No. That was a lie. It wasn’t because of the Dragon Code. He didn’t care if he broke one of those. What Ryu cared for was the promise to his family, as well as to his close friends.

Decades ago he gave his word to Sven that he would never interfere with the Griffonia’s rebel business if he could. To the deceased knight they were still his ancestor's comrades, even if their cause had been wrong.

He’ll have to remember to tell Gilbert about his thoughts on the former captain. Ryu was still regretting how anti-climactic this was. But still, this was his world’s troubles. He didn’t need Nicko to to start helping a dimension that wasn’t his. Ryu was sure that the Rune Slayer had enough trouble on his own.

For now he needed to say goodbye to his apprentice. With the whole debacle done and over with, there was nothing keeping Nicko from going home. 



Shortly after Gilbert arrested the now former guard captain, the female sovereign expressed her gratitude towards the Rune Slayer for his bravery and strength, even the king showed his thanks to the young human for the actions he took. They asked him if there was any way that they could repay the boy, but Nicko kindly refused. He didn’t need anything from royalty right now though. He was in a hurry and had to get back to the Equestria that he knew. 

But beforehand, the Rune Slayer decided to visit his teacher one last time. 

Ryu himself was in the training barracks again as he had nothing else to do. It only took him a few seconds to recognize his student’s presence as well as the presence of Eris as she decided to come out of Nicko’s body. 

“Leaving so soon?” Ryu asked him. 

Eris nodded her head. “Yeah, we need to hit the road. Everypony back home needs us.”

“You probably haven’t been gone long. You’ve only been here for a short amount of time.”

“Yeah, but different versions of Equus might move differently in time. At least we won’t be running into anything that could drain us of our memories or something like that.”

Nicko himself chuckled a little at the statement. But Ryu didn’t see it as funny. Eris was referring to what he did in order to get the information out of Solov. That griffon would be lucky if he remembered what he did, thankfully the drake didn’t [Monopolize] his whole life but only the last week. Speaking of which…

“Oh that reminds me…” The drake told the two as he went back into his pockets and pulled out the Rune Slayer’s mark that Eris tossed to him. Ryu was handing it off to Nicko, but all the teen did was just smile and shake his head.

“Go ahead. You should keep it.” Nicko told him. “Call it a thank you gift for all the training and helping me with my magic.”

Ryu smiled a little. “Well, in that case. I have something for you then.” The dragon then took out his [Diary] and tore out a page. The paper began to glow as it dissipated into a bright light. When the light faded, the page was no longer there. But instead, something new took form in order to take it’s place.


        


“This is a Dragon Tear.” The Elder Dragon told The Rune Slayer. “If there’s ever a time where you need my help, use this.” 

Nicko smiled as he put the token in his pocket. He hugged the drake out of habit and the Ryu twitched from the sudden contact. He never really liked surprise hugs. Especially if they came from guys.

“Thank you for everything Ryu. You can not believe how grateful I am.”

 Before the dragon could say anything though, Eris said her goodbyes and snapped her talon. The two Displaced disappeared right in front of the Kaiser. All he did though was huff through his nose as he created another set of wings and ascended into the sky.

He had quite a story to tell once he returned to Canterlot.




End Chapter 12

> Chapter 13: Winterspell
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Winterspell





        For Spike right now, the situation he was in had just elevated from good to downright bad. He had just stopped by Sugarcube Corner, only to find out from Pinkie Pie that Anson was gone. Great. Both of the Nocte brothers were now missing and Molly was gone as well. The dragon though was waiting to hear from Lyra first in regards to Amy before assuming the worst in regards to the current situation. 



        Spike was right now at the door to Rarity’s, waiting on the mint unicorn to get back to him. She did so a few moments later. But the news she had was not good news. 



        “Spike, this is really bad. Amy’s now gone too!”



        Now Amy was gone!? The last time the dragon heard about her, she was in a deep coma and the doctors at the Ponyville Hospital did not know when she would wake up. Now we have a pair of brothers and two sisters on the loose and with no idea on where they would be heading. 



        “Oh dear Celestia, Twilight is going to flip when she finds out.”



        “Flip about what?”



        The two of them froze at the sound of the new voice that just began to speak. The door to the boutique slowly opened as a little girl around Applebloom’s size stepped out. Spike recognized her from the train, but never quite got the chance to talk to her or the tall human with blue hair and pointy ears that accompanied her. 



        “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve met before. Who are you?” Spike asked. The dragon did not know who this girl was and wanted to know first before answering her question.



        “I’m Ciela. Nicko’s mother.”



        Now this was where Spike was slowly beginning to panic a bit. Especially with what he had heard about the Chiliarch from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Dragon was sweating bullets and Ciela could tell that he was nervous.



        “Are you okay, mister…… What’s your name?”



        “Spike.”



        “Right. Are you okay, Spike? You look like my son when he’s trying to hide something.”



        Something inside Spikes brain told him that trying to lie to her would only result in him ending up in a full body cast. So, fearing for his life, he told her what was bothering him.



        “Well, I’m a little worried. I woke up a few moments ago to find Nicko was missing. I told Lyra about it and we found out that Anson, Amy and Molly were also gone as well.”



        Ciela herself was stunned. What would her sons be doing at this hour? Spike himself was worried that what he said had angered the little girl. But instead, it had her react in a different way than he expected.



        “That is definitely serious.” She told Lyra and Spike. “But something tells me that we have an even bigger problem than just them disappearing.”



        “What do you mean?”



        “My sons would probably not be leaving in the middle of the night unless there was a specific reason.” The Chiliarch explained. “Like a thing or a place that seemed suspicious. Was either of them looking at anything earlier in the day?”



        “Well, Anson was helping out Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube corner and Nicko was helping up with construction preparations at the-.” Spike stopped. He just realized something… Something important. “Oh horseapples.”



        “What’s wrong?”



        “I think I might know where they are.”



        Spike took a few minutes to explain about the Castle that Twilight and him were looking at and how Nicko was assisting them. Ciela herself began to slowly piece together what must’ve happened. Nicko found about it from Twilight, only to convince Molly and Anson to go along with him to investigate it. Still, that doesn’t explain what happened with Amy. 



        “What are we going to do now?!” Lyra panicked. “BonBon will flip if she finds out that Molly has gone missing and blame me for it.”



        “Calm yourself.” Ciela told the mare. “Let me go get Luke.”



        “No need.” Another voice could be heard as Ciela’s Husband soon emerged from behind the door. However, he looked extremely different from what he looked like before. His hair was now the same shade of color as the Chiliarch except for a strand of sapphire hair and he now wore a new set of clothes. His huge coat was now over his shoulders and his belt appeared to be different this time. Luke now wore what appeared to be a fancy dress outfit, but he now had a collection of throwing knives and his gunblades from before looked a lot different than the ones he kept earlier. “I’m already awake.”



        “Wow… you look… different.” Spike said, spellbound by Luke’s new appearance. 



        “It happened when we settling in earlier. Ciela use to be a Noblesse and I was a Royal Guard. But we were drained of those powers when we originally fought Eric. Now, I have a new set of powers that go along with my wife. As an old saying goes, fight fire with fire. But in this case, fight darkness with darkness.”



        Ciela could not agree more. Earlier, she gave Luke something she found that the Chiliarch thought could help him. To her surprise, it took his skills to the next level. He was now a Dreadlord. The Swordsman that was the right hand man of the Terrormancer. A powerful hunter and Assassin that was also a resourceful tracker. 



        Something went off in the distance as the four of them turned to the sound of a large BOOM! Purple electricity could be seen in the sky as both the Dreadlord and the Chiliarch looked at each other. They recognized the sight of that kind of power anywhere. It was the Diabolic Esper. Not only that, but the Dreadlord could feel multiple souls closing in on the town of Ponyville.



        “Both of you go find Leo, Yuri and Caliburn. We’re going to need everyone that can fight.” Luke told them as he prepared himself for a fight, grabbing a few of his knives from his waist. 







        “Something tells me that we will be expecting company real soon.”





        The halls of the inner chambers in the castle were filled with the sounds of explosions and the smell of gunpowder. Anson was trying his best to stand his ground against the Tactical Trooper that he was up against. But right now, he was dodging more than attacking. The Knight with the Cannon had pinned him down to where he did not have a lot of room for any kind of counter attack. 



        ‘Geez, does this guy even take a break inside that suit of his?’ Discord asked as Anson dodged another rocket that was aimed for his face.



        ‘What I’m wondering is how this guy can even keep it up for this long. It’s almost like this knight is equipped with cheat codes.’ The Infinity Sword told the Spirit as he tried to throw a few swords using Sword Blasting. The results of the attack were less than satisfactory as it looked like the swords just bounced off of his opponent. Barely even scratching their armor. Discord shouted out inside Anson’s head about how that was “unfair” and that some kind of hit was suppose to dent their armor completely. 



        ‘Crap. I’m running out of options on how to beat this guy. Any options?’



        ‘Have you tried thinking outside the box?’ Discord asked him.



        ‘And what the hell is that suppose to mean?!’



        ‘Shake things up a little. Use that brain of yours to perform your attacks in different ways. This guy probably remembers how you would normally fight, so pull off something that they would now expect!’



        Now that actually made sense. The Teen soon realized that he needed to get a little creative in order to win against this high powered opponent. In fact, he had a few tricks up his sleeve that he never had the chance to try out yet. Forming an extra version of his secondary blade Conwell, he threw it onto the floor at his opponents feet. The impact formed a huge spell circle as it ensared his opponent in what came next



         “RAGE CUTTER!!” 



        Without warning, wave after wave of swords emerged from below the Iron Soldier as they began to damage it’s armor. Pieces of it’s suit began to chip away like old dry paint as it began to break apart. Anson used his own hands and magic to control the path that the blades took, causing the opponent to drop their weapon. It rolled onto the floor as the Tactical Trooper laid on the floor, trying to crawl towards it. Instead, Anson picked up the weapon and aimed it towards him.



        “Well now… You want to know the new sensation that’s sweeping the nation……? B*tches… loves… cannons!!”



        CLICK! CLICK! BOOM!!



        The opponent that stood in front of them exploded into a pile of dust and metal as nothing remained of the trooper that was once there. Anson was personally relieved that this fight was over. It really exhausted him after having to stay on his feet for most of the time. However, when he did sit down, something else caught the eye of the Infinity Sword. 



        Something that looked a lot like his necklace was in the middle of the dust pile. This time though, it looked a lot like a snowflake and was cold to the touch. 







        The reaction from Anson’s own hand surprise the boy as much as it’s magical properties were. Could this small thing have actually kept the whole set of armor together? It lightly pulsed inside Anson’s hands as he put the charm in his pockets. It may come in handy later when he needed it the most. But right now, he needed to rest. The Infinity Sword deserved it after almost getting blown up to pieces. 



        His rest did not last long when his brother and Eris came crashing into the room in a blink of an eye. 



        “Oww…… My freakin back.”



        “Nicko? Are you okay?”



        “Anson?! Oh thank god, we’re back!!” Nicko shouted, sounding relieved. Anson himself just raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother with a expression of confusion on his face. 



        “Uhh… Are you okay brother?” The Infinity Sword asked him. “You look like you’ve not seen me in months.”



        “Bro… You have… no freaking idea of what… we’ve just been through.” Nicko said, pausing in between each sentence so he could gasp for air. Eris herself looked tired as Discord emerged from Anson so he could be by his daughter.



        “What happened?” He asked.



        “Remember that research report by Clover the Clever about the Displaced and how they mentioned the Multiverse Theory?” Eris’ question received a nod of the head from her father and from Anson. On that note, she continued. “Well, Nicko and I got ourselves sent to another Equestria that's home to another Displaced. A Kaiser named Ryu.”



        “Kaiser?”



        “Where he is from, Ryu is an Elder Dragon. A wise and powerful dragon with very high magic and combat skills. He even could turn into a dragon. I actually was able to improve on how to fight because of him.”



        “Yeah, but how did you get sent there in the first place?” Anson asked.



        “All Displaced have a token that represents themselves and can allow other individuals to either summon them to their world or summon themselves to the world that is home to that individual. Nicko’s Token is a Rune Slayer Mark and he gave that to Ryu for when he needed his help, while in return; we received Ryu’s token. What he calls a Dragon Tear.”



        Nicko pulled out the charm from his pocket to show what he meant to both Anson and Discord along with pulling out one of the Rune Slayer Marks from his bag. Both of them were quite surprised by what they were and the fact that they could summon others who are stuck in the same situation as them. But now, something new came into Nicko’s mind. Something that he wanted to ask his brother. “Hey Anson.”



        “Yes, Nicko?”



        “Can you check your bag real quick? If I have a token on myself, then there’s a possibility that you have one too.”



        Anson thought that Nicko brought up a very good point and obliged. Soon enough, he did find something. Though, what he found was not what he expected.







        “Holy crap.” Anson cursed. What he found was a Dark El Shard fragment. In Elsword, the item could be bought from the Item Mall as a job advancement item that allows Sheath Knights at level 35 to advance to the Second Job Class without having to perform the chain of quests like you would normally do. The same thing went for Nicko’s Rune Mark, but Anson’s was something that he really did not anticipate.



        “Well, that answered that question.”



        “Yeah. I just honestly did not expect to have a token like you would.” 



        “Well, we’re both technically Displaced, so that sort of makes sense.” Nicko told him. “Still though, maybe we should focus less on ourselves and try to stop Eric before that crazed maniac tries to kill any of our friends.”



        “Good point.” Anson nodded as his brother helped him to his feet. Discord and Eris returned to being inside the bodies of the brothers as they began to look for an exit. 



        This though was easier said than done. A lot of the rooms inside this castle had traps inside that would remind the pair of siblings of Castlevania. Hidden doors, falling chandeliers, trap doors below your feet, chimeras… You name it; they have to deal with it. It seemed like Eric prepared ahead of time to make their chances of reaching him impossible. 



        But Nicko and Anson did not let this slow them down. In fact, it gave them motivation to push onward and allowed the two swordsmen to have fun with whatever challenge they were put up against. They took turns with each challenge they came across, using their skills, swords, and sometimes their street smarts in order to be able to move on. Especially when one of the rooms seems to be a challenge room where somepony asked them questions and they had to answer them like they were on Jeopardy.



        Even though the Rune Slayer and the Infinity Sword were able to handle every challenge they came across with ease, they still knew that they couldn’t let their guard down against Eric. Whatever he was doing, the two of them could tell that he was patiently expecting them. Waiting for them. Wanting to fight them.



        “Let’s take a break real quick.” Anson suggested as he sat down on the rough stone floor. “My legs are killing me.”



        As the swordsman sat down though, the snowflake charm fell out of his pocket and down by his side. His brother noticed it and pointed at the object. “Hey, what’s that?”



        “What’s what?”



        “The snowflake by your leg.”



        Anson turned to soon realize the charm on the ground. “Oh this? I found it shortly after destroying one of the guardians inside this castle. Strangely, it was inside it’s armor.”



        “You mean like it kept it together?”



        “From what I can tell, yes.” Anson said as he began to inspect it like it was some sort of device. “Hey, do you think this might be a token of another Displaced?”



        “Maybe, but who exactly would have a token of a snowflake?” 



        “Well duh. A cryokinetic.” Eris told the brothers, pointing out what she thought was obvious. “But why do you think it’s a token? Maybe it’s just a snowflake that hasn’t melted yet.”



        “Well, I felt it’s magic pulse in my hands shortly before you two crash landed and it was cool to the touch. Normally, these would melt if we humans touch them. However, it’s not the case with this one.” 



        “Maybe a powerful ice ninja like Sub-Zero?” Nicko teased a little. When he and his brother played Mortal Kombat, he always used the Frost Ninja to beat the crap out of his brother. The Infinity Sword just saw this as him rubbing in his face. 



        “Why don’t we try to use the token and see what happens?” Discord suggested. “We have some time on our hands, so why not?”



        The redhead with the two swords considered the idea and then soon tried to figure out a way to perform the summoning. Nicko was going to tell his brother to be careful since bringing a Displaced could go either two ways. You either summon them to where you were or accidently bring yourself to where the other Displaced is. However, Anson wasn’t that careful as the magical residue of the snowflake began to spread rapidly. The glow of the object soon became brighter as a vast light expanded outward and a cold chill in the air partially froze the floor.



        Nicko was forced to close his eyes due to the bright flash that occurred. When he reopened them, Discord and his brother were gone. No signs of the two remained as Nicko cursed to himself. His reckless brother was now stuck in the same situation that he was in moments earlier. He just hoped that Anson came back as soon as possible and not caused any trouble while he was there. Wherever he was that is...





Meanwhile… 


        Jack was flying down to the gardens in Canterlot. It had been quite some time since he had time to get down and talk to Discord, the ‘God’ of chaos. Now Jack was unsure if Discord could actually hear him as he never had before his imprisonment. Yet Jack had almost felt compelled to talk to Discord whenever he had been close by. And no matter if the Lord of Chaos could hear him or not, it was always fun to taunt him with word.



        But on his way to the statue Jack suddenly felt some kind of tugging. It was a weird feeling as it was not tugging in any specific direction but still ‘away’ from his current position. After a while the tugging got stronger. Unsure of what he was feeling; Jack did what he thought would be the right thing. He tugged back.



        At that very moment the tugging stopped and Jack remembered from where he had felt this feeling before, the void. And as to confirm his suspicion he suddenly heard a loud scream. 



        “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!! Are you kidding me!?!” A falling bipedal screamed as he fell from the sky. Looking up, Jack saw that it was (in fact) falling and not flying. He knew what flying looked like and that was not it.



        “Well, guess I better help.” Jack stated to himself as he stretched his arms in a wide arc to create a very tall and very long ice slide to let the bipedal slide down from vertical to horizontal propulsion without breaking any of it’s bones. Upon first landing on the slide though, the impact registered a crack due to the weight of the biped’s clothes and the two swords that he was carrying. Yet, the slide held and let him slide down safely to the ground and onto the grass. Unfortunately Jack had not really paid attention to where the slide ended and the biped (that was now close enough for Jack to confirm it being human) slammed right into the base of Discords statue.



        “Oww… my head.” The human moaned as he tried to get back up on both of his feet. He looked in the direction of Jack, but at that current moment, he could not see anything. Just the slide which mysteriously appeared right beneath him. The boy turned around, seeing what exactly he collided into. 



        “Hey, would you look at that. It’s the voice that’s inside my head.” Jack heard the biped say, chuckling to himself. Now somewhat worried, Jack decided to get rid of the slide and turned it into what could be described as ‘ice dust’. Making it fall as if it had always been made of nothing but dust and only now had gravity pull it apart, only for the dust to vanish in the grass below.



        ‘Did he just say voice in his head? Has Discord managed to escape?’



        As Jack could not let Discord escape while he was still meant to be imprisoned, but the human showed no signs of being controlled; making Jack reconsider his earlier thoughts of freezing the human solid by surrounding it in an absolute zero atmosphere. Instead he lowered the temperature to a noticeably lower level and walked up to the human, inspecting him to see if he really was not under control.



        Moments later, due to the change in temperature, the Draconequus himself emerged from the boy and began to act like he was cold. “Brr… Who turned down the Thermostat? Isn’t it suppose to be summer around now?”



        “Possibly,” The boy answered Discord’s question. “Then again, we’re probably in another Equestria like what happened to Nicko, so maybe the circumstances are different.”



        “Could be. Still, it’s a lot warmer inside your head then out here Anson.” The spirit now turned to notice the statue of himself. “Oh boy… That… could be problematic.”



        “Indeed it could, a Discord from another Equestria? Hope he’s friendly.” Jack commented out loud to himself, believing the Lord of Chaos could not hear him. The Draconequi’s ears twitched a little as he looked around. Looking at his companion, Discord asked him a question.



        “Did you hear that?”



        “Hear what?” Anson asked him, looking slightly confused.



        “I thought I heard somepony talking just now.”



        “Wait, you can hear me?” Discord heard the voice again, clearly not being a spawn of his own imagination. The Spirit turned around, looking at the ground below him as he looked at where Jack stood, making the snowmancer feel quite nervous.



        “There it is again.” Discord said. He now noticed the ice dust by his jumbled feet and proceeded to pick it up. “Okay, either somepony is playing around with my head or I think a pile of snow is talking to me.”



        “Wrong on both there, Discord.” He heard the voice again. “Hmm, you can hear me but not see me… I might be able to fix that!” The voice said almost happily.



        Suddenly, from where the chaos spirit had heard the voice originate from, emerged another human in brown jeans and a blue hoodie with white, snow like hair. 



        “Did it work?” The human asked, looking up at the lord of chaos.



        “My… it did. I’m actually quite impressed. Would you mind doing that to my friend as well so he doesn’t think I’m going crazy?”



        “Eh heh he” The snowboy chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry, I can only be seen or heard by those that believe in my existence. So, if you want him to see me, you gotta convince him yourself.”



        “Convince him, you say?” 



        “Discord, who are you talking to?” Anson asked him as he looked at the Draconequus in confusion. 



        “Oh, sorry about that Anson, I was just talking to…… what’s your name?”



        “Jack. Jack Frost.”



        “I was talking to this guy named Jack Frost. He’s the one that made that frozen slide that you landed on.”



        “Oh? Then why can’t I see him?” The Infinity Sword question him.



        “He says that he can only be seen or heard by those that believe in his existence.” 



        The boy just raised an eyebrow at the statement. Just as much as it confused him, it also made him wonder if what Discord said was true or not. He didn’t read much fairy tales back home, but he still personally believed in the existence of fictional beings such as Santa Claus even though they were mostly considered as “Imaginary”. Closing his eyes for a minute, he took a deep breath. Only thinking one thing.



        I believe in the legend of Jack Frost.



        When he reopened his eyes, the teen was stunned to see the snowy haired boy with the brown trousers and blue hoodie standing right by Discord. “Holy crap, it worked!”



        “Wow, you really are something else. Being able to believe in someone like me just like that.” Jack Frost said, While looking at Anson, suddenly realizing something else. “Hey, dude. This might sound weird, but may I try and touch you?”



        “Umm… Okay I guess? Just the shoulder please?” He replied. The Infinity Sword was confused by Jack’s request, but he decided to just keep calm and carry on for the time being.



        The human calling himself Jack Frost obviously perked up at this and with one small step left behind all the distance between them without any visible effort at all and laid one hand on Ansons shoulder, making him flinch. The Infinity Sword could feel the cold touch of the boy standing in front of him.



        At the touch, Jack seemed to feel relieved. As if he had expected Anson to disappear or something. But what really confused the redhead was that he could see tears forming in the corner of Jacks eyes.



        “I-It has been so long… so long since I was able to touch someone… Thank you.”



        “Y-you’re welcome… I guess?” Anson was not quite sure what was going on. Being on the Autism Spectrum didn’t help any for him because he wasn’t able to get much social cues during conversations. Discord himself was also a little puzzled as well. 



        However, seeing the puzzled faces of the two guests, Jack realized how strange of a situation this really was. “Oh, I should probably explain that. You see, when no one can see or hear me, it goes the same for the other senses. Meaning I’m unable to touch them as well. I haven’t felt human- no, any contact at all for quite a while. It gets really depressing after a while.”



        “I see. Just out of curiosity Jack, how long has it been since you last… well… felt human?”



        “You mean as in touching another human or feeling like one myself?”



        “Does both count?” Anson asked.



        “Well, no. They are two different questions entirely? Okay, now you got me confused.”



        “I mean as in both being able to touch someone and feel human.”



        “Ah, that does make more sense. Well, I always feel human… But I haven’t touched any other human before coming to Equestria. Let’s see… I think it was about fifteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety seven years ago? Wow, I’m getting old!”



        Anson though, just stared. “Holy sh*t! Ahem. Please excuse my poor choice in grammar. I was just really surprised by what you just said.”



        “Oh, yeah right, I almost forgot humans only have an average of 205 years lifespan. I must be really old by your standards.”



        “That’s way more than old. That’s like Immortal if you ask me.” Discord said.



        “Yeah, kinda comes with the job” Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders.



        “Job? What kind of job?” Anson asked. He was now curious by what Jack meant by that sentence.



        “Well, yeah. I didn’t get these powers just to kill time did I? They come both with responsibilities and the burden of eternal life… or at least until something outright kills me.” Jack mumbled the last part.



        “Well, we’re here now.” Discord said cheerfully, trying to mess around a little with Jack’s hair. “And I believe what Anson found was the reason why.”



        “Really? You guys know how to travel the void to different dimensions? That’s kinda cool!” Jack said, ignoring Discord messing with his hair. He kinda enjoyed the contact after spending most of his life as an untouchable spirit.



        “Yeah. This though was our first time. It happened once to my brother already, but the guy he met turned out to be an Elder Dragon who had very strong magic.” The boy told the Snowmancer as he held out the snowflake he acquired earlier. “This may take a bit to explain, but let’s start with just a simple question. Are you familiar with something called the Multiverse?”



        “Of course. It was just a theory at first until it was proven by a scientist called Mengar Blugten in the year 2067. It was quite a big subject in school.”



        Ignoring the part on the year or the scientist, Anson continued. “Well, for us, there are multiple forms of Equestria that are at different locations in time and space. Now, for another question… Would you have happened to end up here after purchasing something from a weird merchant?”



        “Weird merchant?” Jack asked back with a slightly displeased face. “Not really, I didn’t purchase anything from the asshole. He tried to take my staff. So naturally, I fought back, punched him in the face and froze him solid… And then I kinda blacked out and found myself here in Equestria.”



        “Well, even though you and I ended up in our own version of Equestria under different circumstances, we are both referred to as Displaced or short for dimensionally misplaced.”



        “Interesting, I take it this merchant guy is behind this then?”



        “Honestly, I don’t know.” Anson told Jack. “But what I do know from my brother is this. Displaced have something called a token that represents themselves and can use the tokens of other Displaced to summon them and have them fight alongside you in battle. However, it works two ways and unfortunately for me, the second way was what happened to Discord and I. Instead of us summoning something to where we were, we got pulled in to where you were.”



        “Hence, falling out of the sky.” Discord added on for comical effect.



        “Oh, I’m sorry for that. I think I might be the one at fault here. You see, I felt the tugging that I guess was meant to summon me. But I was not sure of what it was so I did what anyone who wants to stay does, I pulled back. And suddenly, you were falling out of the sky.” Jack said blushing while awkwardly scratching the back of his head.



        “Well…… this is awkward.” Discord mumbled as it got a little silent. “I guess it explains why it backfired though.”



        “Yeah, I think so.” Anson said. “Say, since we are here, why don’t we do something and have fun with Jack? I mean, this is the first time in a long while that’s he’s ever had people be with him before.”



        “Really? You’d do that for me?” Jack smiled. Anson nodded his head, showing his approval and his answer to the boy’s question.



        “Oh, this will be great!! But we should go someplace else first. There’s a high risk that either Princess Celestia & Princess Luna notice Discords presence and I don’t think that would be a good thing.”



        “Princess Luna? Who’s that?” Anson asked. He knew Prince Artemis back from his world. Could this “Princess Luna” be somehow different? Discord himself had no objections as he hid himself inside Anson. 



        “Okay, now. I’ll give you guys a ride, just keep you arms and legs out to the sides and you should be fine.” Jack said as he pushed off the ground and weightlessly floated away while doing a brief motion with his right hand, suddenly making a strong wind burst forth taking Anson with it. Anson himself, followed Jack’s instructions and the same results happened. Both of them were now airborne like a flying pegasus. Just without the wings, kinda like Discord did when he drifted through the sky like a chinese dragon.



        Looking back at Anson, Jack felt the urge to start up a conversation as he had not had a proper one for quite a while. “So, Anson. How come your Discord is all nice and understanding while the one here was trying to take over the world and spread chaos like he was some kind of god?”



        “Well... at one point, the element of kindness; Fluttershy, thought that Princess Celestia should give him a second chance and tried to reform him. In the end, it worked out well and Discord; along with Eris, helps out Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. He and Celestia even have a young three year old son named Chaotic.”



        Jack looked as if he stumbled in mid air. “Wait, Discord has a son, WITH CELESTIA?! Never saw that one coming… And who is Eris?”



        “Eris is a Draconequus that’s Discord’s daughter.” Anson told Jack. “From what I can recall, she was a figment of Discord’s imagination like somepony named Screwball. However, this occurred at a point where he was very lonely and wished to have someone that he could care for.”



        “Okay, I have to ask. Did that happen before his imprisonment or after?”



        “Before, my dear Jackie.” Discord teased. “She was the only one who kept me company while I was in stone. It can get quite lonely and boring when you’re inside there for over a thousand years.”



        “Yeah, I know the feeling.” Jack said, looking down a bit saddened by his own loneliness. “But that is the reason why I visit Discords statue from time to time. I kinda felt bad for him standing there all alone. He might have been quite a jerk but even he doesn't deserve such torture… I might just have answered my own question why our world doesn’t have an Eris.” Jack said, looking a bit proud over himself.



        “Who knows? Maybe your version of  me doesn’t have that kind of heart like I do.” Discord said as he did something that reminded Anson of a scene from The Grinch, in which it showed the inside of his chest with his heart two sizes two big. The Infinity Sword couldn’t help but chuckle at the amusement of the Draconequi’s joke. While Jack seemed to be lost to the joke.



        “Maybe, But I’m not in doubt that if you could become as you are now Discord, then maybe mine could too? He was not what I would consider evil after all. He would never go as far as to hurt somepony as far as I can remember.” Jack said shrugging.



        “Hehe… It’s a possibility.” Anson chuckled as Discord returned back into the boy’s body as they continued to glide through the air.



        Soon they had reached the outskirts of Ponyville. However they did not stop there as they continued towards the forest next to the town. More specifically, the Everfree. Anson landed shortly after Jack as he looked into the forest. “Oh boy… This place again.”



        “Again?”



        “Well, when I first arrived in my Equestria, I ended up in Appleloosa and then walked from there, through the Everfree forest to Ponyville. I fell asleep at a makeshift platform that was being used for a duel, so when I woke up the next morning, I had a girl with a fiery attitude and anger management problem (No pun intended) thinking that I was her opponent.”



        “Ah, I see. Well… I think I might be able to grant you the ability to become intangible like me for a short amount of time, so the animals of the Everfree won’t harm you.” Jack said as he conjured up some snow in his hands and began crafting them into a flawless snowball which he then breathed a cold breath upon and then smiled a wicked smile towards Anson. “Look out.” He said as he threw the snowball at Anson before he could do anything about the situation. Getting hit however only resulted in a flash of sky blue light. 



        “That should do it.” Jack said and started marching inwards towards Everfree.



        “Thanks. That was helpful.” Anson complimented as they began to walk. He remembered that when he first fell asleep, he had to cast an ability he knew called Sword Shield which placed a small ring of swords conjured by sorcery around him. The ring served for protection purposes and anything that touched the mystical blades got cut like they were attacked by an actual sword. It also had the chance to stun targets if he was lucky.



        “No problem, with that enchantment you should be able to turn invisible by clearing your mind, and you should be automatically intangible by anything and everything that you do not purposely touch. However it does take it’s energy from you so after it has been drained the enchantment will dispel.”



        “That’s alright. At least I have a new trick I can use to scare the crap out of Nicko.” The swordsman said mischievously.



        “Yeah, what I wouldn’t give to see his face at that moment. Wait, I got an idea. You said tokens work both way right? Well, there is nothing interesting going on here right now, maybe we can go to your world? Then we won’t have to avoid the princesses over here.”



        “As much fun as that sounds, I don’t think I can.” Anson said. “My brother never gave me his token. The only one I have is mine and yours and I don’t think I can summon us to my world if I’m currently here in yours.” The Infinity Sword pulled out the dark El Shard from his pocket and the snowflake so he could show the boy both of them. 



        “Mind if I take a look at mine?” Jack said pointing at the snowflake.



        “Go ahead.” Anson handed him the small snowflake as it glowed in his hands. It was cool to the touch. 



        “Thanks.” Jack said as he took the snowflake and inspected it. He was deep in thought until he finally remembered when he had created this snowflake. “Oh my god! This is the snowflake I lost when I was tampering with the void. It should still have some recording stored on it.” The snowboy exclaimed as he crushed the snowflake into dust that flew up a bit into the air and formed a small cloud projecting a picture of pure black. 



        “Hm, it only seems to have caught the endlessness of the void. What if I fast forward?” Jack said as the picture flimmered. And then suddenly went out. “Well, that was a waste.” Jack said as the cloud reformed into the shape of a snowflake. Anson then picked it up. It was still cool to the touch and still glowed in his hands. 



        “Hey, why did you have these snowflakes in the void anyway?” Anson asked out of curiosity.



        “It was purely by accident actually, was training with my magic when I suddenly froze a part of the world itself and when I tried moving it kinda tore a hole into the void. I sent in a snowflake to investigate and then went on my merry way to come back later to see what my snowflake found, but it never returned and I finally gave up and closed the hole..”



        “You froze a part of the world?” Discord asked. “Which part?” 



        “Not entirely sure, I don’t mess around with the worlds fundamentals that often, I don’t want the world collapsing on me, you know?” Jack answered.



        “Good point.” Discord replied. “You’re quite talented with your powers, Jack. What other things can you make?”



        “Well, I found out that if I push it far enough I can reach absolute zero. Meaning I freeze anything caught in my magic. It was really creepy the first time around. Imagine a bird stopping 3 feet from your face and not falling to the ground like it is supposed to because the air around it is as solid as the ground down below.”



        “Wow… I was thinking about creating Ice Figurines, but that is a whole another degree.”



        “I guess, but it is really taxing, you know that humans never did find out how to reach absolute zero, even back home it was just a concept. It’s easier to introduce the whole solar system to an ice age and still have more magic left then keeping absolute zero up for more than three minutes.”



        “Interesting. Have you tried to create anything… you know… living?” Discord asked as the three of them approached a clearing in the forest. He was curious to see what else was Jack capable of.



        “Aha! I knew I had forgotten something.” Jack exclaimed as he stopped and suddenly held up a crooked staff that seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Give me just a minute.” He said as he raised his arms with the staff in hand and released a powerful surge of magic that was felt by both Anson and Discord. Making a powerful surge of winds to start moving in the sky. “That should do it.” He said and looked back at his friends.



        “What did you do?” Asked Anson as he saw nothing new or out of the ordinary.



        “Simple, I ordered the winds to return a long gone race of ponies back to Equestria. My little Frost Ponies have been gone for so long.” Jack said as he smiled towards the Draconequus.



        “F-frost ponies?” Anson stuttered a little at what Jack said. 



        “Yes. It took a lot of time and magic to create them, but once they were made they required no further assistance. Well, that is until the incident with Nightmare Moon...”



        “Nightmare Moon?” Discord asked. “What does she have to do with it? Isn’t she just the spirit of nightmares?”



        “What, no. Nightmare Moon was known as Mare in the moon. Banished into the moon for a thousand years. And after a thousand years on the longest day of the year, the stars aided her in her escape and she came back to rule over Equestria. However, she was stopped by a unicorn mare called Twilight and her friends. As wielders of the Elements of Harmony, they defeated Nightmare Moon and purified her of her dark magic, reverting her back into Luna, Princess Celestia’s sister.” Jack explained.



        “Well, at least the part of Twilight and her friends still remains the same. There’s just some differences with some of the other details. Like right now, Twilight is actually an Alicorn.” Discord remarked. 



        “Huh, never thought there would be another ascending so soon, well, good for her. As for how Nightmare Moon came into the picture of me having to whisk away my Frost Ponies and not let them return for a thousand years, it is because the corruption of Luna heavily affected my ponies making them vulnerable towards corruption. And I simply could not allow that. I mean, look at what happened to Sombra.”



        Anson did not know who this “Sombra” Jack mentioned was, but just nodded his head and went along with it. He soon heard a new sound as he tilted his head to the left. The sounds was of hooves trotting along the roads of the Everfree.



        “Are those your Frost Ponies?”



        Jack looked towards the sound of hooves and furrowed his brows, “No. Or at least I don’t think so. I don’t control my Frost Ponies, they are their own. Besides I didn’t summon any here in the Everfree, this is not the best place for a pony. It might be that Zebra I have seen around here.”



        “Yeah. But that’s one pony.” The Infinity Sword said.  “I’m hearing multiple sets of hooves. Like four to five of them.”



        “You are right, we should probably hide.” Jack said as he became invisible to both Anson and Discord one again. “Don’t worry, I’m just making sure so that nopony sees me by mistake, there might be ponies able to see me. Never hurts to be careful.”



        A few moments after saying that, Anson activated the new enchantment that Jack had given him as he hid behind a nearby tree. The two of them waited to see who was coming over until they heard a few voices. A few… young voices.



        “Come on, Applebloom. Admit it… We’re lost!”



        “We aren’t lost, girls! We’re just taking a shortcut!!” A second voice responded to the first.



        “Yeah, a shortcut that has had us be trotting around in circles.” 



        As the three voices approached the clearing, Jack and Anson could now see who was talking. They were three young fillies that Anson saw as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Only difference is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders he knew were a bit older than these ponies, not to mention that he never saw them as ponies before.



        “What the hell-?” Anson said to himself, thinking that nopony could hear him. However, all three ponies looked in the direction of where they heard the voice just now.



        “Girls, did you hear that?”



        “Yeah I did, Sweetie Belle. Do you think that was a ghost?”



        “I don’t know, Scootaloo… Hey, if it was, do you think we could get a cutie mark for Ghostbusting?” 



        Meanwhile Jack was facepalming at himself, forgetting to warn the Infinity Sword about the enchantment not silencing the voice, only making him invisible or intangible. Jack didn’t want to accidentally force his new friend into the same position he had been himself. Walking over to where he could feel his enchantment taking place, and the position of where the voice had come from, he started to whisper to the Infinity Sword while revealing himself to the two.



        “Dude, the enchantment only works on light, not sound. So… I think it be best if you helped them get out of here. Seeing as the are lost. Discord, Are you able to make Anson look like a pony? I don’t want the crusaders to think he is a monster and try to get a cutie mark in monster fighting or anything equally stupid.” Jack said, confident the Cutie Mark Crusaders could not hear him.



        “I believe I can give it a shot.” The Spirit told the Snowmancer as he did a quick snap with his eagle talon. Soon, Anson turned into a light red Earth Pony stallion with the a Cutie mark of his Sigil that would normally appear when he casted certain abilities and attacks when he was in combat.







        Anson himself though was a little irritated. ‘You could’ve given me a warning before you did that, Discord.’ 



        ‘Sorry, no can do. Be thankful that this is only temporary’



        The Infinity Sword sighed again, looking back towards Jack. “Now what do we do?”



        “Well, what about giving three small fillies a little scare from the Everfree?” Jack grinned while looking at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who still where unable to see the Infinity Sword hiding behind the tree.



        “You got any ideas?”



        “Plenty.” Jack said as he started walking towards the unknowing fillies, who were arguing about how one would go about capturing a ghost so they can be “Cutie Mark Crusaders: Ghostbusters”.



        Walking up right next to the fillies, Jack filled his lungs with plenty of air before exhaling it in a steady yet soundless stream straight upwards, resulting in a fog as the ice induced air collided with the warmer atmosphere creating small water droplets in the air. The sudden fog making the fillies grow wary and huddle together, expecting something to jump at them.



        “Eh, girls. I think this might have been a bad idea…”



        “How so?” Scootaloo asked, trying her best to be brave.



        “Well, isn’t it usually much warmer outside during this time of year? It’s getting colder just as we speak.”



        A few moments later, Anson decided to walk into the clearing. The young girls could only see his shadow as they stared at him with scared expressions while Jack could barely hold his laughter. It might been a bit mean of him to have suggested such a prank, but it would be funny for all involved afterwards. Especially the girls once they realized how much they let their fantasies get to them. 



        Speaking of the girls, they began to shiver in place once they saw the two swords that the figure had holstered on it’s back. Their fears began to elevate when they saw this ponies eyes glow red. Anson didn’t even get the chance to say anything by the time the three fillies began to scream and gallop out of the forest with their tales in between their hindquarters. When they were far enough, Anson said something for comical effect.



        “Wait! I just wanted to be friends!!”At this, Jack burst out laughing and walked over to The Infinity Sword.



        “We should probably make sure your ‘friends’ make it back to Ponyville safely. We don’t want any blade wielding maniac trying to get them, do we?” Jack joked as he had seen how intimidating the light red pony had looked from his position behind the CMC.



        “Hehe… Good point.” The Earth Pony snickered as he began the unfamiliar process of learning how to trot on four legs towards Ponyville. Which happened to be the exact direction the fillies had galloped off to. All the way to their clubhouse. From a distance, Anson could see them inside the makeshift tree house, shaking a little like they scared themselves to death.



        “You think we took it a little overboard?” He asked Jack as the snowboy floated right beside him.



        “No, I think it’s gonna be alright if you introduce yourself, and show them you’re no bad pony. Then they will only be able to look back at this memory and laugh at themselves in the future. Don’t you think?”



        “Alright, if you say so.” The Stallion sighed as he trotted up to the clubhouse. He was still trying to think through what to say inside his head. But by the time he reached the tree, he was a little more confident than a few minutes ago. “Excuse me, would you happen to be the three fillies that were in the Everfree just now? I didn’t mean to frighten you.”



        Scootaloo, hearing the voice, peaked a little outside the clubhouse and saw the earth pony. Despite earlier, this… stallion, looked a bit cool because of his armor and gear. “W-who are you?” She asked.



        “I’m Anson Nocte. Who are you girls?”



        “Hold on, how do you know that there was three of us?”



        “I heard three voices in the forest earlier.” Anson told the young pegasus. “I was going to say hi, but then you three began to run away from me like I was a ghost.”



        “Oh my gosh! You were the ghost pony!?” Another voice squeaked as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stuck their heads out the window. “Ah’m sorry if we ran away from you. We were just scared!” 



        Soon, all three fillies began to climb down and circle around the Infinity Sword. The ones who originally feared his shadow were now in awe of his presence. He looked as strong as a royal guard, but didn’t wear any specific armor or gear that would show that he was with them. This now got the three fillies really curious. “Are you some kind of Guard, Mr. Anson?”



        The Earth pony shook his head. “Nah, just a traveler.”



        “What kind of traveler?” They asked, even more curious now.



        “One who searches… for legends.” Anson smirked, looking back at Jack. “Are you three interested in a story?”



        Jack smiled, understanding what Anson was trying to do. The Infinity Sword took a deep breath as he heard the girls plead a little for the “story” that he was going to tell them about. “This is a story of a friend of mine who is responsible for many things. Some would consider him as a guardian for what he does and what he is capable of. He is the one to bring forth the first snow, the one to start snowball fights and he is the one for making frost as beautiful as it is.”



        “What is your friends name?”



        “Jack,” Anson told the girls. “Jack Frost. Now, girls. Can you do one thing for me? I’m sure you’ll like what happens afterwards.”



        “Oh really? What’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked as she tilted her head. 



        “I want you to close your eyes…… and believe…… in Jack Frost.”



        The girls were skeptical at first, but followed his directions anyways. The Snowboy took this as his cue while the girls were keeping their eyes closed. Jack used his magic to form a thin layer of misty clouds above the trio; making it snow lightly just as the girls opened their eyes. Soon, all three fillies were surprised by the surprise snowfall above their heads, only to soon see Jack smiling at them when they looked up; him hovering above them.



        “Oh my!! Y-you’re real!!?!”



        “Indeed he is,” Anson nodded as Jack descended down to the level of the three small fillies. “In fact, he’s been around for a very long time. But hasn’t had any friends at all. Which brings me to a question for you.”



        “Yes?” Scootaloo asked.



        “Could you three be Jack’s friends?”



         “It would mean the world to me if I could have three such wonderful fillies as my friends.” The Snowmancer told them with a genuine smile, showing his snow white teeth.



        All three of them eagerly nodded their heads as they jumped towards Jack, hugging him as soon as they landed on the boy. The Fillies were smiling; just as happily as Jack was. Jack now had more friends. The young boy with a special gift no longer had to be alone.



        “Hey, Jack. Mind if I ask you something?” Scootaloo asked while looking at her new friend.



        “You just did, Scootaloo.” The Snowmancer teased the little pegasus.



        “No, I mean like a serious question.”



        “Sure, I don’t see why not. I mean, I haven't talked to anypony for quite a while until Anson came along.” Jack responded, still smiling at the fact that he was now able to speak to ponies.



        “What are you? I mean, you don’t look like any kind of creature I have ever seen or heard of.”



        “An excellent question. I am, or was. Depends on how you think about it, a creature know as a human. That is until I decided I wanted to be so much more. I had decided to become someone meant to protect and cheer up children. And so, I became the spirit of frost. One meant to protect and amuse the young. A Guardian If you like. I became who I am, Jack Frost.”



        The Girls marveled at the details Jack told them. They were liking their new friend even more! Anson himself smiled as he saw of the four of them cheerfully enjoy each others company. Soon though, the ringing of what sounded like an alarm clock went off in his head as he heard Discord calling to him.



        ‘Not to interrupt the mood or anything, but we got to go back. Eris and Nicko are probably worried right now.’



        ‘Assuming you have a way to get back.’ Anson told him.



        ‘I do. I believe Eris did the same thing with Nicko. She reversed the teleportation spell so it would send them back to the place where they were pulled out of our world.’



        ‘So, in theory, this should return us back to the castle?’



        ‘Yes.’



        Anson himself sighed as he heard the Draconequus. ‘Sure. Just give me a moment to say goodbye.’ 



        The Infinity Sword soon began to walk over to Jack as he got his attention with the waving of a front hoof. “Sorry to interrupt, but I must get going. I have some people that I care for waiting for me back home.”



        “Ah, yes. Of course, but before you leave, I think I got something I have to do. Could you wait just a moment?” The Snowmancer asked The Infinity Sword.



        “Sure.”



        “Great, It should not take long. Could you just give me my token for a short while?”



        The Infinity Sword nodded, handing the snowflake to Jack with his hoof. Taking the snowflake, Jack stared at it for a while before starting to speak to himself.



        “Right, let’s see what this little bugger can do.” He said as the snowflake started to shine brightly, making everypony in the room shy away from the light. Once the light died down the snowflake was gone, instead Jack was holding something new, vaguely reminding one of a very beautiful snowflake.







        “Ah, brilliant. Now for the next step.” The Snowmancer said as he cleared his throat. “To those of you to find this token, to those of you who need a friend, a Guardian or just someone to talk too. I let you know, that I am here. Either come to me or call me. I will not refuse. I am the one of legends, one long forgotten and alone. I am the ageless and the young. I am the one they call Jack Frost. Call me if you need me, for I am one to abide.” Jack ended his speech as a hole opened right in front of him. Jack, getting the memo, tossed his new token into the hole and saw it divide into many copies, finding themselves worthy Displaced. But before the hole could close Jack reached out and caught one to give back to The Infinity Sword.



        “Well said,” Anson told him. He reached into his side pockets to pull out the Dark El Shard that he had and gave it to Jack. “For you. If you need me by your side. I believe you know how it works?”



        “I think I do.” Jack replied, taking the Dark El Shard, while handing Anson his own token.



        “Alrighty then. Thanks for everything Jack.” The Earth pony thanked him before he began to trot back into the forest. He did so in order for him to be out of sight when Discord turned him back to normal and for when he sent them both back. Despite his time with Jack feeling a bit short, Anson really enjoyed being with his new frosty friend. With a snap, the two of them disappeared in a bright flash of light.





        Back in the Castle of the Royal Pony Siblings, Eris and Nicko had been waiting almost Twenty minutes for his brother to return with Discord. In fact, they almost thought that they lost him to the void. Soon though, something barreled through a hole in the wall and almost gave the two of them a pair of heart attacks. When the smoke cleared from the impact, all they saw was a light red earth pony dressed in Anson’s clothes. Safe to say, it was him.



        “Oww… my head.”



        Nicko himself though, had a mischievous grin on his face. “Smile brother.” The Rune Slayer soon took a photo of his ponified brother as he chuckled to himself. “That’s definitely going on Facebook.”



        That’s when Anson realized what was going on. He looked at himself, still seeing that he had four hooves and a tail. Now though, he was furious. Beyond Pissed.



         “DDDIIISSCCCOOORRRDDD!!!!” 





End Chapter 13

> Chapter 14: Two Twins and a Handsome Fellow named Jack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery, and Shenanigans- Two Twins and a Handsome fellow named Jack





        Originally, Anson liked the form of being an earth pony since Discord told him it was temporary. Unfortunately, the Chaos Spirit never really explained how long the “temporary” state was going to last. He found out this the hard way was when he woke up to having Nicko snap a photo of him in his ponified form five minutes before returning into his human form. Not one of his best moments if he would say so himself. But nevertheless, he didn’t really care about it once he had control of his arms and legs again.



        “Good lord, that was some crazy trip.” He said as he tried to straighten his hair.



        “Where did you even end up? Another Equestria?” Nicko asked him as he extended a hand and helped his twin brother up.



        “Yeah, and you were right about your guess earlier. This snowflake is a token of another Displaced.” Anson replied. “His name is Jack Frost and he was quite a nice guy. We even played a prank on the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”



        “Jack Frost?” Nicko repeated, having Anson nod his head. The Infinity Sword explained his encounters with the Snowboy and his time with them. Discord himself was also telling them how everything went and the times they had with the young boy. Meanwhile though, Eris noticed something while they were talking. An odd door appeared in the back of the room. One that wasn’t there before. 



        “Something seems off about what we just went through though.”



        “What do you mean by off  brother?”



        “Well, throughout our time inside this creepy castle, we had been given test after test and both of us got Displaced on different accounts. What if me meeting Jack and you meeting Ryu was not just by chance, but also a test?”



        “What would that have to prove though?” 



        The Infinity Sword shrugged as he looked at his brother. “Maybe to show how strong we are individually and we interact with one another. You had the training with Ryu and meeting the griffons while I had to fight the Cannon Cavalier and ran into Jack. That just can’t be a coincidence now, can it?”



        Now that Nicko was thinking of it, Anson brought up some major points. Eric wouldn’t have wanted his research to be disrupted in any possible way, so he must’ve figured a way to bring up some tests for them. If they passed each of the tests that they were given, they would be allowed to enter the room he was in and faced them. But this also brought up another question. What other test could possibly be left? What other trials awaited them-?”



        “Uhh guys, you might want to have a look at this.”



        The voice came from Eris as she was pointing towards the door that she found earlier. This caught everypony’s attention immediately and had them rush on over to her current location. Opening the door, all four of them were greeted by a huge library that had shelves that were almost fifty feet high. Books were scattered everywhere and other objects were placed around the room that convinced the two twins that this was possibly some kind of personal study or research wing. 



        In the middle of it all laid a glowing purple cracked ingot crystal. On it’s pedestal, it felt warm when Nicko and Anson had their hands over it. Strangely, it reminded the two of them of some of the crystals they had seen Eric use before.



        “You guys think this is some kind of trap?” Nicko asked them. “Eric’s Dynamo’s feast off of these kind of crystals for energy and power.”



        “I’m not sure. I don’t feel the same magic signature like those usually give off. Normally, it’s the same feeling as the user.” Eris said, hiding herself inside Nicko’s body.



        “I think it should be a safe bet if we destroy it. That way, we don’t have any future consequences.” Anson told Nicko. He nodded with him in agreement.



        “Okay, while you do that, I’ll be out here… outside of the blast zone.” Discord joked a little as he left the room in an old western outfit, carrying a fake box of TNT for comical effect. Looking at each other, the twins smiled and snickered a little at Discords Joke.



        “Okay, so how should we do this?”



        “I think maybe one of my Runes can do the trick.” Nicko told his brother as he charged a small to medium sized rune inside his hand. Positioning his hands in front of him and putting his sword on his back, he used his two thumbs and index fingers like a sight and blasted the rune. It’s impact with the Crystal though unleashed a Violent flash of light that would give somepony a seizure. The light felt like it was burning their skin as the two brothers were consumed by the Multi-colored flash. 



        Seconds later, Discord opened the door rapidly to find the room empty and broken crystal shards scattered all over the floor. The Chaos spirit now had a real bad feeling and worried for the safety of not just the twins, but also his daughter.





Meanwhile… 





The Crystal Empire - Crystal Palace - Evening 


*Handsome Jack Perspective, First Person*



        Handsome Jack…  CEO of the Hyperion Corporation, at least since the first second being to this universe…  The name was music to my ears still, if egotistical, also compensating since that day...  Despite the numerous titles I had acquired over the years, the sound of my own name was one thing that I have always liked.  On some days, its the reason why I ever actually get up in the morning, with besides what things can be done for those whom rely on me.  But as it turns out for me, today was not going to be like any other ‘normal’ day, yet AGAIN for me.  Especially for what was to happen on today’s busy agenda.



        Today did NOT get off to a good start, minus possible glitch in the moon shot’s aim and dealing with a ‘Displaced’, my nerves were still recovering from that vault hunter attack, even though Asphyxious said they weren’t.  The complex and often bloody process of ‘fixing’ a legitimate heir back onto the Crystal Throne, with me being the rightful ruler Princess Glitterstone’s champion.  Had me personally gunning down three challengers to her claim before the others knew I wasn’t going to hold back, also my actions assured my reinstatement of ‘Duke’.  The whole time after was reintroducing myself to the crystal citizens, which happily happened today instead of later tomorrow.



	Which means I will have to prepare for the Equestrian royal ‘come f*ck me over’ committee would arrive, but it’s moments righting a wrong that I missed out on so long ago started to mend inside of me seeing a smiling mother.  Princess or not with her foal wrapped safely in her embrace on the throne that brings me warmth, it was funny how I am well previously ‘unofficial’ uncle to her only for her to write a actual decree as her first action besides naming me, of all living beings, her foal’s godfather.  ‘Damnit why can’t I cry like I use to at sappy moments?  Maybe it was the scarring from that day since then I couldn’t cry, I started to hear f*cking whispers in my head.  Top it all off some inky twisted f*cker up in the sky, when I do hear whispering it is never anything coherent, like it’s lost in translation but I get the feeling behind it.’



        Taking my eyes away from the sight before me to the angel bots I had specifically put in the room, to protect what’s left of the royal family from harm.  Even the badass I had along with me earlier will be stationed as their personal guard over the unit.  “Hey F.A.U.S.T., how is the progress on the reorganization of nobility and documentation for royal presentation going?  Because once things start rolling, I do not want poor Glitter here to be washed away by the overwhelming transition by everything, so maybe some assistants would keep things orderly.  Also did you get those foalsitting directories set up for Princess Pandora yet?”  I said pointedly so that my Possibly fully Sentient AI will be using the ‘training wheels’ on her.



        F.A.U.S.T. (Foresight, Automation, Utilities, System, and Tactics) or more accurately one of her robotic units, was waiting for me to finish with that weird smile that tickles the back of my neck like a caress. “Everything is on task at this time, though the Facility itself is undergoing an intense screening, to be sure of no negative influences present from surface structures to below ground structures.  As for the last task, ashamedly we will have to use reference guides and advice to ‘modernize’ our current directory on the subject.  But for now though Jack thou should take rest to comfort thou mind.”





The Crystal Empire - Hyperion Crystal Branch


*Doppelganger Jack’s View/Perceptions*



        The building and grounds were intact as the shield barrier held out for the most part that kept anyone else, off the property but the issue was it seemed is that the workers who were inside when the empire got took over had to get out eventually.  So right now we are just doing a top to bottom check over of the place to see if anything was tampered with, even full inventories of the place is going to take time since most of it is underground and connects up at some points to the crystal mines.



        The actual employees were luckily all accounted for and are on paid leave, so they can relax at their homes or even take it at a hospital, even though the Real Jack had to force a few of them to go and rest.  Loyalty is in it’s spades here in the empire as well as tradition even though Hyperion is paving the way to a cleaner, brighter, orderly future and fixing mistakes.  from when the empire suffered a hostile take over, to returning and being subjugated again under a foreign power this time was quite hard on them.  



        The Expression on the doppelganger ‘Jack’s’ tired face was what viewed and responded cycling through different either active, or inactive feeds to be fixed  giving answers the repair robots question as he uncomfortably sat in his chair.  He was going to ask about what was on the “To-do” list besides this, but the sounds of an unusual beeping filled the security room.  The response to a active magic sensor array having been set up as an early alert system against magic users or events.  A familiar holographic view of F.A.U.S.T. immediately began to try and see what was the cause of this unknown commotion. “Metal Will, thou may want to investigate this.  If it is a indeed threat, thou are to shoot. Jack requires time to rest.”



        Before I could say anything, the screen showed a recent scan of the region and a recent reaction shown on the screen that could only come from the explosive reaction that occurred when magic made contact with the Created ultra rare magical crystal mineral named Eridium. The last time that this happened over a thousand years ago when Celestia let loose a powerful blast of magic on a Hyperion facility in the town of Filliglade.



        “These two are radiating high traces of magic mixed with the energy that is found inside a standard chunk of Eridium.  The readings were picking up from them resemble the strength of one of the princesses.  Their current location is a few miles away from the Crystal Empire.”



        A gruff chuckle comes over the line as Metal Will responded.  “Well I will be sure to hunt the two targets to confirm, if nothing else I will finally get a excellent fight.  I’ll be sure to bring along support to not make any mistakes.”  He finished with a dry chuckle with the sound of mags being cluttered into a bag and grenades.





Crystal Empire- Terrain


*Back to the Twins*



        When Nicko opened his eyes again, he was greeted to the sight of snowy mountains and his brother with his face buried in the snow. He had no idea where they were, but something made him feel like it was the beginning of Borderlands 2. Where you’re crawling in the snow and you hear ClapTrap tell you that “Learning how to crawl will be the first step in Handsome Jack’s downfall!” Oh the memories of what he actually liked back home at the orphanage. 



        When Anson pulled himself out of the snow, some of it still remained on his face and made it look like he got a beard like Santa Claus. He wiped the snow off of his chin and then turned to his brother, who offered him a hand to help get him on his feet. “Thanks.”



        “No problem, brother.” Nicko commented. “Do you have any idea on where we possibly are though?”



        “Not quite. But something tells me we both got Displaced… Again.”



        “Thats like… How many times now?”



        “Twice.”



        “Yeah and this sh*t is getting pretty old… Fast.” The Rune Slayer groaned. “Well, it’s not like these things come with a warning.”



        “You got that right… Hey, Where’s Eris?” The Infinity Sword asked. Seconds after asking though, the Chaos Spirit reappeared next to the two brothers and held something in her eagle talon.



        “Right here. Though, you two might want to have a look at this.”



        The Draconequus handed the piece of paper that she was holding to Nicko. Upon looking at it, his eyes widened and he mentally cursed inside his head. He thought that what he thought earlier involving the intro to Borderlands 2 basically jinxed them.







        “Uh guys… I don’t think we’re in Equestria anymore.” The Rune Slayer commented as he handed the flyer to his brother. He too, was personally surprised by what kind of situation they were in. Something told him though that they would have company coming real soon as he saw something get launched from the sky and was barreling towards their location at high speeds. Both brothers jumped out of the way and Eris returned to Nicko’s body as Ice and Smoke began to pick up from whatever crash landed right in front of them.



        “Why hello there.”



        The smoke cleared up to show a few “Loader Bots” a few feet away from them as they saw a new person- Crystal Pony with robotic enhancements speaking to them, both brothers were still confused by what was going on.



        “Uh…  Hi?”



        “You two colts seem…  New here. The name’s Metal Will…  Hyperion’s GREATEST Cyborg Pony fighter, on this entire planet.” 



        ‘Oh great… An egotistical Jackass.’ Eris said inside Nicko’s head briefly. 



        “What are your names, colts?” The pony asked the two twins, eagerly waiting for a reply from them. The Rune Slayer and the Infinity Sword were a bit tense. Mostly because of the fact that the Loader Bots that were with him were locked, loaded, and pointed right at them. It felt more like a holdup than an actual conversation.



        “We’ll tell you our names if you tell your mechs to lower their weapons.”



        “My… Oh my. Let me remind you two that you two are in no position to try and negotiate with me. You are in my territory now. The Crystal Empire Branch of the Hyperion Corporation. Where being a Vault Hunter is punishable offence by death, also verbally speaking in favor of them anywhere here is considered supporting criminal scum……”



        ‘Well, that just escalated quickly.’ Eris muttered again.



        “I’m Nicko and this is my brother, Anson.” The Rune Slayer calmly replied, hoping to ease the current tension between the well prepared Pony ‘Metal Will’ and the two siblings. Eris though, felt that something was off with this stallion. He seemed like he was hiding something. Not to mention a complete and utter psychopath that reminded her of her father back before he was reformed. 



        “I see. Well, then… What brought you colts to this exact spot?”



        “Here?”



        His eyes narrowed as he gruffly spoke up again commandingly. “Why yes, what the f*ck else would I be talking about? Because if you are Vault Hunters, I have a very simple solution for the both of you.” His weapon cocked in an armed position as the rifle he held also had a blade on the underside. With a very familiar pistol on his belt, the silence was likely working thoughts that they were not just two ‘colts’ by his view, but Vault Hunters!



        Nicko now began to think that this guy was going to kill them. They already were screwed, but this just made the situation worse. Acting in defense, he drew his sword and held it backwards in a Sol Badguy like style. “Anson… get down!”



        Without even getting the time to react, Nicko pulled his brother down from the shoulder and places his hand on the ground. Using his teaching from the Elder Dragon Ryu, the Rune Slayer unleashed his Rising Slash skill to where the blades sides formed in front of the brother in a defensive barricade to absorb the bullets that were sprayed at them. Meanwhile, his brother used his own talents to form a few swords from his original blade and throw them directly into the eyes of the Loader Bots the Crystal pony brought along when they were trying to reload their weapons.



        This surprised Metal Will for two reasons. One, because of the fact that these boys somehow had powers. Two, because besides magic, Sirens were the only ones known to have powers like this and there were only six sirens in the known universe. Two of them being Vault Hunters. Whatever the case, aggression like this couldn’t go unpunished.



        Flying back to clear more distance his muzzle looked to have moved only for signs of six objects were launched from the city heading towards where they were now, with what looks to be eight flying Jet Loaders from the Pink Bubbled Shield in the distance.  But the first to make it were the six objects that hit the ground, only to unveil the unnerving Badass Loaders with one of them being an Angel Guard.



        From Metal Will’s vantage point, he was taking cover shooting at the twins thinking they were Siren Vault Hunters. He knew the identity of one from the video files of her hurting Jack.  A little known fact is that he trained to fight sirens on his terms, to throw one of the prototype grenades hoping to defuse their only advantage. 



        But to his surprise, the grenade made contact with one of the stones that the Rune Slayer had thrown. The explosion went off, shrapnel and shards spreading everywhere. But in the smoke, Anson was preparing something to turn the tables.



        “Nicko, get down!! BLADE RAIN!!”



        Within seconds, a huge claymore slammed down into the ground and bursted open. Straight out the gate, a fury of swords swarmed the group of loaders. Despite them firing at the blades, each one of the bots got picked off one by one as Metal Will relied on the Angel Guard for protection.



        Growling out at their possible combat symmetry, narrowing his gaze as he ordered the Jet Loaders to stay back out of their reach to fire rockets, while he will distract them from an ordered moderate yield moonshot. Though nearby, another being took notice of this opportunity with a shark like grin, readying a form that will likely get the desired effect to come, taking ‘her’ time for the right moment seeing a moonshot inbound to warp in to rescue these new boys.



        Yelling out at the twins, Metal Will howled at them. “I’ll kill every last one of you Vault Hunters! I’ll cut off your heads and mount them on my trophy wall to show it off to Jack!” Firing several more shots this time with a couple slipping through the defenses.



        Both Anson’s and Nicko’s defenses were slowly weakening, but what caught both of them off guard was the huge projectile coming straight at them. Being launched from the moon, it was coming at them from terminal velocity and turned into a flaming inferno that was wanting to burn them alive. Before the brothers could do anything though, a bird of fire swooped down from the sky and grabbed both warriors before warping out of the area, disappearing right in front of Metal Will’s eyes before the Moonshot made contact with the ground.



        The Crystal Pony was now furious. The situation had now taken a toll for the worst. Using his cybernetics, he pulled up a com-line with F.A.U.S.T. and gritted his teeth. 



        “How is thou investigation coming along, Will?”



        “It was going fine until the two boys decided to fight. They took out a few loader bots and a few Badass Loaders. I have video footage of the encounter and I have my suspicions that they are Sirens.”



        “Does thou remember that Sirens are specifically Female? The two you encountered were male.”



        “I know, but they had powers of their own. I would’ve had them until some firebird swooped in and-.”



        “Wait… Did thou say “Firebird”? As in the Firehawk?” F.A.U.S.T. asked in a dangerous tone.



        Now Metal Will was starting to realize this as well. “Well F***. Boss is not going to like it when I tell him my report.”





Unknown Location - Inside some Unknown Cave - After the fight



        The first sensation and sound was a lone drip that landed on (whichever twin), as a feminine chuckle followed up the reaction by saying this. “You two boys seem to know how to get in a lot of trouble now, don’t you? Because as much as I LOVE seeing more humans besides myself, a couple others as vault hunters or the fake face Handsome Jack. I hope you won’t mind being saved from what looked like a Moon shot leveled at your adorable heads.” She said in a mature tone smiling gently at them.



        The first real view the twins got of her was her glowing tattoos and lit up arm providing them light in what looks like a cave lined with crystals. “Perhaps some introductions could be made boys?  Because I cannot just call you ‘drooling one and drooling two.” Giving them a wink as she began to lean against the nearest wall, while her outfit definitely showed her toned figure it also meant she wasn’t dressed for the cold out there. “I’ll let you both lay there in a heap to get your strength back.” Though her posturing showed that she was winded and trying to recover from that warp.



        Giving them a chuckle before saying this after a bit to the possibly silent duo. “Are the two of you hormone driven boys going to lay in a heap or should I get some help since I am feeling fine here.” Seeming to verbally poke at them as she seemed a bit paler but not openly as exhausted as before just keeping the light going. 



        Nicko though was the first to speak. “Sorry about that, I just needed a moment to catch my breath. I’m Nicko and this my brother; Anson. Who are you?”



        “Call me Lilith.” The Siren replied. “Gotta hand it to both of you, you two seriously got yourself into some deep sh*t with messing with Metal Will back there. If it weren’t for me warping you out of there, you two would’ve been killed by the moonshot that was fired at you.”



        “Wait…” Anson said. “You were the firebird we just saw?”



        “Firehawk, but to each their own. You know… Tomato, Tomato.” She said in response, giving out a soft sigh. “I was really hoping to have saved that warp to get inside that Hyperion branch to steal some Eridium and the Vault Key. Though if we sit around, Zer0 and Gaige should be back soon from checking to see if this cave links up to that place. You wouldn’t believe how much of a upperhand Jack has as for firepower. I wouldn’t be even surprised if he isn’t building a space station.”



        “Wait, you mean as in this guy?” Nicko asked, showing the poster that Eris handed to him earlier when they first woke up.



        “Yep, that’s the Son of a b*tch alright.” Nodding once to them with a gentle smile. “Though if you want to know something, I did that to his face.” She looked rather proud of that fact it seemed.



        Nicko nodded his head, acting as if he was surprised (even though he wasn’t since both he and his brother played a lot of Borderlands back home). Surprisingly, thinking it was a safe place to come out, Eris emerged from Nicko’s body; stretching out her arms like she had been in hibernation. “Dear Chaos, that felt like forever.”



        “What the F-?!”



        “Don’t worry, she’s with us!” Nicko cut off Lilith before she could say anything. He was trying to assure to the Siren that the Draconequus wasn’t a threat. 



        Sighing in response she gave a weak chuckle saying this. “Well that’s good because I don’t think I could pull off another fight without a good dose of Eridium, that stuff is rare, unless you steal it from Hyperion.” Giving a stretching pop of her tattooed arm to loosen up a joint with sounds of another female and a mostly quiet male are coming closer.



        Around now, Nicko began to feel something from within his pocket. Putting his hand inside, he pulled out what appeared to be a small bit of the crystal that exploded when he hit it with his rune. However, in the Sirens eyes, it was a small piece of Eridium that she was looking for to serve as a battery for Sirens. 



        “Nicko was it? Can I have that shard of Eridium from you?” She asked from her still seated position until a fulled suited Zer0 in a white winter color pattern with a bouncy mechromancer following behind him with a pout on her face. “Oh hey guys, I brought some houseguests!” Lilith attempted to be showy about it, but that earned a frown from Gaige.



        “Please tell me, big sister, that you didn’t try to bring a bullymong back again.” Almost sounding exasperated... Until she saw the twins and perk an eyebrow. “I hope I’m not hallucinating again.”



        “Nope, we’re real.” Anson said as Nicko handed the small shard to Lilith. “However, how we got here is another story.”



        A question mark formed on top of Zer0’s head and Gaige just looked even more confused. Lilith herself was even a little puzzled by Anson’s sentence. This is where the explanation began. Where Nicko, Anson and Eris had to explain about how they ended up here, about being a “Displaced” and about what the two of them were capable of. At first, the three vault hunters weren’t exactly believing these so called “Tall tales”. But they soon were surprised dramatically when Nicko demonstrated his skills by conjuring a rune inside the palm of his hand.



        “So you two are able to control Magic of your own?” Lilith asked. Both Twins nodded. This got the siren to think that it was somehow different from the powers she and Maya were capable of controlling.



        A smile growing on her face as she added on the ‘puppy dog’ eyes treatment as the twins saw she seemed a bit better from that shard but not enough it seems as she asked this ‘tiny’ request from them. “Could you cuties help my friend Zer0 here break into the Hyperion base for us? Pretty Please with sugar on top?” The added ‘flutter’ of the eye lashes while a low groan from Gaige was heard nearby, with a deadpan -..- mark floating in front of Zer0’s visor.



        Gaige broke the look by saying this. “What my big sister’s saying is that we need help busting pass the sub level wall me and Zer0 found, which she is trying to keep me out of it because well ‘it’s too dangerous for you!’ or ‘Your Deathtrap broke last time and that wasted more warping power to save you, don’t scare me like that!’. Seriously, I can take care of myself.”  Gaige huff’s before soon after getting her hair scuffed good naturedly by Lilith.



        Though the silence was broken by a swish carving fashion showing a rough guess of the wall to this location. Even going so far as to offering both twins what look to be Echo's and a Shield. With Zer0’s mask does a smiley face while pointing to himself than the twins pointing towards said wall.



        “What kind of approach were you going for?” Anson asked. “I would assume that since Zer0 is a ninja that you would want to do the stealth approach?”



        “If Salvador were here, he would rush in guns blazing with Krieg yelling “I’M THE CONDUCTOR OF THE POOP TRAIN!!” like he usually would.” They heard Gaige on the other end of the Echo. “Zer0 relies a lot on Deception. Finding a way to distract the guards so he could take them out silently.”



        Hearing this, both Nicko and Anson looked at each other. “And let me guess… We’re the distraction?”



        An emoticon of a smiley face showed up on Zer0, having the twins look at each other. “I’m starting to regret asking that question.”





Crystal Empire - Trade District, Hyperion Branch HQ - past midnight



        There is activity going on so far tonight but nothing loud enough to cause a disturbance for anyone sleeping, some form or futuristic lighting is being set up at street corners as what looked to be ponies are busy away working and testing the installations.  All the while there is a buzzing of activity around the Hyperion Branch HQ, tight nit patrols and small groups apparently doing scans or tests of some kind looking the place over with a figurative fine combed brush.  Several human individuals whom looked like Jack on the poster were toiling away, directing activities to some while diagnosing on the other.



        But through all this a far end Mare hole cover opened revealing one of the twins taking a look outside, with Zer0 having vanished staying below making his way somewhere.  With a mission and action in mind, the twins begin hushed talking in how they would go about distracting Hyperion’s forces.



        “How many of them are there?” Trying to get a proper ‘head count’ from the view seems to show around twenty, and most of them seem to be ponies from this distance fixing things as no details were certain but some welding torches showed they were likely engineers or repair crews. While there were heavier Loader Bots that didn’t seem like the push overs from outside the city.  



        “About Twenty.” 



        “Crap. Any ideas on how to distract them?”



        Anson wondered the same thing. However, he did notice one thing that could possibly help them. In the back of the facility was a series of barrels that Hyperion used to store explosives. They were painted red and from Anson remembered as a kid when playing video games, “Red means Dead”. Summoning a spare sword, he sent it flying towards the set of barrels and the explosion that went off was massive. It caught the attention of all the guards just as Anson and Nicko began to charge in and slammed a few of the Doppelgangers into the cold ground and have them disperse into pixels. 



        “Now the fun begins.” The Infinity Sword chuckled as he unsheathed both of his blades and began to cut down the Handsome Jack doppelgangers. Nicko himself focused on using his magic to take down all the mechanical loader bots that were trying to pin down his brother with suppressing fire as he used his “Rising Wave” skill to summon long blades from underneath the mechanical feet of these machines. 



        They were doing great with making a distraction for Zer0 so he could infiltrate the compound. However, what the twins did not know is that their grand entrance also caught someone else’s attention.





Crystal Empire - Royal Bed Chambers - Moment of Explosion


*Handsome Jack perspective*



        Blaring awake from instinct hearing a CLEAR explosion of some type while poor Glitterstone was still asleep cuddled into me, petting her head affectionately as it took someone familiar for her to even calm down enough to get some well needed rest.  Though also in the room acting rather well creeper than normal was F.A.U.S.T. and Nightmare Moon, though the later looked jealous of the princess as I gave a grunt slowly unwinding from her clutches only (for weirdly enough the fore more) to replace me with a doll  of me. The 'plush edition’ on the tag with washing instructions.



        Giving them both a look as I motion us to leave the room quietly but quickly as possible, with ‘night’ to pick me up for that swift smokey action that sends shivers through me like I was being literally felt up.  “Your sh*t is getting old one of these days. If the timing wasn’t bad, I’d likely compliment you on ‘how to grab a human under their clothes’.  But don’t you give me sh*t that there hasn’t been an explosion. I FELT it from f*cking here, you only feel that if there is a siege which I don’t feel more of that size so it’s not Celestia bashing down the gates with alicorn hit crew.”  Pointing to F.A.U.S.T. to have her give the details as she seems to lead the path, you forget plan details after so many years.



	With a natural if exaggerated sway of the hips as she walks with tail flicks from either agitation or arousal, can never figure out which it can be so I will presume either or both, which some days it just HAS to be both.  “Thou art correct, our Jack. It would seem the two youths from earlier are attacking the branch facility and cameras within are down.  But recovered images shown a Vault Hunter using them as a distraction.”  At the mention of ‘vault hunter’ nightmare knew I was reacting badly to that case, still doesn’t give her room to f*cking lick me.



        Seeing F.A.U.S.T.’s eyes flash for a moment before they twitched in aggravation which I KNEW what that meant and it’s likely something I would be livid about. Bracing myself, I sigh and ignore Nightmare’s now successful attempts of intimate nuzzling and licks this was heard.  “We are sorry to report that among the inventory, there is a small stock of Eridium and a Vault Key.” I must have stopped completely when I believed I misheard that bit, so asking her again only resulted the same god damn answer, three times.



        Stomping forward at a breakneck pace yelling this out.  “Get Saturn’s little ‘cousin’ launched down here so that we can F*CKING OBLITERATE THEM BEFORE THEY GET A FOOT OUTSIDE WITH THAT KEY!” Those three could keep up with my sprint though it was more like a calm half sprint being from the two alicorn types while Metal’s working those cybernetic legs I installed inside him. “WE GOT TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM CIVILIANS! Don’t want a higher pony head count more than it is now!”  Receiving a cough in response from F.A.U.S.T. got Jack’s attention.



	Speaking in a matter-of-fact tone once more. “Well, Claptrap reports state that they have been avoiding attacking them. Perhaps it is either blind luck, but the only destroyed so far are the loader units on site or coming there. But in positive news, they are being forced back to a more ‘contained’ spot for custody. A specialized cell to drain magic users, for it will give us time after they are contained.” There was a glint possibly for getting to use something new again, or it could be that she wishes to show off.



	But that all ended when hopping into a ready and waiting space worthy gunship, that the boys here had shown off earlier. They were so excited even when I was forcing them out to get some medical leave, they can be rather excitable like me most often. “Fine they are ONLY just damaging MY property. Nighty, if you could help us deal with the Vault Hunter problem, I might just think about ‘some’ of your highly ‘suggested’ actions you have been laying out for me…” At this point, I was not entirely sure if I do give a crap about rejecting what she wants.



        It might even be fun, though that smoke stuff is still creepy as anything, though never as bad as the idea of vault hunters gunning me down. ‘I sure hope I don’t die from Lilith like in the games…’ Taking a breath to tell my current company present will likely, alter their actions in the future but so long as it doesn’t happen I will be okay.  





Back at the Facility… 


*Twins perspective*



        Everything had been going smoothly so far. Nicko and Anson had provided a big enough distraction to allow Zer0 to infiltrate the Hyperion Facility undetected while they dealt with wave after wave of incoming Loader Bots. It was easy at first, but something didn’t seem right to the Rune Slayer as his brother struck down another doppelganger with his two blades.



        “Lilith, you there?”



        “Yes, Nicko. I hear you loud and clear.” The Siren over the Echo device said as a few more loader bots began to attack. But this time, with different tactics and weapons that were trying to push them backwards.



        “Something’s off with the Loader Bots. They’re not the same like they were before.”



        “Not the same? What the hell are you talking about?”



        “They got some more heavier firepower, but they’re not trying to hit us. It’s like they’re trying to push us into a corner.”



        At those words, the Siren’s heart skipped a beat. “Are there a series of cages behind you two?”



        Turning around, Nicko and Anson saw what Lilith was asking about. “Yes, they’re open like they want us to walk into them.”



        “Blow the living Sh*t out of them!!!” Lilith yelled to them. “Those things will drain you for every ounce of magic you two have! Dammit, Jack must’ve been preparing for something like this-.”



        Before Nicko could respond back, a shot from a Loader Bot’s machine gun destroyed the twin’s echo device. The Rune Slayer cursed his bad luck and launched a few explosive runes to destroy the cells they would’ve been imprisoned in. 



        “Anson, push forward!!”



        “Got it!”



        That was… Until two cages from directly above them landed on top of them, locking them in and sealing them inside.



        “Ooooh. You should’ve looked up now, kiddos.”



        The two brothers looked up, only to look at a familiar face they had seen only once already today.



        Handsome Jack.





(Handsome Jack’s point of view)



        Repelling down with a tired stagger with the two attractive alicorns present, though Nightmare Moon is giving the brats the glowing white eyes and snarling fanged treatment until I finger flicked her ear. Though F.A.U.S.T. definitely knows how to work the disappointed mother angle down to a tee besides the alluring sway she has now looks agitated. “Before anything kiddos, try anything and F.A.U.S.T. will show you why Chaos spawn of any generation or above should fear her.”



        Pointing to said robotic Alicorn in a more than form fitting yellow Hyperion business suit that never looks wrinkled. “Now, did you two KNOW that I was a Displaced or not? If not it’s understandable, also Metal Will-” pointing a thumb back to the grumbling pony in question shaking a fist and entering the facility.  “- has been reprimanded for shooting first without seeking confirmation of identity.”  Though at this point, Nightmare moon stepped closer saying this in a slight archaic tone. “Thou should know dangers of putting our coltfriend at risk to future harm!” Only to see behind her with me shaking my head face palming.



        “Pfft. I got a few things for you buddy…” A new voice came into play as an oddly familiar, yet colored mist floats from the boy with the two hairbangs and takes form outside the cage. To my surprise, a Draconequus came to life as she looked at us with an intimidating grin. “First off-” She started, pointing at F.A.U.S.T. with an eagle talon. “Don’t even think about using Chaos’ name in vain like that. Two, your Metal Lunatic didn’t give us an opportunity to talk with his anger management problem and a gun pointed at my friends face. Three, and this is more of a personal thought, why is Nightmare Moon here acting like a mare trying to protect her Prized Possession?”



        Scratching the back of my head giving a sigh, only to move that same hand to rub my tired eyes.  “Well, when you use chaos to bring an alicorn back from the dead, I’d like to see your claim than. Second Metal Will has some issues still because of first Sombra, than Equestrians taking over the Crystal Empire and trying to legally hunt down and kill the remaining royal family that Sombra didn’t get.  As for that last part, I have no idea. She’s just into me!”  Earning a chuckle from the Nightmare in question as she slithered back up against me from behind saying this just loud enough, while licking my ear. “You just need to realize your potential, as your body OOZES virility.”



        The Draconequus herself just facepalms herself with her lion paw as she looks at me and Nightmare Moon. “Dear mother of Chaos. She’s trying to seduce you. And just when I thought that seeing my Father roleplay with my mother was disturbing enough.” I raised an eyebrow as I saw the two boys giving similar expressions of being disturbed by Nightmare’s actions.



        Sighing after this, I gave them a look before responding.  “When you three get old enough to do adult activities, please be more reasonable than this mare.”  Pointing at Nightmare’s direction only for her to nibble on the finger giving a convulsing shiver.  “STOP THAT WILL YOU?!?”  Only to grunt in visible pain motioning for the needle as F.A.U.S.T. moves in to inject the pain sedative, while the two alicorns looked worried.



	“You know you're talking to two teenagers around eighteen years old and the three of us are trying to get back to our home before a Psychotic Esper tears it apart before trying to possibly tear open a rift. So I think we got some higher priorities than having you teach health class.” The Draconequus shot back.



        “Okay, just who are you exactly?”  I asked this possibly important question to the Draconequus.



        “Names Eris. Daughter of Discord and Princess Celestia… Well, where I’m from at least.”



        Now this just went from interesting to downright surprising; faster than Ms. 20% cooler in ten seconds flat. Rubbing my face synthetic face slowly as the magic based chemicals of the pain reducer go into effect, gazing at said ‘Eris’ to say this.  “Well young mare... As comical as the thought is of you being my buddy’s daughter and my two former friends either ‘daughter or niece’, I have to say if I was hearing this in a better state of mind I would be laughing my ass off not at you but at the very THOUGHT.”  Soon enough, I raise my ‘f*ck off’ finger to the sky angled just behind me at quite possibly desensitized horror from the great beyond who f*cks with my life likely not giving the same amount to be offended.



        Turning towards me, Eris snarled a little. “I honestly think you’re seeing things.”



        “Uhh, Eris? I don’t know if it’s me, but we’re seeing it too.” The one with the two swords says to her. All the Draconequus did was cross her arms.



        “Maybe it’s because of those stupid cages. Here, let me fix that.”



        “Highly doubt that you can, Missy and highly suggest for health reasons against that.” I said. “You are a ‘spirit of chaos’. Otherwise a purely magical being right?”  Waiting for her response as I moved closer to lightly tap the cage, moving to unlock them as I whistle for a couple of Loader Bots fly in to lift the cages off from the locked position freeing the twins.  “Pure magical beings like Discord in something like this is a death sentence while Tartarus is just a dampener.”



        “And you’re letting us out for what reason exactly?” One of the boys asked as he began to drink what looked like a PowerAde bottle with a recycling symbol on it.



        Giving them a deadpan look saying this. “For starters you kids were brought into this mess by my very angry top of the bar fighter Metal Will, and secondly I am not too sure if the info from another Displaced on the ‘Vault hunters’ after me are real or not. Though them being around after a thousand years and not bones?  I’ll go with not human and definitely no changeling.  Besides it isn’t your fault that others use you for bigger games, but there is one tiny issue that F.A.U.S.T. is likely never to move on.”  I point towards the extensive damage they had done by being the distraction.



        “Lets say you guys have a HIGH running bill for cost of repairs and Hyperion collects, so you’ll take one of my tokens, collect the amount on that receipt.”  Taking a moment to point at F.A.U.S.T.; whom is now holding a piece of paper with the cost going into the thousands…  “And either pay back in full or in installments/helping out.”



        “Actually…” The Boy in the half shirt interrupts as he turned towards his bag. “there might not be a need to do delivery service. How much is the exact amount on the receipt?”



        F.A.U.S.T. casually reads over the tallied numbers aloud as if it was the weather being spoken about.  “It would amount to almost exactly 140,034.57 Bits, in value at this time due to market projections.”  Gazing up at the boys and young draconequus now, as her gaze gave the feeling of utter disappointment in the three.



        But not the one who spoke before. “Actually. I’ll give you this.”



        Before I could even speak, The teen drops a leather bag down on the ground and it landed with a loud metallic CLANK!! Opening it up, I was shocked to find the bag filled with Bits. 



        “I was recently given a Thank you statement after helping a Stallion named Filthy Rich with a few tasks and the rewards were worth it. I still have some money of my own to help me right now, but I think giving you ten million bits should be enough.”



        Giving the kids a raised eyebrow before having F.A.U.S.T. extract the amount required before hearing their response that got me chuckling.



        “Shouldn’t be much since your company would probably consider this amount as ‘Chump change’ if you know what I mean.”



        Oh this kid was good at Borderlands references; definitely good.  “Well kiddos, since you’ve squared things off with me as for the bills. Why don’t I give you two my token in case you lot wish to do business in the future or would like some other things, nothing personal though, because it’ll keep things simple and I am still a bit ticked by your second impression.”  Giving them a narrowed look as a loader bot handed the Hyperion Acquisition Beacon to Eris. In return, both of the boys handed me their own tokens. The one with the shoulder Tattoo’s handed me a stone with a Rune inscribed on it while the other one handed me a darkened shard of crystal that he called a Dark El Shard or whatever the hell it was. Possibly some anime crap.



        Giving them to F.A.U.S.T. for now as she put them somewhere like the Iron lich’s token, been meaning to ask her this. “So how do we send these three home? Because last time you used a token and sent them back, but they didn’t come by token this time so it might not work.” The response F.A.U.S.T. gave looked rather sly looking at Eirs, moving closer to her before saying these words.  “Thou shalt know it will hurt for ONLY a moment…”  giving her not a moment to respond to the statement before jamming her finely crafted hand into the younger draconequi’s stomach; feeling around for something before making a portal with another hand and tossing the girl through, ass first.



        “I’m guessing we just hop on in?” The Half Shirt boy asked. F.A.U.S.T. only replied with a nod and was about a few seconds away from pushing the two of them in there. Surprisingly though, they instead jumped in towards the rift like they were going to jump off a cliff. As they left, I soon realized something.



        Thinking on it for a moment before I sighed. “I forgot to ask for their names… Well not like it matters. I hate brats out of any species of Kids, that eris was kind of a b*tch towards us too.  Likely didn’t know you have that chaos eater sword from the old kingdoms?” Making a casual comment earning a nod in response as there was a sort of fiery look to her eyes, might be a bit of blood lust? “Right lets just try not to cause another chaos battle…  Poor girl likely wouldn’t make it three minutes with how fast you move now, and how fast your intelligence is.”  Giving out a shiver from how easy she is at manipulating without much effort.





Castle of the Royal Pony siblings… 



        Like anyone else in his position, Discord was bored. Worried, but bored. It had only been a few hours since his daughter had disappeared with Anson and Nicko and now he was wondering where they could’ve possibly ended up. This question though answered itself the moment that a galactic vortex was torn open and the sounds of bodies crashed onto the floor. As the smoke cleared up, Discord found a rather unusual sight.



        His daughter landing face first on the ground followed by Anson landing right on top of her. The sight made him chuckle a bit as they looked back at the elder Draconequus.



        “Well, this is a surprise.”



        Both of them soon scrambled to each other’s feet as Eris and Anson looked at each other before looking at Discord. “This isn’t what it looks like.”



        Before they could even explain anything, Molly and Amy rushed into the room from a corridor in a nearby hallway. “There you two are! Where the hell is Nicko?”



        Looking around, Anson soon realized that his brother was indeed missing. Did something happen with the Portal F.A.U.S.T. made for them to go home? It was uncertain right now. But soon, a holographic image of a familiar foe reappeared.



        “Well, look at that. You made it through my little funhouse. Unfortunately, you’re suppose to be dead right now… Well, we can change that.”



        With a snap of the Esper’s fingers, something new began to form about the heads of all five individuals in the room. It seemed… demonic in nature and soon, the hologram faded away to reveal what Eric had left behind for them.



        



        Right now, the sheer size of the Beast that the Tracer had left for them was what surprised all of them. Anson though, had the perfect words to describe the situation.





        “SON OF A TAINT!!! ”





Elsewhere… 



        When Nicko opened his eyes again, he found himself alone. Eris wasn’t here and neither was his brother. In fact, he wasn’t even in the Castle of the Royal Pony Siblings anymore. 



        The Rune Slayer had somehow ended up in Canterlot. Which was strange because he entered roughly around the same time that both his brother and Eris entered the portal to go home. Did some kind of mistake happen? Was he in another Equestria again? Many thoughts bounced through his head as he tried to be aware of his surroundings.



        Around then though was when he heard the sound of someone walking behind him. Using his hearing, the boy followed the sound of the footsteps and for a brief moment, she saw something that reminded him of the boy’s mother. 



        Turning around another corner, the human could now see who this person was. 







        “Excuse me, ma’am?”



        The girl turned around, her eyes briefly looked at him with a bit of shock. “Y-you’re one of Ciela’s boys! Nicko, right?!”



        “H-how do you know my mother? Matter of fact, how do you know about me?!” The teen asked, taking it as a possible sign of caution and not knowing if this individual was a threat or not. He gripped his blade just in case.



        “I knew her for a long time. In fact, you know my daughters… Amy and Molly.”





End Chapter 14

> Chapter 15: Valkyrie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Valkyrie





        “SON OF A TAINT!!”



        Anson definitely not like his odds right now. A ten foot tall Demonic Beast was roaring at the top of it’s lungs, trying to bite the heads off of him and the two Anderson sisters. Not to mention that an insane psychopath was going to Ponyville while they were trying to not get themselves killed. 



        “Anson, do you have a plan?!”



        “Hey, what the hell sis?! Why didn’t you ask me!?” Amy complained to her sister a little mere seconds before dodging one of Berthe’s outstretched claws. 



        “Uh, earth to everypony! We got to warn the town before that crazy bastard tears the place apart!! Not to mention find out where the bloody hell is Nicko!” Eris told them as Anson parried another one of the beast’s attacks. Her words though, happened to give the teenaged boy a idea that could possibly work. 



        “We should split up then.” 



        Both Eris and her father looked at the Infinity Sword in mere confusion. “Wait, what?”



        “Eris, you can feel my brother’s magic, so you should focus on finding him and getting him here as quickly as possible. While you’re doing that, Amy, Molly, and I can teach this dog a few more tricks while Discord warns Twilight so she can evacuate the town.”



        “That… sounds like a great idea.”



        “I’m all for it!! It can let me teach this fleabag how to PLAY DEAD!!!” The Crimson Avenger roared as she triggered her Annihilation Aura and began to glow in a blood red coat of magic. Molly herself provided covering fire for her sister by summoning a Pulse Gatling drone that barraged the animal with a volley of EMP shots. Anson himself prepared his two swords as they went against their foe head on. But at the same time, wondered where his brother could be.





Canterlot



        “ …You know my daughters… Amy and Molly.”



        Nicko was unsure of what the hell was going on right now, but something about this made him feel uneasy. This only made things more complicated with what he asked next. “Are you…… Their mother?” The nod of the woman’s head answered one of his questions, but now had a few more questions pop up inside his head. 



        “Wait… Yuri told me that you… died. If that’s true, then how the hell is this happening? Are you a ghost or something?”



        “No, it’s not like that.” The Noblesses replied, sighing to herself. “Would you happen to know some girl by the name of Selena?”



        “Yeah. She was helping keep Amy alive when she was nearly killed.”



        “MY DAUGHTER ALMOST DIED!!?!” Jane shouted, shocked by when Nicko told her just now. She had energy coming from her hands and was tempted to grab the boy and demand answers from him.



        “Woah!! Wait a second!” The Rune Slayer told her as he backed away a bit. “Are you even aware of what’s going on right now?”



        “No, but that’s not important right now. Selena needed me to get something from the Canterlot Archives, only telling me that the item in itself is a surprise. Not to mention that once I actually complete this task, I can see my daughters again.”



        “Okay, but how can we tell what she needs?” Nicko asked the question. To his surprise, he saw the Noblesses pull out what looked like a crystalline teardrop as it faintly glowed. 



        “This would glow brightly when we get closer and fade when were farther away from whatever it is.” 



        “Well, we have a location and something to help us. Now we need to get there… and thankfully, I’ve been there before.”



        “Alright, lead the way.” Jane replied. She was starting to become impressed by the child. He surely had grown, but also had picked up many useful skills that he did not have when he was the six year old child the woman had let stay in her family orphanage. Through the streets in the dimly lit alleys they went as the two of them soon arrived at the huge library. Sneaking past the guards that were on duty, the two of them were now in the main lobby as they looked around. 



        “Alright, how much time do you think we have before somepony notices were here?”



        “Somepony?”



        “It’s how they say somebody.”



        “Ah, well I say we got ten minutes. Maybe fifteen?” She replied as the Noblesses lit up a torch to use as a light source. Fifteen minutes was all the two needed for them to find what Selena wanted. But in the back of the Rune Slayer’s mind, he began to worry about if Eric had already began to attack Ponyville.





Ponyville



        Inside Ponyville’s library, a young Alicorn was sound asleep. Over the past few days, she had been extremely busy with her newfound duties of being the princess of friendship and right now, Twilight Sparkle was in a deep sleep. Nothing was able to disturb her since she casted a soundproof barrier around her room so she wouldn’t be able to hear any late night shenanigans from the townsfolk that were returning from the bar or just anything that she wouldn’t consider as normal. However, she did not take into account the possibility of a Draconequus sneaking in through the second floor balcony. 



        “Psst… Twilight… Wakey wakey……”



        “F-five more minutes, Spike.” She moaned as the Alicorn began to toss and turn. Discord sighed a little, facepalming himself with his lion paw. Using his chaos magic, the spirit summoned a small firecracker and soon lit the fuse, having it set off in the middle of the room and startle the princess. She first was shocked for her life, but sighed once she saw who woke him up.



        “Discord, what are you doing here? Don’t you know what time it is?”



        “It’s time for you to get up. We got an emergency.”



        Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked at the Draconequus. He wasn’t one to be serious, so what was with the change in attitude? “Oh? What kind of emergency?”



        “The kind where we need to evacuate everypony in Ponyville. Eric is on his way here right now.”



        The name of the Diabolic Esper sent chills down her spine. “H-how do you know this?”



        “Long story, but I was with Anson investigating the old castle that you wanted to refurbish. Turns out, he was using it as a place to conduct his research and plan an attack on Ponyville. He left Anson, Amy and Molly to fight against an overgrown Diamond Dog, Eris is trying to find Nicko, and last time I looked outside, Luke and the others were defending the town against a swarm of changelings since Chrysalis is working with that Diabolical Creep.”



        Twilight herself was shocked for multiple reasons, but did not have the time to inquire every bit of information that she wanted to know. The town’s citizens came first and she had to make sure that every one of them was safe. “If what you say is true, then we need to act now. Do you have any ideas on how to get everypony out of here.”



        The Draconequus smiled. “Yes I do. Would Cadence have happened to teach you how to use the Royal Canterlot Voice?”





        “Caliburn!! On your right!!!”



        The sounds of sword and steel clashing with one another echoed through the night sky as both Leo and Caliburn had to defend themselves from their attackers. It was a small battalion of changeling troops that arrived through the underground tunnel system that was connected to the Hive. Despite Leo using his mechanical arm to have the tunnels cave in, these changelings attacked them before the Reckless Fist destroyed the caverns. Right now, both the guard pony and the human were making their way towards Fluttershy’s cottage as they cut down any changeling attackers that tried to harm them.



        The two of them soon made it to the cottage as Leo knocked on the door. “Fluttershy? Are you in there?!”



        The squealing of animals and hearing a faint voice trying to calm them down told the two swordsmen that she was okay. By the time she reached the door, Fluttershy herself was surprised to see Leo and his friend be at the door. “Oh my… I didn’t expect any guests right now.”



        “Fluttershy, we have an emergency. Everypony in Ponyville needs to be evacuated as quickly as possible. The same person that attacked Amy is making his way towards Ponyville according to what Discord told us.”



        “O-oh dear. That sounds serious.”



        “Indeed. Is there a place where your animals can hide until the conflict is over. I don’t want Angel or any of the other animals here getting caught in the Esper’s crosshairs.”



        The pony nodded, telling all of her animals to follow the bear named Henry to his cave to the east where he normally would stay during the winter for hibernation. It was deep in the Everfree forest, so it would work for right now. Before the three of them were able to get back to town though, a loud shot ran through the air as it caught their attention.



        “ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!! THIS IS PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! ALL CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE NEED TO EVACUATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! THERE IS A PORTAL IN THE TOWN SQUARE THAT WILL TRANSPORT EVERYPONY THAT PASSES THROUGH IT INTO CANTERLOT!! THIS IS A ROYAL DECREE!!! WE NEED TO LEAVE BEFORE THE DIABOLIC ESPER REACHES TOWN-!”



        Before the statement could be finished though, purple lightning began to surge and a loud explosion could be heard from the Ponyville Library.





        In the town of Ponyville, all of the Changelings that were in the town were nothing but piles of ash as Eric crackled with mad laughter. His attack on the princess might have missed, but at least he was able to stop her message.



        “And just when everything was going so well, you have to wreck everything.” 



        The Princess was trying to get back on her hooves, but soon was relieved when two girls with spears landed right in front of her.



        “Twilight, hurry and get out of here. We can hold him off.” Yuri told her as she and her sister prepared to fight the Diabolic Esper.



        “You really think that you could stand up against me?” The Esper said, laughing insanely. “The Burning Crusader wasn’t able to handle me when I skewered her with my shards.”



        The comment though, made the Little Specter named Jade become fueled with rage. This man was the one that hurt Amy and she was going to make him pay. “YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO AMY!!”



        “Jade, NO!!”



        “Heh… Come at me then.” The Esper smiled menacingly as his power surged through his hands and took a pose that resembled a stance Frieza would take. “Your fate will be the same as hers.”





Back at the Archives… 



        Nicko and Jane were continuing their search for whatever was the “surprise” that Selena said that they had to find. But so far, the search was like finding a needle in a haystack. It would’ve been easier if Eris was here to help them. But right now, the two of them had to rely on one another in order to find what they were looking for. 



        “Any luck so far?”



        The Noblesses shook her head in response to the Rune Slayer’s question. “No, the only point where I’m stuck at is this bookshelf.” Jane took out the crystal in her pocket as it glowed brightly in front of a bookshelf along the wall. Nicko walked over, only to notice a book that looked out of place on the shelf. When he went to push it in though, the shelves began to split apart, revealing a secret passage that went downstairs towards what the two of them assumed as a basement. When they came down there though, they came across something different though. 



        What they found almost looked like a huge laboratory. It contained a chest in the back of the room, a crystalline lamp in the middle of a table, and notes scattered everywhere. The thing that caught Nicko’s attention though was a book that was left open in the back of the small room as he walked over towards it. The author of the book though was what caught him by surprise.



        Clover the Clever.



        ‘Holy crap. This place must’ve been her private study.’ The Rune Slayer thought to himself as he looked around the abandoned and empty room. He caught a glance of a strange stone inside one of a few chests that was on a shelf along with some written notes. This though, also caught Jane’s attention because the crystal she had was now vibrantly glowing. Which meant that this item was what they were looking for.



        “A stone? How the bloody hell is a stone suppose to help my daughters!?”



        “Hang on a second, This isn’t any ordinary stone.” The teen told her. “According to these notes, this is the Sound Mind Stone. An artifact that can be placed into the soul of a being and prevent those that wield dark magic of going berserk when near death’s door. This would probably be something that can help out Amy.”



        “Really? How so?” Jane asked, intrigued by the boy’s words.



        “Well, her newfound powers are like a double edge sword. She can dish out more damage in exchange for draining herself of her own health. If Amy goes overboard, and something tells me she will, she might kill herself without knowing it.”



        This alarmed the Noblesses. She had just come back to life in order to see her daughters again and now her oldest daughter had control of something that might be her downfall. Jane now had only one goal in mind as she took hold of the artifact. To get this to her daughter as soon as possible. Using a piece of paper that looked like a ticket, Jane thanked the Rune Slayer and disappeared in a vibrant flash. When Nicko opened his eyes again, the mother of Amy and Molly was nowhere to be seen. 



        ‘She must’ve used a Cobo Express Ticket.’ Nicko thought to himself. In Elsword, Cobo Express Tickets were Cash Shop Items that allowed the player to teleport themselves to different towns and outposts instantly. Selena must’ve given one to Jane so she could return to Ponyville as soon as she got what she needed. Speaking of Ponyville, Nicko realized that he might have been taking up too much time inside this place. 



        He was beginning to hear voices. Voices that weren’t his or like anyone else he already met. In fact, the voice was coming from the Crystalline Lamp in the center of the room. 



        ‘Hello…’ 



        Nicko turned around, only to be surprised at what was speaking to him. It was a light green unicorn who wore a leather cloak and had a emerald mane and tale. Her eyes were of a light purple and similar to Twilights, but she looked more like a scholar than a sorceress. She looked like a ghost since Nicko saw the pony as semi-transparent. But if he could see her, then she could see him. 



        “Hello? Who are you?”



        The Unicorn smiled to herself as she looked at the Teen. “I’m Clover. Clover the Clever.”



        ‘Holy Crap. I’m now talking to the dead?! That’s new.’ Nicko thought to himself as he blinked a few times, trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But to his surprise, this was completely real. He was talking to the Archmage that was the student of Starswirl the Bearded. 



        “It has been quite some time since I’ve had anypony come in here. Matter of fact, it has been quite some time since anypony figured out where my private chambers were. Tell me, what is your name?”



        “Nicko Nocte, Ms. Clover.”



        The last name of the boy caught the Unicorn’s attention. “I’ve heard that name before. One of the human bodyguards of the Royal Siblings mentioned a son by that name.”



        “I guess that means you met my parents?” Nicko asked her.



        “Indeed… Wow, this is truly extraordinary! I have so many things that I want to ask you!!” The Unicorn was personally beaming with joy. That was when she noticed the markings on the Teen’s shoulders and the book that the teen carried alongside his bag. The book that contained her teacher’s research on Runic Sorcery. This boy… he couldn’t be what she thought he was… could it? “Wait a second, is that my masters book!?!”



        ‘Oh great job Nicko, you managed to piss off a ghost. Wonderful…’ 



        Soon though, the human began to hear Clover talk to herself as she floated around the room like the ghost she was. She seemed deep in thought, trying to figure out something that puzzled her. “But only somepony with control over Runic Magic could be able to understand what’s within that book. Why would he have it on him?”



        “Um, I’m sorry for interrupting you, Ms. Clover. But I believe I can answer that question for you.” Nicko told her as he began to focus on his magic. The teen concentrated his power to both of his palms as Clover watched in shock and awe. Soon, the magic that Clover thought was long gone appeared to surge from the boy as Nicko now harnessed his powers into one hand and his sword into another. 







        “B-but how?!”



        “Well, I’m a Rune Slayer.” Nicko explained. “A Warrior who relies on both Sword and Sorcery. Also, if I may take a page from your book, I’m what you would call a Displaced.”



        The word Displaced had Clover’s eyes widen. Ever since she came up with the theory, the unicorn had never met anyone who was an actual Displaced. In fact, the theory she came up with was just a guess and she never really had any evidence to prove her claims. “Y-you’re a Displaced!?”



        “I am. In fact, because of your theory, I have had a better understanding of myself and also the other Displaced that I had met.” Nicko continued on to explain about his encounter with Ryu, the Elder Dragon; his brothers encounter with Jack Frost; and lastly, their encounter with the man named Handsome Jack. The teen also explained about how a Displaced could be summoned because of a summoning token that they have and even showed the Unicorn Spirit the Dragon Tear that Ryu gave him just to give a visual reference. 



        Nicko though, could not stay long. He had friends and family that might be facing Eric as he spoke and needed to hurry back in order to join the fight to protect Ponyville. Upon mentioning the Diabolic Esper though, Clover became scared. The man that killed the parents of Celestia and Artemis had broken free of his prison. Even though she couldn’t fight alongside the Rune Slayer, the Unicorn knew of another way she could help.



        “Wait… Before you go, there’s something I believe might help you with facing against that demonic fiend.”



        Nicko himself raised an eyebrow as the mare walked over to another one of the chests that was on the shelf. With a nod of Clover’s head, the boy opened it to find something that really surprised him.



        It was a weapon. But not like any other weapon that an Equestrian would have on them. It was a pistol with a name etched along the grip.



        “I found this a few nights after coming up with the Displaced Theory. I kept it, thinking it would help me with my research. But I believe it might be better in more capable hands such as yourself.” 



        Nicko picked up the gun, holstering it in his pocket. “Thank you kindly.”



        “I must go. Thanks to you, I can move on to the next life.”



        “Wait, what do you mean?”



        “Souls only remain in this world if they have any questions left unanswered. Since you answered mine, I can move on to where my master and my friends are. Thank you again, Nicko. You are indeed a good friend. One who’s willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good.” 



        Before Nicko could say thank you, Clover was gone. Whisked away in a small shimmer of light. But now was not the time for him to become upset. Especially with the new voice that caught his attention.



        “Nicko!!”



        It was Eris. Oh thank god, was he relieved to see a familiar face. “Eris, where in the world have you been?”



        “Where have I been? Where the hell have YOU been!?! I’ve been looking for you for the past hour and Eric is fighting through Ponyville as we speak. He already trashed Yuri and Jade, almost smashed Leo’s mechanical arm and tore your parents to freaking pieces!!”



        “He did what!?” was Nicko’s first reaction. He knew that his parents and his friends were strong, but to find out that Eric had single handedly defeated all five of them was shocking enough. Now, he was worried about Twilight and the others. “We got to get there before Eric kills everypony in the town!”



        “Daddy’s already one step ahead on that one. He got the Elements of Harmony to Evacuate everypony out of the town so the only ones who are there are those who are capable of fighting him.”



        “What about the injured?”



        “ ……Oh horseapples.” The Spirit cursed. Wasting no time, she grabbed Nicko’s shoulder and teleported them to the battlefield that was the town of Ponyville.





        Upon arrival, The Rune Slayer and the chaos spirit inside his head found the entire town in a savage wreck. Almost like Hurricane Katrina round two. The town hall and numerous other buildings had received massive damage because of the Esper’s rampage. Several buildings were on fire and the sounds of screams and steel wailed through the streets. Not one to wait around for something to happen, Nicko began to run towards the sound and soon came across town square. 



        Where he found Anson losing ground against the psychotic tracer. Amy and Molly were barely standing due to the amount of Injuries they had received and his father was trying to attend to a head would that Ciela had got from one of Eric’s dynamo’s striking her in the face. Leo’s arm looked like it needed major repairs and Yuri & Jade were unconscious due to the amount of blood loss that they had suffered from their wounds. Caliburn was nowhere in sight; probably due to him helping the evacuation efforts earlier



        “Give it up already! All of you are just lambs to the slaughter except for this one.” Eric menacingly insulted them as he pointed at Anson. “He has been able to keep up with my movements and quick enough to block my attacks. But what he has in mobility, he lacks in skill-.”



        “Oh really?” 



        Nicko’s words caused the esper to turn around and stare at him. He had been wondering when he would show up, but also was surprised. The teen was pulsing with energy, much different from his previous encounters.



        “Well, about time… and I was thinking of some good jokes. How many pipsqueaks does it take to-.”



        SMACK!!!



        “-Bash your face?” Nicko finished his sentence as he sent the Esper flying into the town hall. “I say two.”



        Shortly afterwards, The Rune Slayer tossed a Complete Recovery potion to his brother as the Infinity Sword felt his strength return to him. “Glad you can make it, Nicko. I assume that you have some kind of plan or something?”



        “I’m working on it. For right now, keep this.” Nicko told him as he handed the gun Clover gave him to Anson. “It may come in handy later.”



        “O……kay, but how are we suppose to get everyone out of here. They’re beyond exhausted and can barely stand.”



        “Oh trust me, that will come into play pretty soon.” Five…… Four…… Three…… Two…… One……



        At one, Jane leaped down from a rooftop and used her powers to have all the injured end up in one specific spot. 



        “Jane. Both Anson and I got this. Get out of here while you still can.”



        “But what about you-.” 



        “FORGET ABOUT US!! NOW GO!!!”



        The Noblesses was shocked by Nicko’s tone, but soon nodded her head and told the two of them to please stay safe. She then flashed her Cobo Express Ticket again to teleport them away. However, the one thing that was going through her head was one thing that the boys were not at that moment in time.



        Safe.





Canterlot



        “Eric is what!?”



        The shouts through the hall rang with the sounds of a horrified Celestia and Artemis speaking in unison as Twilight and Discord informed them on the current situation. “Luke felt the disturbance earlier this morning and he and the others are fighting to keep him at bay. We were lucky enough to get everypony out of there before I closed the gateway-.”



        Suddenly, a loud THUD!! of multiple bodies hitting the pavement occurred at the other end of the hall as everypony turned towards the newfound noise. Some even screaming at the sight.



        “Is anypony here a doctor?! These people are severely hurt and need medical attention!!! Please HELP THEM!!!”



        The voice came from a new figure that strangely resembled Ciela, but also looked like the exact opposite of her. Trotting her over in a quickening pace, Celestia stared at the woman with authority in her eyes. “And who are you to be giving such abrupt requests-?”



        That was when Amy and Molly began to open their eyes again and look at the figure who rescued them. She recognized the voice, but also somehow knew who it was. “M-mom?”



        Jane turned around, surprised to see one of her daughters has woken up. “Oh my god! AMY!!”



        The emotional and heartfelt reunion between mother and daughters was soon the beginning of a long explanation on how Jane had been brought back from the dead. Even Ciela was brought to tears to see her best friend again. But now, the Chiliarch had a question for the Noblesses.



        “Jane… Where are my boys?”



        This was met by silence. But soon, the question was answered not by her, but by Discord. The Draconequus was using his powers to conjure a scrying orb that allowed everypony to see what was going on in Ponyville. To the shock and horror of everypony in the room, the brothers were there, fighting Eric.



        “Oh my god…” Ciela gasped, watching as her sons took on the monster that was hellbent on destroying everything in his way. Seeing this caused something to go off in Celestia’s mind as the Sun Alicorn turned towards a nearby Gleaming Shield and Flash Sentry.



        “Both of you, retrieve the elements of harmony!!! This battle must end without anypony becoming a casualty of that monster!!”



        Because the Princess swore by her parents graves that this will not happen again.





Back in Ponyville… 



        The Rune Slayer had to remember to thank Ryu for all the training the Elder Dragon gave him the first time he got displaced. Because right now, all of his teachings was helping him combat and get an advantage on the Esper. The first move he made was with an upward slash of his sword to kick up some dirt, distorting Eric’s vision. Follow that with him chucking a few Rune inscribed stones and you get yourself a smokescreen with a package of Splash Explosion grenades that detonated in the Tracer’s face. 



        When the stones exploded, most of the debris was caught by the dynamo’s of the psychopath while shards of broken rock struck him around the waist. Following Nicko’s diversion, Anson went in with Swords flying. The Blades themselves gave minimal scars and scratches as the Infinity Sword continued his assault while the Esper countered each of his incoming blades with his dynamo’s. However, this left him wide open from behind the Esper.



        Nicko seized the opportunity to backstab the human as he detonated some runes by his feet to give himself some newfound speed. Eric though, noticed him seconds before the Warrior could reach him and had Spacial Energy course through his fingertips.



        “MAXIMUM STRIKE!!!”



        The skill had a series of six spiked balls that replicated Leo’s Bloody thorns surround him, causing the brother to back off as Eric had the sets split into two groups of three projectiles and head straight towards them. They were lucky for the attack to just clip them in the shoulder and not take the full force of the blow as one of the shots blew most of the roof off of the Carousel Boutique. 



        Looking back at Eric though, their tactics of dodging the attack only caused him to get angrier as the Esper kicked forth spheres of Telekinetic Energy towards the Infinity Sword. Dodging the first two strikes, Anson was caught off guard when the third blast yanked him towards Eric as he was preparing a powerful surge of energy around his hands. As he pulled off his “Force Nova” attack, the Infinity Sword used his swords to block the attack. But due to the force of the blow, his main greatsword received a crack down the center of the blade. But still, the Esper’s offensive advantage caused him to lower his guard down again, turning his back on the Rune Slayer that was right behind him as he was channeling a surge of Aquamarine Magic at his Fingertips. 



        “LUNA BLADE!!”



        By the time that Eric actually noticed the teen’s surprise attack, the magical sword struck him. Making his body course in pain and draining him of a portion of his mana, restoring Nicko’s. “Thanks for the meal.”



        “Grr… You two are beginning to piss me off. Fight SERIOUSLY!!! You’re just making me think that you’re buying time for your friends.”



        “Buying time?” We’re the only one’s here.”



        “Pfft. Like I would fall for the same move twice.” Eric snarled as he looked at Nicko with a menacing glare. “Your dad said the same thing all those years ago before those two royal brats encased me in stone. Thankfully, with my research being complete, I have a few new tricks up my sleeves.”



        ‘What the hell is this guy talking about?’ Eris asked inside Nicko’s head. Seconds later, they saw the Tracer go into his Overlimit mode with his Nasod Armor. His power was coursing through him uncontrollably as a violet Crystal around his neck began to pulse violently. His face was one of pure insanity as he looked at the boys.



        “Now the fun begins…” Anson grinned, eager and ready to go up against this new challenge. Unaware of the cracks in his weapon of choice. 



        “You are just eager to die, aren’t you?” The Esper retorted.



        “Not really, but I say Screw the Rules.” 



        Anson and Eric charged at each other seconds afterwards, weapons clashing head on as they dodged and weaved their way out of each other’s attacks. Nicko himself soon joined in the fray, landing a few good blows in places where the Tracer left his guard down and also teaming up with his brother so they could keep up the element of surprise as this continued to drag on for another ten to fifteen minutes. The struggle tired all three of them, but they were still able to stand. But the biggest surprise was something that the two brothers never expected.



        ‘Nicko! Anson!! There’s a HUGE source of Magic beginning to build right now!!’



        Both of the brother’s looked at each other in confusion as Nicko replied to Eris’ mental statement. ‘Magic? From where?’



        ‘Canterlot Castle. It’s Twilight and the others. They have the Elements of Harmony. And just at the right time too. I’m almost out of energy.’ 



        Both of the exhausted brothers turned around towards the direction of the castle as they saw a huge light began to take form. It reminded them of Goku in Dragon Ball Z when he was forming the Spirit Bomb against Frieza on Namek. But right now, the two of them needed to get out of the way for when that attack was fired.



        The blast that followed afterwards was a bright colorful laser that ripped through the sky and the clouds as it made it’s way towards it’s intended target. As this happened though, Nicko noticed something off with Eric. When he saw the blast, he didn’t cringe or hesitate to flee. Instead, he just stood there, laughing to himself as he covered one of his eyes with his hands and continued to howl like a hyena.






        “YOU FOOLS DON’T GET IT DO YOU!?!! I’VE PREPARED ALL OF MY RESEARCH IN ORDER TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!!! NOW SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR FOOLISH MISTAKES!!!” While shouting this, Nicko noticed that the energy in his Dynamo’s began to overflow. Something about this was completely wrong.



        ‘Eris, something’s not right. Do you have enough energy to teleport me?’



        ‘Yeah, but only once. Why do you-?’



        ‘I ask because that bastard is going to pull off something and I believe Anson is in the crosshairs. I need to make sure he is safe no matter what the hell happens to me.’ 



        Eris thought about it inside her head, but soon understood what he meant. ‘I understand. I’m with you til the end of the line, Nicky.’



        That’s when she teleported the Rune Slayer. Like he was predicting the future, Nicko was right about his guess on the Esper. As the blast drew closer, The Rune Slayer saw Eric use his weapons to do the impossible.



        Deflect the blast from the elements of harmony. Straight towards Anson.



        “DIE!!!”



        “NO!!!!”



        A loud explosion soon went off as it clouded the small town of Ponyville in smoke.





Canterlot



        “D-did we do it?” 



        That was the question on Twilights mind as she and her friends returned from the Castle walls to look at the scrying orb. Amy looked on with the rest of the humans in anticipation to see the results of the Mane Six’s surprise attack and see if they were successfully able to stop the Rampaging Tracer from causing anymore damage.



        All was going well though until Discord dropped to the floor, flinching in severe pain. 



        “AGH!!!”



        “Discord, what’s wrong!?!” Fluttershy squeaked, worried for her friend. 



        “S-something happened down there. I felt Eris…… disappear.”



        That’s when those that were watching the orb saw the impossible. The Diabolic Esper was still alive.





        Anson was struggling to his feet as he was coughing from the smoke that got into his lungs. He couldn’t see anything because of how thick it was, but instinct made him try whatever he could to find his twin sibling. 



        “Nicko? Are you there!? NICKO!!!”



        The brother of the Rune Slayer was beginning to panic. He was worried for him. For a moment though, he felt relieved as he saw the shadow of his brother right in front of him. But that was when he decided to try and touch him on the shoulder. 



        “Oh thank god, I was able to find-.”



        When his hand met Nicko’s shoulder, he did not feel skin or cloth from his clothes. Instead, he felt rough cold stone. Anson’s eyes widened. This can’t be happening right now. Where the hell was his brother?! This had to be some sick joke!!



        “Oh my…… wasn’t he a valiant one.”



        The chilling voice of a familiar foe crashed Anson’s train of thought as the smoke faded away to show Eric. Still alive. “Using himself as a human shield to save his brother’s life even after I rebounded that Harmonic Blast. That takes character.”



        ‘He… protected me?’ Anson thought to himself, staring in disbelief. He couldn’t accept the fact of what truly happened. His brother was gone. Taken away from him by this wretched monster!! 



        He needed to suffer for the lives he had stolen.



        That was when a warm glow could be felt from his pockets. Coming from the gun that Nicko had given him. He could now read the name that was etched on the grip of the weapon.



        Evoker.



        Now Anson’s eyes were no longer filled with sorrow, but with anger. Rage coursed through him like a crashing river. Now he glanced at the Esper, who noticed the change in his eyes. “Oh, well now. Have you come to fight?”



        “No…” Anson said, drawing out the gun that his brother left behind for him. “I’m going to kill you.”



        Eric himself had noticed the handgun in the Infinity Sword’s hands and laughed. “You can not be serious. Do you honestly think that little pea shooter is going to harm me? You must be out of your damn mind.”



        “True, but who said I was going to be shooting you?”



        Before the Diabolic Esper could say anything, Anson cocked back the weapon he held in his hands and aimed at the one place that made everypony that was watching back in Canterlot horrified. His head. 



        “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND!?” The Esper shouted. “HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP YOU?! YOU’LL JUST KILL YOURSELF!!”



        “True, but this is actually not a gun. This is a Summoning token, and it’s also the reason why Nicko gave it to me.”



        Persona… 



        BANG!!!



        The shot that rang out did not kill the teen, but instead had a powerful surge of magic flow around him as it began to taken form.



        “Thou art I and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come...”







"I am Orpheus, Master of Strings."





End Chapter 15 

> Chapter 16: No More Sorrow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- No More Sorrow





Canterlot (A few moments earlier…) 



        “No way…” 



        Everypony near the scrying orb was staring in disbelief . Twilight and her friends made sure to aim directly at the Diabolic Esper, putting in all their strength so they would be able to encase the Tracer in stone. But now, he was standing there… Unharmed. Crackling with powers and cackling in laughter. Even Celestia was in disbelief.



        “H-how is this possible?” She stammered. “That blast should’ve encased him in stone!!”



        That’s when they saw him move and begin to speak. “Oh my… wasn’t he a valiant one.”



        Ciela and Jane were wondering what he meant by “he” when the Esper was speaking. “Using himself as a human shield to protect his brother even after I rebounded that harmonic blast. That takes character.”



        “R-rebounded!? How the hay is that possible!?!” An angered Rainbow Dash demanded for answers. “Matter of fact, what did that blast hit?”



        Everypony’s question answered when the smoke cleared, revealing a true friend of everypony encased in stone. 



        The first to react was Pinkie, who couldn’t handle the sure amount of shock that was coursing through her. “NIIICCCKKKYYY!!!!”



        “Oh god, this can’t be happening.” Ciela swore as she herself was on the verge of tears. The Chiliarch did not want to lose a son so soon after finding her children again in so long. But something else could be seen moving in the Scrying orb that wasn’t the Tracer.



        It was Anson. But his eyes were not filled with sorrow like the others. His were filled with Rage.



        “Oh, well now.  Have you come to fight?” Eric asked him, menacingly.



        “No…” The strong tone caught everypony’s attention as he stared down his opponent with a ferocious pair of eyes. “I’m going to kill you.”



        “Ansy…” 



        “You can not be serious.” The Esper laughed as he saw the gun that the Infinity Sword was holding inside his hands. “Do you honestly think that little pea shooter is going to harm me? You must be out of your damn mind.”



        “True… but who said I was going to be shooting you?”



        The question sent several individuals into alarm and panic as they saw the boy put the gun at his head. Even the boy’s father, Luke, questioned the move personally. “What the hell does he think he’s doing!?!!”



        “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND!? HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP YOU?! YOU’LL JUST KILL YOURSELF!!” The Esper shouted as the voice rang through the halls. Anson though, just smiled and gave him his reason why. But for some reason, the ponies watching didn’t hear it and instead watched as the gun went off. But to their surprise, the action did not kill the teen, but caused shards of energy to form around the human and combine together, revealing a stronger ally that they never knew he had.



         “THOU ART I AND I AM THOU. FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL, I COMETH. I AM ORPHEUS, MASTER OF STRINGS.” 





Ponyville (Present moment) 



        Anson just watched as the Persona took form alongside him. He never expected anything like this to happen, for he had originally planned the gun trick as a bluff. But now, it was something much more. 



        It gave him a fighting chance.



        “So.” The Persona spoke.”Whatcha call me… I’m guessing it’s about this guy.”



        Anson nodded his head. “You can say that. Mr. Jackass over here not only is responsible for the killings of multiple individuals and got himself imprisoned a thousand years ago for it, but since he’s been back, he’s more powerful and even reflected a blast from the Elements of Harmony that turned my brother to stone.” With the last statement, Anson pointed at the nearby statue of Nicko so the Persona could see what he was referring to.



        “Huh. I see…” The Persona said, a glint forming in his eye.



        He idly took off the harp on his back and begin to strum it.



        “Shall we get this battle started?” He asks.



        Anson’s eyes narrowed and an eager smile is upon his face as he begins to hold both of his blades. The cracks from before had begun to repair themselves now because of what was happening and now, the Infinity Sword was more then ready to fight. “After you.”



        The persona nodded and whipped one hand across the harp



        “AGILAO!” He shouted, sending a fiery burst towards the Esper. Eric was caught off guard by the newfound attack for he had no previous data on the kinds of skills Orpheus was capable of. He raised his dynamo’s in defense, but the explosion that resulted from the attack knocked him backwards and skidding to his feet. 



        “You’ll die like the rest of them.” The Esper snarled, his black eyes staring down the Persona. 



        “I’d like to see you try.” Orpheus taunted.



        “Heh, the last pony that had your tone was the father of Celestia. The same one who I enjoyed killing and will kill you the same way.” The Tracer then formed his hand like it was a finger pistol and pointed at Orpheus. “FORCE FINGER!!”



        The small, but powerful blast ripped through the air like a speeding bullet. The Persona was lucky to have Anson toss a spare sword to block the shot and deflect it to where it ended up through the window of Sugarcube corner.



        “Be careful. Eric’s capable of a lot of things that can catch you off guard.”



        “Got it. I’ve dealt with his type once.” The Persona said, nodding.



        “Bet you haven’t dealt with one that controls time and space.”



        Orpheus flinched a little. “Seriously?!”



        “Yup. He came here as a Time Tracer, but then increased his power to the point to where he lost his sanity and is now at this point.”



        “Sound like someone else I know. Never mind that.”



        Anson was going to say something else, but had to jump out of the way when Eric unleashed a Gravity Buster right in between the two of them. Midair, he grabbed his second sword, Conwell and tossed a few blades in the air to perform the skill named Sword Fall, which was done to not only hurt the Esper, but to distract him as well so Orpheus could blindside him. Even though Anson never really told him to do that, that was the intent of the tactic that he was trying to execute. He just hoped that the other Displaced could see his intentions and follow along with it. 



        “I see… Gurentou!” He shouted as a side of the harp began to catching fire suddenly. The Persona jumped up and hit the Esper, completely blindsiding him. The Esper took the full force of the blow. However, unlike the last blow, he didn’t move. He stood completely still. This left Anson confused until he saw that Eric had his weapon at his feet, holding him down like ankle weights. 



        Then, he noticed the hands of the Esper begin to crackle. “Get out of there!! It’s a trap!!!”



        “EMP SHOCK!!!”



        “Huh?!” Orpheus shouts, suddenly overcome with the power of the move. The Persona falls to the ground, stunned.



        “Ok… That stung a lot more than it was supposed to...” He coughs. 



        “You alright, Orpheus?” Anson asked out of concern after seeing him take such a huge hit. It looked like the Persona had taken quite a lot of damage to the chest area where a human’s ribcage would be. If he were human that is.



        The Persona stands up and gives a thumbs up. “I’ll be ok. I’ve taken worse hits.”



        “Okay- Oh god damn it, JUMP!!”



        “VOID FIELD!!” The Tracer bellowed as he had the energy crackle from his hands. Objects around him began to float within the attacks range that were on the floor, being ensnared in the gravitational field. 



        Orpheus seemed confused for a second but then jumped as soon as he noticed the attack. Anson soon looked towards him the moment the two of them landed on a vacant rooftop that was not in Eric’s attack range. “Okay, new plan. You should focus on range attacks while I get up close and personal. Your reaction time seemed to be affected by the shock of the EMP he set off earlier. I guess your character has a weakness to lightning?”



        Orpheus nods. “Orpheus is a mostly ranged character with an affinity to fire, which is obvious. He’s got an attack lowering skill however. His weaknesses are Dark and Electric so I’ll have to be careful.” 



        “Hmm, that skill that lowers attack? What is its name?”



        “Tarunda. Learned it last week when Rainbow assaulted me for offending daring do.” At that thought, Orpheus winces. 



        “One of my friends got himself in a similar situation, where he accidently took a Daring Do book she reserved in advance. But anyways, I’ll attack head on while you can back me up. Sound like a plan?” The Infinity Sword asked, wanting to hear a second opinion from his ally first before charging straight into battle.



        “Sounds good.” Orpheus took a battle stance. 



        “Alright. Let the games begin.”



        With that, the red haired teen charged in with a volley of flying swords, just scraping the Esper as Anson slashed the sleeves of his outfit. Eric himself countered with a few of his Dynamo’s Time Blasts, but Anson knew what to expect after falling victim to the same trick earlier. 



        Orpheus shot a few flame balls at the Esper, trying to knock him off guard. Each were reflected back with ease, given the capabilities that the Tracer had. he tried another Force finger, but it struck Anson instead. Nevertheless, he ignore the pain and slashed a brutal cut with his main broadsword across the Esper’s chest.



        “AGH!! You little BASTARD!!!!”



        “That’s only the first bit of pain that you will receive before we’re through with you.”



        “THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK!!!” The Esper shouted as the swordsman backed off. He had his energy pulsing violently around him. 



        “STARDUST SHOWER!!”



        Before Anson even realized what was going on, he was bombarded with Chronospheres that detonated upon landing at his feet. The explosion rocked the town, causing the walls of the Apple Family barn all the way at the back of the town to shake. For a moment, Eric thought that he had got the warrior. But as it turns out, he was wrong.



        Anson was still alive, but now, he was different. Blood like magic flowed through him, enhancing his arms and legs. His passive ability, The Way of the Sword, just kicked in and the red aura around him was his Spirit of Destruction. 



        Orpheus watched with wonder. “Huh. Guess I shouldn’t underestimate these guys…” He mutters. He jumps down from the roof and stands back from Anson and Eric.



        “Tarunda.” He whispered, casting the spell on the Diabolic Esper. Anson saw this as a cue for him to charge in as Eric was shocked to feel himself being weakened after receiving the full force of one of Anson’s swords.



        “W-what?!” Eric looked at his hands, which were now covered in a bit of blood from the extent of his injuries. He now looked at Orpheus, suspecting that he had something to do with it. “Grr… Get OVER HERE!!!” He yelled as he pulled one of his arms back, pulling the Persona with his control over gravity.



        “Sh*t!” Anson cursed.



        “Gaaah! Uhh…” Orpheus struggled to think. The sudden pull had caused him to drop his harp back in the shadows. 



        Thinking on instinct, Anson prepared one of his swords with a rope and performed the skill called Harsh Chaser to grab the musical instrument before it crashed to the ground. “Look alive, Orpheus!!” The boy had a theory that the Persona wasn’t able to fight without the Harp, so getting it to him was top priority as he threw it his direction.



        Orpheus caught it as it was thrown and whipped it in front of him. “AGILAO!” He shouts, sending the explosive ball of fire to Eric. He took the full force of the attack, flying backwards towards the edge of town and standing on his legs. His body was covered with minor burns and scrapes besides the huge gash on his chest that was slowly beginning to heal on his own. Probably because he consumed a Recovery potion while the two Displaced were coming up with a plan on the rooftops. But right now, the Esper highly considered the option to fall back.



        “Give it up already,” Anson told him as a sword of his landed nearby Eric’s feet. “You got nowhere to run.”



        Eric though, smiled at that statement and was beginning to laugh menacingly as the necklace around his neck began to glow. “That’s where you’re wrong.”



        Holding one of his arms out backwards behind him, he looked like he was grabbing hold of nothing. But in a swift movement of his hands, the Esper created a wormhole behind him that looked like a black hole.



        “My research was for TWO purposes. The first was to find a way to counter Harmonic Magic. The second was to discover a way to cross between realities on my own with the powers I’m capable of. That way, when I was done with this world, I can just destroy universe after universe until I find someone strong enough to challenge me.”



        “Y-you’re INSANE!!!” 



        “Am I? We’ll see about that soon enough.” The Esper told him as he turned around and floated into the Wormhole. Anson was now enraged. There was no way in hell he was letting him escape. But then, for a moment, he faintly heard a voice.



        A young, filly like voice.



        “Orphey!! Help me!!!” 



        Orpheus looked at the wormhole, terrified when he recognized who it was. “DINKY!” Something in him snapped. His face became one of rage.



        “HE HAD BETTER NOT HURT HER!” He roared, running into the black hole alongside Anson. This bastard had already harmed one person that was important to them. They were going to make sure that it didn’t happen again.





Meanwhile… (A few moments earlier) 



        The young filly named Dinky Hooves was beginning to wake up to the sound of voices. But to her surprise, none of them were of her dear friend and protector; Orpheus.



        “Who the heck are you?!” The voice she recognized as Thanatos yelled. Dinky herself was inside the shelters of the Ponyville Library as she noticed Twilight Sparkle in the living room. 



        “W-what's going on?” She asked.



        “I’m not sure Dinky.” Twilight answered the young filly’s question.



        “W-where’s Orphey? He promised to take me to school today-.” came the next question. But moments after that question was asked, a loud crash ran through the library as something collided with the walls of the tree. What shocked the scared filly, was that the thing that crashed into there… was Thanatos.



        “O-ouch…” The yell of the Persona echoed as no other response came. The Persona now laid unconscious on the floor of the Library as they began to see who his attacker was, which scared the young filly.







        “Pfft… Pathetic Sack of Flesh he was.”



        Dinky’s fears were grabbing a hold of her like a dragon’s massive claws. Even Twilight herself was feeling scared. Like she was looking at Nightmare Moon. 



        “Oh? Now who do we have here? A youngster and a Unicorn who doesn’t know any better.”



        “What do you say!?” Twilight retorted, trying to blast whoever this individual was with her magic. However, the Esper’s dynamo’s moved on their own and with a single thought of his mind, deflected the small blast.



        “Like I said, A unicorn that doesn’t know any better.”



        Dinky was beginning to fear for her life. If only Orpheus were here to protect her. As the individual crept closer, Dinky shouted out a Plea, hoping that someone or somepony would hear her cries for help.



        “ORPHEY!! HELP ME!!!”



        The Esper was confused by who the little filly meant by “Orphey” and just shrugged it off. But unknowingly, was not prepared for what came next.



        Crashing through the wall was Orpheus and Anson, who were recently spat out of the same warphole that Eric had used. Unlike Anson, who hit the deck seconds after coming out, Orpheus continued flying forth and kicked the Esper with his metal hoof like feet.



        “You. DARE. harm her, You’ll get a mouth full of dirt.” He threatens, panting. 



        “ORPHEY!!” Dinky cheerfully rejoiced, jumping onto him.



        “Glad to see you too..” He sighs, casting his eyes onto Thanatos’ limp body. “Is… He ok?” Twilight herself, places a hoof where his heart would be and sighs.



        “He’s knocked out cold.” The Unicorn told him. “By… whoever that is. Care to fill me in, Orpheus?”



        Orpheus points to the teen on the ground, who was just starting to get up. “Talk to him. I honestly don’t know other than he’s killed a lot of innocents.”



        “Oww… My freaking face!!” Anson said as he shook his head. “Okay, guess I got Displaced again. Three times a charm I guess.”



        “I’m sorry, what?”



        Anson turned towards the sound of the familiar voice, surprised to see Twilight as a Unicorn and not like the Alicorn he had seen a few times before. “I can explain later. Name’s Anson, by the way.”



        “I was just about to say I never got your name… Guess it’s too late now.” Orpheus shrugs. 



        “Yeah, but we right now have bigger issues to focus on.”



        Anson was right on this point as Spatial energy was beginning to form around Eric as he rose from the ground. 



        “All of you…… WILL DIE!!! PARANOIA!!!!!”



        “RUN!!!” The Infinity Sword shouted as he jumped for cover.



        Orpheus quickly grabbed Dinky and jumped behind a desk. “The destruction of Twilight’s tree is supposed to come in season four! I hate how I change the seasons!” He shouts. 



        Anson just raised an eyebrow as he thought to himself ‘What the hell is he talking about?’ But on another note, Anson had to use his Harsh Chaser skill so he could yank Twilight to safety and out of the way of Eric’s incoming Hyperactive Skill. 



        The Distorted Cracks of Space and Time exploded, causing the roof of the young Unicorn’s “Treehouse” to get blown off and crash into a nearby lake. “Now… You’re next!!!” Eric declared in a snake like tone with distorted energy following behind him. Charging straight at Anson.



        “Over my dead body, MURDERER!!!” 



        “Alright, let’s make that come true then.”



        Both their weapons clashed in the center as the two of them continued to try and ravage at each other’s defenses. Anson himself relied a lot on the two swords he had and even switched his grip on them to attack at new angles while the Tracer was trying to continue his assault without any new ways to catch his opponent by surprise.



        Then, something happened. All the crackling energy that was around the Tracer before… disappeared. 



        “No no no no no NOOO!!! NOT NOW!!!”



        Like with all states of extreme power, they always will run out eventually. For Eric, his Nasod Armor’s energy gauge decreased the longer he was attacking his opponents. The fight with Orpheus and Anson in Ponyville and his Paranoia skill had left his gauge at critically low. Now though, was when it finally ran out.



        And left Anson with a chance to finish it.



        “ORPHEUS, do your thing!!” By thing, he meant Tarunda.



        Orpheus nods. “Tarunda…” He said with a little difficulty. He slides down onto one knee after using the skill. Anson personally thanked the Persona as he gripped both of his blades and prepared to finish this fight, once and for all. Running towards the weakened Esper, he caught the villain in a series of strikes that left severe scars across his body. Especially around the Legs and Arms. That way, he wasn’t able to run away or fight back.



        “This one is for Nicko.” The Infinity Sword said as he jumped back into the air. Swords at the ready as his Sigil glowed brightly.







        “MAELSTROM RAGE!!”



        A whirlwind of swords sprang forth once Anson tossed his second blade onto the ground by the Tracer’s feet. Slicing at him from all directions in an all out frenzy as Anson used what remained of his power to control the direction of the blades. The Esper was losing control of himself and from taking too much damage, he began to disappear into black dust as the final blade struck him right through his heart.



        “G-guh… T-this… can’t be…” Eric moaned, dropping to his knees. “Y-you fool!! Don’t you know that killing me won’t bring your brother back?!!”



        “I know.” Anson told him as he yanked the Tracer’s necklace off from around his neck. “But at least this way, you can’t harm anypony else.”



        Blood soon rushed to the Tracers throat as he fell backwards, closing his eyes for the last time as he faded away into nothingness. Anson himself, however, began to feel the backlash from going too far with his skills and passed out, unconscious.



        “Anson? You ok?” Orpheus asked, limping forward to him. Twilight walked alongside him, using her hoof to check the boy’s pulse the same way she did with Thanatos earlier. He eyes lit up upon placing her hoof on him.



        “H-he’s alive!!”



        “Whew… Ugh. I’ll be in the kitchen- that is if it’s not destroyed- if anypony needs me.” He says, limping away. 



        “I don’t think so.” Twilight replied, carrying the Infinity Sword and his weapons in a telekinetic grip. “The blast went upward, so the upper floors should be the only concern. Plus, the repairs will be easy enough to fix because of the tree’s core in the basement. It restore any damage to the library within a few hours.”



        Orpheus sighs as he sat down in a kitchen chair, grabbing a leftover apple and chewing on it. He glances over at the Infinity Sword .



        “He’s pretty banged up. I wonder who that guy killed… And who was Nicko?” He says. 



        “Maybe he’ll tell us when he wakes up.” Dinky replied, cheerfully trotting by her protector.



        “Maybe. Well, there’s one thing I can do.” Orpheus says, taking off his harp. 



        He casually strummed the strings a bit and said a single word. “Dia.” He directed the blue glow towards the teen, healing his injuries to a degree. It seemed to do well given the state that Anson was in and the amount of energy that was expended during the fight.



        “I really shouldn’t be casting skills right now.” He moans. 



        “Maybe you just need a few more apples!” Dinky cheerfully said as she brought over a small basket of them to him.



        ‘Thanks… They don’t really restore a lot of soul points but whatever.” He says, chewing on one. Now came the wait for the teen to wake up.





Half an Hour later…



        Anson’s vision was just starting to come around as he finally woke up from the short nap that he had. His body felt slightly rejuvenated as he took a moment to adjust himself. Only to realize that something was sitting on top of his chest. Looking up, his eyes met the eyes of a curious Unicorn Filly.



        “Hi!” It squeaked as Anson blinked a few times. That way, he was sure that he wasn’t personally seeing things. 



        “Oh uh… Hi.” He replied back. He was now beginning to recognize the filly’s voice. It was the same one from the wormhole earlier before arriving her. Orpheus mentioned a name before jumping in head first, so he presumed this was the pony. “Would you happen to be “Dinky”?” 



        The filly nodded. “Yep! I’m Dinky! Orphey told me to thank you for saving me!” 



        “Aww, it’s nothing.” Anson said, patting her head a little. To the filly, the gesture reminded her of when her daddy did the same thing some time ago. That was… before the fire.



        “I-I’ll go get Orphey…” She said, less enthusiastic than before.



        “Is something wrong?” Anson asked, “I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything if I did.” That’s when the Infinity Sword noticed a note on a nearby table and picked it up.



        Be back in a little while. Going to meet the girls at Sugarcube Corner.


                        -Orpheus



        “Uh Dinky? Did you see this?” Anson asked as he lifted the note to the filly. 



        She shakes her head. “I was busy doing leftover homework.” 



        “Oh?” Anson said, noticing the worksheets the filly was working on that were on the floor. Most of them looked unfinished from where he was sitting. “Well, how about we wait for Orpheus and I can help you with your homework.”



        Dinky moved the papers back on the table with a weak telekinetic force. “Ok! Uh... Are you any good at Multipli… ca..tion?” She asks. 



        “Multiplication? That I am good at. Very good in fact.” The Infinity Sword smiled as he told the filly. 



        Dinky smiled and grabbed the quill. “Thanks.” 



        “You’re welcome, Dinky.” Anson said. As they got started on working on the filly’s homework, the young Unicorn was beginning to have some flashbacks to when her mom and dad helped her out with homework like this. The Human was even just as kind as they were, supporting the filly for each problem she got right and helping her on the one’s that she messed up on. In Dinky’s eyes, she saw Anson as less of a fighter, but a kind and gentle soul that could help take care of her.



        “Uh… Mister?” She suddenly asked after the two of them completed a few pages of worksheets.



        “Yes, Dinky?” Anson responded to the filly’s question. “Is something on your mind?”



        She nods. “Are you… Are you going to go back home when it’s time?”



        “Only when I feel ready. Right now, I just want to make sure I’m completely healed. Then there’s trying to find a way home, which is another thing I can worry about later.” Anson turned a little, facing the filly. “Why do you ask?”



        The filly moved the quill between her hooves. “W-well… You remind me… of my daddy…” She says. 



        “I…… do?” The confused teen asked.



        “You’re kind like him, You’re not threatening like you were before and…” She trailed off, trying to regain her train of thought. 



        “And?”



        “You’re not dead like he is…” She said, tears silently rolling down her eyes.



        “I-i’m sorry to hear that, Dinky.” The Infinity Sword told the filly, comforting her. “Please don’t cry.”



        She wiped away her tears and smiled. “I’m sorry.” She then looks back down at her math problems, obviously still troubled. Seeing this, Anson decided to set the pages aside.



        “Why don’t we take a break for a little bit?”



        Dinky nods and sets the quill down. Anson himself offers a place for the filly to sit on his lap so she could be comfortable. She nods a thanks and settled down. “I’m sorry to hear about your father, Dinky. I’m sure he was a very great pony.”



        “His name was Time Turner… He died in a fire while we were on vacation…” She said. 



        “What was he like?” Anson asked. 



        Dinky thought for a bit before speaking again. “He was smart and would always say weird clock related things. Those always made me laugh…” She told him, chuckling a bit at the memory. Anson, in a way, was able to relate to Dinky. before he found out about his parents being alive in Equestria, he and his brother lived in an Orphanage for twelve years, wondering if they were alive or dead. She reminded him a lot of Nicko when he was her age. Young, cheerful, and bright. But the memories of what happened affected him. Then, the brothers relied on each other for support. Now, it was his turn to support Dinky.



        “You remind me of somepony I know. My brother actually.”



        “You have a brother?” She asked. Anson nodded his head as he went to pull out a photo from his wallet when the two of them decided to have a group photo together.



        “His name’s Nicko and he’s my Twin brother.” The Teen told the filly. “We both have been through the toughest of times together. Despite being twins though, we had some differences. At times, he would get angry if you called him small or little.”



        Dinky smiled. “Orphey has a brother too.” She informed the teen.



        “Was he the guy that was on the floor earlier?”



        “Y-yeah… He might seem like he doesn’t care about him, but he does. Well, At least it’s the other way around..” She said. 



        “That sounds like Nicko. Before I came here with Orpheus, Nicko and I were facing against the monster that was Eric. The one with the Black and Purple eyes. He was very powerful and left most of our friends unconscious. When we were facing him, the Elements of Harmony were trying to help us seal him away. But his weapons deflected the magic… Towards me.”



        Dinky looked up at him with wonder and surprise in her eyes as Anson continued. “But Nicko… He made a choice that I never thought he would make. My own brother put himself in front of the blast that was intended for me. The attack turned him into stone, taking him away from me.”



        Dinky gasped. “Is that why you said that when you defeated the guy?” She asked the Infinity Sword. Anson nodded his head, answering the filly’s question. 



        “Oh… I just realized something… Twilight and Orphey are taking a long time…” She said, curious.. 



        “I think I know why.” The teen told Dinky as he looked towards the nearby door. “I know you’re there. You can come on in.” This left the Filly confused, until Twilight herself walked into the room.



        “Wow… I didn’t think you would know I was there.”



        “Where’s Orpheus?” Anson asked.



        “With his brother in the next room.” The Unicorn replied.



        “DANGIT TWILIGHT!” The voice of Thanatos echoed. 



        “I told you that was a bad idea, Adrian!” Orpheus shouted.



        “And I told you that this was the way I thought we could cheer up Dinky!!!”



        Anson just sighed, chuckling a little as the two Persona’s continued to bicker at each other. He turned to Dinky, who he saw was giggling a little before looking back at him. “Hey, was there something you wanted to ask me, Dinky?”



        “Huh? Uh… N-no.” Dinky lied. 



        “Dinky… You know I can tell you’re not telling the truth right?” Anson said, noticing her antsy hooves and pointing them out.



        “W-well… I… Can you…” She struggled to say. Anson himself, tried his best to help the filly form the words.



        “Can I…… be…?”



        “My new dad?” She squeaked loud enough that only Anson could hear. The Infinity Sword’s eyes widened. He never had a child, matter of fact a filly, ask him that before.



        “O-of course. In fact, I have something for you that you might like.”



        She perks up. “Yeah?”



        Anson nods, walking over to the bag that he had on him that was next to where he woke up, pulling out what looked like a crystalline shard of a burgundy color. “Even though I might not be able to stay here, with this, you can call upon me anytime you want. I’ll always be up for seeing you, even if I go home back to my world… I promise.”



        Dinky smiled. “Thanks!” She then bounced off outside. 



        “I guess that was your token?” Orpheus asked. Anson nodded his head to the Persona as he looked towards him.



        “She deserves to hold onto it.”



        “Why?” Twilight asked out of curiosity.



        “Because she says I remind her of her dad.” Anson smiled at the young Unicorn.



        Orpheus winced a bit. “Didn’t think I’d be reminded of him anytime soon.” He said.



        “Not only that, but I told her that she remind me of my own brother. But I believe you heard all of that.” Anson chuckled. 



        “Just a quick question… What did Dinky ask you?”



        Anson herself just chuckled. “I think you should ask Dinky that. She seemed really timid when asking me.”



        “I bet I have a guess… She’s really sensitive with the issue of her father. I repeatedly catch her running away from D.T because she insults her.” Orpheus said.. 



        “Wait…” Twilight said… “Did she-?”



        “She asked me if I could be her new dad.”



        “So, changing topics,” Thanatos stated, “Is there any way to reverse the Elements of Harmony?” He asked.



        “Let me think about that once I get back.” Anson told Thanatos as he put his bag back on his shoulder and his sword on his back. Taking Eric’s Necklace out from his pocket, the Teen put it on around his neck to go with the other pendant he had on.



        “Do you have anyway to go home?” Thanatos asked. 



        “One, but it sounds like a theory rather than an actual way back.” The Infinity Sword said as he tapped the violet pendant. “This jewel was glowing when I saw Eric create the rift to get here, so If I could harness the Gem’s energy I could come up with a return way home.”



        “Huh. It sounds like it’ll work.” Orpheus pondered. 



        “The only way to know for sure is if we try.” Twilight stated. “I know a field outside of town we can try it at.”



        “I say we try.” Orpheus agreed.



        “I’ll stay here. I’m not in the mood.” Thanatos stated. 



        “Lazy.” Orpheus coughed. 



        Anson just smiled. Now came the fun part… Thinking with Portals.





Outside Ponyville



        “You think this should be far enough?”



        “I think so.” Orpheus said, along with Twilight nodding her head. They were a few miles out from Ponyville and a safe distance away from anywhere a Filly could use as a playground. Taking a deep breath, Anson held the jewel in his hands as he focused.



        “Okay, here goes nothing.” 



        Cuffing his hands to where the palms were away from one another, Anson pulled his hands apart and the energy from the gemstone began to come to life as he thought of where Amy and the others were in Canterlot. This time, a more controlled portal emerged, resembling a gateway that reminded Orpheus of the way to get to the Velvet Room in Persona 4. The teen was going to step in, but heard a small cry that made him turn around.



        “WWWAAAAAIIIITTT!!!” 



        It was Dinky. She rushed up to the Infinity Sword and tried to catch her breath. 



        “D-dinky?” Anson said, surprised. “W-what are you doing here?”



        “I-I… Wanted to say goodbye…” She said, still panting. Before she could say anything though, Anson hugged the little filly with his arms as he looked at her.



        “I’m going to miss you, Dinky.” He told her. “You grow up to become strong like Orpheus and his brother, Okay?”



        She nodded and retreated to Orpheus’ side. Before Anson walked in, he turned towards the filly one last time. “Dinky, don’t forget… Things will get better… just make sure to have faith, alright?”



        She smiled and waved a hoof towards Anson as he walked in and the portal that was created disappeared. The young filly kept on smiling as she enjoyed the rest of the day with Orpheus.



        She had a daddy that could travel between worlds now.





Canterlot (Anson’s world)



        The once crowded Hall of Elements was now empty. All the ponies that were originally in there had returned home. Even the Princesses had returned home. The only one that was there was Amy. The Crimson Avenger was leaning on a railing overlooking the massive city, staring at the glowing moon. Her wounds from before had recovered, but some wounds that weren’t so visible could not be healed. Especially if it involves losing a very good friend. 



        She sighed to herself as she watched the children play, mares be with their gentlecolts and old Prince Blueblood complain for the most obscene of reasons. Normally, she would be one of the ones causing trouble. But tonight was different. Maybe it was because of what she had seen. What Anson did against Eric. Maybe it was waiting for the teen that felt like waiting forever for the impossible to become possible. Nevertheless, she waited.



        That was, until a dim blue light appeared in the room and as she turned around, the Infinity Sword she was thinking about a few moments ago walked in. “Uh… Hi?”



        SMACK!!!



        “Oww!” Anson yelled a little after getting punched by Amy. “What the hell was that for!? I just got back!”



        “THAT was for making everypony worried sick about you.” The Crimson Avenger told him. “You’ve been gone almost the entire day!! We didn’t know if you were dead and Eric’s-.”



        “-dead.”



        That shut up the Crimson Avenger immediately. “D-dead?”



        “Yes. Followed him through the rift he created, ended up in Orpheus’ version of Equestria, and then killed him myself once his Nasod Armor ran out of juice. Had to rest because I passed out there and just came back recently after talking to Twilight over there.”



        “But how did you get back?”



        “Eric used his research to have the crystal on his necklace to allow him to cross between worlds. I just thought of Canterlot and you guys and BOOM! Here I am.”



        Anson’s explanation just made Amy snicker. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”



        “Heh…… you have no idea.” 





        After the Infinity Sword and the Crimson Avenger reunited with each other, they returned to town, where their friends and family were waiting for them. When he was there, the Infinity Sword told them about the demise of the Diabolic Esper and used the Tracer’s Necklace as proof of his defeat. 



        Weeks after the defeat of the Diabolic Esper, the human adventurers in Equis decided to part ways. The Crimson Avenger, Noblesses, Mastermind, Sakra Devanam, and the Little Specter decided to stay behind and start a new life with the friends they made. The other humans, including the Infinity Sword, Reckless Fist, Chiliarch, and the Dreadlord, decided to used the Esper’s necklace to open a rift back home. Back to the world they called home, leaving the amulet in the possession of the Noblesses once the task was complete. The Infinity Sword, despite not being in Equis anymore, was still able to stay in contact with Orpheus and the friends that he made while in his dimension.



        As for the Rune Slayer, he is said to still be in his stone prison with the Daughter of Discord. Many believe that he’ll be stuck there forever. But some, like the Element of Laughter, believe that he would come back soon. He did promise them that they would return after all.



        All they need to do was believe and have a little faith.





Unknown Location



        In an old neighborhood, a father was sitting on the bedside of his child as he looked at them with calm and relaxed eyes. He took a breath as the light of the room illuminated the two of them. “So, how did you like tonight’s story?”



        “It was AMAZING, Daddy!!” The young girl tucked under the covers told her father as she kissed him on the cheek. “I really liked the two brothers the most. Especially the Infinity Sword!”



        “Oh really? How come?”



        “Because he reminds me of you, silly!” The little girl giggled as she bobbed her father on the nose with her index finger. The father of the youngling chuckled a little as he turned around.



        “Hey, I got somepony who wants to say hi to you.” He said, pulling out a small plushie that resembled a young unicorn with a lightish yellow mane and tail and pearl like fur.



        The young girl gasped. “DINKY!!! Where did you find her?! I’ve been looking all over the place for her!”



        “She needed to fix a boo-boo on her front hoof.” The girl’s father told her, showing the fake bandage he placed on there. “See? Good as new!”



        The young girl squealed as she hugged the plushie along with the huge bear doll that looked like the night sky that was on the other side of her bed. “Thanks, Daddy!!! You’re the best!”



        “Alright. Have a good night sleep… and remember to giggle at the ghosties tonight if you’re scared okay.” 



        The young girl giggled a little and nodded before her father turned out the lights. As he closed the door, the man sighed happily. His reddish hair illuminated by the light in the hallway as he walked on downstairs to his living room. As the human entered, he sat down on a couch in the living room and opened a book that he was looking at before he tucked his daughter into bed. 



        The book was actually an enormous photo album. Filled with pictures of the times the man was with his friends and family on the adventures they were on. He looked at all of them, but one specific photo caught his attention as he looked at the note that was on the backside of the picture. One with him and a very special friend holding a very special prize.



        OOOHH!! It’s so great to hear from you, Ansy!! Even though it might be some time before we could see each other in person again, it’s still great to hear from you. Congratulations on becoming a father, by the way!! I believe that you’ll be a great parent!!! What’s your daughter’s name?



        -Pinkie Pie. Your super duper favorite Party Pony!!



        He just chuckled a little, remembering when he received this when he first heard about him becoming the father of a young beautiful baby girl. If he were to talk to his friend right now, he would answer her question with saying the one thing that everyone… or everypony needed.



        Faith.





End Chapter 16