After managed to keep living, Alex is back to have more adventures in Equestria and try to find out if he wants to stay or not, welcome to Friendship is Life!.
Alex managed to somehow survive his deathmatch againts Blueblood. Now more determined than ever, he must return to let his friends know he is alive. The plan is simple, if he gets there, he will spend the next months to find a reason to stay in Equestria for good. What kind of adventures will be waiting for him? Will he finally find the peace and love he is looking for? Join Alex in his new journey and lets find together the answer for these questions.
Equestria is waiting for us!
Chapter 1, I Kept Living for Friendship, Thanks Luna, Wait for me Sister
“(Pant) (Pant) I. . . I can’t believe how hard this is!”
“I need to be more agile, my body feels so heavy. I need to get used to this, damn! Wonder how THEY manage to live like this!. . . well, they’ve been living like this all their lives.”
The one saying that was a guy training in an improvised gym down in his basement. It had been the same routine almost every day for week; obviously this young man’s love for his training sessions was no secret to his neighbors. But what really caught their attention, were the tripping and gasping sounds while he was exercising, like a baby learning to walk. And not only that, but many of them could swear hearing the sounds of hoof steps. Then again, knowing him and not wanting to get too involved, they decided to let him be. The sound of someone tripping made its echo all over the basement.
“Damn. . . . This one really hurt! At least it happens only one or two times a day now (I’d like to see the THEM in my shoes, that would be funny) but I have to admit it, this stamina is really something; I’ve been training for 2 hours and haven’t sweat a bit. Hehehehehe! Now I can really believe THEY harvest all those apples by themselves”.
At that precise moment his phone rang, it was his friend Steven:
“Hey Steven. . . what’s up?"
“Hey Alex, I’m fine and you?”
“I’m doing fine.”
“Great! Then, can I and the rest of the gang come to your place in 10 minutes?”
“Umm. . . well. . . right now is not a good moment, how about in an hour?”
“Alex. . . You are in the gym aren’t you?”
“(Sigh) yes…”
“Alex! You know you should be resting! You got out the hospital only four weeks ago and the doctor said no exercises for at least a month.” “I know, I know, but I really get bored at home. . . and you know I don’t like to miss my training sessions. Besides, I waited for three weeks! Trust me, my wounds are healed now.”
“Uhg fine! We will be there in an hour to celebrate your birthday party as we planned ok?”
“It was today!? Damn!, sorry I forgot. Ok! See you in an hour.”
“Excellent! It will be awesome! All of us will be there, we got the cake and foods so don’t worry and get ready for a good beating in Street Fighter. We got much better while you were absent.”
“(Alex rolled his eyes) Ok man, whatever you say. . . but I still think it’s a bit unfair! You know I haven’t played in months, even so, I can still beat you dude.”
“Hahahaha! We’ll see that!”
“Ok Steven, see you later!”
“See you later Alex and please remember. . . be careful if you go out, that asshole could still be out there”
“(sigh) I know, thanks” (Steven. . . you’re always worried about me)
“And Alex, just one more thing. . . do you still these have nightmares?”
“Yeah. . . I do, but don’t worry; they will stop sooner or later. I’m sure about that”
“Ok then. . . see you later” (hangs up the phone)
“I’m sorry Steven, for lying to you and the rest”
Alex took off his special pendant and went upstairs.
He remembered that day at the hospital…
…
A couple of days after waking up on the hospital where he was found, he had to answer some questions to the doctors and the police, he had to explain not only what happened during that night, but where he had been for the last two months as well; the explanation was brief and simple: he told them about his adventures and how he loved to travel to new places just to spend weeks away from home. His friends, knowing him and his adventurous spirit could very well confirm that. Regarding his injuries, he said it was an armed assailant who asked him for his wallet and phone: he told them he refused to give him his things and tried to fight back but he was stabbed twice by this guy who then ran away. . . He lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital; he came to the conclusion that maybe a good guy found him and brought him there. Why was he found in the newborn babies room was beyond his understanding. Given he didn’t have any police records they let the issue be and exited the room to let his friend Steven come in.
Steven immediately hugged him and said:
“Alex!! I’m glad you are ok! Is it true? That a mugger attacked you and left you like this? No offense dude but so much for your training” “None taken (Wow! No mule feeling? I guess it only happens in Equestria) what can I say? He surprised me and well. . . he was such a skilled guy.”
“Yeah? Well, let’s be happy you are ok. Care to tell me where you went this time?”
“Before I answer that. . . please tell me, how is everything at home”
“Fine as always, you should be really thankful for having me to take care of your bills and other stuff while you are out; and don’t worry, as we agreed, if you are absent for more than a week. . . I’m in charge of keeping your place safe and locked. In return I can crash there whenever I want, I kinda made a couple of parties. . .well a LOT of parties to be honest, but don’t worry, nothing was stolen, not on my watch” “Hehehe!, Thanks Steven. Back on topic, I just went to some random place again.”
“So. . . you always go wherever the road takes you, uh?”
“Yeah. . . something like that.”
“Ok?. . . .But why didn’t you tell anyone about it?”
“I’m sorry. . . but it happened all of a sudden. Funny for such improvised trip, I ended up meeting some new and unique friends; I also learned many things. It was a great trip without a doubt!”
“I understand. Anyway, I’m. . . We are glad you are ok, the rest will come later; for now I must go but I’ll be back soon, see you later” “Thanks Steven, see you later”
…
After getting ready to meet his friends at home, Alex went upstairs to his rooftop. While looking at the sky, he thought: “I wonder how Spike and Everypony else is doing right now. I hope they are ok, well at least they are safe from that asshole now. I’d love having him out of my dreams. Damn! Even after his death, he still makes my life impossible”
Alex was shaking; he still had the memory of that day. He hadn’t been the same since. He didn’t show it but the feeling of almost dying left him a little scared. And not only that, he started to have nightmares about his last moments with Blueblood, being stabbed and killing him, nopony knew this, but he felt really guilty for killing Blueblood. He killed a pony; a tyrant pony, but still a sentient being. What would happen if someday he managed to return to Equestria? Would they accept him again? Would there be punishment for Blueblood’s death? Would they be scared of him? He shook that feeling off; he knew his pony friends would never turn their backs on him. Besides, every time he thought about them (specially a shy Pegasus an a little white unicorn) the nightmares and negative thoughts vanished and he remembered that IT had to be done. He needed to go back and let them know he was ok, but he was scared for something else as well, that place almost became his tombstone. Maybe that world didn’t want him there. It didn’t matter, he was determined to go back, at least one more time and then come back to Earth for good. After all, it was now possible to go back thanks to the “return to the start” spell (but appearing in the newborn babies room again would be hard to explain) even so. . . if he was going to return to Equestria, he’d have to take some major measures to ensure his and his friends’ safety. Maybe he was a little paranoid now.
He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice it was past the time for his friends to come. He came downstairs to call them over the phone, but all of a sudden…
“SURPRISE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!!!”
“AGHHHHH. . . .PINKI P. . . . STEVEN!!. . . .That was pretty good, you all really got me guys” (Damn! why do I always forget Steven has copies of my keys?)
“Yes we did! Were you going to call me Pinkie Pie?”
“(Gulp) Nope!”
“You are lucky I’m half brony as well dude, ok. . . come here, let’s celebrate; even though it is really not your birthday, just try to enjoy it. Too bad you spent it in the hospital”
“Hahahaha!, Trust me Steven after being stabbed, spending those three weeks in the hospital was like heaven”
Everyone laughed at this and started to party; the food was good, Alex ate hamburgers and hotdogs like crazy. Since the day he was allowed to eat solid food again, he didn’t stop eating all kinds of meat and strangely drinking lots of coffee and sodas. When the party was over and everyone was gone, Alex cleaned up the place. He then sat on his couch and watched some MLP DVDs. He watched the whole 2nd and 3rd seasons: how Spike saved the Cristal Empire as well as Discord’s attack, which then was reformed by Fluttershy. According to his calculations, he came back before this, he wondered if somehow his actions altered the course of history (It was obvious the death of BlueBlood didn’t have to happen), even so, he still couldn’t believe Twilight would ascend to Alicorn (That was so unexpected!). He could not wait to meet his new princess friend again, after watching some more episodes he went to his bedroom to get ready to sleep, but a piece of paper on the wall caught his attention. The same piece of paper his friend Luna gave him that night. He admitted to have some doubts about the theory of the oak tree being a portal; but these doubts disappeared when (around last week) he went to the oak tree and waited for several hours to see if something would happen, when he was about to give up… IT DID; a bright light started to shine around the oak tree, meteors where crossing the sky, the light lasted for around 20 seconds and then it all disappeared. He wanted so bad to jump into the light and travel back to Equestria, but he knew it wasn’t the right time, not yet; his body was still healing and he needed to get ready to make his life in Equestria more. . .comfortable, not to mention he had some promises to fulfill, “nope, not this time” he said.
“Ok, according to this, I still have one more chance this year, the next meteor shower will be in around three months from now and is the last one listed here. If I miss it, I will never know when the portal will open again! I need to get ready.”
Back in his bedroom Alex fell on his bed and started to write a “to do” list, a way one of his friends got in his head (Thanks for that Twilight) “Ok. . . let see. . . I will need: 1) A really big truck . . . 2) Learn to drive a truck.. . 3) . . . .”
EQUESTRIA
Twilight was sleeping in her room at the Cristal Palace. As a princess, she had to attend to meetings with the other Princesses; she closed her eyes and started thinking about these meetings. Because of this, she couldn’t notice a mysterious cloaked pony changing her Crown (her Element of Harmony) for a fake one. This mysterious figure almost got away with it, but tripped on Spike’s Tail and the noise woke up everypony. Twilight and her friends started to chase this pony that ran away after being noticed. When Twilight finally caught him (or her), they started to fight. Feeling that defeat was imminent, the mysterious pony threw the Crown directly to a mirror, but it didn’t break it! It passed it through! The thief said something to Twilight, and then jumped through the mirror as if it was a portal, leaving everypony wondering who or what this pony was.
ALEX GYM (2 days later)
Alex kept doing his training sessions every day. He really had improved adapting to his new body, he stopped tripping and started to run faster and faster, he knew it wasn’t that necessary for him to train like that; after all, his true form was more than enough for him, but he really didn’t want anypony to make fun of him, if he managed to go back to Equestria of course. Not to mention that training in this new form was something else, something that no other human would ever have a chance to do. Besides, he didn’t want to waste his Friend Princess Luna’s gift (in a way, it was funny because he was supposed to never use it in the first place since it was a just a parting gift) and somehow it helped with his nightmares, maybe for the fact it was made by Luna, the Princess of dreams, he could still remember the precise moment he found it…
…
After three weeks of long waiting, Alex was finally released from the Hospital with the doctor’s order of not to do anything harsh for at least a month. Putting on his old shorts and new shirt brought by Steven, he finally could go home, he thanked God for his friend Steven taking good care of his house and paying his bills, since everything in his house was working, electricity, phone, cable and water. He had to make a fast travel to the supermarket since the fridge was empty (obviously). After a good meal with lots of bacon and soda, Alex sat on his couch and played on his PS3 for hours, while playing, he felt something in his shorts was hurting him. He paused the game to see what it was and was surprised to find a little envelope with a black ribbon on it. He stared at it for some minutes and then remembered.
“Ahhhhh! Luna’s birthday Gift! Let’s see what it is!”
Alex carefully opened the envelope and found a really cool Pendant. Its shape was like the Star Wars resistance insignia with a little blue sapphire in the center. Inside the envelope, there was a piece of paper which Alex took and started to read it:
“Alex my Friend, I hope you enjoy my gift, you have shown us so many beautiful things about your world, now let me show you how we see our world. This pendant is very special, only an alicorn is capable to make one. Be warned, when you wear it for the first time, be sure to be alone and stand in front of a mirror, it’s a surprise I know you will like, and please, DON’T PANIC, the last one (A Griffin) to wear one many centuries ago, almost died from a heart attack.”
“. . . . . Ok?”
Alex went immediately to his room, closed every window and stood in front of a mirror. He put on the pendant and then he started to feel something strange was happening to his body, a warm sensation that didn’t hurt, he felt his face and nose growing bigger, he wanted to look at himself on the mirror but a bright light emanating from the pendant blinded him! The bright light lasted for a couple of second. After the light disappeared, Alex found himself lying on the floor, unable to see anything; he tried to stand up but couldn’t keep his balance, he was about to fall full face on the floor but his powerful front legs stopped it from happening. He was feeling comfortable standing on his new four “legs”. He felt warm, like having a full fur costume all around his body, with so many questions in his mind, he slowly started to open his eyes and tried to look at the mirror, thanks to Luna’s warning he was able to hold himself together and not to scream, what he saw in the mirror was so unreal… the magic of the pendant turned him into a pony!. . .but not an earth pony, he was a UNICORN!, he immediately noticed he didn’t look like the ponies of his world. . . it was hard to explain, he was exactly like the stallions of MLP, like a CGI animation, he was cartoonish but at the same time real, “so this is how they’d look like if they came here” it was amazing, he had every Brony and Pegasister’s Holy Grail on his neck. Without a doubt any of them would kill have this pendant in their hands. As if it wasn’t amazing enough, all of his clothes (literally all of it) adapted to his new body. “How is this possible?” He could spend all of his life trying to understand how this worked, but he came to a simple conclusion. . . “MAGIC!”, (Like trying to explain how Twilight’s clothes appeared when she traveled to the other world) his clothes transformation was so precise that even his shorts had a little hole for his tail, a beautiful spiked tail, the same color as his black spiked mane, his fur color was mustard, not too yellowish like Fluttershy’s and not to orange like Applejack. And on top of that, after removing his shorts, he could see his very own CUTIE MARK! It was the assassins’ insignia with wings on the sides, (maybe it represented True Justice, Flying Justice or something like that, anyway who cared what it symbolizes “it looks really cool!”)
“Oh Damn!!! This is Awesome!”
Alex tried to walk, but immediately fell on the floor, he stood up and fell again.
“Ok. . . this is not what I was expecting.”
…
Alex was smiling and holding his pendant in his hooves.
“Luna. . . . No words or actions will ever be enough to thank you for this, I promise to take good care of this and never let it be in the wrong hands, Ok. . . I need a little more practice moving with this new body, but for now. . . . I think it’s time to start practicing a little MAGIC!” Alex continued reading the piece of paper:
Everypony was in Celestia’s bedroom listening Twilight’s story and the adventures on the other world. After she finished her story everypony was shocked, Rarity was the one to break the ice:
“So. . . are you telling us you became a human? Like our darling friend Alex??”
“Yes Rarity, I did”
“Wow, tell us darling, how did it feel?”
“To be honest girls, it felt strange. . . I mean, walking on two legs and having hands was really confusing, not to mention the shock of not having my horn and magic”
Rainbow said: “Even so, I think that’s awesome! You saw the world like as Alex did. Amazing!”
“Ok sugarcube, ironically, after everything we have been, through all this time, ah can understand about yah turning in to a human and even visiting their world, but tell me. . . are yah completely sure it wasn’t Alex’s world?”
“Yes Applejack, sadly I’m pretty sure, even though they looked almost exactly like the humans Alex showed us on his computer, I know for sure his humans didn’t have colored skin besides peach and brown tones, I even did a little research and there wasn’t any country called Guatemala there, it seems it was a different Earth, I’ll dare to say it was more like another Equestria considering your humans counterparts” Hearing this, Princess Celestia said: “It’s exactly what Alex and I were talking about. . .Many worlds are so similar and so different to each other, I’m afraid our possibilities to find HIS world would be like trying to find a needle in a hay loft.”
Feeling a little depressed, Rarity said “I see. . .(sigh) too bad. I’d like to have more news about him, at least to know if he had the funeral he deserved.”
After saying that, everypony went sad, Fluttershy more than everypony else, she covered her face with her mane to not let the others see her tears. More than a month had passed since that horrible day and the wound was still open. Spike looking at this said:
“Girls c’mon, cheer up!, Alex wouldn’t like to see us like this, as he used to tell Fluttershy, he wanted us to be happy, he left this world without regrets, let us make him proud in the afterlife”
“You are right Spike, let’s be happy, after all, we were able to retrieve my Element of Harmony and even made new alien friends, considering everything, I think we should have. . . .”
“A PARTY!” Pinkie Pie said.
“Yeah!” Everypony responded.
While going their way to celebrate, Twilight thought:
“Alex. . . . I’m happy I found more kind humans besides you, I’d really like you to be here with us right now.”
Alex was in his home moving lots of stuff inside cardboard and wooden boxes and storing everything in his garage. Many of his neighbors didn’t even ask and quickly lost interest since they all knew him. They thought maybe he was buying some more “gadgets” to use on his “crazy adventures”, but what really caught their attention, was the new truck he just bought; when someone asked him what in the world he would do with a truck, he answered:
“I will make another trip very soon and I need to bring a lot of stuff with me this time, to be honest, I can’t be sure if I’m going to come back soon.”
Everypony screamed when she entered the house alongside Rarity. she fell on her back but recovered quickly; she noticed her crusader friends were there, the mane 6, Zecora, Spike, Miss Cherelee and every foal of her class, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “Well Pinkie Pie never leaves anypony out of a party” she said to herself.
“WHOAAAA, WOW! YOU REALLY SURPRISED ME!!”
“That was the idea silly” Pinkie Pie said
“Thanks everypony. . . I mean it!”
“No need to thank Sweetie Bell, yah is our friend and we love yah” Applebloom replied.
“Yeah! Never forget that Sweetie Bell. Now c’mon, let’s party!!” Scootaloo said.
Everypony started to celebrate; the party was great, there was music, dancing, lots of snacks, games and a big cake, everything was perfect. . . at least for everypony except for her. It was a really great party and all, but something was missing, someone was missing. Almost four months had passed but she was still thinking about her big brother, she promised to herself to continue and move on but it wasn’t as easy as planned. She knew he died a hero, saving everypony and her. . . but she really missed him. She was happy and cheerful all the time, but she couldn’t help thinking about him, how she wasn’t even able to say goodbye, not even having a photo of him to remember. She couldn’t help it, and started to share some tears.
Everypony misunderstood her feelings.
“Ohhh, she is so happy she is crying” Pinkie Pie said.
Rarity knew her sister enough to know those weren’t tears of joy, she approached her and asked:
“Sweetie darling. . . what is going on?”
“Nothing. . .nothing. . . really”
“Sweetie Bell. . . please remember I am your sister and I know you enough; you are sad, please tell me what is it. . . . oh! you are thinking about Alex aren´t you?”
(Sweetie Bell nodded)
“Ohhhh Sweetie Bell, come here” Rarity hugged her sister “I know how you want him to be here but you can trust me, he is here with all of us and he is always watching us from Elysium”
“hic. . . hic. . . I know but. . . I miss him too much.”
Someponies and Fillies started to share some tears as well, they didn’t get to know Alex as Sweetie Bell and the Elements did, but they knew how much she loved him and how hard was for her when he died. Applebloom and Scootaloo hugged her too.
“Sweetie bell. . . trust me, we miss him too, he was like a brother to us, (Scootaloo noded) but yer sister is right, he is with us, he loved yah and yah loved him, ah know even in the afterlife he can feel the love yah have for him”
Sweetie bell wiped her tears and smiled.
“Thanks Girls, I needed to hear that, you are right! he is with me, with us! Sorry it’s just. . . Sometimes I just need somepony to remind me of that, ok. . . Now lets continue to party!”
Everypony cheered and continued celebrating.
Later, it was time to eat the cake but not before making a wish and blowing the candles.
“Ok Sweetie bell darling, just make a wish and blow them off”
Sweetie Bell thought for a second before smiling and blowing the candles off. Everypony cheered. While the others were eating their slice of cake, Sweetie Bell went out to the balcony, she looked at the stars and the night sky, Applebloom and Scootaloo joined her:
“This party was awesome. . . Pinkie Pie is truly the best of the best” Applebloom said
“Yeah! I hope mine is as good or even better than this one” Scootaloo said, Sweetie and Applebloom rolled their eyes. “By the way Sweetie Bell, what did yah wish for?”
“That’s a secret. If I tell you, it will not come true”
“That’s true, Ah hope yer wish comes true Sweetie bell”
“I hope so too Applebloom.”
The three of them went back in. Sweetie cried in her heart, as if someone was listening:
“Please. . . please let my wish come true. . . please let me see him just one more time; a ghost; a spirit; an angel, I don’t care. Just… let me say goodbye to my brother.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////
EARTH (now)
“Wow. . .What was that feeling?”
Alex was loading everything inside the truck he was going to use in two days when he felt it, it was something nice and warm, the same feeling when thinking about his sisters Angela and Sweetie Bell. His heart, more determined than ever: “I must go back to Equestria”, he couldn’t fail to go back in two days . . . he just couldn’t.
It was a beautiful night at the Park. Everything was quiet and peaceful with no one around, except for the crickets and a big truck making its way through the bushes. Alex thanked God that the place was empty. He still had some time left before IT happened.
He remembered the things he spoke with his friend Steven a few hours ago:
“Alex, are you sure?”
"Yes Steven, I am"
“But you came back just a few months ago and got severely injured. Are you sure you are ready for another trip? You always used to plan your trips several months before going out.”
“That’s true, but I really have to go. I don't have time for any preparations.”
“It's about a girl, isn't it?"
“What? No, of course not! Well, yes but not the way you think it is. She is like a sister to me.”
“That may be true, but I feel there is something else. Alex please, you are talking to a Brony who spent almost five months trying to get his Pegasister friend to become his girlfriend. Even if you don’t realize it yet, you have that look in your eyes, the one you have when you are in love.”
“Really? (he blushed a little) Ok, you got me dude. I'm making this trip to see some good friends and “family”. I’d be lying if I don't say I want to see some people more than others, but I am really not sure if I feel something else for her, maybe I do.”
“Ohhhh!, my little friend is in love!”
“Oh come on! I just don’t know man, it’s complicated.”
“Hahahah! Easy dude, I’m teasing you. But seriously, I’m glad you found a girl you like and if she likes you too, just go ahead. I really don’t see the problem.”
“Well, I can’t deny feeling attracted to her, but let just say we are different (a lot different).”
“So, let me get this clear. Besides everything you need to do there, you are also going on this trip to find out how you really feel about her, right?”
“Something like that, I want to know if it could work.”
“Wow! Alex, you really changed. I’d even say you have grown up; don’t get me wrong, We all like the way you are, but sometimes we thought you needed to become more mature. I’m glad to see you have, I don’t know what happened to you during your last trip, but IT made you change.”
“Thanks Steven (I think). I wanted to tell you I’m leaving tonight and I’m not really sure If I will be back any time soon. Everything is set, regular and emergency bank accounts are ready for you to handle, the place is all yours while I'm absent. You do remember what to do if you don’t hear from me in a year, right?”
(Steven nodded)
“Good! One more thing, please don’t try to call me. I’m going to a Place where you can’t reach me over the phone or the Internet. But don’t worry, it’s not a dangerous place (most of the time).” Alex said.
“Ok, whatever you say man but, no internet? no phones? Where the heck are you going? Come on! at least tell me that!”
“Ok Steven, you really want to know where am I going?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to Equestria and the girl I feel something about is no other than Fluttershy.”
They both looked at each other, Steven stared at Alex for a few seconds before exploding with laughter.
“Hahahahahaha nice one dude! nice one!”
“Yeah! (I'm glad you took it that way Steven, and not thinking I'm crazy). I just had to say it. Anyway, I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything else.”
“Well, that’s too bad but, hey! I have known you for so many years. Sometimes you need to keep some secrets to yourself. Anyway, I wish you a good trip.”
They hugged each other and then Alex got in his truck.
“Alex! Before you go, just know one thing”
“yes?”
“We care about you Alex, and we noticed how you have been in a low mood since you returned, I feel it’s because you miss the friends you have back "there", but I also notice how your face changes when you talk about that girl and this place you want to go back to. I think she is very lucky, It would be really sad, but if she is worth it please stay with her. Because as far as I can see, it looks like bringing her here is not an option. Please be happy Alex, after everything that happened to you, We all think you deserve it.”
“Thanks Steven, I somehow needed to hear something like this...
Goodbye."
Alex was on his way to the park, but needed to make a stop on a very special place. He parked his truck and brought a bouquet of roses with him. After walking through a beautiful place, he finally reached his destination, three tombstones shinning bright under the moonlight.
“Hi Dad, Mom, Angela."
"I’m sorry I haven’t showed up lately but I’ve been kinda busy. I’m sure Angela told you that already. You see, I’m planning to make a long trip to see my pony friends; my other sister and to see HER. I'd give anything to know what you think about it, you know, dating a pony and all. Please don’t get me wrong, even I have my own doubts, she is a pony! I know I can transform into a pony now, but I am still a human and was raised as such. I am supposed to date human girls, there are so many things going on in my head now and I would really like you to help me get my mind clear. If in the end we are not meant to be together, so be it. A part of me wishes we are. I wanted to say I love you and goodbye. Well, it all depends on the decisions I make, I may not be able to come here in a very long time, so please be. . . . No! I will not ask you to be proud of me again. Angela made it very clear to me.
I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH AND DON’T WORRY, I WILL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF AS ALWAYS.”
Alex said a little prayer and then went back to his truck. As soon as he turned his back on their graves, he felt small warm hand on his shoulder and a breeze on his hair, it made him feel the same as when they were together. He didn't even turn around. He let his tears come out and smiled:
"Thank you Dad, Mom and Angela. Please keep on watching me until we meet again.”
The feeling went away, as he walked back to his truck. He wasn’t sure of many things but one:
The nightmares were now over!.
---
EQUESTRIA
The Mane 6 and Spike were having a nice lunch at Hoofdonalds before going to the park to see the last Meteor Shower of the year. Suddenly Pinkie Pie found herself smiling, it was her Pinkie sense. She had this warm feeling as tears went down her cheek. Noticing, Spike asked:
“Whoa! What was that Pinkie?”
She smiled like she used to do before Alex´s death and kept staring at the roof while smiling.
“Pinkie? Are you ok?”
“Oh! sorry, this feeling, my Pinkie Sense. This “combo” is very rare and I love it when it happens.”
“Why Pinkie Pie? Can you please tell us why you like it that much?”
“It love it because it means that soon I will see somepony special to me. Somepony I haven’t seen in a long time. Maybe it'll be my sister Maud, that would be great!”
“We are happy for you Pinkie darling, now let’s finish our food, the Meteor Shower will start in a few minutes!”
“Ok!” Everypony agreed.
After arriving at the park, Princess Celestia and Luna from Canterlot used a powerful spell so everypony could hear them around Equestria:
“CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA, WE ARE GLAD TO SEE ALL OF YOU HERE IN ORDER TO WITNESS THE METEOR SHOWER. AS YOU KNOW, THIS WILL BE THE LAST ONE OF THE YEAR SO IT WILL LAST A LITTLE LONGER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONES. PLEASE ENJOY IT!”
At that moment, Princess Celestia and Luna's horns started to glow, everypony could feel their powerful magic all around Equestria. As they looked up, the meteors started crossing the sky.
Spike remembered how he met his best friend Alex after a meteor shower like this:
“Alex, I hope you are looking at this wonderful show from above the heavens.”
---
Alex was still away from the Oak tree. He felt nervous that someone was around to see what was about to happen. All of a sudden, like the first time he went to Equestria, the Oak tree started to glow. Alex saw this from the distance, he stepped on the gas and headed right into it:
"I only have twenty seconds!"
Everything was according to the plan, except for one thing; he didn’t expect the uneven ground on the park. The truck was moving as fast as it could. He couldn't stop, no time to hesitate. He kept stepping on the gas, it had to work! Otherwise, crashing against the Oak tree at that speed would be fatal. It was either Equestria or Jail (in case he survived the crash).
He kept driving but it was too late, the time was up. He felt as if a dagger stabbed his heart, he couldn't believe it: Everything he hoped for:
Equestria, his friends, his sister and HER! It was all gone!
He was about to stop the truck but noticed that the light was there! The tree was still glowing!
“What the Hell?!"
"Its lasting longer than before!"
With renewed faith and hopes, he kept driving, full speed. Until he finally reached it. The light was painfully blinding but he didn’t care. As soon as he passed through the light, he found himself driving in a forest. He stopped immediately. Luckily, he didn’t hit any tree or ran over any creatures. He turned his head to see the tree behind him but it was no longer glowing. He took a look around and immediately recognized the place:
THE EVERFREE FOREST!
---
After the Meteor Shower was over and everypony was heading back home, Fluttershy heard something long in the distance, it was like the sound of a train engine. It was coming from the Everfree Forest:
"Oh my! what was that sound?"
Too scared to go check by herself, she decided to let it be.
"It was probably my imagination!".
However, she couldn’t stop staring at the forest with a smile on her snout.
...
Pinkie Pie was on her bed when she started to feel the same “combo” she felt before:
“I know that somepony special is here! In Equestria; Ponyville; Canterlot or Fillydelphia. But where are you?”
---
"This was awesome!" Alex said. He was able to come back to Equestria. The forest was obviously the same: "How much can a forest change after four months?".
There weren't any creatures around when he arrived, maybe they were sleeping or got scared. Alex wanted so much to run to Ponyville and see everypony but he knew he wasn’t exactly in a friendly territory. Maybe the manticores wouldn’t be a problem, if they remembered him. However, the Timberwolves or some other creatures were still a danger. He went back into his truck and started driving to the Sister’s Old castle.
"I hope none of the stuff I brought got broken" He said.
After coming back to Equestria by going through the light on the Oak Tree, Alex managed to bring some stuff in a truck he hid inside a cave near Sister's Old Castle. He was so tired from what happened that he decided to unload these things on the next day.
He entered the Castle and went straight into his old room. It hadn't changed at all, everything was still there in its place, as there were also the memories from the last time he was in Equestria. Thinking about all of these, he went to sleep. On the next morning, Celestia's Sun was shinning as bright as always, everything was warm and calm. Despite all of the things he went through in Equestria, Alex still missed the place: "Everything is so peaceful and calm here, I wish it was the same back on Earth".
After having some breakfast, he went back to the cave and got ready to unload the things he brought with him. It would be a difficult task if it wasn't for Luna and the detailed explanation about basic Equestrian magic she gave him:
"Alex, there are three basic types of magic in Equestria: Telekinesis, Written Spells and Spell Casting:
Telekinesis is based on the user's determination, focus and will power. Somepony using Telekinesis has to clear the mind and focus on the object they want to move.
The second one, Written Spells. is performed by reading a magical spell written by a powerful magic user. It doesn't require to much from the one reading it, besides from the knowledge of what the spell will do in order to avoid desastruous consequenses.
The last one is the most difficult of the three, Spell Casting. It is not necessary for the user to recite the name of the spell they are casting. Instead, it is required to learn and memorize somethings we call RUNES. By thinking on different runes you can "cast" powerful spells that vary depending on the runes you are focusing on and the order you give them. Knowing their exact meaning and order is necessary for you to get the desired results, otherwise the spell will simply not work or worse, it might end up back-firing.
Some ponies have a natural talent for casting spells, like Rarity using her Gem Finder Spell or Shinning Armor and his Force Field Spell. We do not know everything about magic yet, for it seems it has its own favorite users (Twilight is a very good example of this).
Alex, please keep in mind that emotions are very important when using magic, if a heart is in peace and harmony, the spells will feel the same. But if the one casting a spell has a corrupted heart or is full of hate, the spell will be dangerous and destructive.
The medallion I gave you, will let you canalize magic just like everypony else in Equestria, please take good care of it."
While reading these things Alex, remembered how Twilight used a Written spell in the third season finale or how Celestia and Twilight were able to use Dark Magic without any problems, "maybe there is a way to fool one's own mind into thinking it is corrupted so Dark Magic can be used", not that he wanted to use Dark Magic anytime soon but he was curious about it. Luckily, Luna’s explanation included a lot of "runes" for him to learn and memorize so he could cast different spells:
"Teleportation, Gem Finder, Force Field, Moustache Growing...
Moustache Growing? hahahaha! Thank you Luna, I guess."
Bringing the boxes out of his truck and moving them into Sister's Old Castle was an easy task thanks to the detailed instructions Luna gave him on her letter. Alex was very impressed on how easy it was for him to learn to use Telekinesis, he became a true "professional" after practicing every single day during a month. Even though he suffered from painful headaches during the first week, they disappeared as he kept on practicing. He also practiced some other spells and how to use the runes written on Luna's letter.
"Memorizing this runes reminds me of Naruto's hand positions" - Alex thought.
Alex remembered the night he tried to use a Teleportation Spell. To make it work, he had to memorize six diferent runes. In theory, it wasn't that hard, but doing it while focusing all of his magic in his horn and thinking on the place he wanted to go to was very dificult. He focused on every single rune and the order he had to use them. When he was done, he was able to teleport but instead of going into his living room as he wanted, he ended up floating some meters above his dinner table; the noise he made when he fell on it was so loud that it woke up one of his neighbors. Fearing that he would come looking for him, Alex took off his pendant, immediately turning into human again.
"Sorry for making so much noise! I just came to my kitchen looking for a glass of water and endded up breaking some dishes." He told his neighbor who was already near his kitchen window trying to see what had happened.
"I just hope you are ok son, I better go back to sleep now." - His neighbor said.
Alex thought it would be better not to use that spell again. At least, not without enough practice.
"Twilight makes it look so easy, she must be a genius!"
Once Alex was done moving every box into the biggest room in the Castle, he sealed the entrance with rocks. He hand't realized how late it was, it took him almost all of the day to finish the job. Feeling tired, possibly because of using Telekinesis during most of the day, made him want to sleep.
"I hope my friends like the gifts I brought for them!" He said before closing his eyes.
PONYVILLE (SugarCube Corner)
Pinkie Pie having everything ready for a party at her place. There were lots of balloons, board games, snacks and music,. Seeing this, Mrs Cake said:
“Pinkie dear, why are you preparing a party? You met somepony new today?”
“Nope, its not a somepony new. My Pinkie Sense showed me that will see somepony special to me that I haven´t seen in a while.”
“Oh! Ok. If your Pinkie sense says so, then continue dear. I hope it’s a good pony.”
“Trust me! If it was a meanie ponie, my Pinkie Sense wouldn´t be like this.”
“Ok Pinkie Pie, I won´t make you waste your time anymore. Save me some cake.”
“Okidokilokie”
-----
Everything was set, it was the time. Alex was ready to go to Ponyville and see everypony again. He wanted so much to let them know he was still ALIVE! However, he needed to make sure everything was alright (He had killed a pony and didn´t know how everypony felt about it. How would Princess Celestia and Luna feel about it?)
He put on his magical pendant and immediately transformed into a Unicorn, his clothes changed with him as well. He had some doubts about using his clothes, but not using them would leave his Cutie Mark exposed and would blow up his cover.
“I still don´t feel THAT comfortable going around butt-naked anyways.”
He needed some Bits or Gems to buy some supplies so he used Rarity´s Gem Finder Spell, even though he used it for the first time, he was still able to find some Gems before getting tired for using magic.
After walking for a while, he finally arrived to Ponyville. Alex was a little nervious about being recognized, but he managed to pull himself together: “I don´t look like a human being anyways…” The memories of everything that happened in Ponyville were still fresh, he had so many questions in his mind. What would they tell him after finding out he wasn´t dead? How to apologize for killing Blueblood? He took control of his emotions and kept on walking.
Everypony was doing their usual stuff: buying, selling, going to work, even the little ponies were runing around. It seemed as if nothing bad had happened in Equestria.
He was so happy to be there that he couldn´t notice somepony getting close to him from behind. Equestria´s best party planner, one of his best friends, Pinkie Pie was right next to him!
“I have never seen you before”
Alex´s heart stopped beating for a moment, he turned around and saw her. The same look in her eyes! The same bright smile he loved! He wanted so much to tell her who he was and hug her, but he couldn´t do it. Not yet.
“Girl, you are smarter than you look!”
“Thanks!. . . Uh? Where have I heard that? I remember! By any chance, do you know a donkey called Cranky? “Nope”
“Ok! Here, have this!”
Alex took a coupon from Pinkie´s hooves and stared at it.
“That’s a coupon for a free cupcake at Sugar Cube Corner. The place I work in, you can exchange it after three pm. Please be there on time, ok?”
“(Thank you Pinkie, I know what this all about. I Know you that much)” Alex said to himself. “Really? Thanks Pinkie Pie, I’ll be there at 3:00 pm, I promise!”
Pinkie pie smiled and left him. She then wanted to tell everypony else about the surprise party she had prepared for the somepony special she had just met. But then she realized:
“Mmm I never told him my name. He is a psychic! I WILL HAVE A PSYCHIC FRIEND, YAY!”
Alex was so happy to know that his friend had prepared a “suprise party” for him. After reaching the town´s market he saw some of his friends: Derpy, Mr. Cake, Rose and Colgate. Everypony was looking so happy!
He also saw Applejack and Applebloom selling their famous apples, he got close to them and said:
“Hello Miss and little cutie.”
“Howdy Sir. Ah can see yah are not from here. What brings yah to our humble little town?”
“Just passing by, however I couldn´t allow myself missing the chance to taste one of your famous Sweet Apple Acrees` Apples!”
Applejack blushed a little before answering:
“Yikes! that’s sweet from yah Mr. . . .?”
“Mmm, Axel. Yeah! Thas my name AXEL! (Is that the best you could think of Alex?)”
“Ok Mr. Axel, how many apples would yah like?”
“It depends Miss, do you accept Gems as payment?”
“Bits or Gems are fine sugarcube!”
“Great!”
Alex bought some apples from Applejack and paid with Gems.
“Thank yah very much! Hope to see yah later!” – Applejack said.
Alex nodded, he turned around so he could leave but noticed Applebloom standing infront of him. She was looking at him a little confused.
“What is it little girl? Something on my face?”
“No sir. It’s just that… Have we met before?”
“. . . (Kids in here are smarter than adults) No sweetie, I don’t think so!”
“Oh! ok, sorry, it’s just that yah remind me of somepony else, ah can’t really tell.”
“I see. Well, Trust me on this one, we haven’t met before. See you around!”
Alex left Applebloom and Applejack behind. They kept looking at him until he was out of sight.
“He seems nice, don’t yah think Applejack?”
“Yeah sugarcube, he seems very nice.” Applejack said, with a strange look in her eyes.
“Something wrong sis?”
“Nothing is wrong Applebloom. He seems so nice and everything but…”
“But what Applejack?”
“Nothing! Just forget it.”
“Ok! Look Applejack, more customers!”
Both sisters continued selling more of their delicious apples, but Applejack couldn´t stop thinking:
“(Besides telling the truth about my apples, he lied on everything else. Even his name…
As Alex continued walking through Ponyville, he decided to visit one of his friends.
He arrived at Carousel Boutique, everything was the same there: beautiful pony clothing, jewelry, accessories, etc. he kept on walking inside the Boutique marveled by everything at sight, that was when he saw the hoods; like the one he used, they even had the assassins logo on them:
“What is this?” Alex thought.
He still couldn´t believe his eyes, all the details, it was an exact copy of HIS hood. Suddenly, a voice broke the silence:
“Hello and welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is unique and magnifique. What can I do for you?”
“I am actually just looking at the place lady.” Alex replied.
“Please call me Rarity darling, Rarity.”
“Oh, ok. Lady Rarity”
Her eyes widened after hearing him tell her name in that tone.
“Is it something wrong Lady Rarity?” Alex asked.
“Not at all. I just… What can I do for you?” The tone of Alex´s voice was still inside her head.
“Well, I´m new here and as I was walking around Ponyville I heard everypony say that the things you sell in this store are the best in Equestria. So I just came by to see if I something would catch my attention and surely everything did. So you are looking at your new customer.”
Rarity blushed after hearing this.
“Well, thank you darling. I like that idea as well.”
“Ok! See you later lady.” Alex said with a smile.
“Please just call me Rarity darling.”
As soon as Alex left the place, Sweetie Bell came down stairs, she was still sleepy.
“Sister, who were you talking to?”
“It was a new pony I just met. A true gentlecolt I must say, his name was..., oh! I didn´t ask his name. I´m so silly!”
“Yes you are!” Sweetie Bell said.
Alex arrived at Golden Oaks Library, he knocked the door and then a Royal Canterlot voice came from the inside:
“FOR THE LAST TIME PINKIE! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PSYCHIC, STOP ASKING ME THAT!”
Alex rememberd how Twilight was able to use THAT voice as she was a princess now.
“Excuse me lady, but I am not Pinkie.”
The library doors opened to show a beautiful Alicorn inside.
“I´m so sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine!” She said.
“You don´t need to worry, are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Alex asked while bowing.
“Yes, but please just call me Twilight and it is not necessary for you to bow before me. I am a regular pony, just like everypony else!”
“I can accept calling you Twilight but I must still bow before you princess. You see, I am new here and I was meeting the place so I just wanted to come visit this famous library.”
“Do you like to read?” Twilight asked.
“Yes I do! History books and novels.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Please come inside!”
“Thank you Twilight.” He said.
Twilight showed him where the history books and novels were. While he was looking at them, she offered him a cup of tea and apologized for using her Canterlot voice a little earlier. After having a short conversation she wrote all of his information on a library card if he decided to come back again (of course she didn´t know all this information was fake).
Alex was about to leave the place, he didn’t turn his back on Twilight so he was walking backwards for the door, he couldn´t notice spike running towards him. Spike was carrying some books so he couldn´t see Alex either. When Alex finally turned around, it was too late. He couldn´t avoid the little dragon from crashing against him. They both felt on the ground.
“I´m so sorry mister!” Spike said.
“My name is Axel. And it’s ok; it was definitely my fault for walking backwards. What is your name little dragon?” Alex asked.
“I am Spike, the only DRAGON in Ponyville, Princess Twilight´s number one assistant”
“Well, it was nice to meet you!” Alex replied while looking at Spike right into his eyes.
“…you?” Spike was staring at him, with a strange look on his face.
“Is it everything ok little friend?” Alex asked.
“Yeah! It’s nothing, I´m just feeling a little confused because of crashing against you, that’s all!”
Alex helped him pick up the books and taking them into the library.
“You know, - Spike said – 4 months have passed since a good friend of mine…”
“A friend of yours…?” Alex asked, feeling sad for the little dragon.
“Well, don’t worry. I don’t want to trouble you with my things.”
“I understand. It was nice to meet you both Twilight and Spike, I hope we meet again.”
“See you later Axel.” They both said.
Alex continued walking around Ponyville and came across BonBon’s Candy Shop. He approached the place only to find it closed. A note was hanging on the door “I’m still travelling with Lyra, the Shop will be closed for at least two more weeks”. After reading this note, Alex realized it was almost three pm, so he started his way to Sugarcube. He had walked just a few meters when he heard a familiar voice:
“Watch out!”
Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to jump aside and avoid getting hit by a Rainbow Mane Cyan Pegasus who landed heavily on the ground. He quickly helped her stand up. Still confused by the impact, she said:
“Wow! Thank Celestia you were fast enough to dodge me. I’m sorry about that, I was flying here for the party but lost control and almost hit you!”
“It's ok miss!” Alex replied with a little smile on his face.
“Miss? I’m no Miss! Well, I am, but I am better known as Rainbow Dash THE FASTEST FLYING PEGASUS IN EQUESTRIA!”
“Oh! I see. So you are Rainbow Dash the winner of the Young Flying Competition? Wow! Indeed you are the fastest and the most awesome Pegasus in Equestria!”
“Thank you – Rainbow Dash said – I think you meant the most awesome PONY in Equestria.”
“Well, I meant to say pegasus, because The Most Awesome Pony in Equestria tittle is already taken”
“Taken? And who is that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Me!” Alex said in a serious tone.
“Yeah? You wish! but I must say, I like your optimism. Maybe we should hang out some time and have a little competition as well. What do you say?”
“Anytime Skittles!” Alex answered.
“Skittles? What?!” She exclaimed.
“Nothing! Never mind, let’s just hurry up for the party, it is about to begin!”
”Ok lets go, but you know, I shouldn’t have mentioned a party. You see, it was planned for you and if YOU don’t look surprised the one who planned it will be kind of sad, so can you please pretend not to know everything YOU know about the party?” She asked him.
“It’s ok Rainbow Dash, but only because you ask me, and I don’t want anypony to be sad” (it’s funny because I had to pretend anyways) Alex thought.
Rainbow Dash smiled and then opened the door for him. At that moment, everypony inside screamed:
“SURPRISE!”
Alex, pretending not to know anything, fell on his back as if scared for what just happened, Pinkie Pie ran to him and help him up: “Great! We did it! He was really surprised!”
Alex was amazed by the amount of ponys that were inside the place.
“Welcome! It’s me Pinkie Pie. We had met before remember? I gave you a coupon for a free cupcake and told you to be here at three o’clock. I had prepared this special party for you because I always make parties for my new friends. Would you like to be my friend? Please be my friend!” Pinkie Pie said
Pinkie Pie got close to him and whispered in his hear “We will be special friends, because I know your secret!”
Alex froze when he heard that, he managed to pull himself together and asked: “Do, do you know it? Aren’t you upset I didn’t tell you myself?”
“Why should I be upset. We all have secrets you silly. But you aren’t very good at keeping them.” She answered
Alex looked at her bright eyes. He was really amazed at how easy it was for her to find out who he was.
“I do know your secret! You are a psychic.”
“What?! Is that my secret? Well, why do you think I’m a psychic?”
“Well, you knew my name without me telling you first.”
“Didn’t you think somepony else could have told me something about you before we met?”
“Nope, I know nopony did. I saw you when you entered the Town and the first Pony to talk to you was me. So please stop denying it, I got you!”
“Yeah! You got me.”
“Yay! I have a psychic friend” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“Guys, could you please come inside, everypony is waiting to meet Axel” Ranbow Dash told them.
They both laughed, as they hadn’t realized everypony was looking at them. They went into the place and closed the doors behind them.
“HELLO EVERYPONY! THIS IS. . . WHAT KIND OF FRIEND AM I? I DON’T EVEN KNOW HIS NAME!” Pinkie Pie said feeling a little embarrassed.
“It’s ok Pinkie Pie, my name is Axel.”
“OK! HELLO EVERYPONY THIS IS MY FRIEND AXEL, HE IS NEW IN PONYVILLE, EVERYPONY PLEASE SAY HELLO AND LETS START CELEBRATING!”
“YAY!” Everypony cheered.
Everypony inside Sugarcube began to celebrate. They were dancing, playing around, eating snacks. Some of them even talked to Alex asking him all kinds of questions. Everypony was there, all the Elements, Spike, but most importantly, HER. She was the only one he didn’t see before coming to the party. Like all the others, she hadn’t change a bit.
The Crusaders joined the party and started telling stories of their fantastic adventures. Everypony was enjoying the party. It seemed as if they all forgot the sad things that happened a few months ago. It was a good thing, but it was sad at the same time. Alex looked at everypony laughing and having a great time. He wondered if they had just moved on “Maybe they just forgot about me”. His little sister, Spike, everypony was looking so happy he started to wonder if it was really necessary for him to tell them he was still alive. Maybe it was better this way. Why not to just let them think he was gone for good. Anyways, he wasn’t planning to stay there permanently; he had also killed a pony. And maybe some of them would be afraid to see him again because of it. They moved on, they forgot him, everything in Equestria was fine. It wasn’t necessary for him to come back and bring sad memories to them. He remembered telling Steven his trip was to find out if this was his place to stay, but it was clear now. It never was. Coming back here was a huge mistake. His heart was full of happiness and sadness, full of doubts, full of loneliness.
He walked to the door and realized everypony was too busy being happy that they didn’t even notice it. He was thinking now on how to survive until the next Meteor Shower so he could go back to earth.
He was opening the doors when a voice came from the inside: “I hope all of you are enjoying the party!” Pinkie Pay said.
“Axel, how about you come up here and tell us all something about yourself?!”
Alex closed the door and said:
“I really don’t think that’s necessary”
“Oh please Axel, just come here and say something!” She asked.
As Axel was walking to where Pinkie Pie was he saw Spike, the Mane 6 and the Crusaders gathering in the place. Spike said:
“Sorry everypony. I didn’t mean to interrupt this great party but before listening to Axel, I wanted to take a moment and pay a little tribute to a very close friend of mine who left us exactly four months ago. He was the only human in Equestria, a true hero, a true friend and my mentor. I just wanted to ask you to never forget him, never forget why he died and that he loved Equestria as much as all of us do.”
Tears started to come out from Spike’s eyes. Sweetie Bell stepped forward and said:
“As many of you know, Alex the human was my adopted brother and I love him with all of my heart. All I wanted to say is that I love you Alex, and I hope you are happy up there with your family, please don’t forget me brother!”
The rest of the Mane 6 and the Crusaders bowed as a sign of respect in memory of Alex. Remembering all of the adventures they had, the happy and sad moments, the first time he showed up, how he invented the the Alichoco muffins.
The next one to talk was Fluttershy:
“ Alex was so special to me, I’d give anything to have him right here with us now. I promised him that I would move on, but its so difficult. No matter how hard I try. I promised him that I would never cry again, but I can’t. I can’t stop missing him.”
Alex was impressed. They hadn’t forgotten him. He kept walking towards the center of the building.
“We’re sorry Axel - Pinkie Pie said – we know this is your time and your party, but Alex was very special to all of us, we would give anything to have him here, ANYTHING! But please come here and tell us all who you are and where have you come from!”
Alex’s heart was beating so fast, his friends still remembered him. They were acting like nothing had happened but they were still sad. He kept walking to where Pinkie Pie was, every step weight like a ton, he didn’t know what to think anymore. He had a good plan already, give a little speech, go back to the Everfree Forest and wait for the next Meteor Shower so he could go back to earth. They would be fine, sooner or later a human stops grieving his lost ones,they still remember them but the pain goes away. That would happen with them as well, they are ponies from Equestria, their happiness surpasses their sadness for miles.
He could still see them crying for him: “They just need a little more time to forget me.” He said to himself.
Alex felt his heart breaking before such faces. He didn’t even realize everypony was looking at him, waiting to hear him speak. The memories of all the things he and his friends went through, all of their happy moments, her eyes, HER EYES!
“Hi everypony, I wanted to say it’s good to be here and that I’m glad to meet all of you for the first time
…But it would be a lie!”
Everypony was shocked for what he just said. He could she them all looking at each other confused.
“Please, don’t misunderstand me. What I wanted to say is that, this is not the first time I meet some of you here in Ponyville, I have so many memories of this place, memories of you!”
Alex could hear them whispering, wondering what he was talking about.
Pinkie Pie interrupted him: “That’s a good one Axel, but I know everyone here, and I am pretty sure I haven’t seen you before!”
“No! – Alex said – I am not lying. I still have many memories of this place, of you and your friends. I still remember the day we met. That day in the hospital and how I discovered you smell like cotton candy, and when you told me how proud you were of your personal hygiene or how I couldn’t believe when you told me you didn’t know anything about chocolate chip muffins Pinkie”
Pinkie Pie was just standing there, staring at him with a blank expression. Rarity noticed this and asked her: “Pinkie Darling! Are you alright?”
“And you too Lady Rarity!” Alex told her.
“Axel, I told you to just call me Rarity.”
“Don’t you remember when I took your hoof in my hand, kissed it and called you Lady Rarity for the first time? I hope my job as a Gem Finder and my room in your basement are still vacant, Lady Rarity.”
Rarity looked at Alex and fell on the ground unconscious.
“Rainbow, I haven’t forgotten I still owe you an All You Can eat in Hoofdonalds. I still can’t believe SpitFire lost that day!”
Rainbow’s mouth was wide open, her wings stopped moving. She was a Pegasus turned into a statue.
“Applejack, I see you have taken good care of your beautiful blonde mane. I must tell you, blondes still drive me crazy!”
Applejack started babbling, she was about to faint as well.
“Twilight, Spike, I hope you haven’t spent too much time playing with my two you-know-what, and if you have Spike, I hope you kept your word and played for only two hours a day. Not to mention Twilight, NOW YOU ARE AN ALICORN! YOU ARE A PRINCESS!”
Twilight and Spike were shocked by his words.
“How do you know that?” Was all Twilight managed to say before Alex started talking again.
“Fluttershy, I’m glad you have tried to keep your promise, I still remember that nice farewell gift you gave me in my “last moments”. I have missed you too. I’ve been missing all of you since I woke up in that hospital on Earth!”
Alex turned around to where Sweetie Bell and the Crusaders were. He was covered in tears, he stood firmly and took of his pendant. A bright light, as bright as the sun itself blinded everypony who was looking. When the light faded they saw him. Standing there, right in front of them; Alex, the human; their friend.
He was looking at Sweetie Bell. He walked to her and picked her up in his arms. Hugging her like he never did before: “ Sweetie Bell, I would never ever dare to forget about you, not in this life or the other, I love you too much to let that happen!”
Fluttershy fainted too as Rarity was regaining her consciousness.
The CMC were shocked. Alex, their friend was hugging Sweetie; he wasn’t a Spirit or a ghost. After their experience there was a possibility of him being a Changeling. But no, this hug was real, and the one giving it was HIM! How was it possible?
Sweetie Bell was crying: “Are you real? You are not a cruel joke . . . right?”
“Yes Sister, I’m real. I’m so sorry I was absent for all this time. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to. You are here, my wish came true! The cake wish, IT REALLY WORKS! Thank you brother, thank you so much! Please, never leave me again!”
“I never left you Sweetie Bell, you know I will always be with you, even if someday you can’t see me.”
“I know brother, please let me enjoy this moment and thank you for not forgetting me!”
“Never! I will never do that to you sister. You two as well little cuties” Alex said looking at Scootaloo and Applebloom. They both looked at each other and then hugged him, they had to be sure it was the real him, not a ghost or an illusion. Even though they were always talking, this time the words had failed them. They didn’t even know what to say anymore.
Alex turned around and saw the rest of his friends crying, Twilight, Spike, all of them had tears in their eyes. Fluttershy was still unconscious. He looked at all of them and said in a loud voice so everypony could hear him:
“Hi everypony, I’m Back!”
He barely finished this words when somepony jumped on him with such strength, he fell on his back. It was Applejack, she was looking at him with anger in her eyes.
“Don’t even try to move! – she said with a strong voice – Twilight hurry! Use a Scanning Spell, if he turns out being a Changeling ah will make him wish he was never born!”
Twilight agreed, her horn started to glow and used a Scanning Spell on Alex. After she was done, she looked at Applejack right into her eyes:
“It’s really him…”
Applejack started to cry and kissed him on his cheek. “ah am so sorry – she said – ah had to, ah had to be sure.” Alex looked at her and put his hand on her face:
“Yes pretty cowgirl, it’s me!”
Twilight helped him stand up and asked: “Alex, how is this even possible?”
“I know it is hard to believe but here I am!”
She hugged him with all of her strength.
“Alex dude! I can’t believe you are back! I always new somepony as you couldn’t end up like that!” Rainbow Dash said. “I really don’t know what to say!”
“How about, WELCOME BACK?!” Alex replied with a big smile on his face.
Spike was finally able to pull himself together: “My partner! I don’t know what you did and I really don’t care. Thank you for not being dead!”
“I was just lucky Spike, lucky as always. I’ll tell you everything you want to know but I have to focus on other things now.”
Pinkie Pie was still silent, she didn’t even say a word, didn’t even move where she was standing, she was so lost in her thoughts. Alex got near her and got on his knees. He could see her eyes moving to find his, they looked at each other for a moment, not saying even the slightest word. Tears started to come out of her eyes.
“Ali, is it really you? Please tell me you are not a ghost! Have I finally gone crazy?”
Alex gave her a warm hug and said: “No Pinkie Pie, you haven’t gone nuts, it is really me. And I’m here with you, hugging you.”
Everypony was watching, all of them knew how hard it was for Pinkie Pie to smile again after Alex died. And now there she was, with the biggest smile she ever had.
“Ali, it is you! The real you! I’m so happy to see you again I can barely handle all this happiness, I feel like I’m going to faint…”
She closed her eyes as Alex carefully placed her on the ground. “It’s ok guys, I guess it was too much for her.”
Alex stood up so he could speak to the rest of the ponies that were gathering around. Diamond Tiara, Derpy and her daughter, the Crusaders, for all of them, it was one of the happiest days in Ponyville. Alex promised to give them an explanation on how he was able to survive but now they had to take care of Pinkie Pie who was still lying on the floor. She was carefully taken upstairs to her room.
Everypony started to leave the place, but Alex had something else to do, he needed to talk to the Elements and Spike. Once everypony was gone, he was finally able to be with his friends. They were still looking at him with disbelief in their eyes: “Guys come on, you know it is me, the real Alex, standing in front of you!”
“We are sorry Alex, but after everything that happened. It is really impossible for you to be here!” Twilight said.
“Wow! Twilight, you do realize how unscientific that sounds right?”
“If you being here with us is impossible then… screw science!” She answered with a smile.
“Thank you Twilight. I know you really don’t mean THAT but thanks anyways. And guys I think I owe you all an explanation.”
Everypony gathered around him as he sat on the floor.
“Ok guys, you might get comfortable as this will be a long…
Everything was quiet at Sugarcube Corner, the Cakes and their babies were sleeping peacefully, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were having some rest as well. Alex, Spike and everypony else was in the living room, sitting on a couch with Sweetie Bell on his lap and the other two crusaders at each of his sides. He told them everything that happened after Princess Celestia used the spell on him, all of them beaming with happiness listened very carefully, once he finished Twilight was the first to talk:
“It is amazing Alex! Princess Celestia’s Spell really worked, it sent you to the hospital you were born in and even better, they found you in time to save you! Wow! Human technology is amazing, as Princess Celestia said; you would have died from your injuries if you had stayed here.”
“Yes Twilight, but I have a question, the doctor told me it seemed I was saved by a miracle because I was bleeding slowly. Do you think Princess Celestia had anything to do with that?”
“Probably, remember that she was using her magic to give you more time, maybe it lasted even after she sent you back to Earth. Who cares anyways?! It saved you and it’s all that matters!” Twilight answered.
“But Alex, I must know how did you manage to return here?” She asked.
“Well, once I was healed, I went to visit that park again, the same one I was in when I came here for the first time. You see, there is a big Oak Tree there and I wanted to see it, because I was almost sure it was the place where the portal was, and then a bright light appeared out of nowhere and the next second I was here again, in the Everfree Forest. I believe now that the park or the Oak Tree could be a connection between our worlds. What do you think?”
“That’s a good theory Alex. Maybe the Everfree forest is where the portal to your world is and it only opens at the right time, like the other one!”
“The other one? (Alex, get ready for a resume of Equestria Girls).”
“Yes, let me tell you. . .”
Twilight told Alex the story on how she became a Princess and her adventures retrieving her Crown in the other Human/Equestria World. Alex listened to her and made some random question even though he knew the answers, when she was done Alex asked:
“So you were a human for some days. Did you like it?”
“Well, yeah! It was an interesting experience, I must say is not easy going around without magic and learning to use my hands was a real challenge.”
“Tell me about it! Trust me, learning to walk on four legs and not having hands was quite an experience too!”
Rainbow dash said:
“Yeah! Speaking of that! How did you manage to turn into a pony?
“Well, it was thanks to this! the gift Luna gave me in my "last moments" ”
Alex showed them his pendant. He put it on and immediately turned into a pony, all of them looked at him with marveled eyes.
“What is that darling? I must say I like it!”
“That’s a MetaPendant – Twilight said – Well, it all makes sense now!”
“Uh?! What yah mean sugarcube?”
“Well, you see, Alicorns can turn other creatures into ponies by giving them amulets like this one. Only an Alicorn has enough magic to create such an incredible device. You are very lucky Alex, now you can see the world as we do!”
“And I must say darling, as a Pony you are not half bad…”
Spike gave a weird look at Alex after hearing this from Rarity.
“Hahaha! Thanks Rarity. Going back to the topic, do you guys have any other question?”
Spike raised his hand.
“Why didn’t you tell us who you were? Why did you have to wait?”
“Well Spike, at first I wanted to see if you guys would recognize me, when I saw myself as a Pony on the mirror, I noticed I looked very much like myself, so I thought maybe you…didn’t any of you recognize me at all?!”
“Well Darling, I have to say you gave me a familiar feeling when I first saw you, but no. But I must say, now that I look at you, you do look very much as your human self.”
“Yeah, like my friends in Canterlot high -Twilight said - I had my doubts, but after visiting that place I thought you could be your own pony counterpart.”
“That’s an interesting theory Twilight, but I don’t think I have a pony counterpart here, I’m not a human from that world.” Alex replied.
“I guess you are right!”
“The second reason I didn’t want to tell you who I was, is because I wanted to see how all of you were doing after going through that experience. I needed to know if it was absolutely necessary to let you know I was alive, when I saw you at the party all cheerful and happy I thought maybe letting you think I was gone for good was the best choice, but when I heard you talking about me with so much love, I knew I was making a huge mistake and I wanted…no, I needed to tell you.”
Everypony nodded as Sweetie Bell hugged him tight.
“I’m glad you chose to tell us brother, thank you. I am happy to have my brother back and now you can even become a pony like me, not that I don’t like your human form or anything!”
“Thanks sister!” Alex said with a smile.
“Yeah! And not only that, yah are a unicorn so now yah can use magic!” Applebloom said.
“That’s true but I’m still a noob in this magic stuff. Thanks to some written lessons from Princess Luna I can barely levitate things and do a couple of spells, not a big deal.”
“Even so, that’s so cool! I must say I’d rather you became a pegasus like Rainbow Dash and me, the three of us would rock together!”
“I don’t think so, maybe he would just slow me down.” Rainbow dash said.
“Thanks Dashie. I’m glad you are so supportive!”
“Easy dude, I’m sure you would be slow, but with my awesome teaching skills you would become half as good as me in no time!”
Everypony rolled their eyes and laughed.
“Well girls, I know I’ve been saying this many times already but it’s good to be back!”
“We think the same darling! So, what’s your plan now?”
“Uh? Well, one of my plans was to tell you I was alive, but now I suppose I’ll just live here for a while.”
“A while?!” Twilight asked a little worried.
“Well, we are now sure that the spell to send me back works so that is not longer a problem, it’s just a matter of asking Princess Celestia to do it again and according to my previous experiences, that park is my ticket to come back here.”
“But the Park idea is still just a theory, it still could be just a coincidence, we have no warranty that you will be able to come back here if we send you back to Earth again!” Twilight said.
“Well, you are right about that! (Sorry Twilight, I wish I could tell you the whole true, but some day I will). For now, let’s just focus on my stay here. You know, maybe the Oak Tree theory will work, but for this time, I came prepared with a lot of stuff from earth, I have everything inside Sister’s Old castle!”
“Really?! More stuff from earth?!” Everypony asked.
“Yep, I brought something for all of you. I hope you guys like it.”
“Did you. . . By any change, did you bring…?”
“Yes Twilight, I brought you books, enought books for you to have a whole section dedicated to humans in your room!”
Again, Alex managed to break Twilight and everypony could swear she had sparks coming from her ears.
“What are we waiting for?! LET’S GO!”
“Easy Twilight, it is late now, we will go tomorrow and retrieve everything. I also need to check if they are ok”
“They?”
“Yes, well, you’ll see. Let’s just say it is one of Fluttershy gifts”
Everypony was wondering what would it be.
“. . . . . Did . . . somepony say my name?”
Everypony turned to see who said that, only to find Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie entering the room together.
“Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie! Do yah feel better now sugarcubes?”
Fluttershy was still a little sleepy; she hadn’t noticed Alex and said:
“Yes, a lot better, I had an amazing dream, a dream where Alex came back. First he was a Pony but then he transformed into his original self. Not that I minded him being a pony at all. He was alive and healthy. I wish it was real.”
Before she could continue, Pinkie Pie ran past her and grabbed Alex in a crushing hug.
“What are you talking about Fluttershy? It wasn’t a dream. Ali lives and he is here, look!” Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile.
“Uh?! Pinkie, glad to see you are feeling better now but please, even in a pony body. . . . . I need some air.” Alex felt as if he wan’t abl to breathe.
“Just five more seconds. . . No! Just one more minute!”
Pinkie Pie wasn’t kidding, she hugged him tight for exactly one whole minute while Fluttershy just stayed there shocked, at least she didn’t faint again, Pinkie Pie stopped hugging him but stood at his side, Scootaloo had to make some room for herself.
“I’m glad to see you again Pinkie Pie!” Alex said.
“Me too Ali. . . I’m so happy. . . I can’t stop smiling!”
“You are saying it like if it was a bad thing, remember what I told you, you look a lot prettier when you smile”
“Thanks Ali. . . now that you are back. . .be sure that I will be smiling forever”
Everypony was looking at them but at the same time, they noticed Fluttershy still in her place, not moving an inch.
“Fluttershy, aren’t you saying anything?” Alex asked.
Fluttershy a little reluctant, started to walk to him, moving her mouth as if she wanted to say something but she wasn’t able to. When she was close enough to him, she extended her hoof to touch his chest, she needed to feel it with her own hoof ; he was a pony, but his eyes; his hair; his smile, he was Alex, HER Alex, no doubt about it. But she needed one last proof.
“Alex please, can you please turn into a human again, if you don’t mind, I need to see it. Just one more time so I can finally convince myself this isn’t a dream.”
Alex smiled, and took off his pendant using his magic, the next second he was the human all of them cared for again. Fluttershy stared at him, not having anymore doubts she followed her feelings and hugged him with a strength she never showed before. It could even match Pinkie Pie’s, Alex hugged her too, and they stayed like that for what seemed to be an eternity to them. He put the pendant back on and immediately turned into a pony. Fluttershy began to cry.
“I’m happy. I’M SO HAPPY! But how?”
Alex and the rest started telling Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy the whole story. Excluding the part of her gift, Everypony was surprised as Fluttershy got next to him and put her head on Alex’s shoulder, Alex felt as in Heaven, the mare he had a crush with was at his side, he could feel her warmth, even though he liked it, he was still feeling kind of weird. He was still a human, so feeling something over a pony was a little “different”. He asked:
“By the way girls, where is Lyra?”
“Well Ali… you see, she decided to explore Equestria to see if she could find any other humans around. Knowing now for sure that humans exist, she decided to investigate every weird creature sighting in all of Equestria to find out if one of them were humans, she also dragged Bonbon with her, they should be back in a couple of weeks. What a surprise she will have when she comes back!” Pinkie Pie told him.
“I see, well I’ll just wait for her return then and I have to visit Proud Hammer and Zecora too.”
“Can we go with you Brother? – Sweetie Bell asked - We have to go to see Zecora tomorrow anyways, please, please, pretty please!”
“How can I say no to that face? Of course you can come!” Alex answered.
“YAY!” the three Fillies yelled making everypony laugh. Alex looked out the window and noticed it was really dark.
“Well Everypony, I think it’s time for us to go to sleep. So if you…”
Spike interrupted him.
“Oh no! Don’t tell me you are going to the Sister’s old Castle now!”
“Well, all my stuff is in there and well, yes?”
Pinkie Pie gasped and said:
“Are you crazy Ali? It will be dangerous out there. Besides, we just got together again. We have to do a SLUMBER PARTY!”
“I really don’t know Pinkie” Alex said.
“Oh please, please with tons of sugar” Pinkie begged with puppy eyes.
“sigh… ok”
“YAY!!” Pinkie Pie brought some snacks and games, while setting everything Spike asked Alex if they could have a little conversation alone. “Excuse us Girls, Spike and I need to talk outside. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Once they were out, Alex sat on the ground with his pal next to him. Alex looked at him for a moment and without saying a word, he hugged him tight. Spike was surprised but he hugged him too.
“Spike I am sorry I didn’t say this before but I’m so glad to see you again!”
“Me too my friend, me too…” Spike replied.
“So, what do you wanted to talk about?” Alex asked.
“Well, it is just that I need to know it now, are you planning to stay in Equestria this time? I mean, staying here for good?”
“To be honest Spike, I don’t know. I plan to stay here for a couple of months and see if I finally decide to stay here, but only time will tell.”
“I see, I’ll make sure you love so much being here then that you will even beg for Celestia to forget the spell to send you back. You’ll see, besides, I think Fluttershy is already working on that. By the way, when do you plan to ask her to be your very special somepony? It’s so obvious you both like each other.”
“What? Ok spike, I don’t know, I can’t say I don’t I like her, but I want to know her a little better, let’s wait to see what happens ok? And when do YOU plan to ask Rarity to be your Special somepony?” Alex asked.
“What? I don’t. . . sigh, ok you got me. I still like her, I think she knows I like her too but she acts as if nothing. Maybe she is not the one for me, what do you think?”
“I think only you can answer that, but I do know there is a fated per. . . creature for every creature. I know you will be happy with somepony. If in the end it’s not Rarity, so be it, right?”
“I guess you are right Alex. I’m glad you are here so I can talk about these things. I Can’t do the same with Twilight or any other mare!” “No problem Spike. I’m here for you now and I’m not planing to leave in a long time. Now let’s go party!”
“Yeah!” Spike immediately forgot how sad he was after hearing Alex.
“Besides, we resume our training tomorrow. I hope you hadn’t been slacking off because I will test you.” Alex said with a serious look on his face.
“You got it partner!” Spike replied.
Once they were done talking, they got back into the house. The party was nice, even with the childish games Pinkie Pie made them play. Alex had to convince Twilight not to send a letter to Celestia about his return. He wanted to surprise them as well, she was kind of reluctant but finally agreed as she also wanted to see their surprised faces. After a good time together the girls went to sleep at Pinkie Pie’s room while Alex and Spike stayed on the in the living room. Sweetie Bell asked Alex if she could stay with him, something he of course accepted.Tthis was one of the best nights each and every one of them had since months.
---
SADDLE SARABIA (Royalty Meeting)
Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor along the other Kingdom rulers were impatient, waiting for the magic raffle to end. After all, the Kingdom chooses which town will host of one of the most amazing events in all the world:“The Gladiators Tournament”, celebrated once every seven years. When the winner was finally chosen, the Sultan read the paper and said:
“My Royal fellows., the host for the Gladiators Tournaments will be. . . . .
CANTERLOT!”
Princess Celestia and Luna couldn’t hide their excitement; it had been decades since Canterlot wasn’t selected to host this tournament. Princess Celestia said:
“Thank you very much for this great honor. I’m sure this tournament will be one of the best ever. We will see great matches between the best of the best. In one week, we’ll be sending the official rules to you so you can start gathering your best soldiers and warriors. Once again, Thank you very much!”
The meeting ended and every Royal creature present started the long way back to their kingdoms, Celestia and the rest stayed in the Sultan’s Palace to have some rest and get ready to travel the next morning. While having some lunch at the palace, they had a little conversation:
“Celestia and Luna, I’m sure you are excited to host the tournament this time”
“Yes Sultan Mahay, I just hope many of my ponies will be willing to compete!” Celestia replied.
“Me too, I hope my horses are up to the challenge as well. But, do you think. HE will compete?” Sultan Mahay asked.
“I beg your pardon?” Princess Celestia said.
“Oh you know what I mean, your friend the hero you told me about. The human, what was his name? Axel, Alax or something like that”
“Alex, his name was Alex” Luna said a little annoyed.
“Was?”
“Yes, he is no longer with us, a disgrace happened. Look, I don’t really want to talk about that” Celestia said with a sad voice as Luna was staring down.
“I see, it’s a shame. I heard he was good enough to take down even a manticore. I’m pretty sure he would have done pretty well in the tournament, not to mention his dragon partner. I hope he does compet…”
“Spike? oh no no no no! He is just a baby dragon. I would never let him compete in something so…” Princess Celestia said interrupting him.
“Oh come on Celestia! You know this tournament stopped being dangerous a long time ago. Besides, I heard he is as good as the human, who knows, he may surprise you.”
Celestia had to admit the Sultan was right. Spike indeed had demonstrated to be a descent fighter thanks to Alex’s teachings and his own devoted training. Maybe she could, she would have a conversation with Twiligh. On the other hoof, she was glad that only rumors had passed to the other kingdom. She made sure the Invasion incident was covered with the exception of Sarabia Sultan since he was a long friend. This kind of news would make the other kingdoms and Empires think Canterlot was weak and unstable, she really was thankful for Alex, Spike and their friends who managed to save them.
“Well, we will think about it. It could be a good distraction for him, after all he hasn’t been the same since Alex died” Princess Luna said with a sad look on her eyes.
“Very well, have some rest then and prepare to leave tomorrow. You have a big tournament to prepare!”
The Princesses proceeded to go to their rooms.
While on her bed, Princess Luna couldn’t stop think about something.
“I think the same Sultan, Alex would have rocked in that tournament"
Alex woke up the next morning, he was speechless as he opened his eyes and saw everypony sleeping in the same room as him. Spike and Sweetie Bell, all except for Pinkie Pie who was sleeping next to the front door, it seemed as if they thought Alex would leave again. Careful not to wake up Sweetie Bell who was sleeping next to him, he placed her on the couch, she frowned a little while trying to find her brother's warm but luckily for him she didn't wake up. Alex went down stairs to cook some breakfast for everypony, since he was in a bakery, it didn’t take long for him to find all the ingredients to make some Pancakes. After a while the smell started to wake up the rest of the gang, Spike was the first to come down to the kitchen:
“Wow Alex I must admit those Pancakes smell awesome (sniff sniff)... is that banana?”
“Yep, I used banana in the mix, hope you don’t mind”
“No no no! I love Banana Pancakes, thanks!”
“You’re welcome, ok here comes the first one, go ahead and eat, there will be plenty for all of us!”
“Ok!” - Spike replied with a big smile.
The rest of the gang came in next. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow dash and Applejack were drooling after smelling the delicious banana pancakes.
Rarity looked at them and said:
“Oh my! Could you at least show some manners like Sweetie Bell and I! Isn't that right Sweetie... what?!” - Rarity was shocked as she saw Sweetie Bell drooling too - "I really can't believe this is happening!" - She said.
Alex was so happy to see them enjoy the breakfast he prepared. While eating Applejack asked Alex:
“So, what is today's plan sugarcube?”
“Well, first of all, I want to talk to Mayor Mare, I think that since I was officially Equestrian and a Ponyville resident they might have taken me as dead after the things that happened, so I have to go there myself and fix that right away, then I think I will visit Zecora and Proud Hammer with the CMC.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, in that case and after yah do that, do yah mind coming to Sweet Apple Acres with me? Ah would like to show Big Mac and Granny Smith that yah are back!”
Alex agreed: “Sure, no problem Applejack.”
“Thanks sugarcube!"
Twilight reminded Alex of the things he mentioned before: “And don’t forget Alex, we have to go to the castle and bring your stuff, and the books you promised me of course!"
“Ok Twilight., but I must tell you, we’ll need at least two or three big wagons.” - Alex replied - “As I said before, I didn’t know if my plan of coming back would work but in case it did, I wanted to be prepared so this is the reason why I brought a lot of things.”
“And where do you plan to put all that stuff” - She asked.
“That’s the thing; I really don’t want to leave everything at Rarity’s place so I was thinking about getting my own place."
Rarity interrupted him: “That's nonsense darling, we will make room for everything in my place, no offense but I don’t think you are able to buy a big house right now, so don’t worry, the basement has a lot of room” - Alex didn’t say anything because he knew she was right.
“But, isn’t that my bedroom? I mean, it was still my bedroom when I left.”
“Yes darling, it WAS your bedroom, but not anymore; do you think after all you have done for us I will let you sleep in a basement? No sir, you will have a decent room this time!” - Rarity said.
"How about sharing my bedroom?! - Sweetie Bell asked, but after seeing everyone's faces it was easy to understand the obvious. "Well, at least I tried..."
"I really appreciate what you are doing for me Rarity; I just didn't want to bother you…"
“And you are not darling, believe me." Rarity said with a lovely voice.
“Thanks Rarity, I will never get tired of saying this. You are the most generous pony I've ever met” (hearing this made her blush).
“Ok then, it’s settled, I will go do my business and we will get back here in three hours so we can go to the Castle”. Everypony agreed on this. Alex put on his metapendant, immediately turning into a pony and started his way to the Mayor’s office.
While on their way, Sweetie Bell jumped on top of Alex's head:
“Mmm, it’s not the same, you are taller in your human form, but I still like it. This is still the best place to be, ever!”
“Hehehe! Sorry about the height sister, but don’t worry, after speaking to my friends I will carry you in my human form, I promise!”
She agreed with a big smile.
“I hope that includes us!” Applebloom said while pointing at Scootaloo.
“Of course it does you little cuties” Alex answered as they shared a smile.
After walking for a while, they finally arrived at Mayor Mare's office. Her secretary welcomed them and asked: “Hello sir, what can I do for you?”
“Hi! I need to talk to Mayor Mare, it’s a little urgent please.”
“Ok, can you please tell me your name sir” - She asked.
“Alejandro, but my friends call me Alex!" - He answered.
“I see, Aleja. . . – she frowned and asked him in an upset tone - is this some kind of sick joke, why are you using that name?”
“Beg your pardon?”
“I helped Mayor Mare fill and archive the human Alejandro’s death certificate a few months ago, not many ponies know this but she really was hurt when we heard the news about his death, so if you think I will take part in th. . .”
She hadn’t finished her sentence when a bright light blinded her, when the light faded she opened her eyes and saw Alex the human standing in front of her.
“You see lady; I’ve been called Alex since I was a little kid. Please call the Mayor so she knows I’m still alive”
She stood there, shocked. She had heard some rumors from ponies that didn’t go to the party where he showed himself again, she didn’t believe them. But here HE was, standing in front of her, after a few seconds she said “Yes Mr. Alex” and then trotted in tears to her boss’ office.
A few seconds later, the Mayor showed up. As soon as she saw him, she ran to him at full speed bringing him to the ground (he was getting used to it) giving him a huge hug:
“Oh my. . . Fine Scrolls, you weren’t lying, Thanks Celestia! IT’S YOU ALEX, YOU ARE ALIVE!”
“Yes Mayor Mare! So how is my favorite Politician in the world?”
“Better than ever! Please come into my office, we have so much to talk!”
“Ok, just give me a second!” – Alex replied.
Alex put his pendant back on, Mayor Mare and Fine Scrolls looked amazed at his transformation, once he turned into a pony, she asked:
“Wow! So now you can turn into a Pony?”
“Yes, it’s a long story, but let’s go into your office - he turned to the CMC - you girls please wait here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Alex followed the Mayor into her office so they could talk. He told her the whole story. The Mayor was amazed at how her friend managed to avoid death again, he was a really lucky human; she promised him to remove his death certificate from the records. Once they were done, they shared a hug and said their farewells.
“It’s good to have you around again Alex.”
“I say the same Mare” – Alex replied.
Alex and the crusaders started their way to the next stop: Proud Hammer’s Workshop.
When they arrived, he was there working in a new set of armor. After seeing Alex and the kids, he stopped to greet them:
“Hello ponies, what can I do for you today?”
“Well Mr. Hammer I came for. . .”
Alex was interrupted by a crushing big hug from Proud Hammer.
“Cut the chat kiddo, I know it’s you!”
“What? But how?” Alex asked looking really surprised.
“First of all, you look the same as always, a few differences but you are still the same. Second, a friend of mine who was in Mrs. Pinkie Pie party yesterday told me some things, rumors you know; they spread faster than you think. I wanted to make sure if they were real or not, but then I wondered if you would come and try to fool me!”
“Hahahahaha! – Alex hugged him with all of his strength – it’s nice to see you again old pony”
“Thanks Alex! Now, how about you sharing your story with me so I know how is this reunion possible?” Proud Hammer asked.
“Ok, I will!” Alex answered.
Proud Hammer gave Alex and the Crusaders some lemonade as Alex told him everything he wanted to know. Proud Hammer was amazed but most of all, he was happy. Once he was done telling his story, Alex asked him:
“Proud, I’ve been thinking about my gear. Do you know what happened to my DS armor and bracelets?”
“Well, after we all thought you were gone, Princess Celestia and Luna decided to store all of your gear and weapons at Canterlot Museum, many ponies tried to convince her to sell them but she and Spike made it clear that it wasn’t happening.”
Alex blushed: “Well, I am really honored but now that I’m back, all those items will lose their value. I have to make sure to get them all back when I go to Canterlot.”
“If you say so kiddo!” – Proud Hammer said.
Alex and the CMC said their goodbyes and started their way to Zecora’s house. Scootaloo offered to carry them in a wagon puller by her scooter, Alex and the rest got on it and were carried by her powerful wings. Alex wondered how it wasn’t possible for her to fly but after looking carefully, he noticed that her wings were shorter than the others – “Maybe they will grow as time passes by” – he said to himself.
Thanks to Scootaloo, the arrived at Zecora’s house in a very short time. Alex knocked the door and Zecora came to see who it was, after seeing the Crusaders and a pony she never saw before, she asked:
“Hello my friends; please tell me, who is this pony standing in my presence?”
“Hello Miss Zecora, my name is Alex; I just moved to Ponyville.” Alex answered.
Zecora’s eyes widened when she heard his name, being a Zebra who didn’t believed in coincidences she asked them to come into her house. Once they were inside, Zecora asked:
“Alex, have you and I have met before?”
Alex decided to make it short: “Yes ma’am, we have!”
“But when? She asked.
“Don’t you remember the occasion when you knocked me out the first time we met? When you saved my life when those two Manticores found Spike and I in the Everfree Forest, or the time you helped me to stop the Diamond dog Invasion?”
Zecora was almost crying by this moment, for the first time in her life, it seemed as if she couldn’t find a rhyme to tell what she was thinking. Alex didn’t want to wait anymore so he removed his pendant, when the light faded, everypony could see the human Alex, hugging his Zebra friend.
“Don’t you remember how I really look like?” He asked.
Zecora was already crying.
“Alex my friend, I thought your life had already reached its end?”
“No my friend, even though I almost die, I am still alive, and I plan to keep like that for a very long time.”
They shared a few more hugs and once she stopped crying Alex started telling the whole story on how he survived; she was amazed by hearing how he was able to come back to Equestria, after spending some time together they said their farewells but promised to get together sometime.
Alex and the rest got on Scootaloo’s wagon again as she carried them to Sweet Apple Acres in order to meet Applejack and the family. The meeting with the Apples was quick and sweet, Big Mac and Granny Smith couldn’t hide their happiness after seeing him again and didn’t stop telling how they knew Applejack had chosen a good stallion, one that could even come back from the dead, Alex blushed a little and laughed but Applejack looked totally embarrassed from hearing this. Once they were done, they started their way back to the Library so they could meet the others.
Once all of them were together, they decided to go to the Everfree Forest, taking three empty wagons with them. Getting to the castle didn’t take long, everypony took this opportunity to tell Alex all they did when he was away; he was flattered when he heard about his statue in Canterlot, he also asked Twilight about how she became a Princess along with some other questions. Once they arrived to the castle, Alex went to his room to get his clothes and backpack. He then, proceeded to remove the rocks that were covering the entrance to the room where he left all of his things. Once the rocks were removed, all of the things he brought with him were revealed, everypony was amazed to see all of the wood and cardboard boxes he brought with him, some boxes were even were bigger than themselves. They wondered how it was possible for Alex to bring these many things, but after knowing Pinkie Pie for so long they knew many unexplained things could happen. Suddenly, a sound came from a covered cage in the corner of the room; Alex got some bird food from his backpack and feed whatever was inside that box.
“Easy fellows, I know this is not Guatemala but you will have the honor to be the first ones of your species in Equestria, and you will have a very good friend so please be good, she is very special to me!”
“Alex, what do you have in there? Did, you by any chance brought what I think you did?” Fluttershy asked, it was so easy to see the excitement all over her face.
“Yes Fluttershy, please come and meet them” Alex answered.
Fluttershy went to where the cage was and removed the sheet to reveal what Alex was hiding; there were six Quetzals three males and three females. Fluttershy stood there, silently watching the beautiful birds Alex brought for her.
“Thank you Alex! Oh sweet Celestia, I can’t believe it! You brought Quetzals here to Equestria! They are so beautiful and look exactly as the ones you showed me on the photos, I love their tails! I’m the first pony ever to see a new bird species; and you brought six of them! I will have many Quetzals! Thank you! Thank you so much!” – Fluttershy was unable to hide her excitement.
“You are very welcome Fluttershy; I knew you would like them. Please go on and talk to them!” – Alex said.
Fluttershy let them out and started talking to them, Alex was shocked as how they seemed to understand her and also looked like they were smiling “Of course, this is Equestria and they look cartoonish now” Alex said to himself. He left Fluttershy and went back with the rest of the gang so they could help him take out the rest of the things he brought for them.
“Well guys, as I mentioned, I brought some more things to share with you all!” He said very excited.
They were very happy and anxious from hearing this.
“Girls – Alex said - just one thing, some of the stuff I brought, I don’t think will fit in Rarity’s front door so I will need to store them inside a warehouse for the time being. Do you think there will be a problem?” – Alex asked.
“Don’t worry sugarcube; I’m pretty sure Mayor Mare will agree. Can you please tell me why do you think they won’t fit?” Rarity asked.
“Let’s just say, there are things meant to be used on the outside, on open fields, until the time is right, I promise I will show them to you! – Alex answered.
Once everything was loaded in the wagons they brought, they started their way back to Ponyville. As Alex asked, they stored the bigger boxes inside a warehouse and even got a special permission from the Mayor so nopony would be allowed to check what was inside the boxes, Twilight used a powerful locking spell, just for added security. The rest of the things were taken to Carousel Boutique, once there and after reuniting with the CMC, every box was taken to Alex’s new room on the second floor, when they were done carrying all the boxes, Alex asked everypony to leave the room except for Twilight. After a little while they could see both of them leaving his room. Twilight was carrying four cardboard boxes using her magic; there was an expression on her face as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“So Twilight, do you think it will be possible? Otherwise, that stuff will be useless.”
“No problem Alex, I just have to make some minor adjustments to my computer crystal power source, but I’m sure I will be able to make at least a couple of them by next week?” – Twilight answered.
“One week?! That is so fast! You really are a genius!”
“No problem Alex, the faster I finish them, the quicker I will see THOSE things working and I really can’t wait for it!”
“Me too Twilight! Well, I hope you enjoy the books I brought: history, science, electricity, space and the solar system, some novels, the human biology, dictionaries and encyclopedias. Just one thing, I must warn you about, please remember that humans had some wars, so some of our story is a little dark, please don’t be scared of it and remember that we have improved a lot since then.”
“Don’t worry Alex, it’s not like we haven’t had our own wars but thanks for the advice anyway” – Twilight replied.
“Ok, I understand, but Twilight those books are exclus. . . .” She interrupted him: “Don’t worry about that Alex, these books are for my personal collection and only Lyra and our friends and I are allowed to read them”
“Thanks Twilight, ok NOW! Is everypony else ready for their presents?!”
“What? Did you bring presents for all of us?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Of course Dashie, do you think I’d only bring presents for Twili and Shy?”
“Well not that, but…what did you bring for me?!”
Alex opened one of the boxes and took out some black and white t-shirts and caps; he also took out a necklace.
“Knowing you and how awesome you are, I thought these things are very much your style”
Rainbow started checking her new shirts and caps, sure they would need some modifications for her wings but if she could describe them with one word, it would be AWESOME! She loved every shirt and cap, some of them had a strange logo: a hand with bandages holding a lightning on the front and the words “Best in the World” on the back. Some other shirts read “I’m awesome” on the front and “You are not” on the back, the caps had the same catchphrases and finally, the necklace was bathed in silver with the shape of her cutie mark. She wasn’t the kind of pony used to wear jewelry, but she loved this necklace so much.
“Alex, thank you, thank you so much. I love them! I want to use them right away”
“For you Rarity, I brought some Fashion magazines, every single famous style for the past twenty years with pictures and all, and I also brought this…”
Alex handed over the books and a necklace with her cutie mark, Rarity saw some of the pictures with excitement in her eyes.
“Thank you Alex, I really appreciate it! With these books and new ideas I will be unstoppable now, I really love my necklace too, I must say it’s a fine work but tell me how? Did you tell someone about us?” – She asked.
“Not really, there are many people who can make custom jobs you know, jewelry; plushies; almost anything in my world so I asked someone to make your cutie marks, as long as you pay they make no questions. To them I was just a random guy with an odd request, that’s all”
Alex said that handling a necklace to Twilight and Fluttershy who were also amazed by how their cutie marks looked.
“I see! Anyway, thank you darling, I love it”
Alex brought some Stetson black and brown hats for Applejack and her necklace as well.
“Thanks sugarcube, ah really like them! I’ll use them with pride”
“You are very welcome Applejack” Alex said.
It was Pinkie’s turn; she was bouncing all over the place: “My turn! My turn! My turn!”
Alex chuckled and said:
“Pinkie, it was a little difficult but after thinking what to give to somepony as funny as you, the only answer it came to my mind was to give you this…!”
Alex took out an original big Pinkie Pie Plushie (making sure there weren’t any labels on it) and her own cutie mark necklace. Pinkie Pie stared at her Plushie, it was perfect and beautifully crafted, she hugged it with all of her strength and then she hugged Alex and said:
“Thank you Ali, I love it and my necklace too. I will call her mini-Pinkie!”
“You are very welcome Pinkie. I’m glad you liked it”
Alex noticed Rainbow Dash staring at the Plushie, she said:
“Wow dude, I must say it is really an awesome job. It’s as if the person who did this had a lot of experience making pony toys!”
“What can I say, I only got the best of the best, but let me guess, you want one right?”
“What? Of…of course not” She immediately replied rolling her eyes.
“Oh! Come on Dashie! You know you do!” Alex said.
“Ok, maybe I do want a little one. I mean, any Plushie that looks like me would be awesome!”
“Ok Dashie, I will get one for you the next time I go back to earth.”
“Thanks dude, but you don’t need to hurry, we like having you here” She replied.
It was Spike’s turn, Alex brought a lot of DC and Marvel comics and encyclopedias, he also brought the coolest toy he could think about; it looked like some kind of vehicle, it was colored blue with red flames, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had their mouths wide open:
“Alex, is this what I think it is?” Spike asked.
“And what do you think it is?”
“It is a Transformer, right?”
Alex was surprised on how Spike knew what it was so he asked: “But how did you know? Did you watch more movies on my laptop? You guys saw the Transformers movie right?! - Spike nodded – Well, did you like it?”
Rainbow dash said: “Well, I think it’s one of the most AMAZING things I have ever seen!”
Alex got a little disappointed since it wasn’t a surprise anymore. He took out Optimus Prime from its box and after following the instructions inside it (and a fair amount of time) he transformed it into a robot, Spike and everypony else were marveled by it, the action figure was simply amazing! He couldn’t believe what he just saw, toys in his world couldn’t even compare to this, and its details were incredible! Spike would love robots more than ever.
“Wow Alex, this is so cool!”
“I’m happy you liked it Spike, take these too, they are all yours!”
Alex gave Spike five more Transformers which he took to Twilight’s room followed by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash “We must play with one of those”, they said. It was funny, they were still so innocent.
It was the Crusaders turn now, Alex took out three Reinforced grown-up tricycles, everypony regretted not having a camera to take pictures of their faces full of excitement and confusion as they didn’t know what these things were. Alex figured out they never saw one so after a brief explanation the three of them proceeded to test their tricycles, Alex was happy about the quality of the materials used to craft them –“They may be little ponies but they are still fillies, surely they weigh more than a regular human child, or maybe not.” - (After all, he had carried them more than once and they weren’t heavier than an average human kid).
After watching them play for some minutes, Alex said:
“Scootaloo, please come here!”
She rode her tricycle were Alex was standing.
“What is it Alex bro?”
“(Alex bro? Ok?) Scootaloo, I know and have seen how good you are with your scooter, so I thought maybe you should try this as well.”
Alex gave her a Reinforced Avalanche Skateboard, Scootaloo examined it; it looked like her scooter but it had a steering Wheel and some kind of seat, the wheels looked tougher, but the coolest thins were the metallic pieces on it (she loved it , not as much as her scooter but still loved it). Naturally, she figured out how to use it. After sitting on it, she put her hooves on the steer wheel and proceeded to flap her wings like always, she soon reached a nice speed and being the amazing driver she was, she didn’t crash against anything at Rarity’s home. Everypony was marveled by this vehicle Alex gave to Scootaloo, it simply was amazing, Scootaloo didn’t want to admit it but this Avalanche Skateboard was maybe as cool as her scooter, she stopped driving it an hugged Alex:
“Thank you Alex, I mean it! These gifts are so amazing!”
“No Problem Scoots, I brought the best for my little sisters” – Alex said.
“Sister? Really? But I thought. . .”
“Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and I had said this many times by now, I will say it just one more time, you and Applebloom are like my sisters too. Please never forget that!”
Scootaloo was so happy, she started crying and hugged Alex again. She wasn’t sure if Alex meant those words before but now, she was sure of it. She had an incredible sister as Rainbow Dash but she also had a cool brother now. The rest of the crusaders joined her and thanked Alex again for all the presents he brought for them. Finally, Alex gave them some candies from Earth to all of them; he brought three full boxes with different candies and chocolates: Snickers, Milky-way, Marinela, KitKat, Colombina, M&Ms, Butterfingers, and many others, Rainbow Dash finally understood the Joke Alex said when she saw and tasted Skittles for the first time. Everypony got a fair amount of candies and chocolates. Pinkie Pie wanted to eat them all at once, making a huge effort to control herself, she said:
“Ali . . . these are the best candies have I ever tasted! – Everypony agreed - Don’t get me wrong, our candies and chocolates are amazing, but these are on another league. I’m going to tell Bombom and Twist to examine some of these and see if we can make our own!” Alex only rolled his eyes, he had to admit that Bombon candies were very good but they couldn’t be compared to a bar of Snickers or Skittles, if she and Pinkie Pie managed successfully make their own, maybe he would witness the raise of a candy empire.
Once the Crusaders were done eating most of their candies and chocolates, they left everything in Sweetie’s room, along with the spare parts Alex brought for their tricycles. Applejack looked a little worried so she asked him:
“Do yah think they should be showing those tricycles around Ponyville sugarcube? Those things aren’t from around here and will raise a lot of questions.”
“Don’t worry Applejack, they are not really that impressive or futuristic, maybe some ponies will ask what they are or how can they get one for their fillies or colts, maybe they will ask you, Rarity or Rainbow Dash for your permission to study them and make some copies. What would be wrong with that?”
“You are right, how I wish we knew you when we were little. I must admit those things look really fun!”
Alex couldn’t believe how much they were impressed with things so common in his world; he started to think what kind of reaction they would have when they finally saw what he had stored inside the warehouse. Would they be ready for it?
-----
CANTERLOT PALACE
Celestia, Luna, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were returning from their long trip. Both Princesses were really excited about the Gladiator’s Tournament that was going to take place in Canterlot.
“Tia, do you plan to invite Princess Twilight and her friends?”
“Yes Lulu, I think she can help us prepare everything for the event, I think this will help her to get used to her knew title. Besides, we need to ask her if she wants to let Spike compete”
“Yes! I’d really like to see that! - Cadence said - the poor little guy’s mood has been down since . . . you know.”
“Yes honey, I think everypony’s mood has been down since that day, but hey! Let’s cheer up! I’m sure he wouldn’t like to see us like this.”
“You are right - Luna said - trust me, I know you are right! It’s just . . . he was one of my VERY few friends outside of my family, he liked my nights, he played with me, and he even gave us his Iphone.”
“Iphone? What’s that?” – Shining Armor asked.
Luna’s eyes widened in surprise while Celestia just facehoofed herself for her mistake. She had forgotten they never told Shining and Cadence about Alex’s tech, she spilled the beans about it, so they both decided to tell them all the truth, after showing the Iphone and making a little demonstration about the Apps, music, games and videos, both Rulers of the Cristal Empire were Speechless.
“Wow! This device is amazing! And you are telling me Twili has more like this at Ponyville!?”
“Yes Cadence, Alex left them to her and Spike as a parting gift, she uses it to study and Spike… well, to play. Sometimes she borrows it to us, sorry if we didn’t tell you sooner but we wanted to study them first, as Alex, Luna and I think many ponies are not prepared for something like this, not yet.”
“I understand aunt. But really, human technology is incredible we better not let it fall in the wrong hoofs.” Cadence said.
“I agree my little niece, let´s be grateful it came to us from a kind human.”
Both princesses nodded and each went to their own room. Once in her room, Princes Celestia started writing something:
“Dear Princess Twilight. . .”
Chapter 7, A happy Moon and Sun. Alex don’t screw it!
On the next morning, Twilight and everypony were getting ready for their trip to Canterlot. She was so excited; this was her very first assignment as a Princess, she had always heard about the Coliseum Tournament but she never ever expected it to be held in Canterlot, it was a lot of responsibility, but it made her happy, not to mention the fact that the other Princesses didn’t know Alex was alive. Once ready, they all got aboard the Train of Friendship:
“So Alex, are you excited about seeing the Princesses again?”
“Yes Twilight, It’s not really that long since I saw them, but when someone believes you are dead, I guess time is the last thing that matters”.
“I agree with you Alex, I can’t wait and I can’t believe we will see a real Coliseum tournament!”
“Yeah! What exactly is it Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash was the one to answer:
“Dude, it’s the most exciting event in the entire world, far more important than the Equestria Games or even the Best Flyer Competition, it’s a tournament where the best fighters are gathered to test their abilities to become the strongest warrior in the entire World. I have only seen pictures of the past events and trust me, they look AWESOME!”
“So, neither of you have participated in one of those tournaments, right? – Alex Asked.
Applejack was the one to answer his question:
“No sugarcube, yah see, it’s been ages since one is held in Equestria and yes yah can say one pony can travel to the other countries to watch it or to participate, the problem is that the tickets and the travel fees for the event are really expensive. Trust me, Rainbow Dash and ah had always wanted to go but we can’t afford it”
“I understand, so being the country that is hosting it means that it will be free for us this time, correct?”
“Ah’d like to say it will, but no. The only thing Ah can tell yah is that at least equestrians will have a very good discount in tickets.” - Applejack replied with an optimistic look.
“So, who won the last tournament?” – Alex asked.
Rainbow Dash had read most of the information available regarding these tournaments so she was the one to answer this:
“It was Bright Courage! A powerful Minotaur, he was the best hunter in the entire world. He slew at least one of every monster in all of Equestria, Ursa Minors, Hydras, Manticores, Chimeras and the list goes on, so be sure we will see a lot of Minotaurs this year, it’s a shame he is retired since the last tournament. But maybe we will see him in the audience” – Rainbow Dash was so excited by telling this, it seemed as if she was a big fan of the Minotaur.
“Wow! I believe ponies have participated in these tournaments before and it’s not that I underestimate Minotaurs or any other non-magical being but how is it possible for someone to beat a unicorn without magic?” – Alex asked them.
“Oh! You see Alex; there are special rules in these tournaments to make it fair for every participant and to prevent any kind of tragedy. You will hear about them, I promise.” – Twilight answered.
“Ok girls; is anypony of you planning to participate in this tournament? – Alex asked, knowing that some of them were.
Everypony shook their heads, excluding Raindow Dash and Spike. Twilight was the only one to notice this:
“Spike! Do you know what I think about you entering the Tournament?”
“…But Rainbow Dash is going to participate, and I think Alex will. Am I right Alex?” – Spike asked.
Fluttershy was looking at Alex, waiting for him to say he wasn’t going to participate. Alex thought Spike was right, maybe he could compete, he had the fighting skills and according to what they told him, he wasn’t risking his life this time.
“I don’t know Spike, let’s see what the Princesses have to say first and then I’ll tell you know if I want to participate or not.”
Spike was a little sad after hearing this: “Ok brother, do as you wish. Twilight… C’mon! You know I can fight now and you know it’s not that dangerous anymore, I know we are talking about some bruises, but you know the lives of the competitors are not in danger and it’s obvious that because of my age, I will fight the younger competitors.”
“I promise I’ll think about it after we speak with the Princesses” – Twilight said, a little reluctant.
The rest of the trip was quiet and nice. They asked Alex some questions about his world and what he did while he was away. They asked him about how he got the Quetzales, which he said it was a very risky thing to do but it was worth it. Everypony laughed when he told them about the first time he used the Teleportation spell, Twilight told him he had it easy, the very first time she tried that not only she teleported to the wrong place but somehow she got her mane on fire, everypony laughed so hard it made the rest of the passengers laugh too. Twilight said she was going to teach him some magic with some help from Sweetie Bell and the rest of the crusaders, Alex was very happy to hear this; he didn’t want to fall on top of things or breaking any stuff again. It was the best thing that some of the greatest magic user were going to teach him.
They finally arrived at Canterlot, Alex could not hide his excitement for this city; all of its colorful places, the streets and houses, everything was so perfectly crafted, it was still the most beautiful city he had ever seen. When they got off the train they were welcomed by Celestia’s Royal Guards who carried their luggage. They bowed in front of the princess and then started to put all of their things in a wagon. At first, the Royal Guards were suspicious of the unknown pony that came with the heroines and the little dragon hero of Canterlot and the Cristal Empire, Twilight told them he was with them and was a good friend so he had to be treated as such. All of them nodded and took his luggage too, they offered to take them in a chariot but they declined seeing how Alex was excited about being in the city once again, as soon as the guards were gone, everypony started walking through the city’s beautiful streets. Alex was so impressed to see all of the houses looking as good as new, he also remembered how damaged the city was after the fight that took place there.
They visited Donut’s Joe and Pixel Berry Bar, none of them recognized Alex but that was fine since he didn’t want to get a lot of attention. Alex wasn’t paying much attention on the road because he was thinking about how the princesses would react after knowing he was still alive, all of a sudden he crashed against his favorite noble Fancy Pants. He used his magic to help him stand up and then he heard these words:
“How dare you do that to Mr. Fancy Pants you commoner” - Jet Set said.
(Déjà vu)
“Sigh . . . would it help if I say it was an accident?”
“Of course n. . . . .” – Jet Set was interrupted by Fancy Pants: “Yes of course young boy. . .”
“My name is Alex, thank you Mr. Fancy Pants” Jet set seemed to shudder when he heard that name.
“Alex? How curious, anyway I’m sorry for bumping into you”
“No need to Apologize Mr. Fancy Pants” – Alex replied.
“Well thank you boy, and Miss Rarity I see you are here with your friends and this fine Stallion. May I ask why?”
“Yes you may, you see we are here to help Princess Celestia with an up-coming event” – Rarity answered. She didn’t want to spoil it so she didn’t reveal the name.
“Oh I see, well I hope we can have a little talk later including your friends of course. See you later!”
Everypony started to walk, but Jet Set got near Alex and whispered.
“You are lucky peasant, I don’t know why but I feel I’ve seen you before. I’ll tell you this, commoners like you are not welcomed here…”
“Whatever you say old man; now let me give you an advice of my own, stay out of my way or I will break your nose like I heard somepony did at Gala 2.” – Alex replied with an evil grin on his face.
Jet Set stood there, shocked. Everypony else in his group was trying to make him move, Alex kept on walking towards the rest of his gang with a huge smile on his snout.
After walking for a little longer, Alex and the rest arrived at the Palace, Thanks to Twilight’s influence Alex got a room just for him; Princess Celestia was a little busy at the Throne room, so all of them waited inside their rooms for her to be available. After approximately an hour, they were summoned to the throne room, the mane 6 and Spike were the first ones to enter, once they were inside, they were surprised to find not only the Princesses but Cadence and Shining Armor as well. After a brief welcome, Princess Celestia said:
“Welcome my little ponies I hope your travel here was nice!”
“You have no idea Princess Celestia. I speak for everypony by saying that this was the best train ride since months.” Rarity answered, everypony else nodded.
“Really?! May I ask why?” – Princess Celestia asked.
“Well, we have the company of a very good friend of ours. One we missed so much” – Rarity answered.
“I see. May I know the name of this particular pony?”
“Well, why don’t we let him come in and ask him yourself, I’m pretty sure you will find him quite interesting, he is outside the room now.”
“Why didn’t you say so before? Guards! Please let Princess Sparkle’s friend come in”
The royal guards escorted the mysterious pony into the room until Alex was in front of the four princesses.
“Hello my little pony, nice to meet you” – Princess Celestia said.
“Hey Princess Celestia, it’s an honor to see you again…”
“Again? That’s curious. Forgive me if I don’t remember meeting you before.”
“Don’t worry Princess; I know I look a lot different from the last time we met.”
Twilight and her friends tried not to laugh. It seemed nopony recognized him yet. Alex turned to Luna:
“Princess Luna, I must say it’s nice to meet you again. And by the way, it’s a beautiful night out there; you’ve really outdone yourself as always.”
Princess Luna blushed. She was still confused, who was this Pony? She was pretty sure she never met many ponies outside the elements and the royalty circle, but still this pony seemed familiar. His face, his hair, even his eyes; those clothes and shoes and his pendant, HIS PENDANT! Where did she see that pendant before? She started to walk near him to inspect him it a little closer. Alex noticed this and said:
“Do you like my pendant? It’s nice isn’t it? A very good friend of mine gave it to me as a parting gift!”
Princess Luna stopped at some inches from where he was, she looked at it for a little longer, until she finally recognized it. It was impossible!
“. . . not possible! It’s just, this is not possible!” – She said.
Celestia, Cadence and Shining Armor kept staring at Luna and the nameless pony; they got even more confused after seeing the Elements sharing some tears. Luna ignored them; Alex let out a tear and said:
“It’s possible, trust me. You wanted me to see the world as you do and I really want to thank you for that Luna!”
Luna’s eyes widened as she started to cry.
“May I please …?”
“Of course Luna, you may.” Alex said while lowering his head.
Luna used her magic to slowly remove Alex’s Metapendant. Everypony was immediately surrounded by the brightest light they had ever seen. When the light was gone there he was: Alex the human, hugging a shocked Luna. Princess Celestia, her guards and the rest stood there in silence.
“I missed you my moon-friend.” Alex said.
Luna was so full of questions: “How is this possible? He was dead, and maybe this is a changeling. But Twilight must have used a scanning Spell before bringing him here. Maybe some sort of necromancy? No! He didn’t smell rotten and he looks like he has a soul, maybe a joke…”
The elements and her sister were looking at him, Luna could have tried to find many explanations but in the end none of them mattered. Alex was here, in front of her. Following her instincts, she hugged him.
“I MISSED YOU TOO!” Luna said using her Canterlot Royal voice.
Alex was about to say something but was interrupted by a hug from Princess Celestia who was also crying.
“Alex?! Are you really him? But how…?”
“I promise I will explain everything, but for now, please let me give you a hug.” Alex answered. He was unable to stop crying.
Princess Cadence and Shining Armor said:
“Alex, we thought you were dead!”
“Everypony was thinking the same thing Shining, everypony including myself. I thought those were my last moments. I will explain all of this later, but please let me enjoy this moment first!”
Shining nodded and then hugged Alex along with the princesses.
---
DINNING HALL
After sharing his story on how he was able to survive, Alex and the rest; including the princesses, were sitting at a large table. Luna was sitting next to Alex asking him some random questions. Celestia said:
“So Alex, you are saying that thanks to that Oak tree in your world, you managed to return here to Equestria, right?”
“Yes, I remembered that place where I fell asleep when I was sent here for the first time so I tried again and fortunately, I was right.” – Alex answered.
“Are you telling me you went to that tree many times until it finally worked?” Luna asked.
Alex didn’t want to answer that question, but if he lied Luna and Applejack would immediately find out: “Well, the day I chose to try to return was the last day of your meteor shower. I would have given up if it didn’t work, but for some unknown reason it did…”
“I see, lucky as always!” Luna said this while putting her hoof on Alex’s shoulder.
“Yes, well I think that tree or that park is somehow connected to Equestria. Am I right Princess?”
“Well my little human, I do believe in coincidences, but working for a second time, I’d be willing to believe that too. We will talk about that in the future, for now I think we can celebrate the return a hero!” – Luna answered.
“Really? What kind of hero? I didn’t know there was a hero here!”
“Silly Alex, we are talking about you!” – Princess Luna said.
“What? No! I’m no hero” – Alex replied looking very surprised.
Princess Cadence said:
“Yes, you are Alex. You saved us from my bro…, from Blueblood and Chrysalis’ wrath, if that doesn’t make you a hero, I don’t know what else would!”
“I didn’t do it all by myself, in fact you and the rest made most of the work!” – Alex said. He was still refusing the idea of being called a hero.
“Darling please, you are doing it again. Don’t sell yourself short, you helped a lot. You even kil… you defeated Blueblood!” – Rarity said.
Alex remembered the one thing that made him afraid of being back in Equestria – “How could I forget about that?” – He said to himself. He turned to Princess Luna, Celestia and Cadence and got on his knees, his face on the floor.
“Alex? What are you doing?” – Princess Luna asked.
“I’m sorry. I know he was a tyrant but he was also a pony, your nephew as well as Cadence’s brother. I took a pony’s life; I will accept any punishment you want to give me. But please know that I’m truly sorry!” – Alex said. His heart was full of guiltiness. How was he able to forget what he did? He wasn’t able to forgive himself.
The Princesses looked at each other. Suddenly, a smile appeared on their snouts. Luna approached Alex, using her magic to lift him from the floor. She told him:
“Alex, you have nothing to be sorry about, he was indeed a living creature, but the pony you killed wasn’t our nephew, he was just a creature whose heart was filled with hatred and thirst for power.”
Princess Cadence got near Alex as well - “Alex, even though it was a hard for me, my brother brought that upon himself. In fact, I’m kind of grateful because by ending his life, you released him from his greed. I’d like to believe he is in a better place now.”
“But still…” – Alex replied. His eyes were full of tears. Could he finally forgive himself?
“Alex, my little human, you did what was necessary. You saved us, please don’t let that incident cloud your judgment. We are not angry, just a little sad, but you are still a good friend of ours (everypony nodded) and I hope you will continue to help us protecting Equestria” – Princes Luna said.
“I would give my life if necessary!” – Alex’s voice was full of determination, his words made them tremble.
“Please, don’t say that! We don’t want you to go through that again! – Princess Cadence said – I think we’ve had enough of these sad memories. To be honest, I think it’s time for a… Pinkie Pie would you please…?”
Pinkie Pie used all of the air in her lungs:
“A WELCOME BACK PARTY!”
The doors to the Throne Room opened a few minutes later, the kingdom cooks entered the hall. They brought the most delicious snacks one could ever think of. Music, food and happiness were all over the place, everypony inside the palace had a really great time. Alex answered all of the questions the princesses could think of. They all danced until exhaustion, at the end all of them agreed on one thing: It was the best party they ever had (in the last months at least).
Later that night, while everypony was sleeping, Alex woke up all of a sudden. He was feeling a little thirsty and had a pain in his back – “Wow! I forgot to remove my Metapendant after princess Luna asked me to show her some magic stuff I learned while I was practicing on earth. I haven’t got used to sleep in my pony form yet.” – He got of his bed and trotted towards the door – “Being a pony has some advantages, I can use magic and have a lot of strength and stamina, but I feel way better being a human. There is no way I can practice parkour while on my pony form.” – He said to himself.
Once he reached the door, he opened it up and found Fluttershy on the other side. She was just standing there, outside of his room; it seemed as if she wanted to knock on the door. She was frozen - “Is there anything you want to tell me?” – Alex asked her, while looking right into her eyes.
“I wanted to…” – Fluttershy said.
“Yes?” – Alex asked.
“Please, just forget it! Forget you saw me here!” – Fluttershy started to run away as fast as she could. Alex didn’t know what to do; he was so surprised to find her standing there.
“Wait!” - That was the only thing he could say before he started to run after her. He had many questions in his mind. He didn’t even stop to think for a reason to run behind her, all he wanted to do was to catch her up. She was fast, but Alex wasn’t any slow, he had trained very hard in his pony form. He hadn’t noticed they both were running through the royal gardens until he was close enough to grab her hoof.
“Fluttershy, STOP! What’s going on? Please tell me…” – Alex wanted to ask so many things.
Fluttershy didn’t say a word, she was covering her face with her mane, she was trying to let go of Alex’s hoof but her efforts weren’t enough. She calmed down after some seconds and then she looked at Alex, right into his eyes. It was obvious she had something to say, her cute face gave her away, he knew she wanted to hell him something since the moment he came back, but he also knew that for some reason he was trying to avoid her. Now, there they were, standing in front of each other, the moon was brighter than ever. It was the right time to settle things up.
Alex was the first one to talk.
“Fluttershy, there is something…” He was interrupted by her voice.
“Alex, what do you think about me?”
“What do you mean by that?” – Alex asked. He didn’t know how to answer that question.
“Well, you do know I like you, right?”
“Well, I do. I think you made it very clear that day.” – Alex said.
“Oh yes, I did. Sorry about that. Well, I like you but I need to know if you said you like me too. Is that…true?” – Fluttershy eyes were brighter than the moon, it was clear that every word was coming from her heart.
Alex stood there; he was so lost in her eyes. The answer to that question was more than obvious. However, he couldn’t stop thinking about having feelings for someone who wasn’t human.
“Fluttershy, I like you …a lot”
“Rea …Really?” – Fluttershy seemed so happy after hearing this.
“I really like you Fluttershy, but…”
“What is it Alex?”
“There are some things that make me … I don’t know, back off …like …”
“It’s because I’m a pony right?” – Fluttershy stopped looking at his eyes.
“What? No! Maybe…” - Alex had a lot of things going on in his head when he said that.
“Yeah … I thought so. I know that when you see me or my friends, we remind you of the ponies in your home planet, don’t we?”- She asked this while looking to the ground.
“… Not exactly …” – Alex answered.
“Yes, we do! - Fluttershy started to cry - ponies in your world are mindless and dirty animals, right? Besides, I know you were raised to like human girls. I know you will never be able to love an animal, right? After all … It’s a taboo on earth, when you see me you see something you can’t love, maybe a good friend but not someone you could love … trust me, I thought the same thing, how in the world would I love a creature who wasn’t a pony? But in the end, my heart was the one who chose you. I didn’t care if you were a human, a pony or even a dragon! I fell in love with your heart! I fell in love with you even knowing it was a lost cause. How to love someone that will never feel anything for a… a … farm animal?!”
Alex couldn’t help it. He lifted her face until their eyes met again.
“Fluttershy, please stop! I can’t deny that some of the things you said are true, and I honestly has the same thoughts, but please believe me when I say that you and our friends are not just animals to me, I know you are not physically human, but you can feel, smile, love… you are not ugly or dirty, you are beautiful. It’s true that I am afraid of a lot of things, but please believe me they all go away whenever I see your face, your eyes, you drive me crazy. Fluttershy, please don’t say those words ever again.”
Fluttershy was shocked. Nopony had ever said that to her outside of her friends. Many ponies had always pushed her over or tried to take advantage of her but Alex was different, he really cared for her. She needed to say it tonight; she had to try…
“Alex, I know we both have issues with ourselves about … having relationship but I think, I believe we should try, Alex please give me a chance, please …would you be my very special somepony?”
Alex couldn’t believe what she just said. He knew what to answer if something like this ever happened, but hearing her made him forget everything he was supposed to say. He knew in his heart he wanted to try, he wanted to be that special somepony. Using all of his strength, he said:
“Fluttershy, I am sorry, but no!”
“What? - Fluttershy was about to faint, she felt as if the world was falling on her shoulders.
“Let me finish. If you are going to be my girl. Please let me be the one to ask!” – Alex’s voice calmed her heart. He continued - “Fluttershy, would you …would you be my …” - Fluttershy touched Alex’s face and said:
“C’mon … you can do it, please.”
“Fluttershy …would you be my very special somepony?”
“Yes!” Fluttershy said, her voice was full of excitement. They both hugged, as if they wanted to never let go of each other.
“So, what now?” – Alex asked.
“Well, maybe a little kiss would be fine. But only if you want to. Please forget it, I know I’m going too fast…” – Fluttershy was interrupted by the look in Alex’s eyes.
“I think a kiss would be awesome” – He said.
They slowly approached each other until their lips finally met; both of them always heard things about seeing sparklers when kissing their loved ones. They didn’t see anything like that; they felt it in their hearts. When they stopped kissing, they looked at each other and smiled then started their way back to the palace. It was sad to say goodnight, but they knew they would see each other in the morning. Alex went into his room, he was about to remove his metapendant to have a better sleep, but suddenly he stopped.
“Maybe getting more used to this body will come in handy.”
He jumped on his bed and got as comfortable as he could. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep not knowing that this was the first of many sleepless nights.
After a good night of sleep (in his pony form), Alex woke up with a smile on his face, it was a really nice feeling to have a marefriend, even though getting used to say this word would take it’s time. After removing his Metapendant, Alex took a shower and got dressed so he could join everypony else in the Dining Hall. Before leaving his room, he heard someone knocking on his door; he went to see who it was and found Fluttershy looking for him:
“Hello beautiful!” - Alex said, giving a little kiss on her lips. She looked happy but her face was a little blushed.
“Hello Alex, I wanted to know if you would like us to go to the Dining Hall together; if that is ok with you, of course.”
“That would be great Shy! Just give me a second.”
Alex was about to put his Metapendant on, but he was stopped by Fluttershy. She asked him:
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just putting my Metapendant on. You know, to become a pony, your special somepony.” – Alex answered.
Fluttershy seemed a little upset after hearing this.
“Alex, you know I like you for who you are. I liked you even before you could turn into a pony. What I want to say is that you don’t need to be a pony all the time. Not that I mind, but please don’t think that I will feel ashamed of being watched next to the human I like, because you are my special somepony.”
“Ok, thanks for that Fluttershy, I am sorry.” – Alex replied.
“No need to be sorry. Just remember, whether you are a pony or human. . . I couldn’t care less.”
“… Come here girl!” – Alex pulled Fluttershy inside his room and kissed her.
After sharing some kisses and hugs, Alex and Fluttershy started walking towards the Dining Hall. She extended one of her wing so he could grab it, it felt like they were holding hands. She looked really happy, it was impossible for her to hide it because of how blushed her face was.
The doors to the Dining Hall opened. Everypony inside was waiting for Alex and Fluttershy to join them so they turned around to greet them but went silent after seeing them “holding hands”. Alex was able to notice the way Rarity’s eyes went fully open, if was just a brief moment because she flew straight to where they were standing.
“Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Finally! Finally! Fluttershy! You found your special somepony! Well, it was pretty obvious it would be him but OH MY! Alex, you took longer than I expected, you need to make up your mind faster darling. When are you getting married?” – Rarity was asking a lot of questions, she seemed more excited than Alex and Fluttershy themselves.
Everypony in the room was shocked after hearing the word wedding. Alex was surprised after watching how they reacted to Rarity’s questions.
“Rarity please, you are going too fast. We just started dating and want to know each other better!” – He said.
“Yes of course darling. Sorry, it’s just that I’m so happy for you guys. Please take good care of her!” – Rarity said.
“Of course I will!”
Rarity was so happy after hearing Alex’s words.
Applejack got next to them and said:
“Ah must say, Ah am happy for you guys! To be honest, this is a relief for me; finally Big Mac and Granny Smith will stop teasing me about going out with Alex!”
“Thanks Applejack. – Alex replied - I’m really flattered, don’t get me wrong but all of you are really beautiful mares, I’m pretty sure someday all of you will find your very special somepony!”
Twilight got next to them and said:
“Congratulations Alex, she is a fine mare. Make sure you treat her right.”
“Trust me Twilight, I will.” – Alex replied.
Pinkie Pie was so happy to see them together; she was unable to hide her excitement and said:
“Wow! I’m so happy, now we are going to have a Congratulations for Finding your Very Special Somepony Party! CfFyVSSP for short! I’ll need some more stuff. I’ll be back in 10 minutes guys. Get ready!”
Pinkie Pie disappeared within a confetti explosion.
The Princesses and Spike gave their blessing to the new couple. After exactly ten minutes, Pinkie Pie was back; she brought a lot of snacks and music so they could have a great time while eating their breakfast.
After they were done, they headed to the Throne Room. Once they were all inside, Princess Celestia was the first one to speak:
“My little ponies, dragon and human; as you already know Equestria will be hosting the next Coliseum Tournament here in Canterlot. I must say Princess Luna and I are really excited for this and we want to know if you want to help us organize it. We need to prepare everything in order to make this the most epic tournament ever. In fact, we know of someone who could make this tournament truly epic!”
Everypony (except Alex) was wondering who that someone could be.
Princess Celestia continued: “You see, almost every kind of creature has competed in this tournament, except for dragons, changelings and… humans.”
Everypony was shocked after hearing this, the idea Princess Celestia had in mind was pretty obvious and some of them didn’t like it. Fluttershy didn’t like it.
“So, you want Alex to compete in the tournament?” - Twilight asked. She seemed to dislike the idea.
“Yes I do” – Princess Celestia answered.
“Even knowing he almost died the last time he was involved in a fight?” – Twilight asked this wanting to make a statement.
“Yes, I can see my idea not being well received amongst some of you, but please don’t forget this tournament is not a threat to any creature’s life, Alex can decline my offer to enter if he wants to, but having Alex compete would bring a high amount of audience to this tournament and that would help Equestria’s economy a lot, for I’m sure many kind of creatures would like to have the opportunity to meet the one and only human in Equestria. Not to mention how great would it be to introduce you to the rest of the world.”
Nopony said a word; in their hearts they knew she was right. Equestria wasn’t a poor country in any way but having this tournament and making it a success would obviously raise funds to help Equestria grow even more. Alex competing seemed like a good idea and it would be awesome if he could make it to the finals.
Everypony wanted to hear what Alex was thinking.
Alex was silent. He was thinking about all of the possibilities entering this tournament could bring. He knew he could help Equestria and he seemed to like the idea of participating. He knew his life wouldn’t be in danger this time according to what the princess said. After making up his mind, he started to speak:
“I like the idea princess. I’d really love to help Equestria in any way I can. Please count me in!”
“Excellent!” - Luna said - “Thank you my friend, you really don’t know how much you are helping us. Thanks to you, no one will ever forget this tournament, we will make history!”
“Thanks Luna. To be honest, I would love not to be eliminated on the first rounds. That would be a real shame.” – Alex said.
“Don’t worry about that Alex; there may be many skilled and incredible warriors but there are also a lot of amateurs. Judging your abilities, I would not be surprised if you and Spike get a good place.” – Princess Luna replied.
“What? Why did you mention Spike?” – Princess Twilight asked. She was a little surprised.
“Twilight, Spike had told us about his desire to compete.” – Princess Luna answered.
Twilight seemed not to like this idea at all. Spike knew it was his moment to speak. He gathered all of his strength and said:
“Please Twilight, let me do it. I promise everything will be alright.”
The Princesses knew Spike would be safe. Twilight had to agree after seeing how determined Spike was about participating in this tournament. However, she let everypony in the room know that she would personally stop the event if she felt Spike was in danger.
Princess Luna turned to Rainbow Dash and asked:
“I hear you want to participate in the tournament too, am I right Rainbow Dash?”
“Of course I will compete! It will be a good warm up for the next Equestrian games!” – Rainbow Dash replied, she was so excited about this tournament.
Princess Luna was so happy after hearing her; she knew it was the right thing for all of them to show how good they were.
“Excellent! Don’t forget to be ready for the pre-event matches.”
Alex, Spike and Rainbow Dash nodded. Celestia and Luna explained to the mane 6 what their jobs would be. Once they were done, everypony left the room. Alex was the last one to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Luna’s magic.
“And where do you think you are going my human friend?”
“Well, you said we’ll start preparing everything in two weeks so I’d like to return to Ponyville in the meantime.”
“I see. Please tell me Alex, how many ponies have seen you in your human form by now?” – Princess Luna asked.
“Well, someponies did during my Welcome Back Party, Mayor Mare and her assistant, the CMC, Zecora and Proud Hammer.” – Alex answered.
“Good! Then I believe no Canterlot citizens have seen your human form yet, right?” – She asked.
“I guess so…” – Alex replied.
“Ok, we will announce your return to Equestria today along with the news about Canterlot hosting the Coliseum Tournament. For this reason, we will need you to please stay a little longer.”
“Ok Luna, I knew coming here in my pony form was a good idea.” – Alex answered.
Princess Celestia was glad to know Alex was happy to cooperate with them. She called her Royal Guards and five of them appeared out of nowhere.
“Tell our Royal Carpenters to build the Conference Stage right away; the Princesses and I have some great new to say to our little ponies today.”
The Guards nodded and left the Throne Room along with Alex. He asked everypony to come to his room, once everypony was there; he gave the Princesses and Shining Armor, their respective cutie mark necklaces and a good amount of earthling sweets. Then, he reached a box and brought it to Luna.
“Luna, since you have the spirit of a gamer and knowing how you enjoyed my Iphone I wanted to give you and your sister this…”
Alex opened the box for Luna and took out what was inside. It was a strange kind of device that looked similar to his phone.
“Alex, what is this?” – Luna asked.
“This is an Ipad. Think of it as a bigger version of the Iphone with the only difference that it can’t be used to communicate; I took the liberty to add lots of games and movies for you to enjoy, I hope you…”
Alex hadn’t finished when he was given a hug by Princess Luna.
“Thank you Alex! It means a lot to me, to be honest I was starting to get worried, even though we took good care of your Iphone, we knew it wasn’t going to last forever and I really don’t have the patience to wait around thirty or forty years for us to start crafting similar devices. Thank you again.”
“No problem Luna. After giving me that Metapendant, it was the least I could do!”
Alex showed Luna how it worked. Having some experience with the Iphone, it didn’t take long before she and Celestia could understand how it worked.
“Mr. Ipad, I think you and I will get along just fine…– Luna was so happy to play with this new gadget –
Celestia, looking how happy Luna was while playing said: Now my scientists will be able to study Alex’s Iphone. Oh dear! I am sorry Alex, maybe you would like to have your Iphone back!”
“Don’t worry Princess, you can keep it too!” – Alex answered.
“Thank you very much Alex, I will ask our scientists to take good care of it, I promise you it will not be damaged!” – Princess Celestia said.
“You don’t have to worry Celestia, I got another one when I went back to Earth, this one I gave you it’s all yours!”
Alex turned to Shining Armor and Cadence:
“Being honest, I didn’t expect you to know anything about human technology so I didn’t bring any gadgets for you. Please, I’d like you to have this…”
Alex gave them his new Iphone. They hesitated a little but Alex insisted by telling them it was a gift. Shining Armor took it and started to study it. He knew this device was ages ahead to anything equestrian scientists could possibly create. He felt as if he was holding a piece of the future.
“Well, thanks Alex. I really appreciate this gift!” – Shining Armor said.
“Don’t say anything, just enjoy it. Luna can teach you how to use it and how to charge it. You can play games like the ones she has in her device and listen to music. I saved plenty of it in this phone as well.” – Alex said.
Alex gave them his headphones so they could listen to some music. After a few instructions, Cadence learned how to play music and started to enjoy it. It was obvious she liked the Iphone and loved the music she was listening to. After that, everypony started their way back to their rooms so they could have some rest before the conference.
Alex was a little nervous, since ponies in Canterlot didn’t know he was alive but he knew he had his friends help. Suddenly, someone knocked on his door, “Come in!” he said.
Princess Celestia entered his room and started to speak to him:
“Hello again my friend, I hope you are excited about us letting everypony know you are still alive”
“I am, and I am excited about the Coliseum Tournament too!”
“Glad to hear that!” – The princess replied.
A weird silence filled the room; Alex knew that wasn’t the only question he was going to answer. Princess Celestia continued:
“Alex, you do know where the portal to your world is right?”
“Yeah, I told you there is a park in my…” – He answered.
“Alex please, I’m asking you this as a friend. Don’t lie to me”
“…” – Alex didn’t want to answer that question.
“So…” – Princess Celestia insisted.
“…Well, The two times I got here I appeared in the same place inside the Everfree Forest.”
“I see… - The princess said - may I ask why you didn’t tell us this before?”
“To be honest, I was scared. That portal is my only way to get here, to get to this beautiful world, as I told you I don’t hate my world, but I love this one as if it was my own. Right now, I believe I’m the only human with such a gift and I believe you have the power to seal the portal if you know its exact location. You told me you trust humans more than you did before. But you are a princess who wants only the best for her country. You wouldn’t hesitate to close it if you find it necessary. Am I right?” – Alex seemed a little sad while telling this.
Princess Celestia thought of the correct way to answer Alex’s question.
“Yes my human friend. To be honest, some months ago I wouldn’t have hesitated to send you back by force and close the portal to the human world, your human world. But now, I’m not sure, as I said I believe your kind is worth a change to be trusted. Alex, I believe you know the exact time when the portal will open and close again. I can’t believe how easy was for the rest to believe that you got here by mere coincidence.”
Alex, scratched his head, he knew he had lied to them in some way.
“Well, I didn’t think they would believe me at first but fortunately they did. You see princess, it’s not like the portal opens by itself; it opens because of you and Luna”
Alex noticed how confused the princess seemed after hearing his words so he explained the way their Meteor Shower somehow interacted with the portal, allowing him to travel to Equestria. He also explained that he was able to know when the portal would open again thanks to Luna’s’ schedule. Princess Celestia realized there were still a lot of things she ignored.
“That is very interesting. So according to your theory, the portal needs a little magic push to open?” – She asked.
“Yes. That’s what I believe. Princess, could you please tell me what will happen with the portal now that you know this? Are you angry with me for hiding this information?”
“No Alex, I’m not mad at you. Believe it or not, I understand your feelings and somehow I agree with you, some information is better kept secret. I won’t force you to tell me where it is, I’ll be waiting for you to feel ready to tell me its location. I also want you to know now that I trust you more than ever, you could have told others and bring many humans with you to take Equestria but you didn’t. Once again you have proven to me that there are good humans not willing to take things by force.”
Princess Celestia hugged Alex, to let him know she was happy to have him here. She continued:
“Alex, please be careful with this information, there are ponies and other creatures that would want to know about other worlds. About new opportunities to expand their territories and a world without magic would be an easy prey for them. I’m not saying this because I think your world is weak and can be easily conquered, after watching some of those movies you showed us, I truly believe your world would fight back, so I’m only saying this in order to avoid any damage to our worlds” – Her words made Alex feel his secret was safe with her.
“Thanks Celestia, I’m truly sorry for keeping this secret from you. I will let you know the location to the portal when I’m ready.”
Celestia nodded and headed for the door. Before leaving the room, she turned to Alex and said:
“I just need to know one more thing, when Luna and I start the next meteor shower, what are you going to do? Will you go back to earth or will you stay here?”
“I don’t have an answer to that question yet… I’m sorry princess.”
“Please think about it, I know it’s your world but you have to admit Equestria is a very good place to live in, isn’t it?” – The princess asked with a smile.
“Yes it is. I’ll wait until the next meteor shower to answer that question.” – Alex answered.
“Fair enough! Ok, see you later my dear human. By the way, Luna and I were thinking about it and we came to this great idea on how to introduce you to the equestrians again.”
“Please tell me what it is!” – Alex was curious about this idea.
Celestia told Alex how they would handle the news about his return to Equestria, Alex listened carefully to all of her words. When she was finished, they both agreed it was an excellent idea. Princess Celestia left his room so he could have some rest before the conference.
---
After a few hours, it was time for everypony to gather in the conference room; Alex put his Metapendant on an immediately transformed into a pony. He and the rest got together and started their way towards Canterlot Hall. When they arrived, they saw every citizen on Canterlot in that place, the amount of ponies was immense. They were able to make their way to the stage.
After a few moments, the trumpets announced Princess Celestia was coming to the stage, everypony in the place stood quiet so they could listen to her.
“CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT, MY SISTER AND I HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS FOR ALL OF YOU. IT’S MY PLEASURE TO INFORM YOU THAT CANTERLOT HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO BE THE HOST FOR THE NEXT COLISSEUM TOURNAMENT”
Everypony started to cheer after hearing the news. They were all happy to know that this prestigious tournament was taking place in their hometown.
“AFTER SO MANY DECADES, EQUESTRIA WILL ONCE AGAIN HAVE THE HONOR TO HOST THIS EVENT. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO SEE IT OR EVEN HEAR ABOUT IT, BE READY FOR A GREAT SHOW. WE WILL BE VISITED BY MANY GUESTS AND FANS. I HOPE, AS THE GREAT PONIES YOU ARE, YOU WILL WELCOME THEM AS IF THEY WERE CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT. YES! WE WILL BE VISITED BY MANY SPECIES AROUND THE WORLD: HORSES, MINOTAURS, ZEBRAS, GRIFFINS, ETC. FOR THOSE WHO WILL ASSIST TO THE FIGHTS, THE TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE IN TWO WEEKS AND FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE, THE RULES AND SUBSCRIPTION FEE WILL BE AVAILABLE IN ONE WEEK. PLEASE DON’T WORRY, IS A TOUGH TOURNAMENT BUT I PROMISE YOU THAT THE COMPETITORS WILL NOT BE IN DANGER, WHEN YOU READ THE RULES YOU WILL KNOW WHY.
MY SISTER HAS OTHER GREAT NEWS TO TELL YOU!”
Luna started to walk towards the stage. Among the audience, two creatures started talking to each other:
“Lyra, consider yourself lucky. We got back earlier and in time to hear those amazing news, I still can’t believe you dragged me in your quest to find more humans!”
“Hey! You said you wanted to come. Besides, consider this as the vacations we promised to take years ago!”
“…Whatever, I’m just happy we are returning to Ponyville. I mean it, no more quests in search of humans. It’s obvious that Mr. Alex’s case was just a coincidence.”
“Yes I know, I just hope someday another human will come here.”
Bombom felt sad for Lyra, she hugged her friend and said:
“I’m sorry Lyra. I know talking about Mr. Alex still makes you sad. I’m sorry…”
“It’s ok Bombom; he is in a better place now ok! Now let’s just hear what Princess Luna has to say, and then we can have some Lunch and go back to Ponyville!”
Princess Luna started to speak:
“HELLO CITIZENS, I HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS TO TELL YOU. WE WILL HAVE MANY KIND OF RACES FIGHTING IN THIS TOURNAMENT, BUT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME WE WILL HAVE PARTICIPANTS OF TWO SPECIES THAT HAVE NEVER ENTERED THE COLISEUM TOURNAMENT BEFORE!”
Everypony looked to each other; they seemed confused after hearing these words from the princess.
Princess Luna continued:
“THE FIRST PARTICIPANT WILL BE A DRAGON! OUR DRAGON SPIKE!”
Everypony cheered and started chanting Spike’s name. It was true; no dragon had ever participated in this event before.
“AND THE OTHER ONE WILL BE…A HUMAN!”
The whole place went silent. Most of them knew what a human was, but the only human that had ever visited Equestria had died months ago. Were there more humans in Equestria? Everypony was so confused.
“IT WILL NOT BE AN UNKNOWN HUMAN. IT WILL BE THE ONE WE ALL THOUGHT HAD LEFT US, YES! HE WILL RETURN FOR THIS TOURNAMENT, A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE AND AS WELL AS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY. LADIES AND GENTLECOLTS, THE HUMAN I’M TALKING ABOUT IS THE HERO OF CANTERLOT…ALEX!”
The shock on everypony’s face was evident, Fancy Pants’ monocle fell from his eye, PixelBerry was about to faint, Jet Set felt shivers all the way up to his nose. But the one who was surprised the most was Lyra, she didn’t believe it, she was shocked and angry, how could they say such a lie, there was no way in hell she would let them continue with this game, she jumped on the stage and screamed:
“LIES! HOW DARE YOU TELL US THAT! YOU KNOW ALEXIS IS DEAD AND HIS BODY WAS RETURNED TO HIS HOME! THERE IS NO WAY HE WOULD BE HERE, I DON’T KNOW IF THE STORY ABOUT A HUMAN COMPETING IN THE TOURNAMENT IS TRUE BUT IF IT IS, PLEASE DON’T CALL HIM ALEX!” – Lyra was unable to stop crying.
Everypony was speechless. The princesses, the mane 6, none of them expected Lyra to be in the audience, otherwise, they would have given her this news before the conference. With a warm smile, Princess Luna and Celestia stopped the guards that were going to arrest her. Princess Luna said:
“My little pony, I swear there is no lie, Alex is alive. I have seen him with my own eyes”
“Really?!” – Lyra couldn’t believe it.
“Yes! - Twilight said - and guess what? He was asking for you!”
“Really?! But where is he? Please tell me, if that’s true, then I want to see him, I need to see him!”
Princess Luna continued giving her news:
“AS I WAS SAYING, ALEX THE HUMAN WILL BE IN THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE TOURNAMENT. MAKE SURE EVERYPONY KNOWS IT; NOW GO TO YOUR HOMES. THIS CONFERERENCE IS OVER.”
Everypony started to leave. Princess Luna turned to the guards.
“Guards, please take Miss Lyra and Miss Bombom to the Palace and get them a room.”
“Yes your majesty!” The Royal Guards said. Lyra was confused, why the princesses would take her to the Palace after what she did. She lowered her head and followed the Royal Guards without asking any questions. Once they were in the palace, both Lyra and Bombom were summoned to the Throne Room. When they entered the room, they found the princesses, the elements, Spike and a Pony they had never seen before. The unknown pony walked towards Lyra, he stopped right in front of her and said:
“Hello Lyra and Bombom!”
“Hello?” – They answered.
Lyra didn’t want to speak to this pony; she had only one thing in her mind:
“Please move aside, I need to speak to Princess Luna.”
Alex knew the reason she was brought to the Palace and said:
“She doesn’t have anything to say to you because I know you are here to see me!”
“Why do you think I came to see you? I don’t even know you, just move aside!” – Lyra was desperate to hear more news about Alex.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see me? I heard you came to the Palace because of me…” – Alex said.
The look on Lyra’s eyes turned from anger to surprise. She started to carefully look at the strange pony. She noticed he was dressed but his clothes were odd; his eyes, they were somehow different to a pony’s eyes, his hair style it was so similar to her friend’s.
“A. . . A. . . Alexis?” – Lyra couldn’t believe her heart.
Alex removed his Metapendant and as the light faded, tears started to come out of Lyra’s eyes. She touched his face, his chest, his hands and then she hugged him. She wanted to make sure he was there; she wanted to make sure he was real.
“Volví, mi querida amiga!”
“Alexis, it is really you! You know how much I love to hear you speak your native language even though I can’t understand that much.”
“We will need to retake your Spanish lessons! Now, I know you want to know how it is possible for me to be here again, and I bet you have lots of questions but first let me hug you one more time!” – Alex was so happy to see his friend.
She hugged him tight, Alex asked Bombom to hug him too, nothing could ruin that moment. The princesses asked them to come to the Dining Hall so they could eat something and celebrate their reunion, Alex asked Lyra to get on his back so he could carry her. Lyra couldn’t believe this was real. She was so happy to hear Alex’s heart beating when she put her face on his back.
“What an incredible way to end a failed human quest!” – She said.
Alex and the rest were inside the Castle’s dining room. After explaining everything to Lyra and BomBom, from his miraculous survival to his return to Equestria, Alex told them everything they needed to know. When he was done, Lyra hugged him very tight; Fluttershy couldn't take her eyes from them.
“Wow Alexis, that’s so amazing! You returned to Earth and managed to come back to Equestria. Wow! Thank you for that! - Lyra told him.
“Thank you Lyra but, can you please give me some room to breathe, I need air you know... - This was the first thing he came up with after noticing the way Fluttershy was looking at them - I think you broke one of my ribs!”
Lyra stopped hugging him, she didn't do it because of what Alex told her, but because she noticed Fluttershy too. Lyra turned to Fluttershy and looking at her right into her eyes, said:
“I'm so happy you finally decided to ask her to be your marefriend!"
“You knew that already?" - Alex asked her.
“Alexis please! It was so obvious you both liked each other. Besides, she actually kissed you on the lips before you went back to Earth."
Alex and Fluttershy faces were so blushed they even felt stupid remembering how oblivious they were. Alex wanted so desperately to change subject so he asked Lyra the first thing that came to his mind:
“Lyra, my friends told me that you have been absent for a long time, would you mind telling me where did you go?"
“Sure! However, it would be more accurate to tell you of the few places I haven't been! I went to almost every place in Equestria! Places you guys haven't even dreamed about, I visited every place that has rumors of strange and unknown creatures; Appleloosa, Manehatan, Pillydelphia, Trotimham, etc. I even travelled to Saddle Sarabia but sadly, it was the same everywhere, dead ends or fake stories, I am kind of sorry to admit it Alex, but it seems that you are still the only human in Equestria right now. Unless you have brought a human friend with you this time...” - Lyra's voice sounded too serious.
“I'm sorry to disappoint you Lyra, but no; at least not until I’m completely sure it’s safe and I have approval from the princesses.” - Alex turned to the princesses who seem to be pleased from hearing this.
“Well, that's kind of sad - Lyra said -but there is still a chance, right?”
“. . . . Maybe." - Alex answered.
Lyra seemed to expect another kind of answer from Alex.
“Well, at least it’s a relief there are no other humans lost around Equestria.” - Alex said.
“I guess you are right. Tell me Alexis, are you really planning to enter the Coliseum Tournament?" - Lyra asked.
“Yeah! Spike, Rainbow Dash and I will participate. Spike will obviously compete against the younger fighters."
“That’s fantastic! Then I must be sure to get tickets for the first rows. I can’t wait to see you winning the tournament and raising that Trophy!" - Lyra was really excited to see Alex participate. She seemed to have a lot of faith in him; this was something Alex easily noticed.
“Lyra, I appreciate your enthusiasm but I can't tell if I am going to win, don’t forget there will be other incredible participants.”
“Yeah! How about me? I could win this tournament too Lyra, don't forget I am awesome!" - Rainbow Dash said.
“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, you are right - Lyra turned to Spike - however, I can be sure of one thing; Spike will definitely win in his category. Thanks to Alex's teachings, it will be a piece of cake!"
“Geez, thanks Lyra. I promise I’ll do my best to win, but I must say I’m a little disappointed, I would have liked to compete against the older fighters!” - Spike replied.
Alex looked at Spike and said: “Easy Spike, don’t be disappointed; someday you will be able to compete against older opponents. For now, you have to focus on winning the tournament!"
“I'll do my best Alex!"
“So my little Spikey Wikey will compete too? That’s so nice, I will be cheering for you; all of us will” - Rarity said while the rest started chanting his name.
“Thank you guys, you are embarrassing me!" - Spike said.
“Hey! No cheering for us?” - Alex and Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh c’mon darling, you know we will cheer for you guys too. Don't be such a drama queen! - Rarity said while rolling her eyes. Everypony laughed.
Princess Celestia stepped ahead; she had some important things to say:
“Well my little ponies, human and dragon. It’s been a great day but I think it’s time to go to bed, be prepared to travel to Ponyville tomorrow. Finish any business you may have there, so you can be here at least one month before the tournament begins, then we will finish up preparing for it.
Everypony nodded except for Alex and Spike. They both looked at each other; they knew this was the right time to speak:
“Princess Celestia.” - Alex said.
“Yes, my human friend?”
“Spike and I have been talking about something; we wanted to ask you for a chance to stay here so we can train privately until the tournament begins.”
Everypony looked surprised, Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked:
“Could you explain yourself, my little human?”
“You see, we want to train where nopony can see us. We have a lot to catch up, polish our skills again, plan strategies, etc. I can’t say I’ve been training with my weapons lately and Spike confessed me he has been slacking off a little." - Alex answered.
“Are those all of your reasons?" - Princess Celestia asked, knowing there was something else.
“Not really, I want to teach him something new, something I don’t want anypony else to see, this includes Rainbow Dash since she could be my opponent in the tournament.”
“I see. Well, if that’s what you want Alex; I’ll make sure to help you get all the privacy you need while you train.”
“Thanks Princess. I hope you don’t mind girls."
Everypony was surprised after hearing this request from Alex; Twilight was the one to answer his question:
“Well, it’s a little unexpected but I guess you are right, besides I really think Rainbow Dash wouldn’t want to have you in Ponyville spying on her own moves.”
“You bet Twilight! It's better for you to stay here all the time you want Alex so you can get yourself ready, I really want to beat you at your best! - Rainbow Dash said.
“We’ll see about that Dashie!” - Alex replied.
"Ok everypony, we better get some rest, we have a long trip tomorrow - Fluttershy said - the train to Ponyville leaves early in the morning." Everypony agreed and walked to their rooms.
Alex was walking with Fluttershy; he noticed something was wrong since she was too quiet:
"Is there something wrong pretty?” - He asked.
She stopped, turned to him and held him tight -“I... I don’t want you to compete in the tournament. Is it really necessary?” - She said.
Alex replied with a wide and warm smile:
“Necessary? No, it’s not, but I really want to help the princesses with this, and I have to admit I am very excited about competing."
“I still don’t like it, what if you get hurt? I mean seriously hurt; I don’t want to see you hurt. It aches my heart just to think of it! Please forget all of this and come to Ponyville with me!” - She said.
“Fluttershy, we heard Princess Celestia, it might be risky but she said my life would not be in danger, besides, even If I get a little hurt, something good will happen!"
“What good could come in getting injured?” - She asked.
“That there will be a reason to have you standing next to me, healing my injuries and making me feel better...”
Fluttershy started smiling again, Alex's words made her feel comfortable.
“. . . . Oh Alex . . . fine, I’m with you this time but please be careful, ok?”
“Sure thing, and I promise you when this is over, we will have an incredible date and I’ll take you wherever you want!” - He answered.
“Really?”
“I promise.”
Alex kissed her, he couldn't believe he was actually kissing a pony, but his feelings towards her were getting stronger because he knew she loved him too. They could have stayed awake all night long, but they had some responsibilities so they kissed each other one more time and said goodnight.
On the next morning the Princesses, Spike and Alex (wearing his Metapendant) accompanied everypony to the train station, each of them said their farewells; Lyra hugged Alex before getting on the train. Twilight was next to him telling Spike to take care, when she was done, Alex told her:
“Twilight, do you have a minute?”
“Yes Alex, what is it?”
“You see, since I’m not going back to Ponyville, could you please do me a favor?”
“Sure thing Alex, what do you need?” - She asked.
“I need a box I left back in Ponyville, can you please send it to me. It’s easy to recognize because it has my cutie mark on it. I will also need Spike's armor and weapons.”
“I will send it to you Alex. Can you tell me what’s inside that box?” - She asked.
“I'm sorry but I can't tell you. However, it's something I will need for the tournament."
“Well, that's ok."
Fluttershy was waiting for Alex to stop talking to Twilight so they could have a moment for themselves. Once he was done, she got near him, they both hugged and kissed each other, they didn't say a word but it was easy for everypony to understand that they were feeling sad to say goodbye.
"We will depart now!" - One of the Train officers said, Fluttershy didn't want to leave Alex but she knew he was excited about participating in the tournament - "I want you to focus on your training because I want you to win that tournament!" - hearing these words made Alex feel very confident. They kissed one last time before she got on the train. A few moments later, the train started its long way back to Ponyville.
Once the train was out of their sight, Princess Celestia turned to Alex and said:
“Ok my friend, let’s go back to the palace, I need to show you something before taking you to the place where you will start training."
“Ok Celestia, lead the way." - Alex replied.
“Oh! I forgot, before getting to the Palace, we have to make a quick stop at Canterlot Museum." - Princess Celestia said.
Alex seemed to know the reason why she wanted to visit that place - "That's where my gear is, right?" - He asked.
“Yes Alex. How do you know?"
“My good friend Proud Hammer told me that you kept them there!"
Princess Celestia nodded. They started their way towards the museum. After a few minutes, they arrived at the place and proceeded to enter. There were many ponies looking curiously at Alex's gear. A pony who worked at the Museum, was explaining to them what these artifacts were:
"Here we have the weapons and armor that belonged to the only human that has ever lived on Equestria. Alex, the Hero of Canterlot, his items were left here after he gave his life while saving Canterlot in the battle against Prince Blueblood!"
A voice came from the crowd - “Was he the one who killed the Prince?" - Everypony turned around and saw Jet Set standing next to his wife.
“Yes sir, he was, but you must know...” - The museum employee was about to explain something but he was immediately interrupted by Jet Set -“Then why do you keep them here? He killed a pony and if that wasn't enough he killed a prince! He is not a hero, he is just a murderer, and his things should be in a trash can or should have been buried in a forgotten place!"
Many ponies seemed to agree with Jet Set but others didn't like what he said at all. Spike was so mad, he was about to throw a fireball at him, Alex realized how angry his friend was so he put his hand on his shoulder. Spike understood what Alex meant and lowered his head.
Alex could not stop feeling sad and guilty after hearing this. Somehow he knew Jet Set was right, he killed a pony, it seemed as even though the Princesses had already forgiven him, the "wound" was not entirely healed. Princess Luna noticed this; she walked towards the crowd and spoke using her Canterlot voice:
“HOW DARE YOU JET SET? ALEX THE HUMAN, ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE TO SAVE US FROM MY CORRUPTED NEPHEW AND QUEEN CHRYSALYS’ MADNESS AND YOU DARE TO SPEAK WITH SUCH DISRESPECT?”
Jet Set vowed in front of the Princess, he didn't even dare to look at her - “But Princess Luna, he killed Prince Blueblood! Your Majesty, did you say he ALMOST lost his life? Does that mean he is still alive?”
Princess Cadence stepped forward; she was the one to answer his question:
“It seems you weren’t paying any attention in our conference yesterday, or did you choose not to believe my Aunt Luna? We said that Alex is alive and he is coming back for the tournament, and I’m pretty sure he will not be happy to hear you saying such things and calling him a murderer!”
Jet Set raised his head, he seemed angry after hearing this:
“But he killed Prince Blueblood! A pony, your brother! Aren’t you mad at him? Aren’t you going to punish him for his crime?!"
“What he killed wasn’t my brother, he killed a monster! A monster who was planning to banish me, my husband and my aunts from Equestria! A monster that was planning to kill the Elements of Harmony, HE WAS PLANNING TO MAKE YOU ALL SLAVES!” - Cadence was about to cry, she was feeling angry and sad at the same time. Shining Armor got by her side and hugged her while she continued -...and none of you moved a hoof to stop him! None of you but him! I’m going to say this once so you better listen carefully! STOP SPEAKING SO ILL ABOUT HIM OR YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT I’M NOT THE PRINCESS OF LOVE AND TENDERNESS EVERY TIME! DID YOU HEAR ME?!”
Everypony inside the museum was shaking; they had never heard Princess Cadence say such things. Princess Celestia and Luna used her powerful magic to levitate the gear container and bring it to them.
“Now, if you excuse us. We are going to take this to its rightful owner.”
The four members of the royal family, Spike and an unknown pony proceeded to leave the place. Princess Cadence used one of her wings to cover Alex, who was feeling sad because of the things Jet Set said and the way some of the ponies in the Museum reacted. Alex turned to Spike and said:
“Thank you. I mean it, thank you...”
Spike hugged him.
“You don’t have anything to thank Alex. All of us should thank you for saving Canterlot!” - Spike said.
“Thanks Spike! But don’t’ forget, it’s what you, me and our friends did, not only me. I would have never been able to do that without any of you!" - Alex replied.
“Thanks bro! - Spike said - We are with you, all of us. Together!”
Cadence got next to Alex and said:
“Alex please, it's time for you to stop feeling bad about what happened with Blueblood. We meant everything we said back there, I don't want you to feel sad anymore, ok?!”
Alex nodded and wiped off the tears that were coming from his eyes.
The group continued their way to the Castle. Once there, Alex took off his Metapendant and opened the glass container that was used to store his gear in the Museum.
His armor and weapons were clean and polished, they looked like new. The princesses told Alex that Proud Hammer and Spike were the ones in charge of restoring them. Alex hugged Spike - "Thanks pal! I will show my gratitude to Proud Hammer when I see him, he is such a great guy!" -Alex took all of his stuff and put it on his bed. Shining Armor was looking at Alex's weapons and said:
“Ok Alex, since you will be away until the Tournament's opening ceremony, I guess we need to explain to you how this Tournament works. What do you say?”
“That’s a good idea Shinning, I’m really curios about how an event where the participants fight each other could not be dangerous.” - Alex said.
"I know how incredible that sounds my friend, I don't know if you have any tournaments like this back on Earth, but I'd like to show you how things work here in Equestria. Please follow me!"
Shinning lead Alex and Spike into a room. It was empty; there was no furniture or pictures on the walls, only a green light in the center of it. Alex and Spike couldn’t help to look at it; the light felt as something magical. After a few moments of watching it, Alex asked:
“Shinning, what is this?”
“You see Alex; this green light is what makes this Tournament “safe” for all the participants!" - Shining Armor answered.
“And how is that possible?" - Spike asked.
“I knew you would ask that!" - Shining Armor said. He called one of the Royal Guards and asked him for his sword.
"Please guys, come with me so I can show you!"
Shining Armor put the sword inside the light. The green light grew brighter for a second and another sword appeared next to the one Shining Armor placed in it.
"That was so cool! - Alex said - so the light creates what seems to be an exact copy of a weapon you put in. But I'm still wondering how does that make it safer?"
Shining Armor picked the “original” sword and put it inside the light again. Another exact copy of it appeared next to it. He took both copies and asked Alex to come with him out to the Royal Gardens. Spike and the Princesses were waiting for them outside. Alex was given one of the copies made by the green light, while Shining Armor kept the other one, the pony turned to the Princesses and said: “Ladies, please…” they nodded and started to use her magic. Suddenly, a force field surrounded Alex and Shining Armor, this force field was similar to Shining’s barrier spell but there was something unusual, the barrier seemed to be scanning Shining Armor and Alex, a beam of light started on their feet and up to their head.
Once this “scan” was completed, a floating number appeared on top of them, the number was 100, and was literally floating over their heads. Alex walked to the Force Field to touch it – “This thing is hard as rock” – he said. He was about to ask Shining Armor about all of this and as soon as he turned around, he saw the prince charging at him full at full speed. Thanks to his training, Alex was able to barely avoid being pierced by the princess’ sword.
“What are you doing?!” – He asked.
“Shut up and fight! Fight like if you want to kill me!” – Shining Armor replied.
“Luna, Celestia! Please stop this! Stop him!” – Alex didn’t know how to react to this.
The Princesses didn’t say anything, they stood there watching. Alex looked at Spike who was standing next to the princesses. His best friend was there, not helping him. Shining Armor charged again, Alex was fast enough to avoid this second strike. However, the tip of Shinning Armor’s sword got his arm. Alex closed his eyes waiting for it to start hurting. He kept waiting but the pain never showed up. Alex opened his eyes and saw his arm – “But I just saw him cutting me.” – He said to himself.
Alex heard a noise coming from the top of his head. He looked up and saw the number changing, it was not 100 anymore, it went down to 73.
The human was so confused about all of this; the green light, the Force Field, the Princesses, and now this number. He got distracted for a second, which was enough time for Shinning Amor to charge at him a third and final time. Alex was unable to dodge his attack; the sword went all the way into his chest.
“…Why are you doing this?”- Alex asked. Even though he couldn’t feel the pain. He knew this kind of wound would be fatal. He looked down at his chest, the sword was still in there, but there was no trace of blood.
“Alex, what’s wrong with you? You need to focus or you will not make to the Coliseum Tournament finals!” – The prince replied.
“The Tournament? I’ll die in a few seconds!”
“Alex, haven’t you realized yet?”
“Realize what? That you just tried to kill me?!” – Alex could still see the sword inside his chest but it didn’t hurt. He would have fainted and died after being wounded this way but he was still there, breathing. There was something weird going on. A moment later, Alex heard the same noise over his head. He looked up and saw the floating number going all the way down to 0. The Force Field started to slowly disappear. Shining Armor walked towards Alex and removed the sword from his chest.
“What the hell did just happen?” – Alex asked.
The princesses, Shinning and Spike started to laugh out loud – “You should have seen your face” – Spike said.
Shining Armor got next to Alex and asked him: “Did you really think I was trying to kill you? Come on Alex, you know I would never do that!”
“But you just pierced me with your sword! Why am I still alive?” – Alex asked.
“Let me explain it to you. This weapon I just used is called a “Faker” weapon.”
“Faker weapon?” – Alex was so confused.
“Yes, this is a very simple yet complicated spell.”
“I’m all ears” - Alex said.
“This spell is what makes the Coliseum Tournament safe for every participant. The first thing to do is to create copies of the warrior’s armors and weapons using the same green light you saw in the room. – Shining Armor explained – Then, a unicorn must activate the “Faker Battle Barrier Spell”. As you could see, while the spell is being casted, the participants will be scanned by it; this includes their weapons and armor. This spell will make the faker weapons able go through things that were not created by the green light. This is why you were “stabbed” by my sword but weren’t hurt at all. Being hit by a faker weapon will make the points floating over you decrease from 100 to 0.”
“So that is why my “life points” went down to 73 when you hit my arm and then all the way to 0 when you got my chest!” – Alex was beginning to understand all of this.
“The Faker weapons and armor will glow brighter when they are being scanned by the Faker Battle Barrier Spell. It won’t be as bright as when you take your Metapendant off, but enough so only the participants can see the weapons and the un-protected spots they can hit in order to lower their opponents points to 0”
“Interesting, so if I was using Faker armor on my chest, your sword would have never been able to get through me, right?” – Alex asked.
“Exactly – Shining Armor said - Tell me Alex, did you notice you that when your points reached 0, the Barrier started to disappear?”
“Yeah!”
“I think it’s obvious by now, but if your points reach 0, you are “dead” and the barrier “feels” it, so it disappears. Making the opponent’s points reach 0 is the only way to make the field disappear, there is no way to cancel this spell so people know that there will not be any kind of interruption while the fighters are inside. Since some of the participants do not posses magic, the field will automatically cancel any magic spell used inside it. Participants are only allowed enough magic as to levitate very few things, like their weapons.”
“So that’s how a non-magical creature has a chance to win this.” – Alex replied. He was thinking that it would be unfair to fight against someone that was able to use magic.
“Exactly! Well I think I just explained everything you need to know about this spell, any other questions?” – Shining Armor asked.
“Being honest, I do. If we are not inside a faker barrier, will the Faker weapons be as deadly as any other normal weapon?”
“Yes, they will only go through things while inside the barrier. Every Faker weapon that is scanned by the Force Field Spell will automatically disappear when the Faker Light becomes inactive after the tournament, so don’t be surprised after they all disappear when the tournament is over.”
“I see – Alex had more questions to ask - I know is not relevant but, what happens if the gladiators scanned by the spell do not have any faker weapons on them?”
“Many centuries ago, there were Coliseum Tournaments that didn’t have access to the spells we now know. So there weren’t Faker weapons then. As I told you before, the Barrier feels when a participant is alive so the only way the Field Spell could be canceled was to either knock your opponent out or ki…”
“I get it.” – Alex said.
“Yes, that is why the Tournaments were suspended in the past, but since they were a tradition, some of the greatest magic users were able to create the Faker weapons so the Coliseum Tournaments could continue.”
By this time, the Princesses had already come down to the Royal Gardens. They got next to the guys and said:
“Well my little human, I see you know everything you need to know about this event. According to the Royal Guard, Twilight has already sent you the packages you mentioned; do you want to get them before showing you where you are going to train?” – Princess Celestia asked.
“I would love that Celestia, thank you.”
After a few moments, Alex and Spike were carrying their luggage. They were taken by Celestia and the Royal Guards to a forest located far away from the city.
“What is this Place Celestia?” – Alex asked.
“This is the BlackTail Forest”
“Blacktail forest?”
“Yes, it’s a place where our ancestors used to test our Royal Guards; it’s not as dangerous as the Everfree forest, so is easier to train here. There are wild bears, dears and wolfs, there are lots of fruit trees and lakes with clean water. What do you say Alex? I think it’s a good place for you and Spike to better your skills and, have some privacy, you see, no pony dares to come here since this is part of the Royal Palace. In its center, there is a cabin you can use to take shelter; the cabin is protected by a powerful spell so you guys are safe inside it. Do you like the place Alex?”
“It is great Princess, thanks.”
“Ok Alex, let’s go!” – Spike said. He turned to the forest as started to run into it.
Alex laughed; Spike seemed so excited to start his training. Alex turned to the princesses and said:
“We will meet again one month before the tournament starts. Princess Celestia, thank you for THAT, IT will come in handy.”
“No problem Alex! Make us proud, you and Spike!”
“If you want to send letters to Fluttershy, please do it, send them with Spike’s fire. We will make sure they get to her. I am sure you guys will miss each other!” – Princess Luna said.
Alex nodded. He turned to the forest and started to run after Spike. The princesses saw him disappear in the woods.
Spike was heading towards the center of the forest, looking for the cabin when he noticed Alex running next to him – “Wow, I couldn’t hear you getting close to me, I was worried about not finding the cabin.”
“You have to pay attention to everything that happens around you my friend… – Alex said - this is it, time to finally prove ourselves. Are you excited Spike?”
“Oh yeah! But I really can’t find the right words to describe this feeling!” – Spike answered.
Alex was ahead of Spike by now. He stopped after reaching the edge of a cliff. Spike stood next to him looking at the vast forest in front of them. It was so vast; they couldn’t see its end.
“C’mon Spike you will have to do better than that!”
“Don’t worry I’m planning to…
…Come on!”
Alex and Spike were sparring for more than 2 hours a day. The past 3 weeks were tough; their clothes were a mess, not to mention they had wounds and bandages all over. This was their last sparring and decided to go all out. Shining Armor was with them, looking from outside the training barrier; their weapons kept clashing, the Prince was amazed by Alex’s abilities but it was Spike the one that caught his attention, he was putting up a good fight against Alex, even though his life score points were almost zero. With one final blow straight to his chest, the little dragon lost. After the training barrier disappeared, Alex extended his hand to help his little friend stand up:
“Damn it! I lost again! Well, at least this time I managed to take thirty points off from your life score points Alex.”
“Yeah! You are really good, I feel sorry for the ones that will face you at the Tournament.” – Alex replied.
Shining Armor threw a couple of towels at them and said:
“I agree with you Alex, Spike is really something else, I can’t believe that little crying baby dragon my little sister used to cradle would become like this, you are really growing up Spike.”
“Thanks Shining Armor, that means a lot!”
“No problem Spike, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true”
Alex removed the sweat and dirt from his face using the towel Shining Armor gave him.
Well, I think it’s time for a good lunch, care to join us Shinning?” – Alex asked.
“Yeah, as long there is no meat, I’ll be glad to…”
The three of them laughed so hard at this. Alex was shaking off the dust from his clothes.
“Don’t worry Shinning, Spike and I had just picked up a nice amount of fruits and berries, and I know that you guys don’t like eating meat so I wouldn’t do it in front of any of you.”
Shining Armor and Spike followed Alex to their cabin which was located in the middle of the forest. Alex turned to Spike and said:
“Wow Spike! It’s amazing how you mastered the Katanas in just three weeks!”
“Well, it’s not like I haven’t seen them before. I read a lot of comic books, the ones about Samurais and ninja Minotaurs are quite popular you know, but being honest, I never thought I would use them. Thanks for teaching me Alex!” – Spike replied.
“No problem little brother, but still, you are amazing. It took me at least one and a half month to start using them properly, not to mention all those cuts I got.”
“That’s only because you are a slow learner Alex!” – Spike said laughing so hard.
“We are getting cocky, aren’t we? Well, I must admit you may be right, anyway, I think it was a good duel before the competition.”
As they were getting close to the cabin, Shining Armor turned to Alex and asked:
“Alex, the Tournament will start in three days, why did you choose to stop training today?”
“Because I want Spike and me to relax a bit; I really want to enjoy this place for at least a couple of days before we leave, as you may know, clearing your mind is also an important part of your training. That way you won’t freak out while competing.”
“I agree with you Alex, someponies should try that too, some of them are still freaked out about this thing that happened two weeks ago…”
“Yeah, when Spike and I saw the day and night mixing together in the sky, we couldn’t believe it; that was something scary!”
“It was during the Summer Sun Celebration, remember I told you Alex” - Spike said.
“Yeah, I can’t believe the girls had to give up their Elements to restore the tree of harmony, I should have been there to help but I wasn’t, I thought they were all ok because Princess Celestia didn’t send a letter to Spike. How were we supposed to know they were kidnapped?” – Alex asked.
Spike lowered his head: “I feel sorry about that too...”
“Hey, don’t feel bad guys – Shining Armor said - there was no way you could know, besides, the girls and your marefriend are very strong, they handled the situation quite fine!”
“You are right; they are really strong! But there are other things that bother me, like when Fluttershy turned into a bat pony; I wasn’t there to help her, what kind of a boyfriend am I?”
Spike got near Alex and said:
“Easy Alex, Twilight and the rest were there to help her, you must realize they can take care of themselves, there will be many situations where we will not be present and you will just have to believe in them.”
“Spike is right Alex; do you think I don’t get worried knowing my little Sister Twilight gets into really dangerous situations? But then I remember she is very strong, and I believe in her! It wasn’t easy at first but they have proven to me and all of Equestria that they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves; protect them when you can, and when you can’t, just have faith in them”- Shining Armor said.
“Thanks Shinning. Spike, you are right, I guess I have become overprotective since the day Fluttershy became my marefriend.”
“That’s because you love her very much, she is such a lucky mare!”
“That’s not true Shining Armor, I’m a very lucky human” – Alex replied.
Finally, they reached their cabin and got inside. Alex and Spike took a shower and changed their clothes. Spike helped on getting the table ready for them to eat while Alex prepared a delicious fruit salad, enough for the three of them. Once they were done eating, they went outside the cabin and sat under a big three, this forest was really beautiful. It was a place where anypony could find peace.
Alex turned to Shining Amor and asked:
“Shinning, are our clothes ready?”
“Yes, I will send them tomorrow, I must say they look cool, but why didn’t you ask Rarity to make them?”
“She is very busy helping with the preparations for the tournament, all of them are, and that’s why I told them not to come see us so they could focus on their duties.”
“You are right about that! I have never seen my sister so focused on a single project like she is now. This is her very first job as a princess since she was crowned. That is why she wants it to be perfect!” – Shining Armor said.
After having some rest back in the cabin, Shining Armor told them it was time for him to go. Alex and Spike were about to take him to the entrance of the forest, he opened the door and noticed a yellow pony running towards them, when the pony got closer they realized it was Fluttershy.
“Oh my! It’s good to see you Alex, I missed you so much!”
“Fluttershy?! What… what are you doing here? Not that I mind but . . . don’t you have things to prepare…” – Alex couldn’t finish his sentence as Fluttershy hugged him so hard, she literally squeezed the air out of his lungs.
“We finished preparing everything a couple of hours ago so I decided to come here to visit you!”
Alex opened his eyes and noticed Lyra and the Crusaders coming their way. He looked at Fluttershy, hugged her and gave her a kiss.
“Of course it’s ok with me! To be honest, I wanted to see you after the first day I came here! Thank you so much for coming!” – Alex said.
The rest of the group arrived and joined them in a warm hug. Fluttershy noticed that Alex was covered in bandages; she knew they had been training hard and even though she didn’t like the idea of Alex and Spike hurting themselves she knew he was so excited about the Tournament so she didn’t say a word about it. They all said goodbye to Shining Armor and walked to the cabin. Once they were in, Fluttershy started cleaning and healing Alex and Spike’s wounds.
“Wow guys! I must say you and Spike seem ready to compete!” – Pinkie Pie said.
“Thanks Pinkie, I hope we do well in the tournament!” – Spike replied.
“And of course Alex, you will have the honor of being defeated by me!” – Rainbow Dash exclaimed while looking at Alex directly to his eyes.
“We’ll see about that!”
Applejack stood between them and said:
“Easy guys, your time to face each other will come soon. Meanwhile I brought these delicious apples for yah to enjoy!”
Once Fluttershy was done cleaning and healing Alex’s wounds, Sweetie Bell got on his lap and asked him:
“So brother, are you ready?”
“Yes little sister, I’m ready”
“Great! I can’t wait to see you rocking that tournament!”
“Yeah! And then we will have a great party for your and Spike’s Victory!” – Pinkie Pie said.
“I promise we will do our best” – Alex replied.
Lyra got near Alex and told him: “Please be careful Alexis; even if those weapons can’t hurt you, punches and kicks will surely do it. So you guys better take good care of yourselves while in there.”
“Thanks Lyra, we will, I promise!”
Alex noticed the way Rarity was looking at them. He stood up and asked her:
“Something wrong Rarity?”
“Darling! Your and Spikey clothes! They look awful!”
“Well Rarity, clothes would normally look like this after a month of hard training.”
“Well I just decided I’m going to make you some proper clothes for the event!” – Rarity said.
“Thanks Rarity but don’t worry, Spike and I asked someone else in Canterlot to take care of that.” – Alex replied.
Rarity was heart-broken after hearing these words.
“But why? Don’t you like my work darling? Is it not good enough for you?”
“It’s not that Rarity, Spike and I didn’t want to worry you with other stuff while you were helping out getting all of the things ready for the Tournament. Please accept our apologies; we didn’t think I would hurt your feelings”
“It’s ok, I will forgive you this time but please remember, a friend of mine, specially you, Spikey or the girls will always be my top priority. Don’t ever hesitate to ask me for help!”
“And yah can count on us too sugarcube!” – Everypony nodded.
“Thanks girls!”
Rarity took out some of her own clothing designs and showed them to Alex.
“And I had so amazing ideas for your clothes, just look at them!”
Alex and Spike looked at the drawings, bright colors and flowers all over, they looked at each other and then turned to Rarity saying: “These are awesome designs Rarity, too bad we have already paid huge amounts of money for the ones we will use!”
“Well, that’s too sad for you guys. I know you would look fantastic in these!” Rarity said.
The guys smiled back at Rarity and turned around - “Thanks god we found somepony else to make our clothes Spike…”
Spike noded
“What did you say Alex?” – Rarity asked.
“Well… I was just challenging Spike for a race towards the waterfall in the forest…”
“Ok – Rarity said – because if you really want it, I can start making your clothes right here and I’ll pay for what you…”
“2 … 1 … Run Spike! Run!”
Everypony saw Alex and Spike running out of the cabin like never before.
- - - - - -
The day before the opening ceremony, Alex, while in his pony form, Spike and the rest of the group were walking in Canterlot’s streets. The whole city was decorated with tournament motifs, Alex could not believe the amount of Minotaurs, Griffins, Zebras and Horses that were outside in the streets. Many food stores, souvenirs, there was even an exclusive “Meat Lovers” section for Griffins on the restaurants.
“Wow, I think Canterlot won’t be enough for everypony if more creatures keep coming in!” – Alex said.
“Yah said partner, and they are only the audience. The competitors have yet to come; I heard Princess Celestia had to install magical tents on the City Limits because of the amount of visitors coming in.” – Applejack said.
“Magical tents?” – Alex asked.
“Tents that are bigger inside than what they look on the outside. It’s a very tricky spell” - Twilight explained
“Where did I see that before?” Alex thought
He kept walking when a poster hanging on a wall caught his attention; he got closer to it so he could have a better look. It had an image of him from his back, his head was covered by a hood – “Well, that looks cool!” – He said to himself. There was something else written on it:
“Canterlot’s Coliseum Tournament
Behold the return of the Hero of Canterlot”
“Wow! That’s a really nice propaganda. I hope I don’t disappoint them…” – Alex said.
“I know you won’t” – Fluttershy replied. She was looking at the poster.
“Fluttershy, I didn’t even notice when you came close to me.”
“I know, your eyes were amazed by looking at your own image. I love how you look…”
“Thank you darling…” – Alex and Fluttershy shared a smile.
Rainbow Dash got next to them and said: “I’m really sorry to interrupt you guys, but you have to come with us. The warriors from the different countries are coming in now; we have to see them and the balloons they used to come here. There were rumors that the previous champion: Bright Courage was going out of retirement to compete in this event one more time! I didn’t believe it, but it was true. He is actually coming right now so we have to hurry! C’mon!”
Everypony followed Rainbow Dash to the airport. The place was full of fans and visitors. It was an amazing view, balloons of every color coming from the most distant countries: Minus, Griffonia, Zebrica, Saddle Sarabia and the Cristal Empire. Alex had to admit it; the look was impressive.
“What kind of competitors will I face?” – He thought.
The competitors arrived; they were all welcomed by their fans. Everypony was cheering and chanting for their favorite warrior. Out of all of the competitors, five of them stopped next to one of the posters showing Alex’s image.
---
“Once I defeat you, my popularity will rise to the skies and every creature in the World will know about me!”
---
“Hahahaha! Just you wait my cute human. Very soon, you will be added to my special list. You must be grateful”
“Easy sister, don’t get horny now”
“Shut up brother! You know it’s been a long time since I’m interested on a new target!”
“Whatever!”
---
“This is so exciting! I really hope to have the opportunity to face you pal! I wonder if the stories about you killing two Manticores are true!”
---
“…Finally. Without knowing, you have lit my will to fight again.”
---
Alex didn’t notice any of these competitors looking at his image. He was so amazed by the amount of fans that were gathered in the place. Suddenly, he felt uneasy; he knew this Coliseum Tournament would be very difficult. But there was something else…
As the competitors started to arrive, everypony gathered around to take pictures and ask for their autographs. There were very well known warriors amongst them.
From the Griffin Kingdom, King Aguilex brought his bravest warriors. The Razor Twins: Tyras and Tyros, captains of the Royal Guard. Tyras was looking at every direction, she seemed to be searching something, her brother Tyros noticed this and said:
“Calm down sister, you know he will not be here, the Princess said he will not show-up until the opening ceremony!”
“Ugh! I guess you are right, I just hope he is at least cute. That painting of him shows nothing. Well, I’m glad he is a new species to add to my collection.”
The Twins continued walking behind their King.
The Horses from Saddle Sarabia, their Sultan Mahad and his wife Lady Myra came next. The look on their eyes was full of determination, the way they marched together towards Canterlot made the whole place tremble. One of the horses was taller than the rest, he was a known warrior. The crow was so excited to see him, they started shouting:
“Look! It’s Maximus Heart! He is here and he will compete!”
Many mares were chanting his name. Maximus Heart didn’t turn around to smile at his fans. He closed his eyes and ignored them - “They are no worthy of me!” - He said to himself.
The Chief Zent and his best Zebra warriors arrived from Zebrica. Their arrival was announced by the sound of music from their land. All of them looked so noble and wise; Powerful zebras wearing golden armor and weapons. One of these warriors looked up to the sky and thought – “This is it! I will do my best! I hope I have the chance to fight him!”
The last ones to arrive were the citizens of Minus. The whole place went silent when two trumpets announced the arrival of their Great King. A line of Minotaur soldiers started marching out of their balloon, they stopped at some meters and suddenly the line split into two, they turned around and faced each other. They were wearing silver armor and weapons that made them look menacing. At the sound of the trumpets, they raised their swords and their Great King, Strong Blade came out; his wife, the Queen Wildheart was next to him. They marched between the two lines of soldiers who put the swords back in their sheaths as soon as the kings passed by. The citizens that gathered in the place were still waiting to see the champion of the last Coliseum Tournament.
There were rumors that he would come out of retirement and participate in this tournament to defend his title, but the crow was getting anxious. Was he really going to participate?
Finally, he came out of the Balloon.
The whole place was engulfed in excitement. Everyone was chanting his name, wishing to see him fight once more. The Minus King, nodded at him and the whole group started marching towards Royal Palace.
It was on their way to the Palace that each of this individuals looked at the poster of the Hero of Canterlot.
Alex was standing in his place, looking at the current Coliseum Tournament Champion walking towards the Royal Palace. He knew the Minotaur was old, but he looked so strong and powerful. Suddenly, Alex felt the touch of his loved one bringing him back to reality.
“I know you can beat him Alex, please don’t ask me how do I know this, but I just do.” - Sweetie Bell was next to him too. He smiled at Fluttershy, kissed her and hugged his sister.
“Thank you for believing in me.”
---
Princess Celestia and Luna welcomed the Kings and each Tournament competitor to the Royal Palace:
“Celestia and I, the Princesses of Canterlot welcome you to Equestria, we hope you enjoy your staying here!”
King Aguilex from Griffonia was the first one to speak - “I’m sure we will Celestia and Luna, all my soldiers are eager to participate and win this event.”
“I can tell the same thing for my Horses” – Sultan Mahad said.
“My Zebras will do their best and win” – Chief Zent exclaimed.
King Strong Blade was silent; he didn’t say a word about his Champions. He was carefully looking at every corner of the room they were in. Once he realized what he was looking for wasn’t in the room with them, he asked:
“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. Sorry to interrupt but, may I know where this human is? I’m very sure I’m talking for all of us when I say we wanted to meet the Hero of Canterlot.”
“As we previously mentioned, he will be in opening ceremony tomorrow” – Princess Luna answered.
“And why would he want to wait until tomorrow, wouldn’t it be better for him to be here today and let us meet him personally?” – Queen Wildheart asked.
“We asked him to wait until tomorrow – Princess Celestia said - we wanted to make this event special and we believe it will be better for him to wait until the opening ceremony and show up. Even though he is not in this place right now, he is in Canterlot already.”
“Is he really in Canterlot?!” – Tyras, one of the Griffin Twins exclaimed. Her brother felt embarrassed as she was unable to contain herself and her voice was too loud.
“Well, I think that’s rude, I totally get the idea of you making this some sort of special thing by showing him until the opening ceremony. But we are royalty; he should be here for us!”
“King Aguilex, please remember that he is an Equestrian. He will only answer to Princess Luna, Cadence, Twilight and me, – Princess Celestia said – he will be in the opening ceremony tomorrow, not before.”
“Very well Celestia, I will go have some rest for tomorrow – King Aguilex stood up and looked at his soldiers - Guards! You are dismissed, go have some fun and prepare for tomorrow.”
The other Kings gave similar orders to their competitors and left the room. Princess Luna and Celestia were the only ones left. “Can’t they wait for a little more time until the opening ceremony?” – Luna looked at Celestia - “I know how you feel Lulu, let’s go have some rest too. Tomorrow is the big day!”
“Yes, it will be great! I can’t wait to see Alex and Spike compete, not that I wouldn’t like my crystal ponies to win. But they are good friends of mine. I also want to see the previous Champion, Bright Courage compete again. He is a great warrior!” – Princess Cadence said.
“Yes my niece, when I first heard these rumors, I couldn’t believe it; when I had the honor to give him the trophy last tournament, he said out loud that he had finally defeated every living creature and achieved all of the greatest honors a warrior could wish for. That way he declared his retirement in front of everypony.”
“This will be a great Tournament Luna, both Alex and Bright Courage will make their returns tomorrow. Everypony will be excited to see the previous Champion and the Hero of Canterlot competing in the same arena.”
Both Princesses walked to their rooms to have some rest. They knew that the next day would be a very busy one.
---
The city of Canterlot was completely full; Citizens, visitors and soldiers were all walking through its streets. There was a long time since this amount of visitors had arrived in the city; Princess Celestia had ordered his best guards to patrol the streets to make sure everything was fine.
Through these same streets, Maximus Heart the great horse from Saddle Sarabia was trotting with a group of the best warriors from his country - “I must admit Canterlot is a decent city, much better than that Ponyville where the “Elements of Harmony” live. I wonder where this human might be? Princess Celestia said he was already here. What a coward! He must be hidden, planning some stupid and useless strategies hoping to beat me…”- He turned around as something caught his attention – “Now, that is a jewel I want in my collection…”
---
Alex and the rest of the group were outside a restaurant looking for something to eat. They were talking about the Cheerleading songs and chants they had been practicing for their favorite competitors, Alex, Spike and Rainbow Dash.
“I still can’t believe it is tomorrow. I must admit I’m a little nervous.”
“Oh! Don’t be nervous Alex; I’m pretty sure all of you will do fine. Remember that we will be there to support you!” – Alex was about to hug his friend but he was interrupted by the voice of someone speaking out loud - “Hello pretty unicorn” – He turned his head to see who it was. A horse from Saddle Sarabia was standing in front of them. Maximus Heart was looking at Rarity straight to her eyes.
Alex didn’t like him, not just because of the way he was talking to Rarity but because he looked so selfish and arrogant. He was going to tell her to go with him somewhere else so they could continue talking but he noticed that Rarity seemed quite charmed by the horse. She said:
“Oh, hello there, are you Maximus Heart the hero of Saddle Sarabia?”
“Yes lady, that’s me! May I have the honor to know your name?”
“Rarity…”
“I was looking for that freaky thing called human. I wanted to see if he was at least worth of participating in the Coliseum Tournament. Then, I came across this beauty that is talking to me right now, so I wondered if I could have the honor of knowing her name”
Rarity got a little upset about him calling Alex a freaky thing, but she decided to ignore that and kept talking – “Trust me darling, we have seen him in action and you should believe me when I say you shouldn’t underestimate him, being honest I’m rooting for him to win this tournament!”
“Hahahaha, I see you have such a great sense of humor. Well, I’m pretty sure you will change your mind when you see my amazing skills. But that’s enough of me for now, what about you allowing me to take you out on a date; surely a beautiful mare like you would enjoy a romantic dinner. What do you say?”
Rarity was speechless, she could not deny he was quite attractive, but something didn’t feel right about him, he reminded her of Blueblood. But maybe he was different. It would be nice to give him a try. Rarity was about to answer his question but was suddenly interrupted by a group of fans who started calling out his name.
“Oh my! It’s Maximus Heart! Please give us an autograph!”
A group of fillies and colts started surrounding them. They were cheering for him, a little pony got out of the crow and trotted towards the horse. Alex was surprised to notice she was PixelBerry, she was coming their way.
“Ugh! Annoying brats” - Maximus Heart said to himself while keeping a smile on his face –“After all, these fans are the ones buying my merchandise.”
“PixelBerry! It’s so good to see you!” – Pinkie Pie said - “Hi Girls, it’s nice to see you too!”
“May we know what are yah doing sugarcube?” – Applejack asked.
“I’m volunteering to take care of the fillies from the orphanage, all of them wanted to meet Alex and the rest of the competitors!”
“Oh! Is that so? Well, good for you darling. That’s such a nice thing to do but I’m afraid you will have to wait until tomorrow. Princess Celestia gave Alex instructions to not show up in front of anypony until tomorrow.”
“I see, Rarity. Is he really alive? Is he really going to be there tomorrow? Please tell me it’s not a cruel joke!”
“Sugarcube - Applejack told her - Ah give yah my word as the Element of Honesty that Alex is alive. He will be there tomorrow and ah can promise yah that he is already in Canterlot. Sorry ah can’t tell yah where.”
“Great! I’m so happy; I want to talk to him so bad. Please, if you see him, tell him I say hello and that he can come to my Cider Bar whenever he wants. I’ll invite him!”
One of the orphans got close to Maximus Heart and asked him for an autograph.
“Mr. Maximus, can I please have your autograph?”
“Of course little one, but I’m afraid you will have to pay first! – the orphan was surprised after hearing this words - Do… do I have to pay Sir?”
“Yeah! Everypony pays for an autograph of mine. I am pretty famous you know…”
“I, I don’t have any money Sir.”
“I see, well I guess there is no autograph for you. Now go and comeback when you have money and we will talk about the autograph you want.”
The orphan started crying, he was such a big fan of Maximus Heart. The little pony ran towards Pixel Berry, she hugged him - “Don’t cry cutie!”
“But I really wanted his autograph! He looked so nice, what if Mr. Alex is the same as him? Are they all the same?” - Maximus Heart heard this words - “I can’t believe she didn’t know my autographs are so valuable! Ponies are so ignorant!”
Rarity was completely shocked after hearing these words. She couldn’t believe she was about to accept his offer to go out on a date – “So pretty, what do you say? Would you like to go out on a date with me?”- He asked. Rarity was so angry, she couldn’t control herself and without hesitating, she slapped him in the face.
“I would never go out with someone as disgusting as you!”
Alex and Spike smirked, they were so proud of Rarity; Maximus Heart was full of anger – ““How dare you? Do you know how many ponies and horses would give it all to go out on a date with me? Ugh! It doesn’t matter now, I thought you were different but you are as pathetic as these orphans!”
Everypony was at their limit, Alex and Spike wanted to beat him to a pulp, but if they did, they could be disqualified from the Tournament for starting a fight against another competitor outside the Coliseum. Alex knew this risk, however, he started trotting towards the horse - “What do you want pathetic pony? Do you want to fight me?” - Alex kept trotting, everypony was afraid of him doing something stupid. Alex trotted past Maximus Heart without even looking at him; he got close to Pixel Berry and the little pony.
“Hi there cutie, what’s your name?” – He asked, the little pony wiped her tears off and answered - “Bright Hope Sir.”
“That’s a beautiful name! I want to give you this!”
Alex took out some Tournament Premium tickets and gave them to her, PixelBerry and the other orphans.
“How you have these tickets? They are really expensive, we can’t pay for them!” – PixelBerry exclaimed.
“Don’t worry; they are my gift to you. I’m pretty sure Alex the human would love to see you and these little ponies cheering for him. Would you like to have Alex’s autograph Bright Hope?” – She was so happy to hear this - “Yes sir, we all want to have it but we don’t have money to pay for it!”
“Don’t worry about that, Alex doesn’t want anything in exchange for his autograph. In fact, I can assure you he would be honored to have somepony asking him for it. I do know him a little; if you want, I will tell him to give it to you personally when the show ends, what do you say?”
“Really?!”
“Yeah! Trust me.” – Alex said, he was so happy to see Bright Hope smiling again - “And for you” - He said while turning to face Maximus Heart.
“What?”
“Pray…”
“Pray, why would I pray for?” – Maximus Heart asked.
“Pray for not facing Alex the human in the tournament, pray for being eliminated before you even get in his way, because I will personally ask him to whoop your ass. You said your autographs are so valuable? Let’s see how valuable they are after Alex sweeps the floor with you!”
Maximum Heart was so angry after hearing this - “So it seems you really know the human don’t you? Tell him this, if he gets in my way, I will humiliate him. The price for a small autograph will triple after he goes down, after I beat the freaking human who dared face me!”
“Don’t worry, he will know this…” – Alex said.
“Excellent! And now, how did you dare touching my face you usele…” - Alex, interrupted Maximum Heart before he could finish his sentence – “Hey! I wouldn’t dare saying that! Alex is a good friend of that pretty mare and the others in our group. You can be damn sure I will tell him how you insulted Rarity; he will not be happy to hear that. But If I tell him you did it twice, trust me, he will break your legs, and will have fun while doing it! So shut up and go away while you still can!”
Maximum Heart didn’t say a word. He didn’t know why but this pony sounded so convincing, deep inside he started to feel scared of Alex. He was started to feel intimidated.
“Whatever! Just tell him what I said. Soldiers, let’s go! I don’t want to be in this filthy place anymore!” - Maximus trotted away followed by his soldiers.
Rarity hugged Alex and said: “Thank you darling! Thank you so much! You gave that flankhole a lesson!”
“It’s ok Rarity; it was the least I could do.”
“It was enough darling – Rarity said – But I would like to ask you a favor!”
“What is it?” – Alex asked.
Rarity got close to him and whispered to his ear – ““If you face him at the tournament, show him no mercy!”
Alex smiled - “Trust me; you don’t need to ask that!”
They looked at each other and laughed out loud; PixelBerry got next to Alex and hugged him - “Thank you Alex!”
“What? Lady I think you are…” – PixelBerry continued - “Don’t try to deny it Alex. I recognized you, I had my doubts but I knew it with when you gave me the tickets, remember you did the same thing when we first met? I’d like to know how you managed to turn into a pony but I need to go back to the orphanage, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok?”
“. . . ok”
PixelBerry smiled - “It’s good to have you back with us Alex. Please, kick Maximus’ ass at the tournament!”
“Yes!”
PixelBerry started her way back to the orphanage, the little ponies were so happy to have these tickets. Alex turned to his friends – “Let’s go eat something delicious! And let’s forget about this stupid horse”! – Everypony nodded and smiled as they went into the restaurant.
Once they were done eating their meal, the headed back to the Royal Palace. It was already late and they decided to go to bed and have some rest before the big day. After saying goodnight, Alex asked Twilight and Spike to come to his room – “What are you guys up to?” Rainbow Dash asked – “I’m sorry, but Twilight, Spike and I need to discuss something regarding the Tournament, it’s classified.” – Alex answered.
“I didn’t want to know anyways…” – Rainbow Dash replied as she turned around and started trotting towards her room.
A couple of minutes later, Twilight and Spike got out of Alex’s room – ““So Twilight, are you sure IT can be done?” – Twilight smiled and said – ““Yeah! It’s a simple spell that will amplify the sound. Well, it will actually be a big spell but don’t worry, leave everything to me! I can’t wait for tomorrow. All I can say is that you have an awesome idea!”
Alex looked at Spike; he smiled and turned to Twilight.
The day for the Coliseum Tournament opening ceremony had arrived, everyone was looking for their seats inside Canterlot’s Coliseum. The competitors were in their rooms, getting ready for their entrance. Inside one of these rooms, a human and a little dragon were wearing their new clothes and faker gear; storing their original armor and weapons inside some boxes.
“I’m so nervous Alex, the day has finally come – Spike said – do you think Twilight will get it done?”
“Yeah! I believe in her, we only need to stay calm and do everything like we practiced last night.”
“You think they will like it, it seems a bit different.”
“Well, I hope so, but whether they like it or not, it’s something I always wanted to do and I’m sure I will never have the chance to do it again.”
“Ok brother. Let’s do it!” – Spike exclaimed.
The coliseum was full; all the competitors were leaving their rooms. Alex and Spike decided not to go out yet since they would be the last ones to be introduced to the public. Meanwhile, sitting in their special places, the rulers from the participant countries were having a conversation.
“This better be worth it!” - Aguilex said.
“I agree. After waiting for so long I hope this human is worthy of our time and effort.” - The ruler of Zebrica replied.
Princess Celestia heard them speaking and said:
“Don’t worry, I don’t know what he is planning to do but it will definitely be incredible!”
After saying this, Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence flew towards the center of the coliseum and landed in the middle of the fighting platform. Twilight was already there. Princess Celestia used her Canterlot Voice to speak to the crowd.
“My Fellow guests from all the regions of the world. Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Princess Twilight and I welcome all of you to Equestria to celebrate the 150th Coliseum Tournament. I’m sure all of us will watch amazing fights between the best warriors from all around the world. And tonight, a good friend of mine will finally show himself in front of all of you!”
Everyone in the place cheered in excitement.
“Now, all of us please welcome our competitors!”
The Royal Orchestra started playing Equestria’s anthem; everyone in the place went silent as a sign of respect as the equestrian competitors started walking into the coliseum. Rainbow Dash was the one carrying the flag; it was obvious she was excited to have this honor.
The next ones to enter the coliseum were the Griffins. Some of them were marching while others were making stunts that would make the Wonderbolts jealous. The Razors Twins were the ones carrying their flag.
Right after them, the horses from Saddle Sarabia proceeded to enter; trotting slow and synchronized, all of the warriors had a serious expression on their faces. The one carrying their flag was the Maximus Heart.
The anthem during the Zebras entrance was unique, drums, flutes and gongs; it was a tribal song that sounded amazing. The Zebra carrying the flag looked like a strong warrior, he was the same size as a Pony stallion, his hair was long and had some rings around his neck and front legs.
Now, it was the Cristal Ponies entrance; it was a unique show all of them were marching and the one in front of all was carrying the Cristal heart with him. The citizens from Canterlot were shouting and cheering for them.
The Bisons were the next ones, they looked big and strong. Their anthem was full of the traditional feeling only a proud tribe can have, all of them wearing war paint and feather bands.
Finally the Minotaurs made their entrance, their anthem sounded like a war song, it was clear for everypony that they liked fights. The Minotaurs were dangerous creatures, Bright courage in the middle of the marching formation; he looked so confident and calm.
When all the competitors were out, they formed in lines waiting around the fighting platform. All of them were looking at the entrance, as the audience, they were waiting for the last to competitors to arrive. After some minutes, the crowd started to get impatient.
“Hey! Where is he! Where is the human? – They started shouting - Yeah! And where is the dragon too? You promised us they would show up tonight!”
“Where’s the human?! Where’s the human?!”
The Princesses and the Elements, started to worry, not for the crowd but for their friend’s safety. Princess Celestia was about to send the Royal Guards to look for them when suddenly, the sound of a beautiful anthem was all over the place, it was odd since the orchestra wasn’t even playing, no one could identify where was this music coming from. The source of the music was Alex’s laptop, Twilight casted a sound amplification spell on it. The anthem was in a strange language only one particular pony could understand, she was smiling and even let some tears come out. This Mint Green pony was the only one in the audience who knew what was coming.
The crow became quiet as soon as this music started to play, after some minutes the music stopped. Everypony was confused; nopony entered the coliseum while the music was still playing. Some ponies were about to start yelling again but another song started.
The strong voice of the singer got into everyone’s head, they liked the rhythm and its lyrics, some of them even started to sing along “… I am the cult of personality!”
“It is time my friend…” – The voice of the dragon made a rush of adrenaline run through his bloodstream as he walked out.
The audience and all of the Rulers from around the world turned around to look at him. He was tall, not as much as a Minotaur but still taller than a pony. A little purple dragon was standing next to him. Both of them were wearing strange clothes and were armed to the teeth; his clothes were black and grey, while the dragon was wearing red and green armor. They both had the same strange logo that looked like an “A” on their armor and on the hoods that were covering their faces.
All their friends were cheering from their seats, Fluttershy, Lyra and Sweetie bell crying out of excitement, Pinkie pie was shooting her party cannon, Rarity didn’t want to admit it, but those clothes looked really cool. She couldn’t stop looking at Spike – “Why can’t I stop looking at him?” – She said to herself.
The human was carrying two flags, one on each of his shoulders. Equestria’s flag and the other was one nopony had seen before, it was cyan and white, it had a leaf crown, a scroll and a beautiful green bird in the middle. Spike was carrying Equestria’s flag. They started walking towards the rest of the competitors. Everypony was just looking at them without saying a word. Maximus Heart was the one to break the silence:
“Halt strange creature, you too dragon!” – He broke the line and got in their way.
Alex and Spike ignored him and kept walking, Maximus Heart didn’t take his eyes off them and so did the rest of the competitors. He felt his pride was hurt as these two walked past him without even looking at him. The princesses were waiting for them in the middle of the coliseum. Alex and Spike got to the fighting platform and planted their flags in the ground; they kept walking until they were in front of the princesses. They bowed and smiled at them.
Alex took a microphone out of one of his pockets and turned to the crowd. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said:
“KEPT YOU WAITING UH?”
Everypony started to cheer; Fluttershy, Sweetie Bell and Pinkie Pie were jumping on their seats. Princess Luna got next to him and said:
“YOU KEPT US WAITING MY FRIEND. NOW ALLOW ME THE HONOR... WELCOME BACK TO CANTERLOT, ALEX THE HERO!”
“I’m no Hero Princess Luna; I’m just another competitor, nothing less, nothing more.”
Another cheer was heard from the crowd; Alex turned to them again and said:
“Thank you! My name is Alejandro and I’m here to win this tournament! - He turned to the competitors - I hope to have a fair competition with all of you my friends!”
Most of the competitors nodded. Bright Courage walked out of the group and stopped in front of Alex, they stared at each other and to everyone’s surprise he extended his hand to Alex and said:
“May the best warrior win Alejandro!” – Alex smiled and shook his hand.
“Yes, Mr. Bright Courage, It will be an honor to face you here!”
Another cheer was heard from the audience. Alex and Spike proceeded to join the rest of the competitors. Many of them were asking him random questions; some were kept their distance while others were looking at him with fascination or disgust.
---
“I have to admit, he is quite cute. I hope he has experience otherwise I will be more than happy to guide him.”
---
“You dared to ignore me freak, I will destroy you!”
---
“Please mother of all Zebras, give me the chance to face him, I hope he is strong!”
---
After some minutes, the fireworks started. It was an incredible display to announce the beginning of the tournament.
“Well everycreature, the opening ceremony is over. Don’t forget, tomorrow we will have the eliminatory rounds to choose the best eight warriors for the adult and youth sections, have a nice sleep and come back tomorrow.” – Princess Luna said to the audience.
Everycreature proceeded to leave the stadium. Alex and Spike were exhausted, both of them had to answer lots of questions from either fans or the other competitors. While leaving the place, Alex and Spike came across Maximus Heart.
“So you finally decided to show up? - He looked at Alex showing disgust on his face - Uhg! You are really ugly! How can you come out looking like that? I don’t blame you for waiting so long to show your face…”
Alex didn’t say a thing.
“Cat ate your tongue freak?”
“C’mon Spike, we need to go with our friends.” – Spike nodded and both of them started walking. Once again they ignored him and left him behind. Maximus Heart couldn’t stand it.
“Hey! How you dare to ignore me? Don’t you know who I am?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, I just know you are one of my rivals, one I really, really want to take down; a friend of mine told me the kind of asshole you are, I have nothing to say to the likes of you!”
“I WILL HUMILIATE YOU HUMAN!”
“No! You won’t, as my friend told you yesterday, pray not to face me; I will not forget what you did to my friends! See you later pathetic so-called superstar.”
Alex and Spike kept walking, leaving an angry horse behind; when they got out, they found lots of creatures outside waiting for them. PixelBerry was amongst the crowd and the orphans were with her.
“Can we have your signature? Please…”
Alex and Spike knew they wouldn’t go to bed early that night. Some hours later, once they were done signing pictures and answering questions from the fans that gathered in the place, they started their way to the dorm room.
“So tomorrow is the big day, right Alex?”
“Yes my friend. I hope I do fine. I’m sure you will rock in your category.” “Thanks Alex! I’ll do my best, I promise. I just hope this impresses Rarity”
“I’m sure it will. Who knows, maybe by the end of this tournament you will have your little filly friend with you!”
“Hahahaha! Maybe, I still hope it was Rarity, but as you say, that is in fate’s hands?”
“Right! Now, let’s go sleep, I’m dead tired.”
“Me too!”
They got to their rooms and said good night. Alex put his head on the pillow and tried to get as comfortable as possible. He closed his eyes and got ready to sleep. While he had a lot of things in mind, one of them was above the rest:
Alex and Spike woke up early in the morning; he smiled when he saw his little sister next to him and kissed her on the forehead. He proceeded to take a shower and put on his battle clothes afterwards. He woke up Sweetie bell and carried her to the dining room in order to have breakfast; once there, he found everypony eating, he sat next to Fluttershy who welcomed him warmly.
“What exactly is going to happen today Twilight?”
“Today we have the elimination rounds, you three will be placed in different sections and face your designated opponents, if you manage to win all of your matches, you will advance to the top eight and hopefully the finals. I just hope you and Rainbow dash don’t end in the same block.”
“Yeah, me too. What about Spike?”
“Oh, well he will do the same.”
“I see. Well Spike, I hope to see you competing in the finals, just remember to think before attacking. Don’t lose your focus and try to find any weaknesses to exploit.”
“Yes Sir!”
“And don’t forget to smile too!” - Pinkie Pie said.
“Thanks Pinkie, I don’t know if that will help today, but thanks anyway” – Spike replied.
“You’re welcome; and don’t worry, we will be there cheering for you, right girls?”
All of them cheered, except for Lyra, Fluttershy and the Crusaders.
“Girls, If you don’t mind, Lyra the fillies and I will be cheering for Alex, but I promise when his fights are over, all of us will join you.” – Fluttershy said.
“That’s no problem darling; go cheer for your coltfriend, there’s nothing wrong in that, just try not to distract him too much or he will get nervous. I would not be surprised if he wants to try anything to impress his cute marefriend”
“You’re right Rarity - Alex said - Thanks for being there for me Shy, Lyra and you too little cuties.”
“No problem Alexis, I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world!”
“Yeah! Me too brother, finally everycreature will see how amazing my big brother really is!”
“Thanks, I’ll do my best. I promise!”
After finishing their breakfast, all of them started their way to the Coliseum. Alex was reluctant about going next to Fluttershy, the last thing he wanted was anyone bothering her and asking her questions about him, but she said she didn’t mind and she knew what to expect in exchange for being with the one she loved. He smiled and held her wing with his hand. From above the sky, a griffin who saw them walking together said:
“So he has a marefriend! It doesn’t matter; after I show him my style he will dump her like a soiled sheet!”
---
Outside the Coliseum, there were at least 20 platforms where the first rounds would be held, Alex kissed her marefriend and sister.
“Ok, Rainbow Dash, Spike and I will go get our gear and make a little warm up, see you in a while girls.” - They nodded and said their farewells. After the three entered the Coliseum, Rainbow Dash turned to Alex and said:
“Wow Alex, she really is into you, I hope you realize that!”
“Of course Rainbow, remember she is my special somepony.”
“I know I know, it’s just, well. You do know I have known Fluttershy since we were kids right?”
“I do.”
“Well you see, she is so sweet, too much for her own good sometimes. She trusts ponies, everycreature and I mean everycreature. It made me afraid she would end alone or hurt by somepony who would only want to take advantage of her – Rainbow Dash made a pause and stood in front of Alex, she got close to him and hugged him tight - Thank you Alex, Thank you for being here for her! Please make sure she never suffers, after all she has gone through she deserves happiness.”
“All she has gone through? What happened to her?” - Alex asked.
“I am sorry, that’s really not my story to tell, please don’t misunderstand me. I know things about her past she would never share with anypony else, I’m very sure some day she will tell you. Until that, please keep supporting her and keeping her out of troubles, remember that you are now a team, if something happens to you it affects her as well.”
“I know and don’t worry, until she decides to tell me or tell all of us about her past, we will not ask, right Spike?”
“Right!”
The three of them had to take separate ways in order to get their equipment and faker gear ready. Once Alex had his entire equipment, he met with Spike again; they started walking towards the center of the Coliseum through a lonely corridor. Suddenly a female griffin stepped in front of them. She was looking at Alex straight to his eyes, like an eagle looking at its pray.
“Hello, Alex, it’s an honor to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. May I know who you are?”
“Of course you may, my name is Tyras but you can call me Ty if you want.”
“Well, nice too meet you Tyras. Now, if you excuse us… - Alex and Spike tried to walk around her, but she got in his way again. – Is there anything I can help you with?” – He asked.
“Yes there is darling. Sorry if I’m a little straight forwarded but that is my style. Let me ask you this, have you ever been with a griffin before?” – Alex was a little surprised about this question. He didn’t want to misinterpret it – “No, not really. In fact, you are the first I’ve ever met!”
“Oh! In that case, you haven’t BEEN with a griffin?”
Alex wasn’t the smartest guy on Earth but even he knew where this conversation was going.
“. . . . . .No, I haven’t and I’m not planning to. I have a Very Special somepony.” – Alex wanted to make that clear.
“Oh! That’s too bad, but you know, sometimes plans don’t work as desired, I just want you to know I have a lot of free time and that I am feeling lonely. I wouldn’t mind if you came to see me in my room…”
“Well, that’s very kind of you. But please understand it will never happen. Thank you and goodbye.” – Alex walked past her and kept his way towards the center of the Coliseum.
Spike was a little confused about the things she said to Alex -“Wow Alex, you just met her and now she wants to be your friend right away, that’s amazing! But what was all that about being with a griffin?” – He asked.
“I’ll tell you when you are 16. Now let’s go” – Alex answered.
Alex was stopped by a claw that grabbed his shoulder. It didn’t hurt that much thanks to his armor. He made a quick maneuver to free himself from it and immediately turned around. It was the same griffin; she was looking at him like she wanted to kill him.
“What’s wrong with you human? I am here offering you a chance to be with me, and you reject it! Maybe you just don’t know, but I’m not only a captain of the Royal Griffin Guard I’m also a supermodel in Griffonia. Any Griffin, Pony, Minotaur, any creature you may know would give anything to have what I’m offering you. Are you just stupid?!”
“. . . . Lady, you heard me when I told you I have a marefriend right?”
“So what? I’m pretty sure I’m much better than her!”
“Nope, you are not. She is the most perfect creature for me in this world. Please just go, I’m not interested AT ALL!”
Tyras was really upset. She was unable to contain herself – “Listen to me human, no creature rejects me! No one EVER! I’ve been with every…” – Alex covered her beak with his hand, Tyras shook his hand off - “I got the Idea Tyras. Spike please, I need to talk to her in private. I’ll catch up to you in a moment.”
“Ok Alex. Please don’t take too long” – Spike replied.
“Trust me; I want to finish this conversation as soon as possible! - Once Spike was out of sight he asked her to continue.
“Ok! As you know, you are the only human in this world. So the moment I heard about you, I knew you had to be mine!”
“Is that how you see me? As something you have to posses? ”
“Exactly! But it’s not a bad thing! It’s a win-win situation, I have you in my list and you’ll feel things you’ve never felt before. Your marefriend doesn’t even have to know!”
“No thanks, I’m not interested, I love my marefriend very much and I will not betray her!” - Alex started to walk away from her. After two steps, he heard the noise of armor falling on the ground. He turned around and realized Tyras was missing some pieces of her armor. He noticed some of her feathers were scattered all around the corridor. Tyras smiled and said:
“If I were to scream right now, what do you think would anyone think you did? Do you know what would happen to you?”
“You wouldn’t…”
“Yes I would! You see, I always get what I want. Do you think I have never targeted married males before? Of course it wasn’t that hard to convince them, but you, you are something special! I love the ones that are hard to get. Now, here in this dark and silent corridor, you have two options: You either come with me or I’ll have you arrested for trying to rape me. You decide...”
“You are wasting your time! The princesses trust me and Applejack is the one and only Element of Honesty, she would know and make it clear to everypony that you are lying!”
“It’s that so? True, ponies may not believe in my words but you really think my king or the other rulers would believe in her? She is also your friend, so she might wanted to get you out of that situation. Trust me; you only have one option left…”
“No, he doesn’t!” – A dragon’s voice came from the entrance to the corridor. Spike, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and King Aguilex were standing there. Tyras looked at them with a horrible expression on her face.
“My king!”
“Tyras, I heard everything!”
“But how did you find us?!”
“This little dragon told us about you having this conversation with the human here.”
“Spike, you knew about . . . this stuff?” - Alex asked
“Alex please! I’m almost 13 years old of course I know “some things” about this kind of conversations.”
Tyras ran towards her king and kneeled before him – “Forgive me my king. I am sorry for everything I said. Please forgive me!”
King Aguilex looked away. He was disgusted of the things Tyras had done.
“You are lucky to be one of my best warriors Tyras. But trying to frame a competitor is a crime. You can stay here and compete but I forbid you from approaching the human anymore. You know what will happen if you disobey any of my orders. AM I CLEAR?!”
“Yes my king!”
“We will discuss this Tyras. I will require your presence in the Royal Tribune once this tournament is over.”
Rainbow Dash got near Tyras – “Ha! In your face! But I’m impressed; you really thought Alex would leave Fluttershy for you? He is not that dumb!”
“I’m not that dumb? Well, thanks for the help I guess.” – Alex replied.
King Aguilex flew towards the arena, Tyras followed him slowly. Before leaving, she turned to Alex and Rainbow Dash.
“You are both my targets now! I will crush you both in the competition!”
Once she was gone, Twilight hugged Alex.
“Thank you Alex for proving to us that you do love Fluttershy.”
“I do love her and I will never betray her!”
“Ok guys, now we need to hurry, the first round is about to start and you need to know who will be your opponent!” - Twilight said.
Alex and Rainbow Dash were relieved to find out they weren’t in the same group of competitors so they didn’t have to worry about facing each other until the finals in case they managed to win. Spike was calmed, knowing he would not have to face any of his friends too. Once they knew who their opponents were, they started their way towards the arenas. They also decided to keep the previous incident a secret. All of them wished good luck to each other and got ready to compete.
---
The Coliseum Tournament had begun.
A referee stood in the center of a platform and said: “Our next match! Alex the human versus Valiant Strength, the Cristal Pony!”
The crowd went wild while both competitors entered the arena. The referee casted the Faker Field spell which scanned both competitors for their Faker armor and weapons. Once the scanning was complete, the referee asked them to approach to the center of the arena.
“As you know, during the elimination rounds there is a three minutes time limit. If you have the same life points once the time runs out, we go into sudden death; in that case the first competitor to take a single life point from the other wins the round. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” – Alex was ready.
“Start!”
Everypony cheered. Alex was a patient man, he had to be careful not to waste any attacks, this Crystal Pony was a trained soldier not a wild creature that would attack by pure instinct, patience was the key; both of them stared at each other. The Crystal Pony was pointing his spear at Alex in a menacing way. The human was waiting for the Pony to make his move. His hidden blades were ready. A drop of sweat went down on Alex’s eyebrow making him blink.
Blinking takes approximately 150 milliseconds, which is faster than the tick sound made by a wall clock, not enough time for a regular Pony to make a move, but this was no regular pony. As soon as Alex closed his eye, the tip of the spear traveled straight to his face. Alex barely dodge it, he realized the pony could move really fast so he jumped backwards and gained his position again.
But the pony had already started his attack and he wasn’t going to stop. He jumped straight to were Alex was standing, attacking him with his spear, Alex dodge every attack and popped his blades. His blades were swinging at the pony from every possible direction. The pony dodged most of the attacks and blocked the ones he was unable to escape from.
Alex saw an opening and went in for a direct hit but Valiant Strength avoided his move and turned around completely, then used his back legs to kick him. The spiked horseshoes scratched Alex’s chest taking eight points from him; Alex jumped backwards again but the pony didn’t stop there. Valiant turned around facing Alex again and threw his spear right to his head making him lean backwards to avoid being hit by it. This was what the pony was planning, he ran towards Alex and as soon as he stood straight again, Valiant hit him with both hooves directly on his chest taking sixty points away from Alex. Valiant Strength smiled knowing that his plan had worked as he saw Alex clinching his teeth in pain. However, the pony didn’t notice Alex had grabbed both of his front legs with one arm, everything he could see was the shinning tip of the hidden blade flying straight to his neck. Alex hit him so hard he made Valiant Strength flip backwards and land heavily on the ground. His points went down to zero. The Field Spell disappeared.
“And the winner of this match is Alex!”
His friends and fans cheered for him so loud that the whole place trembled. Alex helped Valiant Strength stand up. The pony was still unable to walk on his own.
“You are fast, and you hit me really hard!” – Valiant said.
“You too, I can barely stand the pain my chest.”
Both competitors left the arena. Alex went back to his dressing room to get ready for the next match. He removed his chest piece and saw the bruises caused by the kick – “I know the Faker weapons won’t kill me but I must be careful not being hit like this again. Damn it hurts like hell!”
---
His next opponent was a bison. Its entire body was covered in armor; this made things very tricky, there wasn’t any opening for Alex to try to stab the bison with his blades.
As soon as the match started, the bison charged towards Alex trying to tackle him but the human stepped aside. The bison tried the same thing again knowing that a single blow would finish Alex off. Alex was familiar with this kind of attacks because of his experience with Manticores. After failing for a third time, the bison changed its tactic; it stood up on its hind legs showing the spikes covering every inch of his armor. Alex was surprised that a bison could stand up like that. Suddenly, the bison jumped high on the air trying to land on top of Alex who was caught by surprise. The human barely dodged this attack by rolling forward. At the end of the roll, he stood up and turned around only to notice the bison flying through the air again, Alex rolled to his right but the bison didn’t give him time to stand up as it jumped towards him again. Alex was getting tired just by dodging the attacks; he didn’t even have time to think of a strategy to end this battle. The bison jumped again, it was shocking to see this heavy creature being able to jump this high. Alex had to use all of the strength in his legs in order to avoid the attack, but this time he wanted to look for a chance to counter-attack, Alex did a 360 dive roll and landed on the ground. The bison laughed after noticing how Alex had used all of his energy to make that move, it jumped for a last time – “This is it!” – Alex said as he let himself fall flat on his back, the crowd stood up; the bison was noticed Alex didn’t dodge his attack and closed his eyes waiting to feel his weight crushing the human under it.
And it did.
The bison fell heavily on top of Alex; the crow went silent as Alex’s life counter started to quickly go down. But it wasn’t the only counter going from a hundred to zero. Alex’s counter stopped at three but the bison’s didn’t stop there. The Faker Barrier disappeared as its points reached zero and immediately a group of medic ponies went into the arena, they used their magic to lift the bison and noticed Alex’s hands grabbing it from its neck as well as the Faker hidden blades stabbing the bison under its chin.
When Alex did the 360 dive roll to dodge the attack he was able to notice an unprotected spot under the bison’s head while rolling on the air. He decided to take a risk by being crushed under the bison’s heavy body which helped his hidden blades reach further into its neck and head. The risk paid off.
The crowd went wild as the referee announced Alex as the winner of this match. Alex was carried to his dressing room by the medic ponies who gave him some medicine for him to heal and be ready for his next fight.
Since there were many competitors, Alex had a couple of hours to rest. The medicine given to him by the ponies was really effective as the pain he felt from being crushed by the bison was going away.
The rest of his matches were exciting. Using his martial arts training, he managed to beat an Earth Pony, another Crystal Pony and a Pegasus who was using a weapon Alex called wing blades, it consisted of blades being attached to the tip of the feathers on the Pegasus wings. Alex had to be careful in case he had to face Rainbow Dash as she could use these weapons too. It was time for him to compete in his last elimination match and go into the top 8. This time his opponent was a Griffin that was somehow familiar to him.
“So you were the one who got my sister into trouble right?”
“Excuse me…”
“I’m Tyros, twin brother of Tyras”
“Well, I didn’t get her into trouble. She got what she deserved.”
“I know, but still she is my family, sorry but you have to go down. Nothing personal.”
“No problem, now let’s fight!”
Tyros didn’t want to waste time in useless attacks, he immediately stood on his hind legs and drew both of his swords, Alex drew his Katanas, this time the hidden blades were useless. Everycreature was silent; this was a match the crowd expected to see during the finals. Both of them proceeded to attack each other, clashing their blades. After some time, they both backed off.
“You are good human, and I must say I like your style.”
“Thanks! You are an expert too. Now let’s finish this!”
Tyros started to fly as high as the Force Field allowed him to. Alex knew what was coming because during his last fight with the Pegasus, she made something similar, Tyros charged with both wings fully extended revealing the wing blades too, his swords were pointing to the front like a dart. Alex jumped to the left but didn’t count on the Griffin wings being so much larger than a pony’s, Tyros swinged his left sword which hit Alex’s shoulder taking 25 of his points. Alex rolled backwards and stood up in a guarding position. Tyros repeated his attack, this time Alex jumped further to the right but Tyros noticed and was able to extend his wings a little missing Alex’s throat by a couple of inches. But Tyros was no beginner, he rolled to his right while still flying and swinged his right sword towards Alex who managed to block the attack with his Katanas but the impact caused by Tyros’ speed was so strong that sent him flying through the air. Alex felt on the floor, his back hurt like a bitch but he didn’t lose any points. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was cornered. No matter where he jumped, left or right, Tyros’ speed and technique were almost perfect.
“Human, you gave a good match, and it was really fun, but I have to win now. I’m really sorry; please cheer for me in the finals!”
Tyros made his last attack, he was prepared for everything, no matter where Alex jumped, left or right the human was done for. Tyros’ speed had no match. Alex waited until the very last moment and got ready to jump. Tyros extended his swords to both sides. He didn’t see it coming, no creature saw it coming.
This time, Alex didn’t jump to the sides; he jumped upwards like a tiger jumping on his prey. Tyros wasn’t expecting this, when he was flying right under Alex, the human stabbed both of his Katanas on his back taking seventy five of his points. This move threw Tyros out of balance so he couldn’t stop and crashed against the barrier at full speed. He went unconscious; Alex stood up and walked towards Tyros who was lying on the ground. He used his hidden blades to finish him off. Victory was his.
Everycreature started chanting Alex’s name; he extended his arms as a sign of victory. He had done it; he advanced to the top 8. His friends got into the arena and Fluttershy hugged him – “Oh Sweet Celestia you did it Alex, I knew you could do it, I’m so proud of you!”
Lyra and the Crusaders joined hugged him too.
“You are amazing Alexis, keep doing this and you will surely win this tournament!”
“Thanks Lyra, but let’s wait until it ends.”
“Brother! You are so cool! Thanks for the show, it was so much fun!”
“Yeah Alex bro, now you will go to the finals. I can imagine you facing Rainbow Dash! I have to get a camera!”
“Yeah, you were great Alex, I can’t wait for the next matches!!”
“Thanks little cuties, I’m starting to believe I can win this.”
They all laughed and kept hugging without paying attention to the audience. The medic ponies took Tyros with them and the referee announced the winner of the match.
“We have the winner and one of the top eight competitors!”
---
Alex and his friends wanted to see Spike and Rainbow Dash matches. They found Rainbow Dash on their way, she told them how she won the last match and got to the top eight. They finally arrived to where Spike was fighting, he wasn’t having any troubles. His last opponent was a unicorn colt, a little older than the crusaders. He was attacking spike with a little sword and shield. Spike was blocking every attack with his Katanas and then in a quick move, he used his strength to send his Katana flying through the air and hitting his opponent in the chest taking the rest of his points.
“The winner of this match, and now advancing to the top eight of the youths tournament, Spike the dragon!”
“Yes! I did it!”
Alex immediately stepped in the platform and hugged Spike. The rest of the group joined them.
“I’m so proud of you Spike!”
“Thanks Twilight!”
“I must say, you were great Spikey Wikey”
“Thanks Rarity, it’s all thanks to you guys, please keep cheering for me!”
“Of course sugarcube, now come, yah will need your strength back when the top eight starts in a couple of hours!”
Spike, Alex and Rainbow Dash left their gear in the Dressing Rooms on the Coliseum. The group started their way back to the Royal Castle. Once in there, the Princesses congratulated the winners.
“You all make Equestria very proud!”
“Thank you very much Princess Celestia, it’s an honor to represent your kingdom!” – Alex said.
“My little human, don’t forget you are part of my kingdom now.”
“You three are amazing!” - Princess Cadence said
“Thanks Cadence, I saw it coming from Rainbow and Spike, but I still can’t believe I managed to advance to the top eight!”
“And who knows maybe we will get to fight each other Alex, no hard feelings when I beat you right?” – Rainbow Dash said.
After having their lunch, each of them went to their room to rest before Spike’s top eight matches. While on their way, Alex said:
“Ok girls, Spike and I will go to the Coliseum very early; he needs to warm up a little. I will be coaching him today.”
They all agreed.
Alex turned to Spike and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Spike was warming up inside his room while Alex gave him some advises for his next fight. The dragon was focusing on one goal:
Take that trophy with him.
“That’s great Spike! Keep it up. Ten more pushups and we are done!”
“…Ok…”
Spike completed the exercises and was feeling more than ready to compete. He put his entire gear on and left his room accompanied by Alex.
“Spike, I’m just going to check if the girls have already arrived and then will come back with you, ok?”
“Ok, please make sure to be on time.”
“No problem Spike. I’ll be right back!”
After Alex left, Spike decided to check on the rest of the finalists. He walked towards the side of the arena were the final matches would take place and found them there; the other eight competitors were already waiting for the matches to start. The group consisted of three Minotaurs, one Unicorn, a Horse, a Zebra and a Griffin. They all turned around to see Spike after noticing he was walking towards them.
“So you are the dragon who made it to the finals?!” – The Unicorn asked.
“Well, yeah! Here I am.”
The Griffin stood next to Spike – “Your armor looks cool! I hope you are as good as everypony says!”
“I believe I am. Not to sound arrogant but I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” – Spike replied.
There was one Minotaur that wasn’t impressed by the little Dragon. After hearing all of the others ask Spike random questions regarding his armor, weapons and training, he approached Spike and asked:
“Why are you guys so impressed? He is just a simple little dragon who was trained by some kind of freak!”
The other competitors went silent after hearing this. All of them noticed the tone of voice he used to say these words. Spike knew that not all the competitors would be nice to him, especially after meeting Maximus Heart. He got a little upset not because the Minotaur called him “little Dragon” as if he was a joke, but because the Minotaur insulted Alex by calling him a freak.
“… And who are you supposed to be? The funny guy who thinks he is invincible or just a simple jerk?” – Spike asked.
The Minotaur was furious. He was more than pissed off after hearing the other six finalists laughing so hard at him.
“You better watch your mouth Dragon! Don’t you know who I am?”
“No, I don’t know who you are and being honest I really don’t care.”
No one was laughing this time. Everypony could feel the tension between them. The Minotaur got closer to Spike and said:
“I am Platinum Guts, the grandson of Bright Courage! And I will be the winner of this tournament. If you think you can talk to me like that, you better make sure that you and your stupid human friend…” – The Minotaur was interrupted after feeling the cold tip of Spike’s hidden blade on his throat. He jumped backwards to escape from the dragon’s weapon.
“Don’t you ever insult Alex again or I will leave a scar on that neck of yours! You got me?” - The look on Spike’s eyes was cold. - “Alex trained me so I could protect my friends against anyone, I didn’t start training after hearing of this tournament so every technique I know was meant to be lethal. You might be Bright Courage’s grandson, but I can guarantee you have never faced anyone like me and for sure your grandfather has never faced an opponent like Alex.”
The Minotaur drew one of his weapons too.
“Whatever! You better pray not to face me at the tournament because if you do, I will make you suffer!” – Platinum Guts put his weapon back in its sheath – “And make sure to include your friend in your prayers too because he will pay for what you said in case he is unlucky enough to face my grandfather in the arena.”
The Minotaur turned around and walked away while the rest of the group surrounded Spike, the Unicorn stood in front of him and said:
“That was amazing Spike! You are so brave! This is the way a Dragon should always be! That’s why I like them so much!”
“Do you like Dragons!?” – Spike asked.
“Yeah! Dragons have always amazed me. They are so cool! And now here I am talking to one. This is amazing!”
“Thank you! And what’s your name?”
“My name is Aura Breeze, I’m from Manehattan!” – She answered.
“Nice to meet you Aura! – The rest of the competitors walked away – It is awesome to see a Unicorn compete in the finals. How did you learn to fight?”
“My daddy is a Royal Guard so he trained me since I was four. It’s my dream to become the first Royal Guard mare in all of Equestria; I know my dream will come true after winning this tournament! There is no way they will reject me if I show them I can win this thing at this age!”
Spike was so impressed after hearing her words. Her optimism and determination were unique. She was right, he hadn’t heard of any Royal Guard mares in Equestria at all.
“Aura, you are amazing!” – Spike had to admit he liked her attitude. He knew she was beautiful too, but he wasn’t going to say that.
“Thanks Spike!” – She said while looking at Spike directly into his eyes making him nervous - “Ok, I must go now! I… I have to do something. Well, good luck in the tournament. See you there Aura!”
“Good luck to you too! Bye.”
---
Alex got back into the coliseum after a couple of minutes and met with Spike.
“Hey Spike! The girls have already arrived and they are in their seats. They are so excited to see you compete!”
“G… Great. Thanks!”
“Is there anything wrong? You look nervous. Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I am ok! It’s just because my match is about to start.”
The human was going to say something, but the announcement of the final matches started:
“Finalists, it’s time for you and your coaches to come to the center of the Arena!”
There were thousands of fans inside the Coliseum, all of them were cheering for their favorite participant. The sound of the audience made the whole place tremble as the competitors and their coaches walked towards the center of the arena.
This arena was not a regular one; it had a diameter of 40 meters and was full of big and small rocks. These rocks offered the competitors perfect hiding and tactical places for them to compete. Spike was planning his strategy as he was walking past these rocks.
The competitors arrived at the center of the Arena, where the princesses were waiting for them. Princess Twilight welcomed them with a big smile using her magic to levitate a golden box in front of them and said:
“Please take a paper from this box. Each paper has a number that will be assigned to the finalist that picks it. You will read it aloud so everypony knows which number you got!” – The princess walked towards Spike – “Please, take one…”
The Dragon put his claw inside the box and took his number.
“I got the number 2!”
The referee wrote Spike’s number as the number 2 in the board.
“Spike, you will be the first one to fight! Now, let the rest of the competitors grab their pieces of paper.” – Twilight moved to her right and stopped in front of another finalist – “Platinum Guts please take one!”
The Minotaur put his hand inside the box and took his piece of paper. He unfolded it in order to read it. Everypony in the place was waiting for him to read his number.
“…I got number 6!” – He said while clinching his teeth.
Easy Glider, the Griffin was next.
“I got number 4”
Twilight kept walking towards the other competitors.
“Aura Breeze, please take one.”
The little Unicorn took a piece of paper from the box – “I hope I get a good one!” – She said with a smile on her face. She unfolded the piece of paper and looked at the number; there was a sad look on her face afterwards.
“Little filly, what number did you get?” – The princess asked.
She looked at Twilight who noticed the sadness in her eyes.
“I got . . . number 1!”
Spike was shocked, he could not believe his first opponent was the filly he just met; it looked like some kind of joke. Aura Breeze got next to him while the next competitors were given the rest of the numbers – “It’s you and I then, let’s do our best Spike!” – Spike smiled at her and replied – “Ok Aura, let’s do our best” – The Unicorn got closer to him and whispered in his ear – “If you don’t take me seriously, I will never forgive you!” – Her words made him sad because he didn’t want to be the one facing her, he didn’t want to be one putting an end to her dream – “I promise I will fight with everything I have!”
Once every competitor had their respective numbers assigned, they walked outside the Arena in order to wait for their corresponding matches to start.
Princess Twilight stood in the middle of the battle field again:
“It’s my honor to announce the start of the Coliseum Tournament finals for the younger competitors division. I know they will give us great matches. Competitors please be advised of the following: there is no time limit on this matches, the only way to win is to reduce the opponents points to zero. Additionally, the victory can be achieved by making the opponent surrender. Please take these things into consideration to adjust your strategies.” – The eight finalists nodded – “Competitors, the final matches start, NOW!”
The crowd went wild as they heard these words. The place was full of fans from all over the world.
The referee stood in the middle of the Arena.
“The first ones to fight are both representing Equestria. Spike the Dragon and Aura Breeze the Unicorn! Competitors, please step into the Arena.”
Spike and Aura walked to the center of the Arena, Alex and Aura’s coach were standing inside the borders, ready to support and give instructions to their respective fighters. The Dragon was wielding his Katanas, hidden blades, knives. a short bow and arrows were part of his arsenal. Aura was covered in golden armor; this armor had some sort of mechanisms on each side – “I wonder what those things are…” – Spike said to himself. Aura’s helmet had spikes all over; it was perfect for charging against the opponent.
Both competitors stood in front of each other.
“I’m glad you are my opponent Spike. Being honest, I wanted so badly to fight against you. I will do my best to win this but if I lose, I’ll have the honor to lose to a Dragon!” – Spike felt honored - “Thanks Aura, It’s a real honor to face you!”
The referee gave the order to activate Faker Barrier; the spell scanned them both for their respective Faker weapons except for Alex and Aura’s coach. Once the scanning was complete, the number 100 appeared over Spike and Aura’s head.
The referee turned to Spike – “Are you ready?” – The Dragon nodded – “Aura, are you ready?” – “I am” – She answered.
“Begin!”
Aura threw a little round object between Spike and her which exploded in less than a second. The place was immediately covered in a dense fog – Damn it! A smoke bomb!” – Spike said. He drew his Katanas and charged forward right to were Aura was standing a second ago. With a quick move, he managed to dissipate some of the smoke, but to Aura wasn’t standing there anymore.
“I didn’t expect her to start the fight in that way! I must be careful.”
Spike turned around thinking Aura would attack him from behind, using what was left of the smoke to cover her moves but he was wrong. An arrow flew through the air, hitting Spike on his right knee. Even though it wasn’t a “real” arrow, it still pierced his armor. The numbers floating over his head went from one hundred to eighty in an instant.
“I have to be careful; she is attacking me from a distance.”
Another arrow flew straight towards him but this time he was able to dodge it. After the smoke was dissipating and Spike was able to see the whole Arena again. He managed to see Aura aiming a crossbow at him and shooting a third arrow – “Where did he get that? – He asked himself.
Spike put his Katanas back in their place and drew his short bow aiming towards Aura, but she wasn’t there anymore. Spike felt another arrow piercing the armor on his back taking thirty points off from him. He jumped as far as he could in order to take cover under a rock. He sat down and closed his eyes to try to calm down and focus until he could listen to Aura moving. Long ago, Alex found that the Dragons posses very accurate senses, that is why is almost impossible to steal a dragon’s treasure since they are able to hear when someone is coming towards their lair from miles away.
Spike kept his eyes closed; finally, he was able to hear Aura moving across the Arena, she hid behind a rock and pulled another smoke bomb out. Her plan was simple, keep herself covered by the smoke. Spike was able to hear her movements; he readied his short bow and started running towards her, Aura saw the Dragon coming where she was and realized he was going for a direct attack, she threw the smoke bomb at him but Spike was ready, he shot his arrow which made contact with the smoke bomb making it explode at a few inches from Aura’s face, the explosion made her close her eyes and breath a high amount of the smoke which made her cough and lower her guard for a second.
Spike threw his short bow away and drew his Katanas, Aura opened her eyes and saw him coming towards her as she readied her crossbow but it was too late, Spike was faster and with a swift movement he cut her weapon in half. It all happened in less than a second, Spike turned around and hit Aura’s face with his tail and then with his foot, it was some sort of round house kick that sent her flying through the air.
Aura landed on her back but jumped back on her hoofs as soon as she hit the ground. The counter over her head lost twenty five points. Aura could still feel the pain from Spike’s tail and the kick to his face. She was hurt but happy at the same time because Spike kept his promise and was using everything he had to fight against her – “He is a great fighter, but I am a warrior!”
Spike saw her drawing her spear and pointing at him. Aura attacked him with quick movements but the Dragon was too fast, she couldn’t land any of them; knowing that Spike was too god at close combat, she jumped backwards and threw her spear in order to gain a better position. Spike saw the spear coming towards him and cut it with his Katanas.
The Unicorn landed at least fifteen meters away from Spike. He smiled after noticing she didn’t have any weapons left.
“I see now how good you are Spike. Being honest, none of my previous opponents were able to avoid my arrows or my spear attacks. Now, let’s see if you can avoid my Spin Attack!”
“Spin attack? - Spike didn’t understand what she meant, but he wasn’t going to let himself get caught by surprise. Aura adopted a crouching position. Spike stood still, he was waiting for her to make her move so he could react accordingly. The mechanisms on Aura’s armor started to move and her armor began to change. After a few seconds, she was covered in long razors from head to hooves. Aura smiled after seeing his opponent standing there in front of her.
“Now!” – Aura said out loud. She ran towards Spike and began to spin like a giant shuriken. Spike was barely able to dodge her attack by jumping to his right; she seemed to have become faster after her armor changed.
“That will not work!” Aura shouted as she used her leg to change her direction towards the place Spike would land. He was shocked, there was no way he could dodge this attack while in midair. Aura was getting closer; Spike had to use his Katanas in order to block the attack. The speed and force she used on this attack was unparalleled. As soon as the Katanas made contact with her razor-armor, Spike was sent flying and crashed against the Faker barrier. Twenty points were deducted from his counter. He stood up and was able to see Aura stopping; she looked a little dizzy, maybe from changing her direction that fast.
Spike stood up and got ready for a counter attack as Aura started spinning again – “I can tell she is moving faster this time” –Aura flew directly at him at an immense speed. Spike jumped towards her and attacked with his Katanas which were shattered to pieces after making contact with Aura’s armor. However, the strength Spike used on his attack was enough to send her flying to a different direction. Luckily for Aura, she managed to stop before hitting a rock. Spike’s arms were hurting like hell, both of his Katanas were broken – “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this again. Damn it, that attack is really strong!” – He turned around and saw Aura, standing next to the rock she was about to collide against – “She looks dizzier this time.”
The Dragon was right, Aura wasn’t looking any good. Maybe it was the speed at which she had to spin or the strength she was using on her attack but it was obvious that she could only use her technique one more time.
“It seems you are the one with no weapons left Spike!” – Aura yelled – “All I have to do is use my attack ONE MORE TIME and this fight will be over!”
A cloud of dust was created under her as she started spinning for a final attack. None of the weapons on Spike’s arsenal could stop her – “Sweet Celestia, if I could only… wait!” – Spike remembered the way Alex ended his fight against Tyros the griffin – “That’s it!”
The speed Aura reached this time was incredible, she was going all out on her last attack – “Spike, you were great, really great! Nopony has been able to dodge my Spin Attack, but you managed to do it twice. However, this will be the last one; it was fun while it lasted. I really want you to sit in the front row on my next match. Thank you Spike!”
The Dragon started walking towards the center of the Arena – “Is that the place that you chose for your defeat?
Spike stopped in the right in the middle – “Come and get me Aura!” – He yelled at her opponent. Aura smiled – “As you wish!”
The Unicorn flew straight to Spike at full speed - “Nice fight Spike!” - She shouted while she flying through the air. Everypony knew it was the end, everypony but Alex he knew Spike had planned something and Aura fell for it. Before being hit by Aura’s razor armor, Spike let himself fall flat on the ground letting Aura fly right above him and using his tail as a spring he kicked her on her stomach with both legs. The kick was so strong it made her fly directly to a rock that was behind them. Aura couldn’t stop or change direction because of how fast she was flying this time.
She crashed against the rock shattering it to pieces. Spike stood up and turned around to get ready for his next move but his ankles were hurt – “There’s no time to rest!” – He said to himself as he noticed Aura standing up among the debris – “Damn it, she is tough!”
“That was really unexpected” – Aura said while smiling – “I thought… I thou… I…” – Aura’s life counter dropped to zero as the fell knocked out on the floor.
“THE WINNER, SPIKE THE DRAGON!”
The crowd was silent, this was an amazing fight and both competitors gave everything. Alex was the one to break the silence:
“WAY TO GO SPIKE! YOU DID IT!”
The whole crowd stood up from their seats and applauded. They were chanting Spike’s name. Aura started to regain consciousness; Spike noticed it and ran to her in order to help her stand up.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes, a little hurt but I am fine. I can’t believe you found a way to counter my best move. I’ll definitely have to work harder to fix that.”
She stood up completely and hugged Spike – Thank you for giving me the honor to fight against you!” – She extended her hoof and gave him a little piece of paper – “Write me something when this is all over…”
Spike looked like a statue, before he could say anything Aura trotted away. He turned around and saw Alex walking to where he was – “Wow! What was that all about?! Hehe! I bet she gave you her address for you to send her a letter, didn’t she?” – Spike had a smile on his face.
“Come on Spike! Let’s go back to the dressing room. You need to get ready for your next fight.”
“Sure Alex, I’ll catch you up in a second.”
“Ok, but don’t take too long. We have to get you new weapons and armor!”
Spike took the piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. Aura’s address was written on it.
Alex and Spike left the Faker room; he was carrying Spike’s real weapons while Spike had his Faker weapons with him. They walked towards the arena to watch the rest of the matches and try to learn more about their fighting styles; this added another level of competition since the ones fighting new that they couldn’t use the same techniques over and over again. The next three winners were two Minotaurs, Platinum Guts and Proud Fist as well as Easy Glider, the Griffin who would be competing against Spike on her next match.
Once her match was over, Easy Glider flew towards Spike and landed next to him:
“So it seems you are my next opponent? Well, after watching your previous fight I must admit you are quite good. We’ll see if you are good enough to beat me!”
“I am that good.” – Spike was very confident – “I like your attitude!” – She replied.
After a couple of hours, both competitors were called out to the arena, Spike knew he had to be more careful, this Griffin had already seen him in action, there were some things he was aware of: she was very fast and she liked to attack from the air using her arrows or charging towards her opponents at full speed with her razor-wings or weapons like every other Griffin or Pegasus. That kind of attacks seemed very simple yet effective. Spike couldn’t stop thinking about his previous opponent, Aura.
Both fighters got to the Arena, accompanied by their respective coaches. The Faker Barrier Spell was casted so the fight could start. The referee inside the Arena gave some final instructions and the match started.
Spike and Easy Glider looked at each other; both of them drew their weapons, swords and Katanas. After a couple of second they jumped towards each other. Their movements were so fast and no one gave his opponents the slightest change to take away their points. After a couple of minutes from clashing their weapons, both of them jumped backwards.
“I knew this would happen! You are really fascinating!” – Easy Glider said with a smile on her face. She spread her wings and started hovering just a few meters over the ground, she drew her bow and Spike did the same, he already knew what was coming. The first arrow flew through the sky, pointing at Spike’s head, it was so fast it didn’t look like an arrow anymore; it was just a blur looking for its target. Sadly, all it found was the ground. Spike jumped aside and avoided being hit by the first arrow, the next one and the ones that followed. He jumped across the Arena to find some shelter amongst the rocks that were scattered on the ground. He readied his bow and started shooting at the Griffin who was fast enough to dodge his arrows too. After some minutes both of them ran out of arrows, Spike felt relief since he knew he would be better at close combat. He looked at Easy Glider who said in a loud voice: “You don’t have any arrows left; everything is going according to the plan!” – Spike was surprised after hearing her words - “What plan? You don’t have any arrows left too, you can’t continue hovering if you want to win this!”
“Really? Let me teach you something. Being honest, I wanted to use it in the finals but it seems a good moment now!”
Glider drew her sword and threw at Spike, he dodged it with no problem by jumping as high as he could in order to reach her while she was still hovering at a few meters over the ground, but then he noticed something was shinning. It was a thin metallic string that came from Easy Glider and ran on the same direction her sword went flying a second ago. Spike noticed Glider pulling the string with her bracelet and the unmistakable sound of the sword leaving the ground and coming back at her. Spike managed to turn around while in mid-air and blocked the attack but lost his balance and fell in the ground, it hurt a little, but he knew he couldn’t stay still for long; he immediately rolled on the ground to evade any other attack from the Griffin who was still in the air.
“Do you like it Spike? I took me months to master this technique. My big brother uses it and thought me how to use it myself.” – Spike stood up and started shaking the dust off his armor - “It’s really amazing Glider, this match is so cool!”
“I am glad you think that Spike, Let’s continue!”
Glider started her next attack. She kept throwing her swords at him, one after another, Spike thought about cutting the wires with his Katanas and even though he managed to hit one, his Katana bounced from it, it seemed they were made of a really tough material and even though it was a Faker copy, it keep the same properties as the original. Glider’s attacks were getting faster each time, Spike was unable to keep blocking them so once again he had to take cover on the rocks, when he finally reached the bigger one, he could catch his breath, or so he thought… Easy Glider continued attacking him and her swords were cutting the rocks as hot knives on butter, Spike had to jump away from the he was hidden under to avoid Glider’s swords from reaching him. He was tired. He would land on what seemed to be a safe spot, but unluckily for him, a shinny metallic thread was already in that place. Spike could only see the string getting tense as Glider pulled it before he landed. This time, Spike couldn’t change his direction. The Faker sword reached his stomach and took fifty points away from him. He landed on the ground only to listen to the sound of his points going down. There wasn’t any time to rest, he couldn’t stop or he would lose the fight. He rolled to the front while taking a smoke bomb out of his pocket that he immediately used. The device exploded creating a big cloud of smoke that covered him completely.
“Nice one Spike, but you know it won’t work! As long I’m up here you can’t reach me. Sooner or later, you will run out of smoke bombs and will have no place to hide from by “boomerang swords”! Just give up, this match is over!”
Glider’s “boomerang swords” were a powerful technique, but every attack has a weak spoke, Spike knew it. While still covered by the smoke, he pressed a button on his Hidden Blade, it seemed like he was releasing some kind of safe – “All or nothing!” – He said to himself. He jumped out of the smoke and looked at Easy Glider who had a big smile on her face. Spike moved two steps to the front and put his Katanas back in their sheaths.
“It seems you have given up, wise choice Spike. Don’t worry; I will end this as quickly as possible.”
Spike closed his eyes and Glider threw her sword at him. But the Dragon wasn’t done, he was just focusing on his next move, he evaded the sward and extended his hands to grab it – “Got it!” – His grip was tight. Being a Dragon gave him many gifts, one of them was his natural strength. He used it to try to pull Glider to him but she was no weakling, she fought back. Desperate, she threw her other blade at Spike, but the Dragon caught it too. Now, it was a strength test for both.
“You are strong Spike; I’ll give you that! But tell me, what is the meaning of this? You somehow managed stop my boomerang blades, but still you can’t reach me.”
Glider knew Spike had nowhere to run. She released one of the wires from her bracelet which released the tension on it, throwing Spike out of balance. She then grabbed a throwing knife and prepared to throw it at Spike in order to finish him. When she looked back at Spike, she saw him pointing the edge of his hidden blade at her:
“You are using your blade in a long distance combat? Spike, are you really that desperate?”
Spike smirked and pulled the wire with all his strength. This time, Easy Glider was the once caught off balance, she was pulled at Spike with such strength she was unable to react or regain position. With a twist of his hand, Spike’s Hidden Blade left its place inside his bracelet and was shot at a great speed towards her. It impacted Glider in the forehead. She was shocked. She let her knife fall and grabbed the blade in her forehead to give it a better look. The sound of the life counter was next; a single tear rolled down her cheek as the number stopped in zero…
“THE WINNER AND FIRST FINALIST, SPIKE THE DRAGON!”
Everycreature including Alex and the gang cheered for Spike. This was a great match for the audience, even the Griffins were cheering for him. The Faker Barrier disappeared as Spike walked towards Easy Glider; she was still looking at his blade. When he was in front of her, their eyes met:
“You . . . you defeated me! I really didn’t see that coming.”
“I got a little lucky, but you forced me to use my secret weapon. If it hadn’t worked as I planned, the match would’ve been yours!” – He replied.
Glider smiled and punched his shoulder - “You really are fascinating, you better win this whole thing!” – She said.
“I will do my best!”
Glider turned around - “I think we should be friends. What do you think?” – Spike nodded.
“. . . I can write you some letters, right?” – She asked.
“Yeah. . .Why not?” Spike said while giving her the mailing address of Golden Oaks Library.
“Great! Now we are friends! You better answer my letters!” - Glider said as she started to fly. Spike could swear he saw her cheeks turn a little red. She obviously was not good at showing her feelings.
Alex came to his side. He was laughing hard.
“Hahahaha! Wow Spike, Two out of two! You really are a ladies dragon.”
“Why isn’t it the same with Rarity?” – Spike asked.
“I don’t know Brother… Let’s go, we need to get you ready for your next match.”
“Ok.”
Alex and Spike proceeded to go to the dressing room so Spike could rest a little before his next match. From a distance, they noticed Aura and Glider having some kind of argument:
“I saw him first!” – Aura yelled - “You are wasting your time, I’m prettier than you!” – Easy Glider replied.
Alex smiled after looking at this. Spike was giggling and his face went red; the girls seemed to be fighting over the Dragon – “We better leave them alone Spike…” – Spike turned to Alex; he couldn’t stop laughing at this – Yeah! We better go!”
After a couple of hours of resting and having his Faker weapons restored Spike started getting ready for his next match. Aura and Glider had been tough opponents and he had learned a lot from fighting them. It was no surprise for Alex and Spike to find out that the winner of the other match was Platinum Gust, Spike’s last opponent in the finals. It seemed as if this fight was pretty easy for the winning Minotaur as it didn’t take more than five minutes for the announcer to declare the victor.
Suddenly, someone was knocking on Spike’s dressing room door – “Coming!” – Alex said before welcoming the visitors.
“Spike, you were amazing!” Sweetie Bell screamed while the rest of the girls hugged him.
“Thanks Sweetie Bell!”
“You really have grown up, I’m so proud of you!” - Twilight said, joining the conversation.
“Thanks Twilight. Being honest, I think I can win this thing!” – Spike replied while being hugged by the CMC.
“Indeed you can darling. You are a strong dragon, don’t forget that! My little Spikey Wickey!” – Rarity said.
“Thanks Rarity!” – Spike looked down but didn’t stop laughing – “Too bad I’m just your little Spikey Wickey…” – He said to himself.
“By the way – Rarity continued - I couldn’t help noticing you were having a nice time with the little cute unicorn and the awesome griffin back there!”
“Yeah! I noticed that too!” - Sweetie Bell said, narrowing her eyes.
“Well, we just became friends after having great matches, that’s all!” Spike said looking at all directions.
“Ok, that’s great then! – Rarity and Sweetie Bell replied.
All of them kept talking and sharing their thoughts about Spikes’ matches. Sweetie Bell didn’t take her eyes off from Spike who was talking to Twilight. Alex noticed this and smiled.
“Now, that’s interesting. Nice choice little sister. I must admit you were doing a great job hiding it until now. I hope you get ready because you have some pretty rivals.” – Alex he said to himself.
After some minutes the CMC left Spike and Alex alone. The announcer made the call to the audience so everypony could be on their seats for the final match. Spike was ready, he knew his next opponent was strong, maybe the strongest one, but he was not afraid. He had faced two incredible rivals already. Spike and Platinum were called to the arena. The cheering from the crowd was intense; Spike arrived at the arena and turned to Alex. The look on his eyes was enthusiastic, the Dragon was really focused.
“Remember Spike, this guy is strong; he uses his axe and crossbow, he has no special techniques because he doesn’t need them. All he has is his insane strength, will be your best bet.”
“Ok Alex, don’t worry, I’ll do my best!”
“I know you’ll do.”
Platinum Guts and his coach entered the arena, the crowd was cheering for him too. They knew Platinum Guts was the best warrior they had seen so far.
The Minotaur and the Dragon walked to center of the Arena, the referee was waiting for them.
“So, you really made it to the finals! I’m impressed; I really thought that Griffin would finish you off. I guess underdogs are very lucky…” – Platinum Guts said.
“Yeah. . . I guess so, enough talk, let’s fight!”
The Faker Barrier was activated, Spike drew his Katanas while Platinum took out his crossbow, which was bigger than Spike himself; the arrows were like spears for him. – “I’ll be done if I get hit with that!” – Spike said to himself. Platinum readied his bow; the muscles on his arm looked tense and hard as if they were made of rock. Spike got ready and stood in a defense position waiting for the Minotaur to make his move, Platinum didn’t even blink. The crow was silent, nobody made any noise, nobody moved. And then, a deadly projectile flew towards Spike, he barely dodged it. The impact of the arrow was so strong it literally got buried in the ground, raising a lot of dust in the process. Spike was shocked. Platinum stored his bow and drew his war Axe, he looked at Spike and charged, swinging his axe, the Dragon jumped and rolled to dodge the hit. The powerful swing from his weapon sounded like an enormous whip, lifting small rocks from the ground and sending them flying. Platinum was really strong, at least for a Minotaur youngling, but Alex was right, he was fast but not as fast as him.
“Those weapons should weight a ton!” – Spike thought.
Even though he was swinging that weapon, the Minotaur was not getting tired. Spike tried to shot some arrows and throwing knives but was easily blocked by the huge axe. Platinum swung again, Spike tried to evade the attack by jumping to his right but this time Platinum was prepared; The Minotaur dropped his weapon and jumped after Spike who was unable to dodge while in midair. Platinum smiled has he threw a powerful punch. Spike pointed his swords at the Minotaur’s arm waiting for him to stop his attack, but he didn’t; Spike felt a strong pain in his chest as he was hit by Platinum’s mace-fist which sent him flying through the air directly towards Alex who had to jump aside to avoid being hit by the dragon bullet. He could have stopped Spike, but coaches were prohibited from any kind of intervention in the matches, otherwise the participants would be disqualified.
Spike hit the Faker Barrier at an immense speed and then fell on the ground. He was coughing blood but was grateful for his armor and natural toughness, another one of his attributes as a Dragon.
“Spike!” - Twilight screamed from the outside. The rest of the gang was worried.
“Five minutes!” - Alex raised his hands pointing at the referee, using the only break the participants were allowed to. The referee nodded and started his chronometer.
“Cough… cough… He gave up twenty points to deliver that hit. I must say he is a genius, he is not just a mindless fighter!” - Spike said while cleaning some blood from his mouth with his hand.
“You’ll need to be even faster and agile…” – Alex said.
“I know, but in order to that, I’d have to store my Katanas and not draw my bow and arrows.”
“But you still have your brass knuckles and your hidden blades!”
“What? But Alex, my Katanas couldn’t damage him enough what makes you think my hidden blades will do any better and the brass knuckles do not count as weapons here, they will not take any of his points!” – Spike replied.
“But they can deal damage!”
“Alex, did you forget about the armor he is wearing?”
Alex smiled - “Spike, do you know that the ocean waves are strong enough to crush a rock?”
“Yeah, but not just one. There has to be one wave after another and… Wait, I think I get it now!”
“Yeah Spike, It will take time, but I believe it can be done. It all depends on how tough you are. Are you tough enough Spike?”
“Yes! I am!”
Alex turned to the referee - “Ok, he is ready!” - Spike hugged Alex and got ready to fight again, Platinum was waiting for him in the center of the Arena. Spike had stored his Katanas and was adjusting the brass knuckles of his armor.
“You think you can defeat me with your fists? This must be a joke, go ahead and try…”
Spike charged towards his opponent, platinum had already picked up his axe and swung it when Spike was ready, the Dragon dodged it but he was faster time. Using his brass knuckles he hit Platinum on his ribs, the right side to be exact; then, he backed off quickly. Platinum started to laugh:
“What was that? I didn’t feel anything!”
Spike didn’t say a word and just charged towards his opponent, Platinum swung his axe at Spike. But the Dragon dodged it again; Platinum tried to punch him, but Spike crouched, he was moving faster. Spike delivered another hit to the same spot, making a visible scratch on Platinum’s armor and backed off again.
“I felt that a little…” - Platinum said to himself.
Spike was getting tired, not to mention his claw started to ache – “Maybe this is pointless…” – Spike was thinking about a different strategy but then he looked at Platinum’s face, he seemed uneasy – I won’t stop now!” - Spike charged again, dodging Platinum’s attack, but this time instead of punching Spike, he covered is ribs with his hand and tried to kick Spike who avoided the hit and jumped straight to Platinum’s face.
“Tell me, how are you protecting your face now?”
Platinum didn’t have any time to answer. He was hit by Spike right on his nose making him bleed. The Minotaur covered his face with both hands.
“Oh! Father of all Minotaurs, you broke my nose! You little piece of. . . ” - He couldn’t finish that sentence before being hit on his ribs once again; this time the armor was shattered, a hole was revealing Platinum’s fur underneath it – “Now!” – Spike said before charging again. He tried to use his hidden blade but was interrupted by a powerful knee hit on his face. It sent him flying again, Spike landed heavily on the ground -“C’mon Spike, you are half way done with it! I know you can do it!” – Alex screamed. There referee turned at him – “Don’t distract him!”
Spike was covering his nose, it could be broken too. He stood up, walked two steps, fell on his knees and then on the ground. Spike fainted. All his friends were worried, he didn’t look he was going to stand up again. Platinum grabbed his Axe and started walking towards Spike; he was covering his bleeding nose with the other hand.
“You gave me lots of troubles dragon. Now, LOSE!”
Platinum looked at the crow and raised his Axe to deliver the final blow but Spike opened his eyes, he was waiting for this. He extended his claw and grabbed one of his Katanas. The Minotaur looked down and noticed this; he swung his axe one last time as fast as he could. Spike rolled to the side in order to dodge the attack, the axe got stuck in the ground because of the strength Platinum used this time, he tried to retrieve it but he couldn’t do it in time. The Katana was travelling through the air straight to the hole in Platinum’s armor.
“No! I cannot lose!” – But he did. The Faker weapon went all the way into the hole in his armor. His life counter dropped to zero.
“Damn it!” – Platinum yelled. He tried to punch Spike even though he had already lost.
He tried while trying to punch Spike
“Hey! The match is over!” - The referee said while the Faker Barrier disappeared.
Platinum ignored him and continued his attack. Spike who was already standing up dodged his attack and punched him right in the nose again. This time, the Minotaur couldn’t stand the pain and fell on the ground.
Everycreature, even Minotaurs were cheering for Spike who was crying not because of his broken nose but because of the joy he was feeling. Unicorn nurses came to help both participants immediately. Spike was healed almost immediately thanks to the Unicorn magic. Alex got close to him and lifted him up:
“I’m proud of you Spike, well done!”
“Thanks Pal, I can’t believe I won!”
“Well, you better believe it, YOU DID!”
The four Princesses got next to them. Princess Celestia was carrying a trophy as big as Spike. Twilight could not help herself and hugged Spike; she told him how proud she was of him. Princess Celestia used her Canterlot voice:
“MY LITTLE PONIES AND FELLOW GUESTS, IT’S MY HONOR TO PRESENT TO YOU THE CHAMPION OF THE COLISEUM TOURNAMENT IN THE YOUNG DIVISION. REPRESENTING EQUESTRIA, SPIKE THE DRAGON!”
Spike raised his trophy, crying tears of joy; every creature cheered again, now the Mane Six and Crusaders came and congratulated him, Aura and Glider were there too. Alex raised Spike and carried him on his shoulders.
Princess Celestia continued:
“THE FINAL MATCHES OF GLADIATOR’S TOURNAMENT WILL START TOMORROW. WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU TOMORROW FOR MORE AMAZING FIGHTS!”
Alex and Spike went to their dressing room so he could take off his armor and take a shower before going to the party that the CMC had prepared for Spike.
Everypony was exhausted after celebrating Spike’s victory in Canterlot’s Hall. Spike went into his room for a well earned night of sleep while the rest of the gang got inside their respective rooms. However, Alex wasn’t sleeping early tonight. There was an event he couldn’t miss, but he had to go alone. Before leaving the Royal Palace, he was noticed by Fluttershy, who ran to his encounter.
“Alex! Where are you going?”
“I am going outside for a little stroll. I heard there is a Carnival in Canterlot.”
“Can I come with you?” – She asked.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What? Why?” - Fluttershy was a little surprised.
“First of all, it’s obvious that you are tired and need some rest for tomorrow and also…” – Alex got near her and whispered something in her hear. Her eyes widened.
“Oh my! Yeah! I think I should stay here and have some rest. I guess sometimes I just forget about your . . . needs.”
“Fluttershy, don’t say it like that! Somepony might misunderstand it after listening to you. Anyway, I’ll be back in an hour or two. Ok?”
“Ok. Don’t take too long. You have to rest too…”
Alex nodded – “I know. You have a good night!”
Out on Canterlot’s streets, Alex walked among the food and souvenir stands. The place was impressive; it made him remember the times he used to go to town fairs with his family, with his sister Angela. Many ponies and other creatures greeted him, some of them even asked for his autograph. He felt a little embarrassed but happy at the same time. After walking for some minutes, he finally reached his destination: “The Griffin area”. Alex breathed heavily, the smell inside the place was amazing, it was a smell he perfectly knew. Maybe he would never have a chance to smell that again while in Equestria. BEEF STEAK, RIBS AND FRIED CHICKEN. There was no way in hell he would bring his marefriend or any of his friends here. He didn’t know where to start; everything looked so good and delicious. His eyes looked at every corner, until he finally found what looked like a hamburger stand.
Griffins were enjoying these hamburgers, the menu included fries and juice. He approached the place until one of the cooks noticed him:
“Hello! You must be Alex, the human.” – Alex was surprised but now he had to deal with his new found fame.
“Yes, that’s me!”
“You are a lot taller than I thought – the cook noticed the way Alex was looking at the hamburgers - Do you eat meat?”
“Yes, I love meat! How much do the hamburgers cost?”
“5 bits for our regular clients. But in your case, the first round is on the house, please have a sit.”
“Thanks!”
The old cook served him a hamburger with fries and lemonade, Alex couldn’t wait to eat it.
The food was amazing, just like home. After the first bite, Alex turned to the cook and said:
“This is really good! There is just one thing I need to know, what kind of meat is it?”
The cook turned to him grabbing a piece of raw meat – “it is pony meat.”
Alex spit the piece of hamburger he had in his mouth. The cook was unable to contain himself and laughed like mad, the crowd that was eating in the place turned around for a second but then continued eating as if nothing had happened.
“Hahahahaha! I’m sorry son, I had to do it. You see, everything you’ll find here is fish, rat, chicken, hydras and chimeras. Trust me, you will not find any pony, horse or other intelligent creatures in our menus. The meat you are eating right now came from a Hydra. What do you think?”
Alex smiled and gave a good bite to his hamburger - “Really? Well, it’s really good! It tastes like co… (Oops! Almost let that slip) . . . it tastes really good!”
“I’m Glad to hear that!” – The cook replied.
Alex kept eating his meal and after a couple of minutes noticed someone standing a few tables at his left was watching him. He expected it to be a Griffin but it turned out to be a Zebra, one he remembered seeing among the eight finalists. The Zebra looked at him and after realizing it was Alex, stood up from his table and walked towards him until he was at Alex’s side.
“Wow! The human! What an honor Sir!”
“Easy pal, I’m not that impressive. Please don’t give that much credit” – Alex said.
“But I must, you are one of the eight finalists! You even managed to defeat Tyros!”
“Thanks, but I’m just a regular competitor like everybody else. What’s your name?”
“My name is Zaxel, a Monster Hunter from Zebrica.”
“Monster Hunter?” – Alex was amazed.
“Yes! You see, unlike here in Canterlot, Zebrica’s little towns are constantly attacked by creatures from the woods, you know, Timberwolves, Manticores, Chimeras, you name it. My job as a Monster Hunter is to protect my village and sometimes track these creatures until we defeat them. We also use their meat to trade some with countries like Griffonia.
“Wow, that is really amazing! But that’s doesn’t explain why are you here, I mean we are all meat eaters here” – Alex said.
“I’m here because these are the best fries in the whole world!” – Zaxel replied with a big smile - “Enough of me. Now, tell me some about you Alex Sir.”
“Well, my name is Alejandro, Alex for short, and please don’t call me Sir. I’m a human and I came from a land that is really far, far away. There is no much to say about me besides the fact that I’m helping my friends with their chores and other stuff.”
Alex didn’t know why he was telling this to Zaxel, maybe because he seemed to be a nice guy. He looked like a Zebra he could trust.
“Well, that’s pretty interesting – Zaxel said - May I ask you a question?”
“Go on.”
“Why do they call you the hero of Canterlot? Is it because of the rumors about a Changeling invasion? Did it really happen?”
Alex was speechless; Celestia had told him that they tried to cover up the incident so that other countries didn’t find out about this incident. He had to be careful in choosing his words.
“There was an invasion attempt, but the Princesses were able to prevent it, I helped fighting the Changelings, they give me more credit than I deserve.”
“That’s impressive – Zaxel said - Just one more thing, is it true you killed two Manticores?”
Alex began to wonder who was telling these things - “I am not going to lie; I killed one to save a little filly, and the other when he tried to hurt the ponies in Ponyville”
“Wow! That’s amazing. You know, I have hunted some Manticores too, but I never managed to take down one by myself. Well In fact, I’ve never tried.”
“Trust me; it’s really tough, if you want to know the truth, I was just lucky. I was actually going to die in one of these encounters. My friends saved my life, which is just one of the things I am grateful for.” – Alex smiled.
“Well, is still amazing if you ask me. You are fascinating, but it seems that you are not a member of the Royal Army or a Royal Guard. What brought you to this tournament Alex?”
“Honestly, I just wanted to help the princesses by participating in it and bring some more audience to the Tournament. I am a little surprised myself that I made it to the finals – They both laughed after this confession. Alex ate the last piece of his hamburger - “And, what’s your motivation? Is it fame, money or something else?”
Zaxel laughed a little – “I just wanted to make my family proud! – His words confirmed what Alex was thinking. This was indeed a very honorable Zebra - “You see, for many generations, members of my family have been working as Monster Hunters and most of them have competed in this tournament. I’m the first of them in reaching the finals. So this is a huge victory for me, even if I don’t win the whole thing but I have to push myself harder. My family is not precisely rich and all of them worked hard so I could get the money needed to travel and participate, I just don’t want to fail them, that’s all…”
Alex was more than impressed.
“I’m sure you won’t fail them. You have already reached the finals so you should consider yourself a winner and who knows? We all have the same opportunities; let’s just give it our best!”
“I like that idea! – Zaxel replied.
They kept sharing some stories and enjoying their food. Suddenly, a voice Alex knew (and hated) talked to them.
“Ugh! I knew I had smelled some wild beasts around here. It had to be you two…”
Maximus Heart, the Horse champion and one of the eight finalists.
“Go away Maximus. I’m not in the mood for your shit today!” – Alex replied.
“Wow! The puny human is smart enough to articulate some words.”
“This is not a place for you! Why are you here?” - Zaxel asked.
“You shut your filthy mouth commoner; I have no business with you, go back to your country and do your crappy job!”
“Hey! You will not talk to my friend like that!” – Alex stood up and moved the table aside. The crowd turned their heads. But this time, they didn’t look away. There was a lot of tension in the place. The Zebra didn’t say anything. He was just staring at Alex; the human had called him FRIEND.
“And what do you plan to do about it?” – The Horse asked.
“This is the second time I warn you about talking to my friends like that. Do you really want to know what I’m capable of?”
“Hahahahahaha! Do you think you threats will stop me? Let me get something clear for you human, I’M NOT SCARED OF YOU!”
“I’ll make you!” – Alex walked slowly towards Maximum Heart, clenching his fists with anger. The Horse stepped back, why was he feeling intimidated? He was the Great Maximus Heart, the Horse Champion. He had to take this puny human down. The Horse readied himself to attack him; Alex kept walking in a menacing way.
“Stop you idiots!”
A deep voice came from the back of the restaurant. Bright Courage, the current Tournament Champion was standing there, he had watched the whole scene.
“If you really want to kick your asses, wait for the tournament. If it is your destiny to fight, your time will sure come.”
Alex stopped, the Minotaur was right. This wasn’t the place or time for a fight. He looked around and saw some of the younger Griffins looking at him. They seemed scared.
“No! I want to take him down now!” – Maximus Heart screamed before attacking Alex.
A blur, a gust and the sound of a fist sent Maximus Heart flying away, breaking a couple of tables and landing heavily on the floor seven or eight meters away from Alex. Bright Courage was standing in front of the human, his fist still clenched.
“I said. YOU WILL WAIT FOR THE TOURNAMENT!” – The whole place trembled at the sound of his voice. Alex felt goosebumps all over his back. The Minotaur not only was strong (as expected) he was as fast as lighting.
Maximum Heart could barely stand up - “Why do you care that much? He is just a freak!”
“You’re wrong. He is a competitor like we have never seen before, and I really want to watch him fight on the finals.” – Bright Courage said.
“So you want to fight him too? What makes you different from me then?” – The Horse asked.
“I have my own reasons, reasons I will not share with you, now get out!”
Maximus turned is back on them - “You’ll see, Old News, once I’m done with him, you are next! I think it’s time for you to retire PERMANENTLY” – He said while walking away from his rivals.
Bright Courage turned to Alex and Zaxel – “Well, It’s time for me to go. I hope to see you two tomorrow – He turned to the cook – I’ll pay for the damage that was done to your place.”
“Mr. Courage! – Alex said - Even though I’m flattered, I must know something, why do you want to compete against me?”
“I’m just like the rest of the competitors here. You are a new species in our world and as far as I know, no one has defeated you yet. Being born as a warrior, I aspire to be that one.” – Bright Courage answered.
“May the best win.” – Alex replied.
“Make sure not to lose, let’s meet at the finals.” – The Minotaur nodded and walked away.
Zaxel turned to Alex - “Wow! The champion wants to fight you, what an honor!”
“I guess is time for me to leave too. I don’t want to stay and cause any more troubles. Good luck tomorrow Zaxel”
“Thank you Alex. Please remember, as Mr. Courage said, if destiny makes us fight tomorrow, I will give it all!”
“That’s what I would expect from a champion. Goodbye my friend.” – Alex turned around and left the place.
From a distance, a dark figure saw Alex walking away from the restaurant.
“That was a close one – the figure said - I need you to be safe until tomorrow. Soon I will claim what I lost because of you! And every creature will witness it.”
Alex felt uneasy; he knew someone was watching him. He turned around but there was no one around. He kept walking until he got to the Royal Palace.
Before reaching his room, Alex saw Fluttershy crying on his bed, the rest of the girls were around her, trying to calm her down. As soon as she realized Alex was there, she jumped up and ran to him.
“Fluttershy! What happened?” – He asked.
“Sorry Alex! - Twilight said - Pinkie Pie heard her crying and trying to go into your room. She has been like that since then.”
Alex turned to Fluttershy – “Did you have another nightmare?”
She shook her head - “No, it wasn’t a nightmare, just a feeling. Alex, please don’t compete tomorrow. I believe something bad will happen!” , “What do you mean?” – He asked.
“I, I don’t know! I have a really bad feeling, like the one I had that same night.”
“I understand how you feel Fluttershy but this time we are not in danger. This tournament is not life threatening at all. The princesses and all our friends will be there. Nothing can go wrong!”
“He is right Fluttershy – Pinkie Pie said - I mean, we have a whole army of guards in Canterlot, not to mention the four princesses are also here. Somepony would have to be super-duper-crazy to try to do something. Besides, my Pinky Sense is not telling me to worry at all. We all are safe.”
“I. . . I guess so, but still I’m worried” – Alex hugged her.
“Fluttershy, you are too good to me, I’m really grateful for all of your worries, but nothing wrong will happen. Trust me!”
“I, I trust you” – She replied.
“Good, now let me take you to your bed, I need to sleep too so I can be ready for tomorrow. We also need to pick Proud Hammer at the Train Station before the event.”
“Mr. Proud Hammer . . . Why? – She asked - Oh yes! I forgot, he will be your coach tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, I sent him a letter after I got to the finals and he happily accepted. I’m really glad he’ll be here!”
“You really like him, don’t you darling” - Rarity asked
“Yeah, he is like those funny uncles you can’t help to love, besides, he has done too much for Spike, Rainbow Dash and I. He helped me to save you and don’t forget that he crafted my equipment. I wanted to return something to him and what better than make him my coach so everypony knows about his blacksmith business in Ponyville.”
“You are really kind Alex” – Rarity said.
Everypony went to their rooms so they could sleep. Alex left Fluttershy in her bed, gave her a goodnight kiss and went to his room.
While on his bed, he looked at the rooftop.
“Both of us felt uneasy tonight. That cannot be a coincidence. I’ll be extra careful tomorrow. I hope nothing happens.”
Alex woke up; he had a good night of sleep. He took a shower and got ready to leave. He wanted Fluttershy to come with him so he went to her room for her, when he arrived she gave him a warm hug and a kiss.
Both of them were a little hungry so they went to the kitchen where they met Rarity.
“Good morning guys! Are you ready for an awesome day Alex?”
“Yeas ma’am!”
The rest of the gang gathered in the kitchen so they could enjoy a delicious breakfast together. After a while, the Princesses came to the kitchen.
“Hello my little ponies! Human and dragon – Princess Luna said - I hope you are all excited and ready for a great day!”
All of them nodded.
“Alex, I’m looking forward to see you in action. I’ll be cheering for you and Rainbow Dash”
“Thanks Luna! - Alex replied - I promise you we will do our best, right Dashie?”
“You bet Alex!”
“Now if you excuse me, I have to go to the train station to pick up Proud Hammer. Anypony wants to come with me?” – Alex asked.
Fluttershy, Spike and the CMC volunteered; Alex decided to go as a Pony so he put on his Metapendant. This was because he wasn’t in the mood to deal with other’s curiosity.
The group left the Palace. Fluttershy was walking next to him while he carried Sweetie Bell on his back. They had to wait for a few minutes at the train station for the Train to arrive; when it did, Proud Hammer was warmly welcomed by his good friend Alex.
“Howdy kiddo, been a while!”
“How are you old pony?!”
“It’s so nice to see you again!” - Proud Hammer noticed the way Alex and Fluttershy were too close together - “I see you two have finally realized you look good together!”
The whole group started their way back to the Palace where Proud Hammer was welcomed by the Royal Guard. Rainbow Dash had the opportunity to thank him for the armor and weapons he crafted for her.
“Guys, can you please come with me for a second?” - Lyra needed to speak to Alex, Rainbow Dash and Proud Hammer. She took them to a private room in the Palace so they could have a private conversation.
“Alexis, when you managed to qualify for the finals, I noticed something.”
“What was it Lyra?” – Alex asked a little worried.
“Neither of you have faced a Minotaur, right?”
Alex and Rainbow Dash looked at each other – “No.” – it was a short but sincere answer.
Lyra’s expression changed a little - “I can see you think it is not a big deal, but let me tell you it is. Proud Hammer, would you please?”
Proud Hammer nodded and got between the three of them – “You see kiddo, your friend Spike faced a young Minotaur yesterday, I believe you noticed how he matched and even surpassed your friend’s strength, he surpassed a DRAGON’S Strength! Even though he was a youngling, I know you noticed he was as strong as you or maybe even stronger. So now think for a second, if he is that strong, how much an adult Minotaur could be?”
“I get it!” – Rainbow Dash said.
Proud Hammer smiled – “Let me show you something” - He then levitated a box and placed it in front of Alex and Rainbow Dash.
“That’s why I brought you these! Lyra asked me to craft them just in case you needed them. It took me all night, but I must say it was worth it.”
Alex and Rainbow Dash opened the box and saw what was inside. Their faces were a little disappointed.
“Proud, I’m really grateful and all – Alex said - but in case you didn’t know, I have a decent amount of copies of these already and they are in good shape.”
“Me too! – Rainbow Dash was a little confused – What is this for?”
Proud Hammer looked inside the box too - “I know they might look the same as the ones you have but trust me! Alex, grab one.”
He took off his Metapendant and turned back into a human. He reached for one of the things inside the box.
“Wow! It’s…”
-----
Once they were ready, everypony started their way to the Coliseum, Alex and Rainbow Dash were carrying their gifts inside their saddle bags. The human turned to Proud Hammer who was trotting next to him.
“Once again, thank you for being my coach! This was something I could not ask Zecora or Lyra to do for me, and Fluttershy was definitely out of the question.”
“No problem kiddo, I want to thank you too for giving me this chance! I must admit I’m excited about it. Being able to be inside the Arena is something I’ve never dreamed of!” – They both shared a laugh.
Applejack met them as soon as they arrived to the Coliseum – “Are you ready to do this Rainbow?!” – She asked.
Alex turned to Rainbow Dash who was hugging her friend.
“So you had this planned! Nice to see you Applejack, or should I just call you COACH?”
Rainbow Dash laughed after hearing this - “Yeah, after thinking about it for a long while, I decided she was the best choice!”
“Agree – Alex answered - I honestly can’t imagine Rarity or Fluttershy being next to you inside the Arena, it actually gives me the shivers!”
The two competitors and their coaches went together to the Light Room in order to copy their weapons and the new gifts.
“Proud – Alex asked - this is little heavy; Do you think it will be necessary?”
“Just use them in case you face a Minotaur.” – The old pony answered.
“Ok.”
After they finished putting their gear on, they heard the announcer calling all the competitors and coaches to the Arena. The place was full. It seemed as if every creature in Equestria was inside the Coliseum, chanting the names of their favorite warriors. Alex looked around and noticed the rest of the competitors, and some well known faces among them:
Maximus Heart, Tyras and Zaxel – “This is beautiful, really beautiful…” – He said to himself.
“Alex, I’m glad you came!” – Zaxel shouted.
“Yep, I’m here and I am ready for everything!”
“Glad to hear that!” – The Zebra replied.
Alex walked towards Zaxel - “Let me introduce you to my friends, Rainbow dash, Applejack and my coach, Proud Hammer!” Zaxel greeted them with enthusiasm.
Suddenly, the crowd went silent. The princesses had arrived to the Arena.
Celestia was the one to welcome the crowd.
“CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA AND FELLOW GUESTS. AFTER THE INCREDIBLE YOUTH TOURNAMENT WE HAD YESTERDAY, IT’S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT!
THE COLISSEUM TOURNAMENT FINALS!”.
“THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE! NOW, WE WILL DECIDE WHICH FIGHTERS WILL COMPETE FIRST. COMPETITORS PLEASE, AS WE CALL YOU, COME AND TAKE A RANDOM NUMBER.”
“Maximus Heart! – The Horse walked past Alex, ignoring the human completely. He got his number - “I got number 5!”
“Rainbow Dash!” - “I got Number 1”
“The defending champion, Bright Courage!” – “Number 3.”
“Zaxel” – “Gee, I got number 7”
“Tyras!” – The Griffin extended her claw and picked a random number. After staring at it for a second, she turned around and showed the piece of paper to Rainbow Dash.
“I got Number 2, I’ll show you no mercy little Pegasus!”
“I don’t need it – Rainbow Dash replied - you are going down today!”
The crowd started cheering for them. It was certain that they would have a great match.
“Alex, the human!”
He put his hand inside the box and grabbed his piece of paper - “I got number…, Hehehe! I got number 6!”
“You are really out of luck maggot! – Maximus Heart said – I will crush you!”
“We’ll see that!” – Alex answered.
“Next, Quartz Light!” - A Cristal Pony took his number.
He was excited - “Oh boy! I got number 4, I’m fighting the champion, and I’m fighting a Legend!”
“So that leaves number 8 to Iron Horn the Minotaur!” – Princes Celestia said. She then turned to the crowd:
“WE HAVE THE ORDER OF OUR FIRST MATCHES AND IT WILL BE LIKE THIS!”
“MATCH NUMBER ONE, RAINBOW DASH VERSUS TYRAS!” “MATCH NUMBER TWO, BRIGHT COURAGE VS QUARTZ LIGHT” “MATCH NUMBER THREE, MAXIMUS HEART VS ALEX THE HUMAN”
“YEAH! Go Maximus!” - The horses cheered - “Kick that freak’s ass Maximus!”
“AND FINALLY, ZAXEL VS IRON HORN!”
“EVERYTHING IS SET, IN FIFTEEN MINUTES, THE FINALS WILL BEGIN. WARRIORS, GO AND GET READY!”
Rainbow Dash was already warming up; Alex, Applejack and Proud hammer were watching her.
“Easy Rainbow – He said - you’ll need your energy for the fight you know.”
“I know Alex, don’t worry, I have plenty. I’m just focusing in kicking Tyras’ butt. I really don’t like her!”
On the other side of the Arena, Maximus Heart and Tyras were having a conversation.
“That freaking Pegasus is going down today!” – Tyras said.
“I agree with you my friend – Maximus replied - too bad after you finish her, you’ll have to face the Champion, don’t get me wrong dear but there is no way you can defeat Bright Courage!”
“I don’t care about this tournament anymore, and I’m not afraid about that old timer. If I have to face him he is going down too, but for now, I only want to make sure these two get broken!” – Tyras said aloud. Making sure Alex, Rainbow Dash and their coaches could hear her.
Applejack wanted to say something but Alex stopped her – “Please Applejack, just ignore them!”
After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash and Tyras were called to the Arena. Ponies and Griffins inside the Coliseum were chanting their names. Rainbow Dash started flying and landed in the middle of the Arena making her Sonic Rainboom. It was an incredible entrance, the crowd cheered even higher. Alex had to admit it, she was something else; maybe the second most incredible Pegasus in the world for it was obvious who was in the first place for him. Tyras made her entrance too, as Rainbow Dash did; she flew to the middle of the arena so fast making a sonic boom of her own which even impressed Rainbow Dash.
“You see Loser! Whatever you do, I can do it better – Tyras said – do you think I became Captain of the Royal Griffin Guard just because of my beauty? You are so out of my league!”
“Whatever you say!” – Rainbow Dash replied.
Princess Celestia and Luna were the ones to cast the Faker Barrier Spell. This time the Barrier was higher than normal so the competitors could fly freely inside it. As with the previous matches, the number one hundred appeared over the competitors head.
The referee got in the middle of the Arena.
“Competitors, you already know the rules. Give the crowd a match they won’t forget in ages. Now, FIGHT!”
Tyras the Griffin drew her two swords and readied herself to attack.
“Being able to use those claws as if they were hands will be problematic.” – Alex said to Proud Hammer – “Boy, I thought you had more faith in my armors?”
“What do you mean?” – Alex asked.
“I’ve always liked your hidden blades, their design is incredible. Unfortunately, I never managed to make it work for somepony without having to use magic or hands to make the blade come out. So I heard about that Pony that fought against Spike and how her spiked armor worked. You’ll have to see what my armor can do.”
Alex turned to Rainbow Dash, who slammed her front hooves together activating the armor mechanism. Making the blades inside her armor come out. She was ready to fight – “That’s really impressive!” – Alex said – “Thank you kiddo, now let’s focus on watching her match.” – The pony replied.
Tyras was the one to attack first; she jumped towards the Pony who did the exact same move. Swords and blades clashed mid-air; both fighters were amazing, their movements were so fast it was difficult for the untrained eye to keep up with them.
The Griffin knew this was no regular opponent so she started flying as high as the Barrier allowed her to. Storm clouds started gathering around her – “You see, I have some special techniques I want to show you!” – The Griffin said.
Rainbow Dash looked closer; she saw how the Griffin was using her wings to gather the moisture inside the barrier to form these clouds. It was fast, as soon as she realized, there was a big cloud on the higher part of the Barrier.
“Ready?” – The Griffin pointed her sword towards the cloud and pressed a button on its grip. It sent an electric charge turning it into a storm cloud.
“I’ll show you why I am the leader of the Royal Griffin Guard!” – She screamed.
Lightning bolts stroke her sword as if it was a lightning rod. Then she pointed it at Rainbow Dash – “Now LOSE!”
A lightning bolt was sent from the tip of her sword at Rainbow Dash who barely dodged it. The crowd went wild.
“Really? Do you think you can hit me with those Tyras? I’m really disappointed!”
Tyras smirked and sent another lightning bolt at her, Dash dodged it but this one hit the ground at a few meters from Applejack.
“Hey! What was that?” – Rainbow Dash asked. She was worried for her friend.
“It was a gift for you, but you dodge it. It is not my fault if your little friend gets hit by it…”
Tyras sent another one, Rainbow Dash dodged it but it hit the ground even closer to Applejack, she even had to jump aside this time to avoid getting hit.
“Are you okay Applejack?” – Rainbow Dash asked, she was worried for her friend. And without realizing she turned her back on Tyras.
“Don’t worry about me! I can take care of myself.”
“I know but… - Rainbow Dash was barely able to turn around and block his opponent’s attack with her blades. Unfortunately, the speed at which Tyras flew at her and the strength she used on that attack was enough to break Rainbow blades and knock her off balance and then Tyras started a brutal attack against Rainbow Dash, clenching her claws as fists and hitting her on her face, chest and neck. Rainbow Dash tried to cover her face with her hooves but Tyras used her claws to scratch them, causing deep wounds. The pain from the wounds made Rainbow Dash open her guard leaving her face exposed for another hit. A strong kick from Tyras that knocked her out.
Rainbow Dash started falling to the ground. The crow was silent. “Hahahaha! That’s what happens when you care for others – Tyras screamed - fall and lose like the weak you are!”
Rainbow Dash fell heavily on the ground. She couldn’t stand up. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at Alex, her friend was static, his jaw dropped.
“I’m sorry everypony. Alex. . . I tried my best.” – She said while closing her eyes.
“Rainbow! C’mon! You can do it! Didn’t you say you wanted to face me! Remember, you are AWESOME!” Alex shouted.
Applejack ran to her but was stopped by the referee – “Don’t get any closer, it would be considered as interference!” – He said.
“Rainbow! – Applejack said - Yah were the winner of the Young Flyer competition! This is nothing for a strong pony like you! You even saved us from death once!”
“RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!” – The crowd started chanting her name.
“Shut up everyone! – Tyras shouted – She is a loser and I will defeat her right now!” She started charging her sword and threw another lightning bolt at her.
The pony heard them. They were right! She was AWESOME! Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked up, she saw the thunderbolt coming at her. She extended her wings – “They really hurt!” – Using all of her strength she dodged the attack and started flying – “Faster, faster, fasteeeerrr!” – Rainbow Dash said to herself. Tyras was speechless; she could barely keep an eye on Rainbow Dash who was flying across the Barrier in the blink of an eye. The Griffin was only able to see her opponent when she used the Barrier walls to bounce from one side to the other.
Suddenly, a sonic boom made the Coliseum tremble. The only thing Tyras could see was a ray of light, a rainbow coming directly at her; she didn’t even try to dodge it, it was too late. A powerful kick from Rainbow Dash right in the middle of her chest made her spit some blood. Tyras couldn’t even move. She was about to open her eyes when she felt another powerful kick on her back.
“This can’t be happe… - another kick, this time hitting her neck which almost made her faint.
Tyras was falling to the ground; she was unable to use her wings to change direction as the pain on her body was unbearable. All she could do was watch Rainbow Dash flying at her from below one more time. One last time.
“Curse you!” - Tyras said.
Rainbow Dash hit her on the stomach; the strength on this last kick was incredible. Rainbow Dash herself was sent flying to the ground but was able to land safely by opening her wings before hitting the ground.
The pony was tired, her hooves, wings, neck, her whole body was hurt. It hurt. But that was it. She didn’t need to do anything else. Rainbow Dash smiled as she saw her opponent flying towards the storm could.
A powerful electric discharge finished Tyras in a second. The flash of light was so intense that everypony in the place had to cover their eyes. The life counter on top of Tyras’ head went straight down to zero.
“Smells like fried chicken.” – Alex said to himself.
After been almost cooked alive, Tyras fell to the ground; every creature looked at her falling. It would be deadly for any living creature to fall from such height. The Griffins started yelling at her – “Open your wings Tyras, please!” – But it was no use, she was knocked out. Rainbow Dash looked down and opened her wings. She couldn’t let Tyras die in front of her. She was able to catch the Griffin at some meters above the ground.
“The winner, Rainbow Dash! – The referee shouted as the Barrier disappeared.
The crowd went wild and started chanting her name. Everypony stood up as a sign of admiration and respect for the pony, including the Griffin King and Queen.
Applejack and Alex rushed to her and hugged her.
“How you did do that? - Alex asked - I couldn’t even see you! The Rainboom kick was awesome, and the way you used the Barrier to bounce into all directions was perfect. I bet you practiced that for weeks!”
“Being honest, I just made that up. Pretty cool wasn’t it?” – Rainbow Dash said before fainting on Alex’s arms.
Applejack called the pony doctors so they could take a look at Rainbow Dash. When they arrived, they used their magic to levitate and carefully place her on a stretcher. The Griffin doctors arrived to the Arena too, they picked up Tyras from the ground. Every member of the Royal Griffin Guard was there, crying for her beloved Griffin.
The doctors arrived to the Coliseum clinic with Rainbow Dash who was regaining her consciousness. They treated her wounds and applied magic bandages to the scratches on her hooves. Once they were done, Alex and Applejack got into her room.
“Hi Awesome, how are you feeling?” – He asked.
“Not that good, everything hurts!” – she answered. After some minutes, a doctor arrived.
“Rainbow Dash – The doctor said - First of all, I want to congratulate you for your victory.”
“Thanks doctor! I know it was diffi…” – Rainbow Dash answered before being interrupted by the doctor.
“Considering it was your last match.”
“What?” – Rainbow, Alex and Applejack couldn’t believe what they just heard.
“Rainbow Dash – the doctor continued - You put your own body under a lot of pressure in there. Your wings were hurt badly. You are lucky they didn’t detach from your body; right know we managed to fix some fissures on them but even your muscles have great damage. What you did was very dangerous, I am sorry Rainbow Dash but I have to inform Princess Celestia that you MUST forfeit the Tournament. Your body is in no condition to continue fighting.”
Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment. She wanted to cry, but she didn’t.
“Doctor, you have to be kidding me, there is no way a will forfeit the Tournament. I will keep on fighting even if I – Alex smacked her in the head – Hey?! Why did you do that for?” – She asked.
“Because you were about to say something stupid, that’s why. Dash, we all love you and wouldn’t like you to risk your life. Please, listen to the doctor.” – He answered.
“But…” – She replied.
“Listen to him sugarcube. Yah want to be a Wonderbolt, you won’t be able if you lose your wings. You managed to get this far, that’s already an achievement, just let it go!” – Applejack said.
“Ok, I will forfeit the Tournament. But I’m doing it just for you guys!”
“Thank you! – Alex and Applejack said before hugging her. They didn’t notice the tears that came out of her eyes.
After hearing the news from the doctor, Princess Celestia announced to the audience that Rainbow Dash would forfeit the Tournament. Everypony was sad after hearing these news but they all understood that her life was far more important. Meanwhile, Alex and Proud Hammer went into their dressing room.
The second match started, Bright Courage and Quartz Light. The Crystal Pony was giving it all; he used swords and spears to attack his opponent. Quartz was strong but Courage was stronger than him. The Minotaur used his battle axe to block every single attack from his opponent.
Quartz Light realized his weapons were doing nothing against Courage so he threw them away and charged towards the Minotaur, hitting him in the middle of the chest with his forehead. It was a clean and very powerful attack. Quartz Light smiled – “I can’t believe this attack landed, it wasn’t that fast. Maybe it’s because the Champion is a little old…” – He said to himself.
Bright Courage opened his eyes and smiled – “Right where I wanted you!” – He said while grabbing Quartz Light by the neck. His grip was so strong Quartz was unable to escape from it.
“Being honest, I’m getting a little tired – He said to Quartz, who was beginning to feel the lack of air in his lungs – I’m not as fast and strong as I used to be. Honestly, I get tired if fights last long enough so I always try to end them quickly!”
The Minotaur clenched his fist. It looked like a mace; Maximus Heart (who was watching this match) remembered the pain he felt for hours after being hit by Bright Courage – “Poor bastard.” – He said referring to the pony about to get hit.
The Champion put all of his strength in his punch and hit Quartz right in the muzzle, sending him flying through the air and landing heavily on the other end of the Arena. The referee ran to him and noticed he was knocked out. Bright Courage picked up his battle axe and walked towards Quartz Light. He lifted his arm and let the axe fall on his opponent. Zero points left.
“The winner and defending Champion, Bright Courage!”
Everycreature cheered for him. The Champion helped Quartz stand up while the doctors arrived to check on him.
While in his dressing room, Alex was able to hear the crowd cheering for the Minotaur.
“Well, that was fast as I expected it – He said – Ok, now I’ll face Maximus Heart. It’s time to make him pay for what he did to my friends.”
The announcement for the next match was made. Alex and Proud Hammer left their dressing room and started their way towards the Arena. Maximus Heart was already there, a lot of creatures in the crowd including horses, ponies and griffins were cheering for him. He stood there waiting for Alex to arrive.
“Are you ready to lose maggot?” – The horse asked.
Alex drew his Katana pointing at Maximus Heart. His opponent got ready to attack.
Both competitors entered the Arena along with their coaches. Alex was a little worried about her friend Rainbow Dash because of her wounds, but there was no time for that; he had to focus all of his attention on his opponent, the Horse who had insulted his friends.
Maximus Heart was standing there, wearing his Sarabian Armor with pride. Contrary to every other competitor, he didn’t bring any swords or spears with him; the only thing Alex could notice was the spiked horseshoes and a saddle bag. “Maybe he is good at close combat…” Alex said to himself.
Princess Celestia casted the Faker Barrier Spell which surrounded the Arena. The Spell scanned them both for their respective Faker weapons. When the Spell was completed, the referee got in the middle of the Arena and looked at them both.
“Are you ready to lose maggot?” The horse asked.
Alex drew his Katana pointing at Maximus Heart. His opponent got ready to attack.
“Competitors, you know the rules!
FIGHT!”
The human was the first one to move, he jumped towards his opponent and tried to land a hit but Maximus Heart dodged it with ease. Maximus started his counter attack using his spiked horseshoes but Alex wasn’t a beginner, he dodged every kick that was thrown at him. However, Maximus Heart had a lot of experience fighting his adversaries; he turned around faster than the blink of an eye and kicked Alex with both hind legs. All Alex was able to do was to barely block the attack by covering his body with his arms but the force of the impact was so strong he was sent flying at least two meters away, “Damn! That really hurt!” He said. The pain in his arms made him remember the one time he was hit by a Manticore.
Maximus Heart smiled and searched for something inside his bag. Alex stood up and saw him taking out a double-edged sword. Maximus looked at the human and charged. The Horse was really fast, even faster than Applejack. Alex was barely able to dodge the attack by jumping to his left but it wasn’t enough, Maximus was still able to make a deep scratch on his chest armor piece; luckily for him, the blade didn’t penetrate his armor so he didn’t lose any points.
The Horse turned around without stopping and charged again. This time, he ran faster, Alex tried to move quicker but the tip of his opponent’s sword made another deep scratch in his armor, damaging it even more.
“What do you think about my speed? I bet you thought I would be like those Ponies you have faced. You see, there are clear differences between them and us. Horse legs are thinner but that’s one of our main advantages, they make us run faster!”
Maximus Heart charged once again but this time Alex was ready. He jumped to his right, making sure he landed as far as possible from the tip of his sword. “Fool! You won’t escape from me!” Maximus shouted as he stopped right before Alex landed and used his hind legs to kick him on the chest again, shattering Alex’s armor to pieces. Alex was sent flying and landed on his back, he tried to stand up immediately but the pain was unbearable. He coughed and instinctively covered his mouth with his hand, the smell was unmistakable; he looked down and saw his hand all covered in blood, he turned his head and spit some more on the ground.
“Don’t even think I will stop now just because you have blood coming out of your lungs.” Maximus Heart said, “In fact, I’ll punish you a little longer.”
“We’ll see about that!” Alex replied as he stood up and grabbed his Katanas.
Alex charged; he attacked Maximus Heart with every single iaido technique he knew but it didn’t work. The Horse blocked every single one of Alex’s attacks.
Maximus Heart was not only dodging and blocking, he was also waiting for the perfect moment to strike back, and it came; Alex extended his right arm trying to reach for his opponent’s head leaving his chest unprotected. Maybe he had forgotten his armor was broken but Maximus Heart didn’t forget that, he saw this opportunity and turned around immediately, throwing another powerful kick. Alex noticed the big mistake he made and dropped his Katanas in an effort to cover his chest with both arms.
The sky was blue, there were no clouds and the sun was shining on the east. It could be a very relaxing view for any other but not for Alex who was once again sent flying against his will. He landed on his back, he closed his eyes and the pain started. His arms were numb; he couldn’t move a finger because of the pain in his forearms. “I hope they’re not broken…” He said to himself.
Maximus looked down and saw Alex’s Katanas on the ground, “You couldn’t even touch me with these useless things.” He stomped on both blades breaking them into pieces, “You won’t need this shit anymore!” he said while laughing.
Alex was trying to stand up. Every muscle in his body hurt.
The Horse kept walking towards him “I’m insulted, I made this trip expecting someone worthy of my time. How disappointing! You fight no different than Griffins or Minotaurs; I was actually expecting something new but… this. Well, at least I’ll be the one to defeat the so-called Hero of Canterlot.”
“Don’t listen to him Alex, I know you can do it!”
Alex looked up; Fluttershy was crying, she was screaming as loud as she could.
“Please Alex get up!”
“That… that thing screaming up there is your marefriend? Hahahahahahaha! Well, I guess that’s the best you could do. Out of all the Elements of harmony, it was obvious you would get the weakest one. Please tell me at least you tried with the other ones first!” Maximus Heart said.
“. . . take that back!” Alex replied.
“What?”
“Take that back! NOW!”
“And what if I don’t?”
“You really don’t want to know!”
Maximus laughed and turned around; he trotted at least twenty meters away from Alex and looked at the crowd, “This thing lying defeated on the ground is the famous Hero of Canterlot. I guess Canterlot’s standards are really low. Since this match was over even before it began, I have no interest in showing my remaining opponents any of my abilities so I’ll finish him right now!” he turned around and faced Alex, who was already on his feet “Well, that was surprising! Prepare yourself human. This will end quickly!” He said before running towards Alex at full speed.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one running; Alex started running too. “Maybe he lost it; I must have kicked him really hard!” Maximus said.
Right before hitting each other, Alex jumped forward extending his arms. He was aiming for Maximus’ neck “Not that fast human!” the Horse shouted as he jumped up to avoid him. But Alex’s plan had worked, he wasn’t aiming for the neck, he wanted to grab one of Maximus’ hind legs but made it look the other way.
Even though the pain in his arms was immense, the anger he had because of the things Maximus had said about his friends and his loved one was bigger than anything at that moment. He grabbed Heart’s leg and pulled him down with all of his strength making him fall on his muzzle. “How dare you?!”Maximus screamed.
“You said you wanted to see something new. Well, I guess no one had done this before.” Alex started twisting Maximus’ pastern with all of his strength.
“Let go of me you fool!” Maximus tried to hit Alex with his other leg but the pain was killing him.
“I promised you once that I would make you pay for the things you said to my friends. I was going to forgive you, but you didn’t take your words back. I can’t forgive you now!”
“What?! All this because of your stupid maref….?!”
Maximus couldn’t finish his sentence. He looked at Alex directly into his eyes. Those weren’t human eyes anymore; all he could see was anger.
Alex tightened his grip; for a moment, everything wrong that had happened to him, losing his family, being hated and feared by Equestrian inhabitants, seeing his loved ones suffer, everything that had tortured his mind took over his entire body; anger and frustration. He tightened the grip some more, more and more! He didn’t stop until a cracking sound and a painful scream made him come to his senses. He let go of Maximus’ leg.
The crowd was speechless. Some of them started cheering for him, but his friends were silent. Alex had mixed feelings on his mind. He looked at his opponent, who was lying on the ground trying to stand up; the broken bone could easily be seen. “You deserved this, you arrogant asshole!” Alex started walking back gaining some distance between them. Maximus didn’t noticed what Alex was doing, he was about to say something but then he heard the human running at full speed towards him, he turned his head only to be hit by Alex’s knee right on his muzzle, making him spit some blood and teeth. Maximus went unconscious.
Alex grabbed him by the mane; he picked up his head and clenched his fist. Many creatures cheered and waited to see some more action, but Proud Hammer and his friends started screaming, telling him to stop.
“This bastard deserves it!” Alex said. He looked up and saw Fluttershy on her seat. She was silent, looking at him like she was scared. Like he was the monster some ponies said he was.
He let go of the Horse, who fell to the ground still unconscious. Alex popped his Faker Hidden Blade and stabbed his opponent in the head in order to finish his life counter points. When the number reached zero, the Faker Barrier disappeared. Horse medics and some of Maximus Heart friends got into the Arena and picked him up.
Proud Hammer walked towards his friend.
“Wow Kiddo, I really thought you were going to beat him to a pulp. Thank you for listening to us boy.”
“I’m not a monster Proud; at least I think I’m not”
“I am not saying that kid. You are not a monster Alex…”
“Thanks Proud. Do you think I went too far by breaking his leg?”
“Well . . . It’s not illegal. He was a total asshole. Just… be ready to get some hateful looks.”
“Ok…”
Alex heard his friends running towards him and turned around to see them.
“Are you okay?” Rarity asked.
“Yeah I’m ok thank you. I’m just feeling a little bad for Maximus Heart. I think I went a little too far.”
“I must admit your method was a little . . . brutal” Rarity said “But he saw it coming. It was actually a good thing that you stopped at the end, I was afraid you weren’t going to.”
“Being honest Rarity, I didn’t want to stop. He insulted Fluttershy and all of my friends. The only thing that stopped me was all of you. I didn’t want you to watch me doing that, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry! You are not an animal, and I know how much you love us!”
“Thank you!”
Fluttershy was next. She hugged Alex with all of her strength.
“Alex you won! Congratulations.”
“Thanks beautiful, but, tell me, are you mad at me? Are you scared of me? I saw you when you were on your seat.”
Fluttershy looked down “I must admit it was a little shocked but I know you did it because of the horrible things he said and I love you for that!”
Alex kissed her “Thanks Shy, I was actually scared that you would think different.”
Fluttershy hugged him again “Never! I know your heart Alex and I trust you. You confirmed it when you decided not to punish him further, I knew you wouldn’t!”
They hugged each other again. Nopony dared to say anything; they turned around and went back to their seats. Alex and Fluttershy were still hugging each other there until a referee asked her to leave the Arena “Yeah, I’ll be leaving now. Alex, I love you!” She gave one last kiss and flew back to her seat.
“I’ll make you the proudest marefriend in the world!” Alex shouted.
“I already am Alex, I love you!”
“Love you too!”
Proud Hammer got close to him “So you really managed to get that magnificent mare? It’s official kiddo; you are the luckiest creature in the entire world!”
“I definitely am!”
A couple of minutes later the next fight started, Zaxel and Iron Horn entered the Arena; both of them focused on their opponent. Alex wanted to make sure he was carefully paying attention; one of them would be his next opponent. The Faker Barrier spell was casted and it resonated with their Faker weapons. Completing the spell and sealing the combatants inside it.
Iron Horn drew his two axes while Zaxel crouched like a tiger getting ready to catch its prey. He then stood on his hind legs and clashed his hooves together, activating a mechanism that made blades come out of the bracelets on his front legs.
“I’d say it’s a decent copy” Alex said.
“I think the same” Iron Hammer replied.
Zaxel and Iron Horn started to fight, clashing their weapons and showing a high display of skill. Iron Horn was strong but Zaxel was so much agile and fast, crouching, jumping, making somersaults and rolling. It was unbelievable, in less than thirty seconds of sparring; he had already gotten sixty point off from the Minotaur by hitting him in the areas that weren’t protected by Armor. Alex was impressed, the Zebra was amazing; he wasn’t as fast as Maximus Heart, but his agility and flexibility were at human level, the Minotaur was defenseless against his speed, but even though he was that fast, he was nothing compared to Bright Courage.
In a last attempt to win, the Minotaur used a smoke bomb to try to blind his opponent. While the area was covered in smoke, the Minotaur laughed “I trained to combat in the darkest places of our kingdom, where sight is very limited. You are in my territory now little zebra!”
Alex noticed how Zaxel closed his eyes and began to smile.
Once the smoke had covered the entire Arena, the crowd went silent; looking for any of the competitors inside it, but all they could hear was a terrible scream. Once the smoke had dissipated, the crowd stood up from their seats, they were looking at a Zebra who was the only one standing up, while his opponent was lying on the floor, gasping and spiting some blood. Iron Horn stood up; he walked a few steps away from Zaxel before falling unconscious. Finally the Zebra used his blade to take the remaining points off from him. He looked at the Minotaur who was still lying defenseless on the ground.
“You know, Monster Hunters do some of our jobs in the deepest forests and caves, being unable see our surroundings is not a problem for us!”
Everycreature cheered, including the Mane 6, the CMC and Spike. Alex was standing on his seat.
“Kiddo… he is, well you know…” Proud Hammer said.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I can defeat him. Just look at what he did! He took out that big guy with just one blow.” Alex replied.
“I know he is strong and agile, but so you are Alex!”
“You think so?”
“I know it!”
“Thanks Proud. I’ll do my best!”
“I wouldn’t expect less from you kiddo.”
Zaxel came trotting to where Alex was standing. He looked happy and excited “Well, it’s you and me, Alex. I hope you are ready, let’s have fun!”
“Yeah, we will!”
Before starting the next match, Princess Celestia decided to give a two hour break so Zaxel could have some rest because Rainbow and Bright Courage wouldn’t fight due to her having forfeited the Tournament. Alex and Proud Hammer used this time to have a little chat with their friends.
“Brother! You were so cool! I can’t wait to see you win your next fight!”
“Thanks Sweetie Bell, but I must say Zaxel is really strong. I will not underestimate him, and we can’t forget about Mr. Bright Courage either.”
“Ah must agree with yah sugarcube. That Zebra is really powerful, even more than Big Mac’s and that says a lot!”
“No need to tell me that twice Applejack!” Alex replied as they shared a laugh.
“And don’t forget to keep moving, he is really fast and agile.” Rainbow said.
“Yes, he is really dangerous!” He nodded.
Sweetie Bell jumped on top of Alex’s head, “That doesn’t matter, I know you can beat him big brother!” she said.
The group was having a nice time laughing and making some jokes about the fights they had seen until today. Pinkie Pie asked the others to be quiet for a moment. He had an important question to ask to the human.
“So Ali, what kind of cake would you like for your party?”
“… Pinkie, we are not sure if I’m going to win this. You know that right?”
“I know, I’ll make a party for you anyway! Win or lose, it doesn’t matter to us, you will have a big party just for being here with us.”
“Ok then… chocolate cake would be awesome! He replied.
“Okey dokey” Pinkie Pie said before disappearing inside a cloud of confetti.
The announcement for the next match was made; the two competitors were given 15 additional minutes to get ready. Alex and the others said goodbye and went to their respective places. Once they were a little away from him, Fluttershy made sure he wasn’t looking and let out a tear, Twilight noticed and asked “are you ok Shy?”
“You know I’m not ok Twilight. I still have the feeling something bad will happen…”
“Fluttershy, you are worrying for nothing. I made sure there were enough guards on the city and around the Coliseum; there is no way something goes wrong!”
“Thanks Twilight. It’s just that I’m really worried about him; I never wanted him to compete in this event. I don’t want to lose him, I can’t think of a future without him anymore. Just thinking about him leaving Equestria makes me sad. I lost him once; I don’t want to lose him again!”
Rarity was shocked after hearing these words from her friend “When I said that you two would get married, I actually was kidding. I never thought you’d take it that so serious.”
Fluttershy didn’t seem to understand “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Darling please, haven’t you noticed it yet? The way you talk and how you feel, the way you act, or how you seem to suffer just by thinking about losing him is beyond having a simple crush on someone!”
“I still don’t get it!”
Rarity smiled. She wanted to make herself clear.
“Fluttershy, do you want to always be by his side?”
“. . . yes.”
“Can you stop missing him when he is not around?” Rarity asked.
“No, I can’t!”
Lyra started jumping around “Fluttershy, do you want him to stay in Equestria forever?!”
Fluttershy was crying and smiling, she couldn’t help it. Love had taken over her heart “Yes, I want him here FOREVER!”
Rarity got closer to her “I believe you want to spend the rest of your life with him. Do you want to start a family with Alex?”
Fluttershy was speechless. She didn’t know how to answer this question. She loved Alex, she was sure about it; however, she had just realized how much she truly loved him and how bad she wanted to be with him.
“Yes I do!”
Fluttershy stopped crying, she began to fly “I, I have to tell him this right now!”
Rarity realized what her friend was about to do “Wait darling! You need to wait”
“But why?”
“Look, we all know he loves you, but I’m not sure if he is ready to hear this confession of yours. All I know is that right now he needs to focus in his match, I think is the best if you wait after all of this is over.”
Fluttershy started thinking about the things Rarity said “I guess you are right. I’ll talk to him at Pinkie’s party.”
Rarity and the rest of the group smiled.
“Ok, now let’s hurry up! His match is about to star!”
The Coliseum was about to explode. The two fighters entered Arena followed by their coaches. The Faker Barrier Spell was casted, resonating with their weapons.
The referee called the both. But Zaxel asked him for a little time to say something before the match.
“I’m happy Alex. I really wanted to face you! Even if I win or lose, my wish as been fulfilled.”
Alex was surprised, Zaxel had a lot of respect for him “Thanks Zaxel, I mean it and truly honored. It is a real honor to be here with you!”
“Enough talk!” the referee said “Competitors, you know the rules!”
“FIGHT!”
Alex drew both Katanas and Zaxel drew his blades. Both of them charged at full speed, the clash of their weapons echoed all over the stadium, making the crow go wild.
The display of abilities from both competitors was magnificent. Their speed and agility was incredible. Alex was trying his best in order to take some points from Zaxel but it was almost impossible. The Zebra was trying to do the same, but Alex was a worthy opponent “So that’s why they call you the Hero of Canterlot!” Zaxel thought “I’m truly honored!”
After an intense swordfight, Alex and Zaxel jumped away from each other. Both of them were panting.
“You are good Alex!”
“You too Zaxel, your agility is amazing. I haven’t seen in any other pony or zebra, who trained you?”
“My grandpa, he wanted me to be the best. So I always fight to honor him!”
“That’s awesome. I respect you for that!”
Without saying anything else, Alex charged again. Zaxel threw a smoke bomb; the crowd knew what was coming, it would be over for Alex. The smoke began covering the Arena, Alex stopped and took out a headband, covering his mouth and nose with it in order to avoid breathing the smoke (the headband he used had a strange logo, a filly inside some kind of shield) Zaxel noticed this, but he had to stick to his plan, he closed his eyes as he did while fighting against Iron Horn and charged. The smoke had fully covered the human, Zaxel pointed his weapon forward; he could feel the human standing in front of him so he attacked.
But his attack failed, it was blocked by Alex.
“…How?” The Zebra was really surprised.
“Do you think you are the only one who can use his ears? I may not be as good as you but I can do it too!”
Now it was Alex’s turn, he attacked using what was left of the smoke to try to cover his moves, but Zaxel was pretty good at blocking and evading all of them. It seemed as if this battle could last forever.
“Well, I know he is good. But I have to finish this!” Alex said to himself.
He charged one again; Zaxel did the same. Less than two meters before colliding, Alex threw both of his Katanas towards Zaxel who had to use both of his front legs on order to block them. But his was Alex’s plan; he slid under Zaxel and grabbed one of his hind legs making lose his balance. The Zebra had to quickly put his front legs on the ground to avoid being taken down, this happened so fast he couldn’t retrieve one of his blades so it broke into pieces after impacting the ground. Knowing how fast and flexible Zaxel was, Alex started twisting his pastern the same way he did to Maximus Heart. Zaxel felt great pain but he knew exactly what to do, using both his front legs he pushed himself and rolled forward, pulling Alex and lifting him from the ground. Alex was taken by surprised, it was the exact way to counter his attack “Did he just come up with this idea after watching me fight Maximus Heart? He said to himself. The inertia sent Alex flying forward, but just before letting go off Zaxel’s leg, he managed to twist it a little, not breaking it, but damaging his tendons.
Alex fell on the ground but thanks to the power of karma, he landed on his left leg, twisting his knee. He let go a painful scream that made Fluttershy stand from her seat. Both competitors stood up from the ground as fast as they could. Both of them were hurt.
“You know this has to come to an end Zaxel!” Alex shouted.
“I know!” he replied “Let’s do this!”
Alex popped his Hidden Blade, Zaxel did the same. They smiled and charged. This would be their last move.
The crowd stood up as the fighters clashed against each other. Both of them pierced each other’s chest in an last effort to finish their match.
Alex and Zaxel looked at each other. They were silent, listening to their life counter points decreasing.
Zaxel was the first to talk, “You were an incredible opponent Alex, I’m glad you were the one who defeated me.”
Alex smiled and closed his eyes. He moved his head from side to side.
“I missed.”
Zaxel didn’t understand “what did you say?” he looked down and saw Alex’s Hidden Blade buried in his chest.
“I don’t know that much about Zebras physiology” Alex answered “but I’m sure I missed your heart. You my friend, on other hand, didn’t miss mine. I believe Minotaurs and humans have their hearts located in the same spot.”
“But why are you saying that?” Zaxel seemed not to understand.
“Please look above you” Alex said while smiling.
Zaxel looked up. His pupils dilated. He had fifteen points floating over his head. Alex life counter points were at ZERO! He looked down, and saw Alex straight to his eyes. Alex looked calmed, he was smiling.
During the whole Coliseum Tournament, there were moments when the crowd went silent, always because they were paying full attention during the matches; but his was different. Every member of the Royal families that visited Canterlot, the Royal Guards, the Princesses, everypony was in absolute silence. Fluttershy closed her eyes and let out some tears.
Alex removed his Faker Hidden Blade from Zaxel’s chest and stepped back. The referee shook his head as if trying to get back to his senses. He looked surprised.
“Here is your winner, Zaxel the Zebra!”
Alex was the first one to applaud; it took a little while for the crowd to start applauding and praising Zaxel’s performance and victory.
“Well done! It was an amazing match.” – Alex said.
Zaxel was still speechless, he couldn’t believe it; he looked down and saw Alex’s hand extended towards him, he knew the human was sincere. He raised his hoof and extended it, Alex grabbed it “this is how humans congratulate their friends, with a handshake!”
“Thanks Alex, did I really beat you?”
“You sure did, it was a great match. You are an amazing fighter!”
“T… Thank you…”
“Why do you look surprised? You are really strong, please believe in yourself. Now, stop thinking about what just happened and focus on beating Bright Courage so you can become the new Champion, you are very close to your goal!”
“You… you are right! Thank you Alex, thank you for this fight, you are awesome!” Zaxel got closer to Alex and hugged him “I feel I’m in debt with you Alex!”
“Just do your best, I know you can!” – Alex turned around and started walking away so the winner could celebrate his victory.
Proud Hammer ran towards him “You did well kiddo. Now, let’s take you to the infirmary so they can take a look at your leg, it looks swollen.”
As they were about to leave the Arena, Alex heard someone calling at him. He looked up and saw a Minotaur standing up “You did well human, it was an honor to see you fighting!” another Minotaur stood up placing his fist over his chest as a sign of respect. Suddenly, the whole crow stoop up, they started applauding and chanting for the Hero of Canterlot. “Way to go human!” “I wanted to see you become the new champion!” “Thank you Alex!” “You are the Hero of Canterlot!”
Alex was surprised; he turned around and noticed Zaxel chanting his name along with the crowd “Alex! Alex! Alex! Alex!” Everypony inside the Coliseum was applauding, Zebras, Griffins, Minotaurs, Ponies. Alex had a warm feeling inside his heart; he clenched his fist and raised it, making the crowd go wilder. He smiled at them, then turned around and left so the winner of the match could celebrate his victory.
The Princesses flew towards the center of the Arena in order to congratulate the winner, they also said that they were going to give Zaxel the best treatment for his wounds as well as a couple of hours to rest so he could be ready for his match against Bright Courage. The Minotaur was ok with it, but some of the spectators around him noticed he was a little pissed, maybe because he wanted to face the human during the finals.
After having his leg treated by Nurse Redheart, Alex was feeling better than ever; he was glad it wasn’t broken or it could take at least a month to fully heal. He went to his room and left all his faker gear inside a wardrobe next to the one where his original gear was. He felt a little sad in his heart, but he was also proud of himself “Well . . . it was fun. I’m glad nothing bad happened; Fluttershy, you were worried for nothing.”
He left his room and met with Proud Hammer “let’s go kiddo, I bet your friends want to see you” Proud Hammer said with a big smile; he was a great Pony, one of Alex’s best friends “let’s go grandpa! Hey, by the way…” Alex got to his knees and hugged Proud Hammer, the pony was a little surprised because this hug was different, it felt as a hug given not by a friend, but a family member “Thank you for everything Proud, I really appreciate all you’ve done for me!” Proud Hammer hugged Alex too “You fought well Alex; you are a great warrior and the real winner to me!”
Alex stood up and started walking towards the exit of the Arena. As soon as they were outside, Alex was received by a huge crowd and his friends. Fluttershy flew to where he was “There you are my love!” she said.
“I’m sorry if I disappoint…”
He was stopped by a kiss from Fluttershy.
“I’m the most proud marefriend in the world! Having you next to me is all I need to be complete!”
Alex smiled and hugged her again; it seemed as if Fluttershy wanted to be closer to him than ever before. Alex had started to notice this after he beat Maximus Heart. Soon, the rest of his friends gather around them.
“Oh Alexis, you were great, we are so proud of you!”
“Thanks Lyra, I mean it. Sorry guys for not winning this match…”
“Darling, don’t be sorry, you fought incredible!”
“Yeah! She is right sugarcube” Applejack said “Yah can be sure yah made Equestria and Ponyville proud of you!”
Rainbow Dash got close to him “Honestly, it would have been awesome to see you fight against Bright Coura…”
“Rainbow Dash, would you mind?!” – Rarity shouted.
“Don’t get mad!” She replied “Let me finish. As I was saying, Alex you were awesome in there! You were actually as awesome as me and that is something you should feel proud of!”
“Well, thank you Rainbow. I… I really don’t know what to say…”
Pinkie Pie started walking in circles around Fluttershy and Alex. It was obvious she was waiting for him to say something.
“Mmmm Pinkie Pie…”
“YES?!”
“Can we still have that party you promised me?”
“Of course! Ali, you’ll see, this party will be epic!”
Alex laughed; he turned his face and saw Spike standing with his fist pointing at him. He immediately understood and raised his hand to fist bump his friend.
“I’m sorry Spike; I wasn’t able to make it as you did.”
“Don’t worry Alex, he was an incredible opponent. I would never be able to beat someone as strong as him!”
“Thanks for that Spike. Well, at least one of us won a trophy!”
“But you won a medal!” - Spike replied.
“I won what?!” – Alex seemed a little surprised. He turned his head and noticed Princess Twilight arriving at the place.
“Didn’t you know? The top four gets a gold medal!”
“Really? That’s pretty cool!”
“Yes, you won a well deserved medal Alex” Princess Twilight said “Congratulations for getting this far, I’ll be honored to give you this medal at the Tournament Closing Ceremony, but only if you want me to…” Alex stood up and bowed to the Princess “I’ll be honored Twilight. Thank you!”
He looked down and saw his sister hiding behind Rarity “Is there something wrong little sister?” he asked, but she didn’t say anything “I’m really sorry if I disappointed you in any way…” she looked at him without saying a single word and ran away.
“Just leave her for now Alex, she just needs a little time to understand things don’t always come out as we want” Fluttershy said “It seems she really wanted you to win this event.”
“Yeah! Just leave this to us Alex; we’ll make sure she is ok.” - Scootaloo said, then went after her along with Applebloom.
“I know she is just a little filly, but I don’t want her to feel disappointed about me…”
Rarity turned to him “Oh darling, I…” Alex looked at her “Please Rarity, I really appreciate what you are doing. But, that made me feel really sad; if you don’t mind I’ll go back inside, I want to have some rest.”
He turned around and started walking. Fluttershy tried to follow him but Rainbow Dash stopped her “Give him some time; even though he has tried to hide his feelings, we know he is sad inside. Having Sweetie Belle run away from him was something he couldn’t stand. He’ll be ok, just give him some time…”
“… Ok, I will.”
Alex got inside the Coliseum again, he walked towards his room. As he was about to enter but realized the door was open, he got inside only to find the current champion Bright Courage standing in his room “Wow! Mr. Bright Courage, hmmm this is truly an honor. What… what are you doing here?!”
“I was knocking the door but nobody answered so I just got inside; you see, my grandson wanted to have your autograph and I told him I could get it. I thought you were sleeping, I’m sorry for getting inside your room without your permission.”
“There is no problem at all Mr. Bright Courage” Alex said “I can definitely give your grandson my autograph!””
“Thank you Alex, here is a scroll and a quill for you to sign.”
Alex gave him is autograph “Here it is Mr. Bright Courage; please tell your grandson I’m happy to have him as a fan. Now if you please excuse me, I would like to have some rest before watching your match against Zaxel.”
Bright nodded and left his room. Alex, closed the door and noticed one of the wardrobes was open, he checked inside but everything was there “Didn’t I close it? Well, whatever. I’ll have some sleep before the final match begins.”
Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash got inside the Royal Palace, they were looking for Sweetie Belle and knew they would find her in her room, Rarity was a little mad at her sister “How could she do that to Alex?”
As they approached her room, they heard Applebloom and Scootaloo talking inside “Sweetie c’mon, he did an awesome job. It would have been great if he was crowned as the new champion but he did all he could!”
“Yeah! Remember when my sister won all those ribbons in the Canterlot Rodeo? Ah didn’t mind she didn’t win the 1st place ribbon, Ah was proud of her; she did her best, Ah knew there were many incredible cowponies and she even bested many of them but couldn’t defeat some others, that’s just what competitions are about. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
Rarity didn’t lose any time, her sister deserved a good scolding; the three ponies entered the room taking the fillies inside by surprise.
“Sweetie Belle! Tell me what is wrong with you?” – Rarity asked.
“What’s wrong with me? Didn’t you notice? Alex lost and not only that! He even shook his opponents hoof and said it was fun!”
“Of course he did!” Rarity replied “He is a good competitor! What did you expect? Did you expect him to make a tantrum and act like an idiot?”
“Well, no! But he… he was supposed to win, he is a hero after all!”
“That doesn’t make him invincible!”
Sweetie Bells burst into tears and covered her face with her bed sheets. She knew Rarity was right and felt bad for her attitude towards Alex, but she was still mad at him, at her brother; she didn’t have any real reason to, but she was too stubborn to admit it. Everypony decided to let her be, it was something she had to figure out by herself. Everypony left the room, Rarity was the last one; without turning around, she said:
“Sweetie Belle, I just hope you realize how much you did hurt him; not even his opponents at the tournament managed to inflict the kind of damage you did. Now if you excuse me, I must go and talk to him, he is my brother too and as a good sister, I will be there to support him!”
“Whatever” - Sweetie Bell muttered.
Alex woke up; he had a nice sleep. The final match was about to start so he decided to go and sit next to the other finalist. He arrived at the Arena and looked for a place; there they were: Maximus Heart, Tyras, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the competitors who didn’t make it.
“Oh! The wanna-be is here, nice way to lose a match you fre…”
“Zip it Horse! I’m not in the mood for your shit right now. Keep talking and I swear I’ll break your other three legs!”
Maximus Heart understood the human wasn’t kidding. He looked away and didn’t say anything else.
Alex took a seat next to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey dude, how are you doing?”
“I’ve been better…”
“This is because of Sweetie bell right? Don’t worry, she will come to her senses; she adores you and you know it!”
“I Hope you are right Rainbow. Let’s try to enjoy the rest of the tournament ok? I’ll figure out what to do later…”
“Okey Dokey!”
Fluttershy was worried about Alex, she wanted to be with him but all she could do now was to trust Rainbow Dash to help him forget what just happened; Sweetie Belle had to apologize too. Fluttershy’s plan however, was still in motion; she was going to talk to Alex about her desire to take their relationship to the next level at the party Pinkie Party had planned for him.
Moments later, Princess Celestia and Luna flew to the center of the Arena.
“MY LITTLE PONIES AND FELLOW GUESTS, I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS TOURNAMENT SO FAR. WE SEEN INCREDIBLE DUELS AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE FINAL MATCH; WE HAVE TWO AMAZING COMPETITORS THAT WILL SURELY GIVE US A GREAT FIGHT. NOW! LET THE FINALISTS COME TO THE ARENA!”
Bright Courage and Zaxel entered the Arena; the whole Coliseum trembled because of the crowd cheering for their favorite fighter. Alex’s money was on Zaxel, he knew he had a chance to win. Alex believed that the Zebra would have to rely on his technique and speed in order to secure his victory because the strength was on Bright’s side; he had witnessed how powerful the Minotaur was after Maximus Heart was sent flying with a single punch. The Minotaur was old, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.
The Barrier Spell was casted, the Arena was surrounded by the spell’s light and the competitor’s Faker weapons and armor shone bright as they resonated with the barrier. The referee got in the center of the Arena and gave the instructions for the final match.
“Fight!”
Zaxel and Bright didn’t move, they stared at each other for a couple of second while the crowd cheered for them “Are you ready Zaxel?” the Minotaur asked “Yes, Sir, let me first tell you it’s an honor to fight you. I’ll give it all!”
Both of them made a reverence and got ready to fight. Bright Courage took out a big crossbow and started shooting arrows at his opponent making him step back. Zaxel brought some new weapons with him this time. He was using a battle axe and a shield that was attached to a bracelet on one of his front legs. These weapons helped him deflect some of the arrows that were flying at him.
Bright Courage ran out of arrows and threw his crossbow away, taking out a battle axe of his own. The weapon looked really heavy, but the Minotaur was so strong it seemed as a piece of cardboard to him.
Alex was paying full attention to the match, the last Minotaur Zaxel had faced was nothing compared to Bright Courage; he was clearly stronger, faster and a lot more agile, it seemed his age didn’t matter “There is a reason why he is the Champion” Alex said to himself.
Zaxel was using his axe but the attacks were either blocked or simply avoided by his opponent. The Zebra knew a full front attack wasn’t doing anything so decided to use his best card, he threw a smoke bomb at Bright Courage in order to cover his movements. Once the smoke had covered the place, the crow went silent, that way they would be able to hear what was happening inside the Faker Barrier. Suddenly, a loud scream was heard, Bright Courage’s voice was easy to recognize; seconds later, Zaxel was sent flying out of the smoke thanks to powerful punch delivered by the Minotaur. As soon as the smoke dissipated, the crowd could see what seemed to be Bright’s dislocated right knee. Zaxel, on the other hand, had landed on the other end of the Barrier and was barely able to stand up.
The Zebra looked at Bright Courage who seemed to be in pain “Well, it seems I was able to slow him down” But the fight was far from over. Bright Courage looked at his twisted knee; he dropped his battle axe and sat down grabbing his knee between his hands and using his strength to put it back in place “There you go! Alright Zaxel, can we continue or will you lay there on the ground for the rest of the match?”
“This must be a joke” Zaxel said to himself; as he tried to regain his balance, he looked up and saw the Minotaur charging at full speed. He thought about jumping aside to avoid the impact but it was too late, his body didn’t react on time. Once again he was sent flying through the air but this time he managed to land on his four legs.
“Just what the hell was that?!” – Zaxel side spitting some blood afterwards.
He felt his body was at its limit but after looking at Bright Courage, he noticed the Minotaur looked really tired too. Even though he had fixed his own leg, it was swollen and he seemed to breathe with a little difficulty.
The crowd was excited, this wasn’t the final match some of them had wanted to see, but it was still amazing. Everypony inside the Coliseum could not help but to admire and respect this Zebra.
Zaxel tried to use his technique again by throwing another smoke bomb but Bright Courage jumped several meters away “Damn, this Minotaur seems unstoppable!” Bright Courage kept jumping further and further away from Zaxel, not knowing he was falling into a trap; Zaxel was gaining terrain until he finally reached his target, he threw his last smoke bomb which Bright Courage avoided with ease by jumping even higher. Before the Minotaur landed on the ground, Zaxel picked up Bright’s battle axe and using all of his strength he threw it at him. It was a perfect attack, there was no way Bright could dodge his own axe in midair, it didn’t matter if he was wearing armor or not, this last attack would secure Zaxel his victory over the reigning Champion.
“I won!” – Zaxel though after falling to his knees, completely exhausted.
But his happiness didn’t last long, for Bright Courage would show everypony why he was the Champion. Before being hit by his own battle axe, he extended his hands and grabbed, using the power of inertia he turned around 360 degrees while still in the air and threw the axe back to where it came from. Everything happened so fast, Zaxel didn’t see it coming. The battle axe hit him, it cut through his armor like a saw and got completely buried into the ground. Zaxel didn’t feel any pain but his life counter points started to drop until they reached zero.
Nopony could believe what they had just seen; Bright Courage had won the match in an unbelievable way. He managed to defend his Championship title successfully.
“The winner and still Coliseum Champion, BRIGHT COURAGE!”
Zaxel looked like a statue; his mind was blank, he came to his senses after feeling his opponent’s hand resting on his shoulder.
“You did well Zaxel!”
“Thank you Mr. Courage, it really means a lot coming from you!”
“It was a truly honor to have you as an opponent. Thank you Zaxel”
Zaxel smiled at the current champion and then proceeded to exit the Arena leaving the Champion alone so he could celebrate his victory.
Princess Celestia arrived at the middle of the Arena, in order to congratulate the winner of the match.
“IS AN HONOR TO PRESENT TO YOU THE WINER AND STILL COLISEUM TOURNAMENT CHAMPION, A LIVING LEGEND, THE HERO OF MINUS, THE MINOTAUR BRIGHT COURAGE!”
The crowd cheered for his champion. Princess Celestia continued:
“THE CLOSING CEREMONY WILL START IN 10 MIN…”
“Excuse me Princess…” Bright Courage interrupted her. It seemed he had something important to say.
“What is it Mr. Courage?”
“Princess Celestia, I don’t want to sound rude, but I’ve been thinking about the crowd going home and not having the match most of them wanted to see.”
“What do you mean?” – Princess Celestia asked.
“I think you know what I’m talking about?”
“Oh! But, he didn’t make it to the finals and I’m not sure if he wants it!”
“Just leave it to me Princess, please.”
Princess Celestia nodded, she stepped aside and ordered the crow to stay quiet and listen carefully to the things Bright Courage had to say.
“FIRT OF ALL I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE EVENT, BUT I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING IMPORTANT; DURING THIS TOURNAMENT I SAW MANY CREATURES FIGHTING THE HUMAN, BEING HONEST I WANTED TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO FIGHT HIM TOO. SO, I HAVE DECIDED. . . YOU HUMAN!” Bright Courage shouted while pointing at Alex “FIGHT ME!”
“What?” – Alex was completely shocked.
“FIGHT ME HUMAN, I KNOW EVERYCREATURE HERE WANTS TO SEE A MATCH BETWEEN YOU AND ME. WHAT DO YOU SAY? I WILL PUT MY CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE IF YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE!”
“What? But I lost, I don’t deserve it!”
“I MAY NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO DO THIS AGAIN HUMAN, PLEASE GIVE THIS OLD MINOTAUR AN OPPORTUNITY TO FACE THE HERO OF CANTERLOT!”
Alex didn’t know what to say, his participation in this tournament was over. He looked at Rainbow Dash who seemed really excited after hearing this “You have to accept this match dude! You have the chance to beat him, even better; you have the chance to become the new Coliseum Champion!”
“But. . . isn’t it cheating? I mean, I didn’t earn it!”
“Alex, c’mon a true Champion can challenge anyone, anytime!”
“I… I don’t know!”
Rainbow Dash knew exactly what to say to convince him, it was a low blow but maybe it would help him to boost his mood.
“If somehow you manage to win or at least give a good fight, Sweetie Belle will be so proud of you again!”
She was right! It was his chance to regain his little sister’s respect.
“I ACCEPT!”
Everycreature cheered including his friends. Fluttershy seemed a little worried but she was glad seeing him excited and even though she didn’t want to admit it, she wanted to see him using his battle gear again; she blushed just by thinking about it.
Alex called Proud Hammer to be with him one more time, both of them went to Alex’s dressing room to get his gear ready; he opened the wardrobe where his Faker gear was and wore it once again.
“Proud Hammer, I really appreciate the gear you crafted for me. Thanks for everything!”
“No problem kiddo!”
“Ok I’m ready. Let’s go!”
Alex and Proud Hammer entered the Arena; they arrived at the center where the referee was waiting for them. Bright Courage entered the Arena from the other end, Alex noticed Bright’s coach wasn’t with him “Maybe he considered it wasn’t necessary for his coach to come with him. Anyways, I’m ready for this!”
The crow was excited; Applebloom and Scootaloo were a little sad because Sweetie Belle wasn’t there cheering for her brother, they wanted to go get her but they didn’t want to miss anything so they declined that idea.
Princess Luna was on her seat, she felt uneasy; normally she would feel this way during the nights when she focused her magic in order to watch equestrian’s dreams, somepony was having a horrible nightmare. She wanted to see the whole match but her little ponies were far more important. She casted her dream watching spell, her eyes were glowing, she left her body behind and entered the dreamscape, when she finally found the pony having these horrible nightmares, she was totally surprised.
Princess Celestia casted the Faker Barrier Spell; nopony noticed but Bright Courage smiled while she was doing it. Once the spell was completed, it scanned both competitors, there was nothing wrong with. By the time the spell was completed the number one hundred appeared over their heads but their armor and weapons didn’t resonate with the spell as it always did. Proud Hammer noticed it and got worried.
“What the hell? Kiddo you better…”
Bright Courage started to laugh maniacally and shouted:
Sweetie Bell opened her eyes, she was at home having a delicious lunch with her parents; Scootaloo and Applebloom got inside and invited her to play with them. She turned to her parents who agreed with a smile.
The little ponies were playing at the park:
“So what is the plan girls?”
“Well, I heard Diamond Tiara will be there with her big brother Alex?”
“Brother Alex? Why does she have a brother called the same as mine?” – Sweetie Belle asked.
Applebloom and Scootaloo seemed confused.
“What are yah talking about Sweetie Bell?” Applebloom asked “Yah don’t have a big brother; well, not anymore…”
“What, what do you mean by NOT ANYMORE?”
“Don’t you remember? After the tournament, you didn’t want Alex to be your brother anymore; you said you were ashamed of being his little sister and turned your back on him!”
“What?! I, I didn’t do that!” Sweetie Belle started to feel uncomfortable “What are you talking about?”
“Oh c’mon Sweetie Belle! We were there; yah said that yourself. I still remember how broken hearted he was. Remember it took over a month for us to start talking to you again.”
“But, but… I didn’t…”
“Yeah! But who would say Diamond would take the chance make him her Big brother, I thought she was just kidding but hey! They do look cute together!”
Sweetie Belle was speechless, she couldn’t believe what they said, but somehow she did, she remembered saying those words to Alex; they were echoing inside her head. Suddenly, a group of ponies arrived at the park. Fillies and colts were around Alex who was carrying Diamond on his shoulders. Sweetie Belle noticed him and ran towards the group, she wasn’t able to come closer to him due to the other ponies standing in her way.
Alex was telling them a story:
“And I managed to knock out Maximus Heart with my knee!”
Every little pony laughed and cheered for him.
“Wow, what an amazing big brother you have Diamond! One of the four finalist of the Coliseum Tournament!” – One of them said.
“I know right!” - Diamond Tiara replied while kissing Alex on his cheek.
“Hey! What do you think you are doing?” – Sweetie Belle shouted.
Everypony including Alex looked around to find who had said that. After finding out who it was, Alex looked at her and asked “Oh, it’s you! What do you want blank flank?”
Sweetie Bell was shocked; why was her brother calling her like that?
“Big bro…”
“STOP!” Alex shouted “You know very well you can’t call me like that! I’m not your brother anymore, remember?”
Suddenly, Diamond Tiara disappeared from Alex’s shoulders, the rest of the ponies around him banished like smoke. Only Alex and Sweetie Belle were left, they were now standing on a dark place:
“I, I never said that big brother… I swear I never did!”
“Stop calling me that! You are not my sister anymore. In fact, you never were! Even though I loved you like I loved my REAL sister Angela, even though I fought, bleed and almost lost my life for you, at the end you abandoned me and threw me away like trash. I did my best Sweetie, I really did, but it wasn’t enough for you right? I lost a single stupid fight and that was enough! YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON ME!
“No! Alex please, stop!”
He turned around and started walking into the darkness.
“I should have had left that Manticore eat you alive the day we met… I hate you!”
Sweetie Bell started to cry, her brother hated her and there was nothing she could do to about it. The darkness was surrounding her.
“DARKNESS, I COMMAND YOU TO DISSAPEAR!”
The power of Princess Luna was enough to end this nightmare. The shadows surrounding Sweetie Belle were casted away; they were replaced by a shining light. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and found herself on a different place. A beautiful night with shinning stars.
“IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG SWEETIE BELL?”
Sweetie Belle ran towards the Princess and hugged one of her legs.
“Thank you Princess Luna, I was so scared!”
“You don’t have to be afraid, it was just a nightmare created by your emotions. Please tell me, what’s in your mind?”
Sweetie Bell started to cry again, she didn’t know what to say to Princess Luna; she felt ashamed of what she did to Alex.
“Sweetie Bell, you do realize now you did wrong?”
“Princess, how do you know?!” – Sweetie Belle asked.
“Twilight told me. Was it that bad for you to see him lose in the tournament?”
“. . . no, I just, I didn’t know how to react to it. I thought he was going to win, and when he lost his match I got so sad and angry, but I was never ashamed of being his sister. I love him so much; I should have told him that! Now he thinks I hate him! And now he surely thinks of leaving me.”
Princess Luna smiled.
“That’s not true, he still loves you a lot, but I do think you need to tell him this.”
“But what if he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore?”
“He will want to, don’t worry. My advice is that you go to the stadium, he needs you. He needs his family now.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“Because right now he is…”
“LUNA!” The princess of the night was interrupted by Celestia who entered Sweetie’s dream.
“CELESTIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU KNOW YOU ARE NOT USED TO ENTER TO THE DREAMSCAPE LIKE ME!”
“I KNOW, BUT YOU NEED TO WAKE UP, ALEX IS IN GREAT DANGER. BRIGHT COURAGE, HE IS GONE INSANE!”
“What do you mean sister?”
Celestia noticed Sweetie Bell standing next to Luna.
“I’LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING ONCE YOU ARE THERE! SWEETIE BELL, DON’T GO TO THE STADIUM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!”
Princess Celestia banished in an instant.
“Sweetie Bell, I must go and find out what’s going on!”
“Ok, I’m coming too!”
“No! My sister told you not to go there!”
“But she said my brother is in danger!”
“Sweetie Bell, listen to my sister. Don’t worry; we’ll make sure he is safe.”
Sweetie Bell woke up; she jumped out of her bed and started to run towards the stadium. She didn’t want to disobey the Princesses but her brother was in danger. She failed to support him once and she would not do it again.
“Please be ok big brother! I’m coming to help you!”
Luna woke up on her royal seat inside the stadium. She opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what was in front of her: soldiers from every kingdom were trying to break the Faker Barrier. Spike was throwing fireballs at it; Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadence were using their magic trying to break it. Fluttershy was hitting it with her hooves; she was crying and screaming like she was going to die. All of them were doing it a great effort but it was useless, the barrier didn’t even have a scratch. The Spell that was used to cast it was too powerful.
Princess Luna stopped looking at them for a second; she turned her attention to what was happening inside the barrier.
Alex and his coach, Proud Hammer had a Katana each. Alex was bleeding from his mouth, nose and forehead; all his clothes were covered with dirt and blood. Proud Hammer wasn’t doing any better; he had a black eye and was coughing blood. They were both staring at the one who was causing all this mess, Bright Courage. He was hurt but not as bad as Alex and Proud Hammer, they had managed to defend themselves. Princess Luna was shocked; she didn’t have any idea about what was happening inside the barrier. She turned her face to the left and noticed her sister sitting next to her.
“TIA! WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHY IS MR. BRIGHT COURAGE FIGHTING ALEX AND HIS COACH? WHY ARE THEY SO MESSED UP? AREN’T THEY USING FAKER WEAPONS? PLEASE ANSWER ME!”
Celestia looked a little dazed, she was feeling tired for going into the dreamscape.
“No Luna, they are not using Faker Weapons. They are having a deathmatch!”
“Celestia, what the hell is going on in there?”
(15 minutes ago…)
“Murderer? What are you talking about Mr. Courage” - Alex asked.
“Why are you acting like you don’t know? You and all of your kind are murderers!” – The Minotaur replied.
“Do you know about humans?”
“Sadly, I do know about your horrible kind.”
“But how?” – Alex was surprised. How did he know about the human race?
“You will have to earn the right to know that!”
Bright Courage drew his battle axe and charged. Alex had no other choice but to draw his Katanas and defend himself.
“Do you really think those fragile blades will protect you stupid human?!”
Bright swinged his axe pointing at Alex’s head, the human used his Katanas to successfully block the attack. Bright was shocked, the blades didn’t have a scratch at all, Alex used all of his strength to push Bright away; it was obvious the Minotaur was strong, but Alex wasn’t a weakling, Bright Courage jumped away.
Alex looked at his Katanas “I would be dead by now if it wasn’t for Proud Hammer, his work is amazing!” He said to himself.
“You look amazed kiddo!” Proud Hammer shouted “Now, this is far from over. Hand me one of those so I can help you out!”
“What? Forget it; I won’t get you involved in this!”
“Kiddo, I know you are strong, but this crazy bastard is trying to kill you. He won’t hold back, there are no rules here. YOU NEED HELP!”
Alex knew he was right, now he was fighting for his life again. There was no room for any stupid pride; He nodded and handed out one of his weapons.
Together, Alex and Proud Hammer charged towards Bright Courage, the Minotaur started to fight against both of them. He was doing pretty good considering it was a two-on-one match. Alex was more on the offense than his friend; he was the only one wearing armor after all. While fighting, Proud Hammer managed to make a small cut on one of Bright’s arms. He screamed in anger and delivered a huge hit to the pony’s face, sending him flying away. Alex tried to take advantage of this little distraction but his attack was blocked by the Battle Axe. However, he didn’t stop, he drew one of his throwing knives and aimed at Bright’s face, the Minotaur managed to step aside but the knife cut his cheek, making him bleed.
“Are you ok Proud?” – Alex shouted.
“Yeah, don’t worry! Let’s focus on finishing him!”
“No!” Alex was worried about his friend “You stay right where you are, I’ll do the rest!”
Proud Hammer stood up “Forget it kiddo! It’s you and me, deal with it!”
Alex smiled, he admired his friend. They turned around and charged again, but this time their strategy was different, Proud Hammer attacked him using his Katana while Alex took out his bow and started shooting arrows. A close and long distance combat combination, Bright Courage never saw this coming, while he was clashing his weapon with Proud Hammer, Alex managed to hit him with a couple of arrows on his ribs and back but the Minotaur just kept going “Damn, this guy is tough!” Alex said to himself.
Bright Courage knew that in order to end this fight, he would need to get rid of the pony first. When Proud Hammer swinged his katana at him, Bright Courage dropped his axe and grabbed the blade with his bare hands. Completely ignoring the pain caused by another arrow that just hit him in the arm, he kicked Proud Hammer on the stomach making him fall on his back. With one swift movement he threw the Katana away and grabbed is axe, lifting it above his head, getting ready to decapitate the Pony that was lying on the ground.
“This is the only way!” The Minotaur shouted right before feeling a horrible pain on his left side. He thought it was another arrow and looked down only to find it was Alex’s blade cutting into his skin. He got distracted for just a second, but it was enough time for Alex to punch him on his muzzle, making him lose his balance.
“Hey! I thought your war was with me, what the fuck are you trying to do? He is an innocent pony you asshole!”
Alex punched him again and then kicked him on the chest; the human was lost in his rage. He felt as if every bone in his hands would break, but it didn’t matter, he wanted to take this bastard down. A powerful hit from his knee was enough; Bright Courage was sent flying and landed heavily on the ground.
“Stupid bastard!” Alex shouted. He ran towards Proud Hammer to make sure he was okay “Hang in there old pony, it’s over!”
Proud Hammer opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings.
“Wow! I think I fainted… Alex, where is that Minotaur?”
Alex smiled “He is right there lying on the ground. I just knocked him out.” He turned his head to look at the Minotaur but all he was able to see was a big fist coming straight at him. He didn’t have time for anything; all he could do was close his eyes when the iron-fist met his stomach, Alex could hear a horrible sound coming from his internal organs, he was lifted on the air due to the force of the impact and then a powerful kick to his face sent him flying, landing at least six or seven feet from where he was standing.
Bright Courage jumped high in the air. Alex was trying to lift himself up from the floor but he noticed a shadow coming at him, he looked up at the sky but his face met Bright’s fist once again. His head bounced on the ground almost making him lose consciousness. The Minotaur kicked him on his side; Alex could hear another cracking noise. Bright Courage laughed like a mad. He stood up next to Alex and got on his knees, he then started punching Alex on the face, chest and arms. The human tried to block the attacks but it was useless, these punches were so painful.
Proud Hammer stood up and charged towards the Minotaur, he wanted to stop this punishment. Sadly, the pony was stopped and hit by an elbow that knocked him out.
The Minotaur kept punching him until he got tired and stood up. He looked down and laughed again. Alex was lying on the ground, defenseless. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, his left eye was swollen and closed and his forehead was cut open. His arms had bruises all over; He coughed and spit some more blood, the pain on his side was intense. He gathered some strength and opened his mouth…
“. . . . Why?”
The Minotaur couldn’t understand what he said.
“…why…are you … doing…this…?”
“What you did you say?” - Bright Courage asked.
Alex rolled to his right, spitting blood and saliva. He cleared his throat and got on his knees.
“Why are you doing this? I think I earned the right to know, TELL ME!”
“If this is your last wish, I’ll tell you…” The Minotaur sat on the ground, he knew the human was unable to attack him or do anything else, at least for a while. Those punches did their job; he didn’t have anything to worry about for at least a couple of minutes.
“I hate humans, all my family does. We hate every creature who ever thought about giving your kind a chance to redeem yourselves.”
Alex couldn’t understand what he meant by that “But I. . . I didn’t do anything to you.”
“No, you didn’t, but your kind did. Have you ever heard about Starswirl the Bearded?”
“Yes… he is the one who discovered the entrance to my world.”
“And you know he used to have apprentices helping him in his researches. Do you?”
“I do; in fact, one of my friend’s ancestors was one of them, but what does this have to do with Starswirl?”
“IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS! DO YOU THINK STARSWIRL HAD ONLY PONY ASSISTANTS?”
“ …”
Bright Courage stood up; his eyes were filled with anger “Yes! One of his assistants was a Minotaur, a brilliant one called Hope Knowledge. Even though he wasn’t a pony, he earned the right to be one of the few assistants of Starswirl. He wanted to make his homeland proud, but he, he was taken away from us by your filthy kind! The unicorn used to organize field trips to this place called “Earth” in order to investigate your world, the ponies used their magic to hide themselves but Hope Knowledge had to be extra careful. Unfortunately, on one occasion, he was discovered by humans and was captured. Starswirl and the rest did their best to help him out but they were outnumbered by savage humans carrying swords and spears so they had to flee. They took him away with them!”
At this moment, Bright Courage was shouting. He was making sure everyone inside the Coliseum could hear his story, the real reason why he was doing all of this.
“Starswirl did his best to find him, he spoke with the best wizards in order to track him down. When he finally found out where he was, he gathered a group of the best ponies to help him rescue the captured Minotaur. Do you know what they did to him? They did all kind of experiments with him in order to understand how an “animal” was able to think rationally and speak their language. When they were done with him, they threw him inside a labyrinth that would be his prison until the day he died. This place was called the Labyrinth of Crete, and you know what? Humans called him a monster! They used to send young human females to the Labyrinth as sacrifices for the Monster inside, but there was no monster; the females were raped and killed by other humans that were hiding inside the labyrinth and Hope Knowledge was blamed for their deaths!”
Alex was speechless, Greek mythology seemed to be true.
Bright Courage continued:
“After an intense battle between the real monsters and Starswirl, the ponies managed to defeat them and took Hope away with them. Away from that horrible place, once they were back on Equestria, Starswirl brought him to Minus. He was in an awful condition, I can’t and don’t want to imagine the kind of things they did to him. On his last days, he told his family everything that had happened to him. Unable to sleep or eat due to the horrors he lived and witnessed, HE KILLED HIMSELF! Our family was devastated. But that wasn’t the worst part!”
“What do you mean?”- Alex asked.
“Starswirl forced everycreature that knew about this disgrace to make a vow of silence. My family was insulted, the only thing they wanted was revenge, but that crazy unicorn said it was suicide. He insulted our pride and our strength!”
Alex was completely shocked “Starswirl wasn’t crazy, he knew how small this whole world is compared to earth…” He said to himself.
Bright Courage was clenching his fists. Everypony could see the anger on his eyes.
“WE ARE A PROUD RACE, WE ALWAYS PROTECT OUR KIND! WE DESERVED REVENGE AND IT WAS DENIED TO US. THAT’S WHEN OUR FAMILY MADE ITS OWN OATH, WE WOULD MAKE SURE TO LET EVERYCREATURE KNOW WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS YOU HUMANS REALLY ARE! WE SWORE TO NEVER LET ANY HUMANS LIVE HERE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL WORLD!”
“But…” - Alex was kicked in his stomach once again.
“Silence! My family didn’t care about the vow of silence, they tried to tell everycreature about this incident, but no one believed them, not even the King himself. After all, Starswirl and him were close friends. We also found out that Starswirl had closed the portal to the human world and so, the whole incident passed as if it had never happened. But we didn’t forget it! Now that a human is here in Equestria, I will be the one to exact revenge on you! That way my ancestor will finally rest in peace and I will release this beautiful world from your kind!”
Almost everypony trying to break the Faker Barrier had already stopped doing so. They were shocked after hearing these words from Bright Courage. “Are humans really this cruel?”,”How was a human allowed in Equestria if they are so evil?” these were some of the things a lot of ponies were asking themselves.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were still hitting the Barrier with everything they had. Rarity had passed out after watching Alex being horribly punished by Bright Courage; Fluttershy was crying and screaming for help.
Twilight and Cadence arrived at Princess Celestia’s spot.
“Princess Celestia, is this true?” – Twilight asked.
“I never knew anything about this Twilight. Starswirl never told me anything, I was so busy during those years, I was still sad for banishing Luna. I guess he was sure if I knew anything about it, I would have forced him to close both portals to the human world, including the one he used to visit his little female friend.”
“But why is he taking revenge on Alex. He never did anything to him!”
“I’m afraid some grudges never go away my little Twilight” - Cadence said.
At this moment, Princess Luna woke up. Princess Celestia told her everything that had happened until now. Luna was angry; she flew and shot a huge magical beam to the Faker Barrier, but it was useless.
“BRIGHT COURAGE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING TO MY FRIEND? IF YOU KILL HIM, YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE; I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD IN MY ROOM!”
Bright Courage laughed “You can have it if you want to Princess Luna, but not before I kill him. If I was you, I would save my energy; you can’t break this barrier, not until one of us dies!”
Luna was going to shot another magical beam but was stopped by Celestia.
“He is right Luna, remember this spell cannot be stopped or broken until one of the life counters drops down to zero. Since none of them is using any Faker Weapons, the only way to reach the zero points is if… one of the contestants ceases to exist.
The King of Minus was on his seat. He had listened to every word his champion had to say, he took a moment to think about these things. Suddenly he stood up and shouted:
“Bright Courage, I hope you understand you will not get away from this. This might lead to public execution!”
Bright smirked and said:
“Hahahaha! Do you think I’m planning to escape from this? I’m not scared to die, I have lived long enough. I’m happy knowing my last great deed will fulfill my family’s revenge. REVENGE THAT WAS DENIED TO MY FAMILY BY ONE OF YOUR ANCESTORS!”
Alex got on his knees again.
“Why did you wait so long? I mean, you could have killed me when we first met, you even saved me from Maximus Heart!”
“Yes, I could have killed you before, but I wanted to show every creature the true nature of your kind. I wanted to fight you on the finals but you disappointed me, losing against that Zebra, you forced me to use my plan B. Now, speaking from a warrior’s point of view… you are a disappointment.”
“I, aghhhh” Alex was in terrible pain “ . . . I didn’t want to fight you like this, I’m not a killer!”
Bright smirked and walked towards Alex and grabbed him from his throat; Alex was coughing, he was unable to breath.
“Have you forgotten about Blueblood?”
“What. . . how you know?” – Alex asked. He was barely able to speak.
“You thought something as big as that would be completely hidden from everycreature? I managed to get this information from fans I have all over Equestria. Don’t worry, I’m not planning to say anything about that, my war is against you, not Equestria.”
Alex spat some blood on Bright’s face “You tried to kill my friend Proud Hammer some moments ago you dumbass!”
The Minotaur used his other hand to clean his face “If I have a goal, no creature gets in my way. If he has to fall with you, he will!”
“You are insane, I killed Blueblood because I had to! He gave me no other choice!”
“Same here, you need to die! What if you bring more humans to our world? What if you want to kill again? You can’t be trusted; someday, the ponies will thank me for this!”
“No! Please, please don’t kill him, I love him!” - Fluttershy cried with all her strength.
Bright Courage heard her “Didn’t you hear what I just said? What his kind is capable of? At his side you will suffer, sooner or later he will betray you, it is his TRUE NATURE!”
“No! That’s not true” She replied “He is kind, sweet and loyal to his friends. He is not like anything you are saying, you just want to believe you are doing good but you are not! Please, don’t take Alex away from me!”
Bright Courage turned to see Alex again.
“You infected that innocent pony with your lies, I have to end this today; at your side, she or anypony else will suffer. Just look around you, no matter what happens today, I HAVE WON!”
Alex did as Courage said, many creatures had stopped trying to break the Barrier and many of them were looking at him with fear, disgust and even hate. Some of them seemed to be satisfied to see him beaten up and defeated. Alex remembered how he almost lost his life saving these same ponies, he was so angry.
“You ruined everything! Those were never my intentions. I just wanted a peaceful life, but you, you took it away from me! I had friends, fans, family and a girlfriend; now I can’t stay here anymore, but if I have to fall, I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS!”
Bright Courage laughed out loud “You can’t even escape from my grip and you dare threaten me? I am sure I will fall today but not by your hand; it doesn’t matter, I will be a martyr, I’ll die knowing I did good in front of everycreature here!”
Bright delivered another punch to Alex’s stomach, sending him flying to the ground again. Alex tried to stand up as soon as he hit the ground, but the pain inside his abdomen brought him down to his knees.
“TIME TO END THIS!” – Bright Courage shouted.
He picked up one of Alex’s own Katanas and walked slowly towards the human who was unable to stand up on his own.
“You are not even worthy to be killed by my own weapon!”
Alex was struggling to move, he didn’t want to end up like this. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. His body was so messed up, it wasn’t responding. He looked up and saw the Minotaur coming at him. Bright Courage stopped and got ready to stab him right on the chest. It was over.
Alex closed his eyes.
“I’ll see you in a moment Angela, I’ve missed you a lot…”
The edge of the Katana traveled through the air until it found its target. It cut through skin, muscles and veins. Blood started pouring on the ground.
The crowd went silent; Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The whole place was completely quiet.
Alex could smell the blood but didn’t feel any pain. He opened his eyes and there it was, the tip of his Katana was at a few inches away from him.
But Alex wasn’t looking at the blade; he wasn’t looking at Bright Courage either. He was looking at the eyes of his friend; Proud Hammer had stopped the Katana from reaching Alex by getting in its way…
The old pony was standing there with a shinning piece of metal and blood coming out of his chest.
Alex’s eyes were closed; he was waiting for his own weapon to cut through his chest. For a moment, he wished this was a dream so he closed his eyes. The pain he was waiting for never arrived.
He opened his eyes, but this wasn’t a dream…
He was looking at the eyes of his dying friend, Proud Hammer had stopped the weapon he forged himself from killing his loved friend. The agonizing pony had promised him that he was going to help him, and he did.
“I told you…I was going to… help you out…”
This couldn’t be happening “please god, I beg you… this can’t be true!” he closed his eyes again “please god, please!
Bright Courage screamed and let go of Alex’s katana. Proud Hammer fell on the ground “You won’t… take my… friend’s life…!” Bright Courage stepped back. Deep in his heart he didn’t want to take anyone else’s life but he knew this was something he had to do if necessary. There was no turning back!
Alex opened his eyes and saw his friend again; Proud Hammer eyes were losing his brightness.
“Hang in there buddy, we will make it out of this!”
“Don’t bother kid…ddo. My time here is… over…”
“No! Don’t do this to me! I can’t lose you like this! Please hang on!”
“It’s ok… just promise me… that…”
-Silence-
Alex placed him slowly on the ground. His friend was dead “My presence in this world caused your death - Alex said to himself - Why the hell did I have to come here again?”
-Frustration-
Bright Courage removed the arrows that had pierced his body “So, another poor soul dying because for you? Is that all humans are good for, taking the lives of the innocent?!”
-Anger-
What the hell is wrong with you human? Cat got your tongue? Aren’t you going to say anything to your fallen friend?
-Hate-
“I’m talking to you stupid human! Say something before I take your useless life away too!” Bright Courage started walking towards the human.
Alex stood up; his eyes were still looking at the lifeless body of his friend. Bright Courage charged, he clenched his fist and hit Alex on the face sending him flaying, he landed some meters away from him “What the hell is wrong with this idiot?” Bright Courage asked himself.
Alex stood up, he was crying; the blood coming down from his forehead was making his tears look like they were blood. Bright Courage charged again “That’s even better! You have already realized there is nothing you can do!” He ran past Alex and kicked him on the back; once again he was sent flying, this time he landed close to Proud Hammer. He opened his eyes and saw his friend lying on the ground in a pool of blood. His own katana had taken his life away.
“I.. hate…”
“What was that?!” Bright Courage asked “Did you say something you piece of shit?”
The Minotaur stood up next to Alex and grabbed him by the neck, squeezing it. “Now tell me what you were saying before I rid this world from your cursed life, before anypony else gives up their life for you! Before that stupid pony that is stupid enough to believe you love her….”
He grabbed one of his throwing knives and buried it in Bright’s left eye making him scream in pain. He let go of Alex’s neck, covering his eye with the same hand. The human fell on the ground and immediately grabbed another one of his knives, burying it in Bright’s right knee almost cutting his kneecap off.
But Bright Courage wasn’t done yet; he hit Alex on the chest as hard as he could and sent him flying away again. The Minotaur was breathing heavily, the pain on his eye and knee was really intense, but he was a warrior. He wasn’t stopping for a couple of knives. He grabbed the knife and tried to pull it out but he couldn’t, it seemed to be stuck in his skull.
“You took my eye! You bastard, I’ll make you pay for this!”
He tried to walk towards the human who was already standing up, but the knife buried in his knee was hurting him. He looked down with his only eye and grabbed the knife, pulling it out.
The human was on his feet now, he looked at the katana buried in his friend’s body and carefully grabbed it. Bright Courage grabbed his battle axe once again; he looked at the human and started walking towards him as fast as he could.
Alex looked at the blade, it was covered in Proud’s blood, he placed his hand around it and closed his eyes “Why did you have to die at the hands of this bastard?” he tightened the grip “Why do I always bring death when I come to this place?” the blade was cutting deep on the palm of his hand, but there was no pain, not in his hand, not in any part of his body. He felt his burning blood coming down on his forearm.
Bright Courage was still walking towards him “I swear this will end now! Your filthy kind will not threat this world. Look at me! Look at me before I kill you!” Alex turned his face and looked at him; there was no life in his eyes. Bright Courage stopped walking, for a moment he was scared of the human. The look in his eyes was full of hatred “What the hell?! I’m scared of no one!” He said to himself and charged at the thing that was standing there holding a katana in his hands.
He swung his battle axe but the human avoided it, Bright Courage screamed, he was so angry at the human. He swung his axe again but Alex was moving really fast, he seemed as if he wasn’t hurt at all. Bright Courage stepped back to catch some air, age and blood loss were taking their toll on him.
Alex saw the Minotaur stepping back; he knew it was his time to attack. He charged but Bright Courage was blocked all of his attacks, Alex grabbed another of his throwing knives cutting Bright’s wrist, a stream of blood came out of it. Instinctively, Bright Courage pressed his wrist against his chest, covering the wound.
Everycreature was speechless, was this human the same one who was fighting the Minotaur some minutes ago? How was he able to turn the fight like this? His friends weren’t even moving. Alex wasn’t the same, for a moment they were afraid of him.
Alex charged once again but this time Bright Courage was prepared, he threw his battle axe at the human who jumped up in order to avoid it; otherwise he would have been cut in half. But this was Bright’s plan; the Minotaur extended his arms and caught Alex while he was still in the air, trapping him in a bear hug.
“Hahahaha! There is no way out of this!”
The look on Alex’s face was painful. He pulled his head backwards as if he was going to head butt Bright Courage.
“It’s not a good idea to do that” Bright Courage said “No matter how hard you hit me, I won’t let you go!” He closed his eyes in anticipation of the hit and turned his face away from Alex.
This was the beginning of the end for him.
Alex bit him on the neck, Bright Courage screamed in pain as he felt human teeth cutting through his skin, he felt the muscle fibers being ripped off as Alex bit a huge chunk of meat from his neck. The Minotaur was scared, he let go of Alex and stepped back. Dark blood was coming out of his neck, covering his chest and pouring all over the ground.
He looked up and saw the human standing there, with a piece of meat in his mouth. Alex was covered in blood, sweat and tears; his eyes were the eyes of a blood frenzied animal. He spat the piece of meat and wiped the blood off.
Bright Courage felt shivers going down his spine when he noticed the thing standing in front of him wasn’t a human or an animal anymore, it was a demon with a horrific grin on its face.
“You… what… what are you?” He asked before falling on his knees.
The human/demon picked up his katana from the floor and started walking towards Bright Courage.
The Minotaur couldn’t move, his body wasn’t responding; he saw Alex standing in front of him, he clinched his fist and threw a punch as fast and strong as he could. That was the last thing his arm would ever do; it was cut off by Alex’s katana.
Bright Courage couldn’t scream anymore he saw his blood bursting out of what was left of his arm. The blade was slowly rising up again, he knew there was nothing he could do “if only a had a weapon…” he suddenly felt the pain from the knife that was still stuck in his eye socket. He grabbed the knife with his only hand and pulled it out taking what was left of his eyeball with it; with a quick movement, he stabbed Alex in the chest but the human didn’t stop, Bright lost his second arm to the same blade that took the life of an old pony.
Everycreature in the arena was horrified; this thing that was slowly dismembering Bright Courage was a monster. Some of them fainted, others started to vomit, this was a horrible image and none of them would ever forget that.
Bright Courage was on his knees, knowing life was leaving his body. He looked at the monster again; it was standing there with a knife stuck in its chest. The monster closed its eyes; it seemed to be thinking about something.
Deep inside, Alex started to think about a lot of things, memories from the first time he arrived at Equestria; meeting Spike, training together, laughing and playing. Spike was like a brother to him.
“Spike, I’m so proud of you, I hope you know that…”
Another image came to his mind, Sweetie Bell. Every moment they shared, he loved that little filly since the first moment he saw her, he loved her so much.
“I’m really sorry losing in the Tournament is the last thing you will remember about me, but at least you are not here to see this.”
The last thing that came to his mind was the pony who gave his life for him. He opened his eyes and saw the Minotaur gasping for air; the Tournament Champion was on his knees.
“It seems the animal… you have inside you finally came out to play. I knew your kind was dangerous, now I know. . . I did the right thing, someday every…”
Bright was interrupted by Alex’s boot kicking him right on his face, he felt on the ground hissing in pain, he tried to stand up but Alex was on top of him.
“To be honest – Alex said - I don’t have the time or patience to hear a stupid monologue about your so-called justice, this world may not have anything to do with me anymore; but still, Proud Hammer gave up his life for me to continue living and in order for that to happen, I need this force field gone; I need you dead now so I can get out of here!”
Bright Courage closed his eyes while Alex shouted:
DIE ALREADY!”
Using his hidden blade Alex stabbed Bright Courage right below his chin. Bright Courage felt the blade cutting inside him, he struggled to escape but there was nothing he could do. Before dying, the Minotaur was able to hear Alex’s last words:
“ESPERO QUE NO DESCANCES EN PAZ BASTARDO!”
Bright’s life was gone, Alex stood up and walked towards Proud Hammer, he fell on his knees, and picked his friend from the ground; he started to cry. The Faker Barrier disappeared, many creatures tried to get inside but Princess Celestia and Luna ordered the guards to stop them.
At that very moment, a cute little unicorn with white fur entered the arena; she saw everypony gathered around the battle field, she wanted to know what was happening, but most of all she wanted to know about Alex. She struggled to walk between everypony and managed to pass the guards that were busy fighting off the others. That was when she saw him; he was on his knees, hugging a dead pony, Fluttershy was there too, trying to make him stand up.
“Come on Alex, you need to be treated; you could die if you lose more blood!”
Sweetie Belle ran faster.
Alex looked up and opened his mouth, letting out a scream full of agony and pain. A scream that nopony would ever forget.
“I’m here; I’m here with you Alex. You don’t have to go through this alone!”
Fluttershy was holding Alex against her. Her chest was covered in blood; she was trying to stop the bleeding from the wound in Alex’s chest. The rest of the mane 6, Lyra and Spike joined her. They had seen Alex hurt before, but this time something was different, they knew something inside of him had broken. It wasn’t something physical, it was something different, something inside his mind. Twilight didn’t lose any time and used her magic to try to stop the bleeding “if it doesn’t stop, it will at least slow it down!” Rarity agreed and used her magic to levitate him and carefully take him out of the arena.
Suddenly, someone shouted: “HALT THERE PONIES!”
The whole group looked back to see who it was. King Strong Blade from Minus followed by several Minotaur warriors were running after them.
“What do you want King Strong Blade” – Princess Twilight asked.
The King raised his hand and pointed at Alex, “Him! I want him! Leave the human here. He just killed a Minotaur and you know very well what the punishment for that crime is!”
“King, you can’t be serious!” – She replied.
“I’m very serious Princess Twilight; this is not something that can be easily ignored”.
“Look, I don’t have time for this now – She stood between him and the rest of the group - my friend is dying and needs a doctor. Step aside before I…”
“You dare to talk to me like that Princess? You want to protect a murderer; he just killed a living legend!”
“No! He killed an insane Minotaur who wanted to kill him. All he did was to defend himself, he had no other choice!”
“I will not repeat myself again, leave the human here!”
A bright light blinded everypony; when it faded out, King Minus and the rest of his Minotaurs were trapped in a binding spell. Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor had casted the spell. Their horns were glowing white.
“Twilight! Don’t lose any more time here! – Cadence Shouted -Take Alex to the hospital, we will deal with them; don’t let our friend die!”
Twilight nodded and ran away with the rest of the group. They arrived at the hospital “I need a doctor now!” Princess Luna shouted.
Nurses and doctors didn’t move, not after looking who the patient she was carrying “What is happening, aren’t you going to help my friend?
A doctor found the courage he needed to speak “Princess Twilight, why do you want to help that mur… murderer? Didn’t you hear anything the hero Bright Courage said before being killed by him?”
All of the medical staff nodded. Their eyes looked as if they had seen a horrific creature. Twilight could not believe this; she knew some Canterlot ponies were actually afraid of him, but not to this degree. Anyways, she wasn’t going to let him die “I WILL PRETEND I DIDN’T HEAR THAT! NOW YOU WILL HELP MY FRIEND AND THAT IS AN ORDER!”
Some nurses brought a stretcher and medical equipment and started taking care of him, even though they had received an order from the Princess herself, deep in their hearts they didn’t want to help the monster. Princess Twilight spoke to the doctor once more:
“If he doesn’t make it, I will personally escort you out of Equestria and don’t you dare lying to me saying that you did the best you could but it wasn’t enough; remember that the one and only Element of Honesty is by my side!”
The doctor was shaking, he had never spoken with the Princess directly, and he never thought the first time doing it would be like this. He left with the rest of the doctors and prepared Alex for emergency surgery.
“Why did you speak to him like that Twilight?”
“Didn’t you see Rarity? All of them believed the things that crazy Minotaur said. I couldn’t risk him getting hurt by the doctors on purpose.”
Several hours passed, every second felt like an hour. Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack were trying to comfort their sisters. Sweetie Bell was truly devastated; she didn’t want him to end like this. What if her brother didn’t make it? He would die thinking she hated him.
Twilight and Lyra were having a conversation:
“Why did this happen?”
“I don’t know Princess Twilight!”
“Lyra please, you can call me Twilight.”
“Thank you Prin… Twilight, I can’t believe this happened. Everything started so perfect; that Minotaur thought he was doing a good thing to all of us. I just can’t believe it! Are there any news from Princess Celestia?”
“She is still speaking with the other kings that came to the tournament. I think the fact that no creature has come here is a good sign.”
“That is right – Lyra replied - and also the fact that Princess Luna ordered all most of the Royal Guards to guard the hospital in case any intruders wanted to do something crazy” tears started to come out of her eyes.
“He will make it Lyra. He is strong; he has been through worse and there he was, coming out victorious.”
“I know he is strong Twilight, it’s not his physical damage what worries me but the damage that was made to his mind. You saw him in the arena, those eyes; those were the eyes of somepony who didn’t care about dying. I am worried he thinks he is a MONSTER!”
After a couple of hours more, the doctor finally came out. The whole group stood up and surrounded him “After an intense surgery, we managed to stop the bleeding and efficiently heal his wounds; he has many fractures all over his body, but time, magic and medicine will heal it… sorry, will heal him. His life is not in danger anymore… However…” his expression changed “He’ll have to stay in bed for a couple of months, I know you won’t like this but we might have to tie him up bec…” the doctor was interrupted by Twilight, she looked menacing “Princess please, we are doing it to avoid him from hurting himself in case he moves. Please don’t be mad Princess; we are doing this just to help him heal as best as possible!”
(Lyra P.O.V)
“Many things happened after the Coliseum Tournament, Princess Celestia and Luna spoke with King Strong Blade after the incident inside the arena and asked him to cease his accusations against Alex. All of the other Kings agreed on the fact that Bright Courage had disgraced his own reputation and had brought disgrace to the tournament by murdering an innocent pony. In order to avoid any conflicts between their kingdoms, all of the King who attended the tournament made a pact stating that this incident would be put aside and accepted that justice was made. The murderer was executed by the same blade he used to kill the innocent pony.
Even after the horrendous incident, the closing ceremony took place two days later. There is no need to explain why all of the participants weren’t celebrating as expected, the Zebra known as Zaxel was declared the winner of the tournament. He didn’t want to be crowned as the champion and even dared to say Alex should have won the tournament; this caused a huge part of the crowd to start booing at him and some of them even left the place.
We gave Proud Hammer the funeral he deserved, as a true Hero who gave his life for his friend. The Princesses themselves used their magic to engrave his headstone with the phrase “Friendship is Life”, as a reminder that true friendship is above life and death. I am pretty sure Alex will want to visit the place once he wakes up…
The day after the funeral, the Kings returned to their homelands. Some of them, including Zaxel and Maximus Heart went to the hospital to visit Alex. It was incredible, many ponies believed somehow Alex managed to earn the respect of that Horse “He showed me about humility, he was a true champion and a hero!” those where his words, but deep down inside I believe he said that just to gain more fame.
I’d like to say the ponies of Canterlot aren’t easy to manipulate but that would be a big fat lie, at least half of the city believed in Bright Courage’s story about Alex being a menace and some of them even asked Princess Celestia to end his life, claiming he was a menace to Equestria they needed to deal with him right away; what better time to do it than now that he was vulnerable. Princess Celestia’s mood wasn’t the best during this time; she took care of Alex as if he was her son. The Princesses have always come to visit him here in Ponyville.
By the way, Alex was moved from Canterlot to our humble local hospital here in Ponyville, all of us agreed that moving him to a more peaceful environment would help him heal faster; sadly, he wasn’t brought here just for that, but because there were some ponies that wanted to hurt him. We couldn’t risk him from being hurt so the Princesses approved this so they brought him here and left some well trained guards to take care of him.
Many ponies visit him regularly; Ditsy and her daughter are the ones that come to the hospital the most. I still remember the day they became close friends, Alex was one of the few who told her how beautiful her eyes are, and I remember how jealous Fluttershy and I were that day. Ditsy always brings a muffin for him in case he wakes up hungry; sadly, they become waste because he hasn’t opened his eyes.
Fluttershy and Sweetie Bell stay in the hospital every day, the shy Pegasus spends at least two or three hours talking to him and knitting; I believe she has finished 4 or 5 scarves for him. Sweetie Bell lies down next to him, hoping she will be the first thing he sees when he wakes up. She wants to apologize to him for all the things she said and even starts to cry. Rarity wanted to keep her from visit him because it had started to affect her physically.
After four weeks, Alex finally woke up. He looks weak but he is fine. We were so happy but it didn’t last long, Alexis doesn’t want to talk to anypony not even his marefriend or Spike, he just stays there lying on his bed sometimes looking at the window or the ceiling, staring into nothing. The doctors have checked on him and they agree that there is nothing wrong with his body, but he was very depressed. Pinkie Pie did her best to cheer him up or at least tried, she failed. It was the first time everypony saw Pinkie Pie fail. After a couple of weeks everypony decided to let him be “maybe he just needs some time” is what they all said. How wrong they were! To my own surprise Alex asked me some questions, not looking at me even once. He wanted to know when and where Proud Hammer was buried, what happened after the tournament, etc. It made me happy hearing him talk but still, his voice, his words seemed . . . empty.
After a couple of days it was more than obvious for everypony… His spirit and his will were gone, his heart was dead.
Princess Celestia tried to talk to him, no luck. As everypony else did, she decided not to push him. Princess Luna tried harder, she even tried by going into his dreams but everything she found in his dreams was darkness, she tried to cast the darkness away but it was impossible. After a several tries, she gave up.
Little Spike has been doing great; he has gained a lot of reputation after the tournament. I think he has been in touch with two new friends, one from Manehatan and the other from Gryphonia. I didn’t know he was so popular, but the strangest thing is the fact that he doesn’t visit Rarity’s that much. However, it is still obvious he has a little crush on her.
Besides the horrible things that have happened, our lives are as good as always, or at least as normal as they can be. Everypony went back to their daily tasks, sadly, the memories from the tournament are not as the Princesses had wanted. Twilight and her friend returned to their daily lives as well, they were still hurt by all of this; but deep inside they knew that Alex, even in his current state, wouldn’t want them to let this incident affect their lives at all. Fluttershy was the only one having problems with this, she still visits him, hoping to make Alex snap out of it. She even tried to take him with her but the medical staff stopped her on time…”
(Fluttershy P.O.V. one week ago)
“Please Alex, come with me. I am one of the first ponies with an invitation to see the Breezes…”
“. . . . . . . . . . .”
“Don’t you want to come with me?”
“. . . . . . . . . . . . .”
“Ok, I think I should be going…”
Fluttershy stopped at a couple of inches from the door; she turned around “No! I want you to go with me and you will!” she tried to pull him out of the bed but he didn’t move an inch. After hearing all the noise, nurse Read Heart and some medical staff stopped her “Miss Fluttershy! Stop! Princess Celestia gave strict orders to keep him here safe until HE wants to leave on his own will!”
“But, but I really want him to come with me! Alex please, say something!”
“. . . . . . . . . . . .”
“Alex, say something!! You are my boyfriend remember?! Do you care about me?” She closed her eyes “If you don’t say anything… we are done!” She started to cry.
“. . . . . . . . . . .”
She turned around and rushed outside the room. She didn’t notice Alex turning his head and looking at her. His lips started to move, he spoke very quietly:
“. . . Finally”
Lyra finished writing in her diary and went to sleep; she and the gang had agreed to visit Alex again. The next day, the whole group went to pick Fluttershy at the train station, their reunion was nice considering everything that had happened until today. On their way to the hospital, Lyra got near Fluttershy and asked:
“So what’s the plan Fluttershy?”
“I. . . I don’t know. . . I can’t believe I broke up with him, I’m afraid of seeing him, what am I going to do? Why did I do something so stupid?” Fluttershy started to cry.
“Everything is going to be alright. Everypony knows how much you love each other. You were hurt and said things without thinking but it’s nothing love can’t fix!”
“Do you think so?”
“I know it Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy smiled and wiped her tears off. With a new found conviction, she started to run to the hospital; she needed to tell Alex how much she loved him and that she didn’t mean any word she said during their last “conversation”.
When the group arrived at the hospital, Nurse ReadHeart talked to them:
“Hello everypony, coming to see Mr. Alex?”
“You bet!” - Pinkie Pie answered.
“Nice! Please follow me. But I warn you, he might be sleeping. He didn’t make a single noise last night after closing the door to his room. But it’s almost time for breakfast and I have the keys to his room. I hope you guys can finally make him speak again!”
Everypony followed her into the room. Nurse ReadHeart opened the door very slowly…
“GOOD MORNING ALEX! WE HAVE A SURPR… uh?!”
The room was empty. Rainbow Dash turned to nurse RedHeart “Do you think this is funny? Where is he?!”
“I don’t know Mrs. Dash. He should be here, nopony ordered to move him into another room; and besides that, he locked the door last night.”
Fluttershy started to cry, she was so worried about him. She started looking for him in the adjacent rooms “Alex, where are you?!” the rest of the group started to do the same. Twilight was the only one who got inside the room, carefully looking at every corner “The door wasn’t forced open, the windows are not broken. However…” she got near the window “As I supposed, the window was open from the inside” it was clear; Alex had left the hospital by his own.
Rarity entered Alex’s room “Twilight please, we need to know who took Alex away. He could be hurt or even worse!” Princess Twilight turned around while the rest of the group got into the room “Relax girls, don’t you see?” everypony was confused. Twilight showed them the evidence she found, they were to know that nopony had taken him away; however, they were still worried.
“But where could he go?” – Rainbow Dash asked.
“I don’t know, but we need to find him fast! He is very weak and probably is still hurt; I know, maybe he went outside to Carousel Boutique!”
“That can’t be possible; we were there an hour ago” Rarity replied “Everything was normal” Twilight closed his eyes “Did you search inside his room?”
“We haven’t entered in his room since we decorated it. We were waiting for him to wake up and…” Suddenly, the whole group realized “Alright, let’s go!”
They ran as fast as they could to get to Rarity’s home. After getting there, they went into his room. What they found was shocking, most of the things inside his room were untouched, but his gear missing and so were most of his clothes. His weapons, Metapendant, most of his personals things weren’t there.
“He definitely was here!” Pinkie Pie said “But why did he leave?”
They started to wonder what his reason to leave was; deep inside, they knew the truth. They just didn’t want to accept it. Spike was the one to break the silence:
“What if he just… ran away?”
His words echoed in the room. Nopony wanted to believe it, but there was no other option. They started to cry. Fluttershy fell on her knees, her heart was broken.
“Why did he leave?”
All of them had many questions. Only one thing was certain.
After finishing writing in her diary, Lyra went to sleep. Oblivious to her, in the nearby hospital, her human friend opened his eyes. He stood up from his bed; he was feeling really good after the ponies had taken care of him during the past days. Luckily for him, nopony had noticed him working out. His body needed to be in good condition to do what he had planned.
After making sure nopony was outside his room, he locked the door from inside and made a rope with his bed sheets. He opened the window and started his way out. Using all of his abilities to hide himself in the dark, he had no trouble reaching his destination: Carousel Boutique.
He slowly opened the door and went up to his room. He was shocked at the sight of his room after opening the door; the place was clean and ready for its guest. His television, videogames and comics where there, clean and carefully placed inside the room. He walked in and noticed a mannequin wearing his armor; weapons and Metapendant where there. It was obvious that his friends had cleaned the place for him. He felt happy, but he had made up his mind already. He took some of his clothes and weapons and stored them inside his back pack. He grabbed his Metapendant and put it inside his pocket. After putting his armor on, he remembered there was one last thing he needed to do.
Carefully walking through the dark hall, he arrived at the desired room. He opened the door and saw her; peacefully sleeping, one of the most adorable and beautiful things in this world: his sister. He looked at her for a couple of seconds, careful not to make any noise, he smiled.
“Good bye sister” he whispered before leaving her room.
Alex went into the kitchen to take some apples and leftovers from the fridge. While looking at the food, he felt something touching his feet. Opal was looking at him with a tender look on her face.
“Hey beautiful!” he said in a quiet tone.
“Meow”
“Sorry I haven’t been around but some things happened and well, I’m afraid I have to leave Equestria.” Opal looked at him, her eyes were the ones of a sister telling his brother he was doing wrong “Sorry but I can’t, I just can’t here anymore. This world has no room for me…”
“Meow. . .”
“No, I don’t think we will meet again. Please take care of Rarity and Sweetie Bell for me, will you? They are very important to me!”
“Meow!”
“That’s my girl” He said before carefully placing her on the floor. He got out of the house. After a couple of steps, he realized something “For a second I believe I actually understood what that cat was telling me. I must be going crazy! ”
Again, he used the night to cover his way back into the Everfree Forest. According to Luna’s calendar, the next meteor shower was in two weeks. He needed to last long enough until the day he left, in order for everything to be fine in Equestria again. Just a few steps before going into the forest, he took a last glance at Ponyville.
“Good bye everypony. I am really sorry for stepping into this place. Please forgive me…”
- - - - - - - - - - -
The next two weeks were really hard for him. He had to move to a new location every day. Obviously the first place they were going to look for him was the Sister’s old castle. One day, the group arrived at the place, Rainbow Dash was close to tear the whole place down, Applejack brought Winona to help them but he managed to lose their track by crossing the River. He had to admit it, if not for his Manticores friends, the Sea serpent and Zecora’s help, it would have been possible for him to remain hidden during all this time. Convincing the first two wasn’t big of a problem, Zecora by the on the other hand was really difficult; but after he told her everything that had happened and seeing the desperation in my face, she agreed. However, she keeps telling him he was making a huge mistake.
Now he was there, inside the cave where he left his truck. Thank God it’s located in one of the most dangerous places in the Everfree Forest. Being honest, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Manticores guarding the place.
After a good sleep and knowing it was almost time, he grabbed all of his stuff, said his respective goodbyes to his furry friends. The Manticores hugged him very tight and proceeded to go back to their homes. Alex started to run very fast, the last thing he needed was to attract any unwanted attention. After some minutes, he finally reached his destination: the Big Oak Tree. There was a peaceful feeling around it. He started to believe this was some kind of sacred place; he touched the tree and smiled.
“Here I am old friend, for a last time. I never said it and I don’t know if you can understand me but before I go, I want to thank you for bringing me here. Even after what happened, I have beautiful memories of this place; I really thought this could be my home, but I guess… shit happens. I came here alone and that is exactly how I’m leaving, except for the fact that my will is broken, along with my dreams of happiness. Damn it! I’m a broken man . . . a pathetic person. However, someone really important to me gave his life to keep me alive. So I’ll keep on living to show him my respect.”
Talking to a tree didn’t look very smart. However, it made him feel better.
“Well, it was fun to talk to you, now please take me home. I’ll handle the rest.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex waited for one hour. He knew it was almost time, he was ready; once the portal appeared, he would cross it and he would make sure to take the down the other tree in his world. He couldn’t risk other humans from finding this portal. Princess Celestia trusted him that information and he would be loyal until the end.
It was the correct date and time, but nothing had happened. He looked at his watch and started getting a little nervous “Why hasn’t it happened?” Another couple of hours passed “Damn it! It is her, why did I have to tell her!” Alex pulled his hair and started screaming:
“DAMN IT! YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME PRINCESS CELESTIA!”
He didn’t care about waking up the Timberwolves. He needed to let it out; screaming was making him feel better. Suddenly, he could hear some voices.
“Hey guys! I think it came from here! C’mon! Remember it’s our only chance!”
Alex immediately recognized the voice; it was Rainbow Dash “What is she doing here? How did she find out? Damn it! Of course! Celestia knew I would be looking for this place on this day!”
They were looking for him. Alex looked up he saw some Bat Royal Guard ponies and Sun Royal Guard Ponies flying above. There were dozens of them.
“Stupid! Stupid of me! She read me like an open book!”
Alex immediately ran away. The last thing he needed was for them to know where the portal was; he heard hooves coming his way and jumped into a bush, hoping for the best. After a couple of seconds, he saw them. The Mane 6, Spike and Princess Luna.
“What now girls? Has he escaped again?”
“Don’t worry Applejack, we will find him. Many Guards are surrounding the area. Shining Armor has casted his shield spell too, they’re covering almost one kilometer in every direction. There is no way he can escape! He will come with us, whether he wants it or not!” The group agreed, except for Fluttershy. She remained silent.
The group reassumed the search. Thankfully, they walked in the opposite direction. Alex got out of his hideout and ran away from them, he knew how strong Shinning Armor’s barrier was, but he had broken it before by using Darkness Stone.
After running for some minutes, he finally reached the barrier. He was expecting it to be pink like the other ones but this time, it was red. It didn’t matter, it was a magical barrier anyway; he put on his Darkness Stone knuckles and delivered a powerful punch to it. However, this time the barrier didn’t crack open. Alex broke his hand trying to break this barrier. He carefully looked at the barrier again, only to notice that there were two auras protecting it, not one.
“Of course! Shinning and Cadence casted this spell together, I’m an idiot for not noticing this before.”
Alex fixed his hand the best he could. There was no way he could climb trees like these. It seemed he had no option; it was only a matter of time for them to find him, he sat down next to the barrier.
“Well, there is nothing else I can do. I think it’s time for me to give up…”
He closed his eyes and couldn’t help the tears from coming out of his eyes. It was then when he heard the sound of hooves coming his way, he raised his head and saw her; his eyes widened, out of all the ponies, it had to be HER. Princess Celestia approached him without saying a single word. They were at inches away from each other.
Celestia’s horn glowed bright casting a spell on Alex’s hand and healing it immediately. She casted another spell, surrounding them both. He was expecting to be teleported where everypony else was, but they were remained in the same place.
“I casted a spell that will hide us from everypony else. You have fifteen minutes to talk.”
Celestia didn’t take her eyes off Alex, looking at her friend like this broke her heart. There was no hope in his eyes. He looked at her with a smile on his face and said:
“Ok your highness, what you want to talk about?”
“Your highness? Alex, you know you don’t have to refer like that. We are friends!”
“Friends? Why would you want to be the friend of a scum like me?”
“It seems you haven’t improved since you left the hospital.”
Alex looked down. The tone of her voice was strange “I’m just telling the truth.
“The truth, according to you. Alex, I need to hear it from you; why did you escape? Why did you try to leave Equestria without telling us?”
“Why should I tell you about everything I want to do?”
“Because I am ordering you to do so! If you are not talking to me as a friend then you have to answer my questions as I am the ruler of all Equestria!”
Alex felt the powerful aura of the Princess “Ok Princess, I did it because I finally realized there is no place here for me anymore. Many have suffered because of me; I brought death to this place. I’m pretty sure sooner or later somepony will die again if I stay. I don’t care about that stupid Minotaur; however, he had the last laugh. All the world hates me and they will hate anyone that stays close to me too, I can’t. I can’t put anyone else in danger. If I have to fall, I will fall alone, that’s why I want to leave this place and be away from all of you. It hurts so much to feel this way. But I have no other choice. I HATE THIS PLACE!”
Celestia was shocked; was this human the same one? She started to cry. She regretted her decision of asking him to compete in the tournament. She didn’t care about the things Bright Courage said; she knew Alex, she knew how kind, strong and loyal he was. But his human standing in front of her was different, he was broken and empty. She knew she had to choose her next words carefully:
“Alex, sometimes we don’t get what we want. You don’t want anypony to love you or care about you, that’s impossible! I love you, we all love you and you can’t stop us from doing so. I’d like to tell you this is the last time something painful will ever happen but that’s not how life works, you know that right?”
Alex was crying.
“Alex if it was in my hooves, I would bring you back to Ponyville and try to help you in any way possible, but I know that it would do nothing. You’d just escape again. Tell me Alex, what do you really want to do? What does your heart desire?”
Alex looked at her for a couple of seconds. He would have liked to say he wanted to stay in Equestria, but the pain was still inside him. Being honest, he didn’t want to see them, not like this. He knew very deep in his heart, he needed to spend some time away from them to get things right within himself “I want to go back to Earth, being here in Equestria is hurting me so much!”
Princess Celestia wasn’t surprised. Somehow, she was expecting this “Very well my human friend, let’s take you home…” Alex was surprised, there weren’t any sweet words or any attempts to try to convince him to stay “Really?!” was everything he managed to say.
“As I said, I believe staying here will do nothing for you. Friends are important, but there are journeys where you have to go all by yourself. All I can hope for is your return…”
“Princess Celestia, are you going to cast the “Back to the start” spell on me again?”
“No my friend, this time we’ll do it your way” The princess turned her face away from him.
“My way, what do you mean?”
Celestia took something out of her mane. It was a pendant; white, cyan and pink colored, just like her mane. She used her magic and the object floated on the air, landing on his hands. He looked at it for some moments before the Princess spoke again:
“That pendant has a big portion of my magic; remember you said that the portal needed a potent magic to be opened? I believe I don’t need to explain why I gave it to you.”
“Celes… Princess, are you giving me a “key” to come back to your world whenever I want to? I don’t get it, aren’t you afraid I might use for evil?
Celestia got close and surrounding him with her wings said:
“Yes I am but I’m willing to take the risk!”
“I don’t know what to say. However, I don’t know if I will ever come back here.”
“I am aware of that” she said “But we must never lose hope!”
Alex looked at the artifact again while wiping his tears “I really wish I could say goodbye to my friends…” A bright light made him close his eyes. When he opened them, a quill and a scroll were floating in front of him “use these” the Princess said.
…………………………….
After searching for many hours, everypony was exhausted. Luna didn’t want to stop, but the lack of sleep was starting to catch up. The group gathered in the indicated place. All of them looked disappointed because no one had been able to find Alex. After a moment, Princess Celestia arrived at the place.
“Sister!” Princess Luna said “Did you find him?”
“No, and I don’t think we will ever find him” She looked so sad. Everypony was shocked after hearing her words “What . . . what do you mean?” Princess Luna asked.
“Look at this” Princess Celestia gave her a scroll. Luna took it and started reading it.
“My beloved friends,
I found a way to open the portal without the Princesses help. By the time you read this, I will not be in Equestria anymore. I’m sorry but I have to act like a coward and run away, please forgive me. I’m too depressed and I really don’t want to make you waste your time trying to cheer me up, I know it’s wrong, I now this will disappoint you. But I ask you to please respect my decision. Please tell Fluttershy I love her. But I am not good for her, I know somepony else will give her what she deserves.
Spike, keep training. I know it’s hard to listen to a coward like me asking it, but please do it. Sweetie Belle, I’m sorry for being a useless brother, I know I disappointed you but there was nothing I could do.
Celestia, thank you for making me an Equestrian, it’s the greatest honor a human could wish for.
I am truly sorry it all had to end up like this. I keep you in my heart and in my mind.
Alejandro
…………………………..
Nopony could believe the words they heard. Spike asked the Princess to give him the scroll in order to read it. However, Princess Luna wasn’t that convinced about this letter.
“It can be a fake! How can be sure he is back in his world?”
“Because, I found this next to it” Princess Celestia replied.
Celestia gave Luna one of Alex’s hidden blades. Everypony wondered how this was a proof that Alex was no longer in Equestria. Princess Luna tried to cast a spell on it but nothing happened, after trying for a couple of times she gave up and shared some tears “He is gone…”
“Why are you so sure about that Princess Luna?” Rarity asked. Celestia was the one to answer “Luna casted a spell that would make this object shine if the owner was still in Equestria… but as you see… He is no longer in this world.”
Fluttershy didn’t want to accept it. She couldn’t believe he was gone “Please show me how the spell works!” She asked. Princess Luna grabbed one of Spike’s weapons; after casting the spell, it started to shine. Fluttershy closed her eyes “I see…”
……….
The park was empty. Everything was dark, only the moon was shining bright on sky. Suddenly, something on the ground started to shine; brighter than the moon, the Oak Tree was glowing intensely. A door to unknown places was open and a human emerged from it. This human was holding a pendant in his hand. After coming out of the magical door, he put the pendant in his pocket.
He looked around and immediately recognized the place. Feeling guilty running away; but he knew this was the best for that beautiful world, the best for his friends, for his loved one, for everypony. He took a deep breath and started his way back home, his way to a boring life; he turned around and looked at the oak tree, one last time.
“Goodbye everypony, good bye Fluttershy… I, I love you.”
“I have to! Your kind is cursed and if you live we will all be cursed too!”
“No! I don’t mean any harm to you!”
“Lies! Die as the animal you are!”
Bright Courage raised his axe above his head and let it drop, slicing Alex’s body in half. The last thing he heard were his own screams of agony while the Minotaur laughed maniacally.
“Nooooo!”
Alex screamed and woke up. He was sweating; it had been the same nightmare for the last three weeks, every night since he came back to Earth. Those nightmares filled his mind. His health was starting to deteriorate, even though he had gone to the doctor many times, no one had been able to determine what his issue was. Sadly, he couldn’t talk to a psychiatrist because he wouldn’t dare telling of the things he lived while in Equestria.
Steven and the rest of his friends were really worried about him. Alex wasn’t the same since the day he came back from his “trip”.
(3 weeks ago)
Alex was walking through the streets. All of his hopes and dreams were gone, the only thing in his mind were doubts and fears. He didn’t even know what to do with his life anymore. It had no sense for him at all “That’s not right!” He said to himself “I am back on my home planet. I can come back to my regular life and do my regular stuff. Play video games, go to the movies, watch cartoons… but damn! Why is it that I feel so miserable?”
“Fluttershy.”
A sweet smile wanted to appear on his face. But it quickly faded away.
“No! She is gone now. She is in Equestria were she belongs and I don’t belong there! She is amazingly beautiful and many stallions will give anything to be with her now that I’m gone! Who knows, maybe she will end up with Big Mac, the “Fimfictions” about them as a couple are always good and… why not? She can go out with Discord too! He is not a bad guy and really cares for her. I know any of them will make her happy. Happier than I’ll ever be…”
He wanted to take her out of his mind. He started to run and tears came out of his eyes, tears that he was unable to stop. After running for a few more blocks, he was almost home. He could hear some music which was becoming clearer and louder as he got closer to his house “There seems to be a party at my house! Is it Steven?” He wiped off his tears and stopped running. He got home and opened the door; there were a lot of people in his house. He was able to recognize most of them but other faces were truly unknown to him. Right at the other side of the room Alex was in; he saw a hand waving at him. There was a person coming his way, pushing the people around him aside.
“Alex? Oh my god! Man, you are back!”
Alex’s best friend, Steven was standing there in front of him. There was a sincere happy smile on his face.
“Dude! I didn’t know you were going to come tonight! Why didn’t you text me?”
“Well, I couldn’t do it because of lost my phone again.”
“Really, oh my god Alex. It seems this is really becoming an issue. Anyways, I know that you have the money to buy another one but you should really be more careful.”
Alex chuckled “If only he knew those phones belong to ponies now…” He said to himself. “You know what Steven, you are right. I promise I’ll be more careful from now on. Now, all I need is to have some rest. My trip back here was very exhausting; I’ll be going up into my room now.”
“What? You are not staying here? C’mon dude, enjoy the party! There are a couple of nice girls I would like to know. Hey! By the way, how did things go between you and your… you know, your girlfriend?”
Steven was grabbing Alex’s arm and felt how it started to shake, he knew Alex long enough to understand that something was wrong.
“Alex? What . . . happened?”
“I . . . don’t want to talk about that . . . ever! Long story short, she wasn’t the right one, that place wasn’t for me at all.”
Steven didn’t say a word, he let go off him and watched him as he walked up to his room. Another of his friends noticed Alex and tried to follow him but Steven stopped him “It seems he is really tired. Please let him rest for now.” Steven turned his back to the stairs and looked down. He remembered the last time he felt Alex shaking like that, it happened when his family died.
-------
(Present day)
Alex woke up at around two in the morning, he knew going back to sleep would be impossible so he went downstairs for a glass of milk. This was becoming his routine. Once again, he went into the living room and turned on his gaming console, put one of his favorite video games in it and played it for hours. The game was the new Assasin’s Creed game, his eternal idols, the assasins, Alex noticed the way these heroes did their job and completed their missions. Suddenly, he dropped the gaming controller and started to think.
“Heroes are only fiction!” He was so sure about his last statement that it made him smile. This was no video game or comic book story, in real life the “heroes” couldn’t always save everyone! In fact, many of them died trying. He was one of the lucky ones that didn’t die while trying to save his loved ones. Even though, sometimes he wished he hadn’t. Now, he had to live his life full of regrets because he was unable to save one of his BEST friends from dying at the hands of a maniac.
Now Alex didn’t have any desire to become a hero anymore, because he knew he had failed at it. He picked up the controller from the floor and looked at the reset button “If only I could reset everything so it all could be right again …”
-------
As days passed by, Alex health became worse. He rarely came out of his house, if not for buying groceries or other snacks. He avoided type of contact with other humans as much as possible. People who knew him started to get worried, true to be told, he wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular but at least he had been nice to most of the people he knew.
Suddenly someone knock on his door:
“Alex? Are you there? C’mon! I know you are there! Please open the door and let me in!”
Steven was outside Alex’s house, nobody had seen Alex since the last three days. Many of his friends tried to contact him but he just ignored them. But Steven was the only one who didn’t give up. Since the night Alex returned, Steven knew something was wrong. He thought maybe time would fix it but it seems it wasn’t happening. Since the door remained closed, Steven took out the copy of his keys “I didn’t want to go into the house this way; I just hope you don’t get mad at me Alex!” He opened the door and everything seemed to be normal until he saw him, Alex was sitting in his couch, with the gaming controller in his hand. Steven noticed the television wasn’t even on. Alex seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He hadn’t shaved and his hair was a mess. There was a lot of food and cans of cola all over the floor.
“Alex! What the hell is wrong with you man?”
“I’m . . .playing, I think it’s pretty obvious Steven” Alex answered.
“For Christ sake dude, the TV isn’t even on. What’s going on with you? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You look and smell bad! Look at this whole place; it’s a mess in here!”
Alex looked at the television and noticed it was off “It was on moments ago, I turned it off. Because I was going to change the disk for another game, you see I want to play Assassin’s Creed. There is a mission where I have to help somepony…”
“Alex!” Steven interrupted him “Man, what the hell? Did you say SOMEPONY? Ok, you are making me worry.”
“Yes Steven, I said somepony. Exactly as you heard, somepony… somepony who died in my arms. And because of that they all hate me now!” Alex turned the television on again. Steven stepped back, he was scared.
“If I could, I would have saved him. I would have given my life for him” Alex started to cry, while Steven was standing there silent “But, it wasn’t like these video games. There wasn’t any reset button. There was no way to bring him back to life or re-do the mission again. Why did he do it? Why did he get in the blade’s way? I DESERVED TO DIE INSTEAD OF HIM. I SHOULD HAVE FUCKING DIED!”
Alex felt to his knees and cried out loud. Steven knew there was something wrong with Alex, but this was out of proportion. He put his fears aside and walked towards Alex.
“Everypony hates me now Steven… but it wasn’t my fault. I did everything I could… why do they hate me Steven? Why?!”
Steven couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His best friend; the one who had always helped him. The strongest guy he knew was there, crying on his knees. Steven got on his knees and put a hand on Alex’s shoulder:
“Ale. . .Alejandro, tell me . . . what happened? What happened to you in that place?”
“This is so difficult for me. There are so many things that I need to get out of my chest. There are many things I need to tell. Please Steven, out of anybody else; please believe I’m not crazy!”
“Well man, I don’t think you are crazy. But why are you saying all of these things?”
“Because there is no way you are going to believe a single word of the things I’m about to tell you”
“C’mon dude, you have never lied to me before. Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
“I never said I was going to lie, I said you will not believe me…”
“Ok . . . if you feel telling me everything will help you out. Go ahead and do it. I promise you I’ll listen to everything you have to say.”
“Steven, I really don’t know where to start” for a brief moment, Alex came to his senses. He was about to tell everything to his best friend, he didn’t know what his friend would think about him or even he would actually believe his story “Alright. I was in Equestria …”
-------
Steven had always been Alex’s friend. He had always been by his side during the good and bad moments of his life. He supported every decision Alex made, but not without warning him whenever he felt Alex was in danger. Now, many years after they became friends, Steven (for the first time) was feeling really stupid. He was listening to a guy that looked like he had recently escaped from a mental asylum. This person was telling the most unbelievable story he had ever heard. However, even though as crazy as all of it sounded, Steven was really paying attention to Alex’s stories. Deep in his heart he believed everything his friend was saying.
“Equestria?”
“Yes, you know . . . with every character we bronies know and love: Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, everypony!”
Steven closed his eyes, he really wanted to believe in Alex’s words but he immediately snapped out of it. He had to get some help for his friend. The way Alex was behaving was truly a sign he was becoming mentally unstable. He thought about using Alex’s phone to call for help, but he didn’t want to make it that obvious.
“Ok Alex, I … I believe you, I truly believe everything that you say. But you know what, I … I’m feeling a little hungry but I don’t want to eat any of the things you have scattered all around your living room. I’m going to go buy something for both of us … ok?”
Alex looked down without saying a single word. Steven stood up from the ground and walked towards the door “I hope I wasn’t that obvious” he said to himself. He was at a few meters from the door when he heard Alex say:
“Steven! Please . . . at least let me show you something . . . after that you can go and take me to any mental institution you want. I promise I you I won’t complain, just let me show you one more thing… ok?”
Steven hesitated for a moment, but he really wanted to help his best friend. He turned around “Alright, we have a deal. Right?”
“We do!” Alex answered “Now, before I show you this, I need to ask you something…”
“Go ahead.”
“You remember all those Fimfics we read about finding a portal to Equestria and how, in many of them, the humans and ponies went to war because of the humans and their greed?” Steven nodded “Steven, let’s just say . . . you find a portal to Equestria. I know it sounds stupid but just imagine it . . . what would you do?”
“Ok Alex, I will play your game. Being honest, I would say nothing to anyone.”
“Not even me?” Alex asked.
“Well, maybe I would tell YOU if you promise to keep the secret!”
“And why is that? Why wouldn’t you say anything to anyone else?”
“Because as you said, I know how humans we are. I know there are many good people who would give anything to go there but there are also a lot of bad guys, I wouldn’t like to be responsible for bringing chaos to that world . . . Wait, oh damn! Why am I telling you this?” Steven shook his head “Dude! Equestria is not real! Please! Please tell me you are joking, please! Stop giving me more reasons to send you to the nut house!”
Alex smiled at him “Thanks Steven, I knew you would understand. Ok, here is my last question, what would you do if I show you a proof that Equestria is real? Please Steven just answer that question with honesty.”
“Godammit Alex! First of all, I would beg you to take me there; second, I would smack you for not telling me before and third, I would swear for my parent’s life to not tell anyone about it!”
Alex looked at Steven for several seconds. He was trying to find out if Steven was lying or being sarcastic. He thought about how stupid was the thing he was going to do but he needed to tell someone. Besides, this man was his best friend. Alex walked towards the window and move the curtain aside, he was making sure no one was somehow watching from the outside. He closed the curtain and turned towards his friend, taking something out of his pocket.
Walking towards his friend, he took his hand out of his pocket and showed IT to Steven “Before I do this, I want you to know I’m trusting you my biggest secret, if anyone ever finds out, I’m done. And just for you to know I’m not revealing anything more than this, you got it?”
Steven nodded without taking his eyes away from the strange object. “Ok Alex, let’s get this over with. Then, I hope you accept my help and keep your promise.”
Alex smiled while putting on his metapendant. Immediately, a bright light surrounded them both! Steven had to cover his eyes, when he was finally able to open them; he looked to were Alex was standing, he let out a short scream while jumping backwards “Alex what the fuck is this?!” he simply couldn’t believe a unicorn was standing there. He looked around calling for Alex, when he dared looking at the unicorn again, he spoke to him:
“That was the very same reaction I had the first time. Thanks Steven, now I don’t feel that dumb!”
Steven’s eyes went white. He lost consciousness and the last thing he could hear was the unicorn calling his name.
After a while, Steven slowly opened his eyes. He was looking at the ceiling; he didn’t recognize the place until a few seconds later. He tried to stand up but was feeling a little weak. Sitting down on the floor he grabbed his head “Damn, I must have felt heavily on my head. It really hurts …”
Steven was trying to remember everything that happened before he fainted when he heard hoof-steps coming from the kitchen. He slowly turned around and looked at the unicorn again “Steven! I’m glad you woke up, I was getting worried!” Steven’s eyes started to roll up again but this time Alex was faster. He jumped towards his friend, Steven’s instinct made him jump aside as he came back to his senses.
“Dude, this must be a joke. This must be the craziest joke ever. Alex please stop it or I won’t talk to you anymore!”
“Hahahaha” The unicorn laughed “I’m sorry but it’s not a joke, I’m a pony Steven. Princess Luna gave me this pendant so I could turn into one of them.”
“I just … Alex, this is unbelievable! Can you do the things that, you know, that unicorns do?”
Alex laughed again as he used his magic to levitate his friend, Steven got himself surrounded in a green aura.
“This feels . . . Amazing! Alex please put me down; I really need to sit down. This is the most shocking thing I’ve ever seen!”
Alex put him on the couch where he was sitting. Steven closed his eyes and inhaled deeply “So. . . Equestria is real and you know how to get there. Correct?”
“Yes I do.”
“Dude! You have to take me there!”
Alex’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head “Sorry Steven but I can’t, I promised Princess Celestia not to take any human there until she says so.” Steven opened his eyes and looked at the unicorn again “Really? But is there any change to do it in the future?” Alex trotted towards the center of the room “I don’t think so, after I will not go back there ever again…” Steven stood up from the couch and kneeled before his friend “What? Are you insane dude! It’s Equestria! The land of harmony; any Brony on Earth would give anything to go there! They could even kill you to get that information! Well not me, of course not me. But somebody else could. Alex and why exactly is it that you don’t want to go back there anymore. Does it have anything to do with the way you have been acting these past days?”
Alex nodded and looked at him “Steven . . . do you want to hear about what happened this last time I was in Equestria?”
Steven sat on the floor. He had never looked so serious before “I’m all ears bro!”
It was a great day in Ponyville. Birds were singing, the sun was shining high above the blue sky. Pinkie Pie was baking some delicious cupcakes and after 20 minutes they were ready. Their smell was amazing! She was thankful for the good friend who gave her this Chocolate Chips recipe. She put the cupcakes in a little box which she stored in her saddle bag and then proceeded to go the place she went every Tuesday. She was enjoying the beautiful day and greeting everypony on her way; after some minutes, she arrived at her destination: the entrance to the Everfree Forest.
A few meters away from there, sitting on a Picnic blanket, Fluttershy was looking at the entrance with enthusiasm and tiredness in her eyes. Pinkie Pie smiled, she had to acknowledge her friend’s passion; she always spent a couple of hours in this place, either staring at the entrance or reading a book. Sometimes Pinkie Pie or the rest of the girls were with her but this time she was alone.
“Hi Fluttershy! Any luck today?”
“No Pinkie . . . not yet!”
“Oh! That’s too bad! Today I used the recipe he gave. I wanted him to try them and see how much I’ve improved” Pinkie Pie said while taking the box out of the saddle bag.
“I know he would have loved them!” Fluttershy said while smelling the content of the small box.
“Fluttershy. . .” Pinkie Pie said “I don’t want to be a party pooper but, don’t you think it’s time for this . . . this party to be over?”
“Pinkie Pie . . . you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to…” Fluttershy answered.
“It’s not that . . . it’s just . . . it’s been like six weeks already, I want to believe he will comeback. In fact, I have everything ready for his third welcome party but. . .”
“But?” Fluttershy asked.
“But I’m not sure if we’ll ever have that party. Please Fluttershy, stop doing this to you, he would have wanted you to be happy!”
“Pinkie, please leave me alone. I know you made a huge effort in coming here and baking these delicious cupcakes, but I don’t want to lose my hopes”
Pinkie Pie didn’t say anything else. She sat next to Fluttershy and ate a cupcake, waiting for a miracle to happen.
After waiting for a couple of hours, they packed everything and went back to their homes. Once in sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie noticed her friends were waiting for her. Applejack was the first to talk:
“So, what happened? Yah managed to convince her?
“No, she’ll keep going the…”
“Oh C’mon! Why does she have to be that stubborn! He is gone! He abandoned us! He gave up on us! Why can’t she see that?” Rainbow Dash said raising her voice.
“Rainbow Dash! I understand you are upset, but I will ask you to keep those comments about my brother to yourself!” Rarity said, she seemed offended “I will not tolerate hearing you say those things about him!”
“Whatever!” Rainbow Dash said before turning around and flying away. Leaving some tears on the place she was standing which everypony noticed.
“Rainbow, she always wants to look tough. We need to do something about this, it is not good for Fluttershy; she can’t keep hurting herself anymore” Twilight said.
“Ah know Twilight, but what can we do? I haven’t given up on Alex too but she needs to rethink on what she is doing. Have yah visited her cottage, Ah won’t say it’s a mess, but it’s obvious she hasn’t been feeding her animals properly and the Pet Center has been closed for an entire month!”
“I know Applejack, I really wanted to give her some time but it’s obvious it’s not working, we need to talk to her, all of us at once. I just can’t keep going there to wait for Alex’s return. It hurts so much to see her going her going back home every day alone and disappointed”
“That’s true darling! Why do you think I forbid Sweetie Belle to go with her? Seeing her coming back home crying was really breaking my heart.”
“How is she doing now?” Pinkie asked.
“She is doing a lot better! Applebloom and Scootaloo are helping a lot, at least she goes out to play with them like she used to. She says she wants her cutie mark now, so Alex can see it when he returns.”
“Oh that’s sweet!”
“Yeah, I hope to I’d have the faith she and Fluttershy have. But we need to be realistic too! Now, who is going with me to talk to talk to Fluttershy? She needs to stop hurting herself”
Everypony agreed “Count me in!” Rainbow Dash shouted, she came back to with them. Her eyes were red and puffy but nopony dared to say anything.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After several hours, Alex finished telling his great story to Steven; he was shocked and didn’t know what to say.
“Wow! Alex, did really all that happen to you?”
“. . . Yes my friend!”
“Sorry for sounding like a broken record but oh my god! You killed Blueblood; you faced Manticores and almost become their king! You were Fluttershy’s boyfriend and Sweetie Belle’s Brother! I … I really don’t know what to say!”
“But I do” Alex replied “This whole trip was a mistake…”
“Why are you saying that?”
“Dude . . . I am a murderer. And a good pony died because of me too! My presence in Equestria brought disgrace and pain to that world.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Yeah! Why wouldn’t I, don’t you think I did bring all sort of bad things to them?”
“Why would I think that?”
“Uh? Steven did you even pay attention to what I said?”
“I did . . . it’s just that no matter how many times I think about it, I can’t say it was your fault. Blueblood was corrupted so you did what you had to do. I would have done the same thing. I know it’s very easy for me to say that because I wasn’t the one in your place. But Alex, you know shit happens…”
“Steven . . . a good pony died because of me! Can’t you see how painful that is?”
“I see it, but what I also see is as an act of true friendship. He gave his life for you and I know you will be upset with me but I’m glad he did!”
Alex hit the floor with his fist and stood up “What? How can you say that?”
Steven got a little scared of Alex, but he knew he had to make him understand, so he stood up too and walked forward.
“Because if he had not given up his life, you would be dead by now. Probably I would have never found out! I or any other person who loves you, including Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle would have been sad. It’s true; maybe many ponies and other creatures hate you now, but what if they do? If I was you, as long as my true friends, family and marefriend loved me, I would care shit for what others think!”
Alex looked at Steven with disbelieving eyes, it wasn’t a secret he was a lot wiser than him, but he hadn’t heard Steven talking like that before. Alex knew he was right, but he didn’t want his friends to suffer anymore because of him, what would happen if somepony else tried to hurt them in order to get him? He was so confused and started to cry, Steven put a hand on his shoulder.
“Alex, I told you what I think, but what you think is more important. No matter how much we’d like to have a “reset” button to undo the bad and sad things, there isn’t any! You have to know how to handle these situations, even the ones you didn’t have plan. That’s just how life is bro. Tell me, even if you had a way to go back in time, you think your friend Proud Hammer would let you change what happened?”
“No, I guess he wouldn’t let me change it, but I acted like a monster and a psychopath in front of them, what if. . .”
“I can’t say everything you did was fine, but letting yourself be driven by anger after seeing a good friend get killed is something that could happen to anyone or anypony. I’m just glad you managed to come back to your senses, and that shows how strong you are!”
“You seem to have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Almost everything. So, what happens now?”
“I really don’t know. I need time to think about all of this…”
Steven stepped back and grabbed a glass of soda from a table “I see, just don’t think about it for too long” He took a swig “Fluttershy is very attractive and you know it. Damn! If I could I would be kissing her right now!”
“HEY!”
“Hahahahahaha! I’m just kidding man! You know who my favorite Pony is!”
“Yeah, she is pretty too, all of them are! Steven, there is something I must do even though I know I won’t like it!”
“Well, I guess you are using a spell to erase my memory, aren’t you?”
“What, wait how do you know?”
“Dude! I’ve read many FanFic stories and have seen all of the Men in Black movies too. You know this has to happen!”
“Are you not going to resist to it?”
“I’d like to, but I guess I don’t want you to break your promise to Princess Celestia”
“I am truly sorry; I really loved the idea of you knowing about all of this…”
“I know . . . In case you decide to return to Equestria, can I ask you something?”
“Please do…”
“First . . . if Princess Celestia ever gives you her permission to take humans to Equestria with you…” Alex smiled; he knew the exact answer “You will be the first Steven, I swear!”
“Good and second . . . would you please tell her about me. About this great friend you have back on earth?”
“Don’t worries Steven, if I ever return, by the time I finish talking to her about you, Pinkie Pie will beg me to let her meet you!”
After sharing a good laugh, Alex turned to his pony self and charged his horn while Steven closed his eyes. He then touched Steven’s forehead and erased the last four hours from his memory using a spell Luna thought him only for extreme situations, Steven lost consciousness and fell on the ground; Alex took off his pendant and placed Steven on a couch. He looked at his friend, he was grateful of having him. This guy always knew what to say, and this time wasn’t any different. Alex went into the kitchen and got a broom to clean the place.
After he was done cleaning and taking a shower, he went back to his living room and woke Steven up. It wasn’t hard to convince him that he passed out for some unknown reason after they started playing video games. Steven seemed confused but he believed Alex’s story. He was also happy to see his friend in a good mood. After talking about random stuff for a couple of hours, Steven left and Alex went to bed. Physically, he felt well, but his dreams… that was something totally different.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“So we meet again beast, are you ready for another lesson?”
“Not this time asshole”
Bright Courage tried to cut Alex’s chest but he dodged his battle axe with ease. This time, Alex knew he was in control of his dream.
The Minotaur kept swinging his Axe but got inpatient after none of his hits reached their target “You are a beast, my world will never accept anything like you!”
Alex didn’t say a word.
“What? No answer, I hope you finally accept what you are! A FUCKING BEAST!”
“No! You are wrong! The only beast in this place is you!” Alex said while drawing his Katanas and running towards his enemy.
“I WILL SHOW YOU HOW RIGHT I AM! DIE ALREADY!” The Minotaur shouted. He tried to hit Alex but the human dodged every strike and with a single blow, he sent the Minotaur flying through the air.
“I may have lost the battle, but I won this war! Now every creature knows your true nature! You are a Beast and a threat to this world!”
Alex laughed “They can believe whatever they want! As long as my friends believe in me, I can survive anything. It doesn’t matter what you or they say! YOU LOST!”
“NO! DAMN YOU…! Alex could hear the Minotaur yelling while disappearing in the shadows of his nightmare. Alex stood up from the ground and everything was now bright. He was standing on a grass field. He looked up and let himself fall on the ground.
“Stay were you belong now . . . in my forgotten memories!” Alex smiled and looked up to the sky. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, he heard a voice that sent chills down his spine.
“You did well brother!”
He jumped up and looked to were the voice was coming from. His sister was standing in front of him. Her face was beautiful and shinny. Alex could see wings that seemed like rays of light on her back.
“Angela?”
The little angel nodded. She hugged Alex with so much love, he immediately started to cry. After a few moments, she stepped away while Alex sat on the ground.
“Alex…”
“Yes…?” He said while wiping his eyes.
“This is for giving up on your friends back in Equestria!” She said while smacking Alex on the head.
“Hey! Angela, that hurts!” He put his hand on his head and looked at his sister who was now laughing “And why does it feel real?” He asked.
Angela hugged his brother again “And this is for being my bro bro!”
“Wow! I haven’t heard that nickname in years . . . am I dreaming about you or are you really are visiting me in my dream?”
“Does it matter?”
“. . . no, it doesn’t matter”
They both sat on the ground, his little sister between his legs as she used to when she was alive.
“Brother . . . you realize your mistake . . . don’t you?”
“I still don’t consider it a mistake. I did it for my friends and I’ll stick to it!”
Angela looked at her brother narrowing her eyes, she knew he acted recklessly but at the same time he was right “I know you did. But they are waiting for you to come back to them. Don’t you think it’s kind of cruel to leave things like that?”
“They will forget about me. After some time they will realize I’m not coming back.”
“That is really cruel don’t you think?”
“Do you think I still have a home there? I’m pretty sure I let them down.”
“Maybe, but you know they will forgive you brother, Celestia will help you!”
“Why are you doing this Angela? Don’t you want me to stay here on Earth, where I belong?”
“I want you to be happy brother. After all this time watching I know you are happy when Fluttershy is with you, and she is not on Earth.”
“Are you hooking me up with a pony?”
“Hey! She is pretty and well. . . I can’t say Spike isn’t kind of cute”
“Shut up Angela! You are too small to say things like that!” They both laughed and hugged each other again.
“What If I put others in danger again? Not to offend anyone but for being a world of harmony, I can tell you my life has never been in so much danger here than in was back in Equestria”
“Hey! Nothing is perfect!” Angela answered “Besides, I think it’s a good price for being with the one you love don’t you think?”
“Damn! Why are you so good at debating?”
Angela kissed his brother on his cheek “I learned from the best!”
Alex smiled and hugged her. He could stay like this forever. It was long ago since he felt his sister’s touch. He really missed her.
“It’s time for me to go” Angela said “They are calling me!”
“What? No! Please stay with me!”
“Sorry Brother but my time here is done” Angela started to rise to the skies, Alex looked up but the sky was too bright. He covered his eyes with his hand.
“Will we meet again?”
“I will always be with you. Brother, they are waiting for you, your girlfriend and your friends your sister. Love her as much or even more than you ever loved me!”
“I … I can’t do that!”
“Yes you can! She deserves it! Good bye now brother, we may see each other again! I love you so much!”
Angela disappeared in the clouds. Alex looked down and started to cry of happiness “I love you sister, I really do!”
Then, he woke up.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fluttershy was crying. Everypony around her could feel her sadness. “It’s ok Fluttershy, let it all out” Twilight said.
“But what if he comes back and I’m not there for him?” Fluttershy asked.
“We well be there for him. Whenever he decides to come back!”Sweetie Belle replied.
“But what if he forgets about me?” Fluttershy couldn’t stop crying “Oh darling, do you really think he would forget about you. He loves you, if he comes back to Equestria it will be because of the loves he feels for you and Sweetie Belle!”
Everypony hugged Fluttershy, who started to feel better after knowing all of her friends were supporting her.
Outside, Spike was training. He never stopped doing it “I need to say in shape, I’m sure Alex will return stronger than ever! Just wait brother! I will make you proud of the Dragon I am!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Back on Earth, Alex was reading a book. The only one he forgot to give back to Twilight. In fact, he took it from her private collection so she wasn’t really aware he had it.
“Let see . . . Advanced Combat Spells. Chapter 6, How to materialize… Well, this is pretty interesting; it seems difficult but I think four months will be enough to learn it. I am sorry guys but I’m afraid you will need to wait a little more. This time, I swear I won’t let anypony get hurt. I may have limitations as a human but as a unicorn…
Located in the Chaos dimension, in a little odd house standing in a floating mini island, two creatures were having a little tea party, well. . . technically there was only one creature since they were the same being. They were. . .Discords, to be more précised, two Discords from different dimensions, for everypony, this would be strange but not for a creature who can open the rift between dimensions and cross them.
It was a matter of time for some Discords to found each other and these particular two had so much in common, not for the fact they were technically the same but also their Equestrias shared something not many had, a human!
“Hohohoho, I must say my friend, this tea is fabulous! But I wouldn’t mind some chocolate milk”
“I knew you were going to say that, how you do it! it’s like if you were me. . . Oh! You are me!”
“But much handsome”
“You wish!”
Both of them laughed so hard, it was nice to have found such a good friend, considering both of them were very lonely since one of them was still sealed in stone in his world and was only a mere spectral projection and the other one had his only cute pegasus friend very busy living her life together her coltfriend.
“But to think they finally started to live together, now more than ever I have to keep an eye on those two, no matter how much I keep telling him to not do it, the sounds I hear in their room at night tells me everything I need to know, I must say it impress me how loud a pony like Fluttershy can yell sometimes but. . . Ohhhh, Fluttershy is still too young to be a mother!”
“Easy my dear fellow, I think you are overeacting, remember he is a human, that can’t happen”
Discord rolled his eyes and answered:
“It’s easy for you to say that, you are not friends with your Fluttershy! But I do cherise mine!”
“Oh!. . . well at least you will have a cute nephew or niece”
“That’s is not the problem”
“I know, anyway, I must say your human is very interesting, who would say he managed to get his life in order after everything that happened to him”
“Yes, even when I’m still a little mad at him for what he did to Fluttershy but he forgave me for the Tirek’s incident so we are even, I must admit he is kinda impressive”
“He is, but mine is way more amazing! For what I heard from my Stone prison and all those glances I watch with the few power I have left, I must say he is unstoppable with all those abilities he has”
“Puff, it’s easy to be amazing when a bunch of dragons give you all those “abilities” he cheats!”
“Yeah! And having a pendant who turns you into a powerfull unicorn and gives you magic is not cheating at all”
“Ok ok, look, I’m really not looking for a fight here, besides, we both know who of our humans is the best, it’s pretty obvious if you ask me”
“Yeah, you are right, why fight when we both know that answer”
Both Discords shared another laugh and answered at the same time.
“Mine!”
Both Discords eye’s widened and looked at each other with narrowed eyes. After that, they started to scream:
“My human have wings!”
“Mine is not affected by darkness stone while he is a unicorn!”
“Mine defeated two princes!”
“Mine defeated one and killed one!”
After some silly screams and dummy spells, the house was a mess and both were gasping and tired.
“ha. . . ha. . .why are we so stubborn about our humans. . . I’m not exactly his friend and you don’t even talked to yours once”
“I know. . .maybe it’s just because we both hate losing”
“I agree, even so, I think we have a problem here, to be honest, I can’t say which of our humans is the best, we would need some kind of test. . .to know for sure”
At that moment, the other Discord literally had a light bulb shinning on his head.
“That’s it! That’s it!”
“Uh? what is?”
“Oh C’mon! you are me, don’t you realize what I’m thinking right now?”
“Hmmm, well. . . I just said we would need a test to see which is the be. . . ohhhhhh”
Right in that moment, two particular humans in their respective homes felt a shiver around their bodies.
“What the hell was that?” Both said and looked at the sky.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex’s Equestria
Alex felt that strange shiver, he was eating a nice breakfast with his cute marefriend who seemed worried for looking at him so surprised.
“Alex, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked
“Uh? Oh yes yes, I’m fine, I just had a little feeling that’s all, nothing to get worried, more importantly, in 3 days is your birthday and I still couldn’t find the perfect gift for you”
“Oh Alex, I already told you, you don’t need to give me anything, having you in my life is the best gift ever”
Alex blushed hard, damn! His marefriend was damn cute, he stood up and hugged her from behind while nuzzling his cheek with hers.
“Thanks Fluttershy but still I think my marefriend deserves an incredible present for her birthday, I promise I will find the best you can ask for, even if it takes me these three whole days and nights!”
Alex said that and after giving her a kiss in her forehead and lips, he grabed his pocket full of bits and started his journey to find the perfect gift for the perfect marefriend.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Daniel’s Equestria)
Daniel and Spike were returning from their training, the travel to the Dragon’s Kingdome was close after all, they were tired and needed a good Lunch.
“Wow Spike, really! how much energy you have, again you left me in the dust”
“Hahahaha, C’mon Daniel, don’t be so modest. . . nah! I did it didn’t I?”
“Ok. . . now we need to work in some humility classes”
“I’m kidding Daniel, by the way, what happened to you there, suddenly to stopped for some seconds”
“yeah. . . .I don’t know, I just feel. . .cold, that’s all, surely it was nothing”
“I hope so, anyway, let’s head home to eat something”
Spike nodded and both continued their way, minutes later, they found Pinkie Pie carrying tons of party supplies.
“Hey Pinkie Pie!”
“Hi Danny! Spike! How are you?”
“We are fine, we just finished our training session, how about you? Planning a party for somepony new”
“Yeah!”
“And who is it?”
“I don’t know! I just feel this morning that I will meet someone interesting. . . I think it will be a pony. . . I’m not entirely sure”
“I see, well, I hope it’s someone nice”
“I’m sure he or she will, see you later! I need to prepare the party”
Both Daniel and Spike nodded and also continued their way to Twilight’s house wondering who might be the new pony.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Alex’s Equestria)
It had been hours since Alex left the cottage in his journey and got nothing, he even tried in Canterlot, he just couldn’t find the perfect present, A dress? Rarity had that covered, a pet?. . .she was the pet’s adoption owner, Flowers? For them that’s food, gems? He had tons for his job with Rarity but all of them were so common!
Alex was frustrated, no pony could help him to find a good present, he was even thinking in asking the crussaders. . . nah! he wasn’t that desperate. . .right? Maybe he could try Cloudsdale. . . lost in his thoughts, he found himself wandering in the forest, he didn’t care actually, his problems were big enough already.
“Damn! What am I going to do? Is there anything in this world good enough for the most perfect Pegasus that ever existed?”
“hahahahahahaha, the answer for that question is. . .no!”
Alex heard that voice and narrowed his eyes.
“Oh no. . . please no . . . Discord?”
The dracoenous appeared in front of Alex in a blink of an eye.
“The one and only. . .at least in this world”
“uh?”
“Never mind, tell me my dear human, any trouble your dracoenous friend can help you with?”
“ahhhhhhh, no! I’m fine!”
“Hohohohohohoho, I don’t need to be Applejack to know you are lying, c’mon, I thought we were friends”
Discord said that with puppy eyes, Alex never thought he would find someone who would scare him to death by showing those eyes.
“Discord. . .we both know you don’t like me very much”
“True so true but still, Fluttershy asked me to be nice with you and give you a chance so I’m willing to try, besides, it’s not like I don’t like you, at least I like you more than the Elements”
“. . . .thanks?”
“You are welcome, now. . . will you tell me what troubles you now?”
“(sigh) I think you already know”
“I do! And I must say you indeed are in a big trouble, there is no gift good enough in this world for her”
Alex looked at the floor disappointed.
“Except for this!”
Discord snapped his finger and suddenly an amazing multicolored diamond appeared in his pawn.
“. . . .wow! Discord. . .where you got that! I never saw a diamond like that”
“It’s because there is no diamonds like this one, it’s one in its kind”
“Amazing! You got a nice present for her, good for you”
“ohh this? Nonononononono, I’m not planning to give this to her, I already got a couple of nice blue tucans from SaddleSarabia but I think it would be a waste to throw this and seeing you were looking for a nice gift for her so I thought. . . why not giving it to my good friend Alex. . .now take it!”
Alex stood there, in front of Discord, he didn’t move an inch.
“What is it? take it!”
“What’s the catch Discord?”
“Oh. . . I’m insulted! How could you possible think I. . .”
Alex looked at Discord with a death glare.
“Ok Ok! I need a tinsy little favor from you and this diamond is yours. . . what you say?”
“. . . . . what kind of favor?”
“I. . . need you to help me to win a little bet”
“Will you give me more details?”
“Not before you accept”
“. . .will it hurt?”
“Probably. . . maybe a lot to be honest”
“Is there any other way to get that diamond?”
“Nope!”
“At least it will be fun?”
“I can assure you we both will have tons of fun. . .what you say? Deal?”
Discord extended his pawn for a shake, Alex thought it for several seconds, he hated being cornered, in his heart he knew he had no choice, the diamond was really impressive and to be honest, what Discord had planned could be interesting, he grabbed Discord’s pawn and made the deal. Discord smiled evilly, that wasn’t a good signal.
“Be prepared for an incredible adventure my boy!”
“Uh?”
Discord then used his bird claw to cut the air and open a portal, Alex didn’t have time to do anything for the Dracoenous pulled him inside in a flash.
“Discord. . . what kind of bet you made?. . .what do I need to do?”
“Oh, it’s nothing hard. . . I just need you to kick another human’s butt for me”
“Ouch. . . .my butt, C’mon Discord! Was that really necessary?”
“Necessary? No it wasn’t, fun? Yes it was, a lot”
“Why do I even ask?. . . Ok, now tell me, what are we doing in the Everfree Forest and what exactly do I need to do?”
“hohohohohoho, I already told you my dear Alex, I need you to kick another human’s butt”
“Uh? I thought I heard wrong before but I didn’t, is there another human besides me in Equestria?
“Not exactly, you haven’t notice? Well I’m not surprised, this Everfree is just like the other one”
“This Everfree? . . .wait! now I remember, you pulled me to that portal and. . . ohhhhh! Are we in another . . . .”
“Yes Alex, we are in another world, another Equestria to be more précised”
“What?! wow! That’s amazing! I knew you could open portal to new worlds but this is just awesome”
“You knew?”
“Discord. . . you tried to send TreeHugger to another dimension remember?”
“. . . . . right” – Discord said a little disappointed, Alex reaction wasn’t as good as he was expecting, he would had like to see him freaking out, by the other hand, this would make things easier to explain. He snapped his finger and summoned a sofa, a movie proyector and a screen.
“Now sit my little human, time to tell you what you need to know”
Alex and Discord sat on the sofa and Discord summoned some popcorn.
“You see my dear human, as there are many Earths as you already know, there are many other diferent worlds including other Equestrias, very similar to each other, almost identical, as you did with our Equestria, many other humans maybe from your Earth or others, they managed to get to those Equestrias, this world is one of them, humans are very rare here”
“I see, just like me”
“Exactly! Now, obviously, there is a Discord in this Equestria, a really nice fellow I must say, too bad he still is evil”
“Wait wait wait! What you mean with he is still evil?”
“Well. . . contrary to me, he was never reformed and he is in his stone prison right now”
“Ok. . . .so how you manage to meet him”
“Hahahahaha, my dear human, no matter in what dimension or world we can be, the dracoenous are powerfull creatures, even being stone by the Elements, there are still some things we can do, of course we can use our magic to interact with the physical world as normally we do it but we can still abandon our bodies to entertain ourselves and do a little pranks with the few magic we have left, and of course we still can break the dimensions’ rift, that’s how I meet that cute fellow.
“And. . . well, if he is you and all. . .he hasn’t ask you to help him to get free from his prison?”
“He can’t ask me that, and even if he did, I wouldn’t help him, first, because I’m good now. . .almost and second, believe it or not, there are some rules across worlds and one of them, to be honest maybe it’s the most important, is that we, the chaos creatures can’t interfere directly in the affairs of other worlds”
“Who wrote those rules?”
“That information I can’t tell, there are beings that is not a good idea to mess with, trust me and please don’t press the topic”
“Ok, at least I don’t have to be afraid to seeing more of you in my home. . .no offense”
“None taken, well. . .back to the topic, you see this world’s Discord and me made a little bet”
“Hmmmm, what kind of bet?”
“We want to see which of you is the best human, of course my money is with you”
“Discord. . . don’t tell me you really want me to . . .”
“Yes! We want you to fight each other, a little match, not a deathmatch of course.”
“So you brought me to another Equestria with its own human and you want me to pop from nowhere and ask him to fight me?”
“Exactly! I’m glad to see you get these things quickly!”
“What If I say no”
“Yes, you may say no but remember, you promised and I still have the perfect gift for your marefriend”
Alex thought for a moment, he didn’t have to do this and there was still time to get a nice present for Fluttershy. . . but if he was honest with himself, this adventure was so good to let it pass, once again his adventure feeling crushed his common sense.
“Let’s just say I agree. . .what If I lose, will I still have the Diamond?”
“hohohohohoho my dear Alex, of course you won’t, I will only take you back to our Equestria and our business ends there”
“So I must win to get the reward uh?. . .(sigh) ok, let’s do it”
“Excellent! Now let’s see what you are facing, his name is Daniel Blaze”
Discord turned the proyector to show Alex his target, the movie showed a human like him, he wasn’t an old guy, quite young to be honest, one of the first things he noticed was that he had black wings, at first he thought they were fake but no, another thing was his sword, it looked like it was made of diamond. . .maybe an especial alloy but what really took his attention above all was the fact he had. . .ninjutsu abilities?
“From what Naruto’s universe this guy was taken out?” he thought to himself.
He seemed to have control over the elements, the video kept showing images about his accomplishes, the monsters he defeated, the ponies he had met. . .they were antrophonies. . . .WHAT? ANTROPHONIES? An Smile crossed his face, it was shocking but at the same time it was awesome, so many fimfictions he had read about antrophonies and now he was in a world full of them. The video ended and Alex just stood there, not saying a single word.
“So what you think Alex? You think you are up to the task?”
“Hmmmm, are you sure I can beat him? dude. . . he has tons of abilities”
“Oh please Alex, you have your own abilities too, not to mention your spells, I think you have good chances”
Alex thought for a moment, this Daniel guy seemed very tough. . . .but he just couldn’t back away now right? He could be many things but not a coward!. . . .well at least not anymore.
“Ok Discord, I accept . . . so where I will meet him? I believe you already talked to him about this right?”
Discord looked at Alex with confused eyes.
“Discord. . . he knows about the bet too. . .right?”
“. . . . . . .”
“Right?”
“See you later”
Discord snapped his finger and banished, Alex face palmed.
“So he doesn’t know anything about this. . .C’mon Discord! What you except me to do, just knock his door and say: Hey! I’m Alex! A new human in town and I want you fight you in order to get home and get a nice present for my marefriend. . . really?!”
After a tantrum that lasted a few more seconds, Alex started to walk to Ponyville, hoping it was in the same location as his Equestria, after some steps, a big chest appeared in front of him with a note attached to it, he took it and read it.
“My little human
Since you are in a whole new world and in disadvantage, I thought these things might come in handy and one more thing, you can’t tell anypony about my participation in all this, do it and we will leave you here for a whole year and no! they will not be able to help you, only us have the power to find specific worlds, it’s nothing personal, we just are not in the mood to deal with Celestia’s moral speeches. Anyway, I wish you luck and I know you already realized why we didn’t tell anything to Daniel. . . .BECAUSE IT’S MORE FUN!!”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
“. . . . .Cute”
Alex said with a sigh and opened the chest, he was speechless for what he found inside, all his gear. . .his DS gear, HiddenBlades, Katanas, Bow/arrows, throwing knives, Elbow and Knee protectors, a new Assasin’s attire and a nice backpack to carry all.
“(sigh) Ok, at least you are not a big asshole. . .just a regular asshole”
Alex put on his gear just in case, maybe that EverFree forest was as dangerous as the one he already knew. He then started his way, not knowing one particular yellow earth pony who was collecting some herbs had just spot him and ran away to Ponyville.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel and the rest were having a nice milkshake in sugarcube corner while looking at Pinkie decorating the whole bakery.
“Does she ever gets tired” Daniel asked.
“I don’t think so, sometimes I really believe she is somekind of robot” Twilight answered.
Everypony laughed at the joke, when she was done, she joined them and looked as if she just didn’t do anything, really? how she do it? everypony thought.
“It’s all ready, now we just have to wait our new guest!”
“Wow Pinkie darling, you really outdone yourself this time, may I know why?”
“I don’t know Rarity, I just feel this guest is special, not that everypony is not special but he is special special but not more special than other. . . ohhhh I think I’m having a headache”
“It’s ok darling, we understand” Rarity said while stroking the party pony’s mane.
Everypony laughed again, none of them said it but it was nice to have a relaxing day, maybe Daniel wasn’t exactly in good terms with the girls yet but he had to admit he was having a nice time with them, as if fate really didn’t like them, at that moment a yellow teenage pony entered the place, she seemed agitated, it took some seconds for her to recover her breath.
“Applebloom? What is going on sugarcube?”
“ha. . .ha. . .ha. . .another. . .human. . .in the EverFree Forest. . .has weapons.. .may be dangerous”
“What?” Everypony screamed.
“Another human? And he is armed? This is not good. . .we need. .”
“I’m on my way!” Rainbow Dash said and rushed outside the bakery.
“Rainbow wait!” Daniel shouted but she was already gone”
“Damn! Will she ever learn to take it easy in dangerous situations?”
“It’s nice to dream Daniel” Rarity said.
He and everypony exited the place as well hoping that this humans wasn’t like Tom or Chuck.
Alex was walking though the dust road, maybe the safer place in the whole forest, he had to admit it, if he wouldn’t already know, he would had swear he was in his own Equestria, everything was the same, same trees, same sky, almost same Rainbow Dash Flying full speed to tackle him . . . WHAT?
“There you are! What you want here?”
Alex quickly moved aside on time and Rainbow ended in the dirt, that was a horrible landing. She quickly stood up and he could see her well, she was indeed an anthroPony, just like if a pony and a human just did the Fusion, she had the same face as his friend but the rest of the body was almost human, of course not counting the fur and hooves instead of feet, she also had wings and tail, yep definitely an anthroPony and she looked pissed, it seemed her attitude could break the dimensions’ borders.
“I asked you a question! What you want here?”
Alex knew he had to take it easy, the last thing he needed was a misunderstanding but still. . . she didn’t need to be so rude.
“What I want it’s not your business, I’m just looking for someone, Daniel Blaze”
“Uh? what you want with Daniel, you want to hurt him?”
“What? no! I don’t want to hurt him. . .just fight him!”
Alex face palmed inside, did he just said that? He indeed was going to pay for his mistake since Rainbow immediately rushed to him, she now was furious.
“I knew it, you are evil! Prepare for a good beating!”
“Oh C’mon!” Alex thought before clashing with the cyan Pegasus.
Chapter 3: First contact
Rainbow flew at full speed to her target, she closed her fist and tried to hit Alex but he as fast as before dodged her but her attack didn’t end there, she kept punching and kicking, Alex dodged and blocked every attack, after some seconds, the cyan Pegasus stopped to get some air and backed off.
“At least you know how to dodge. . . I’ll give you that” Rainbow said, she was sweating a little.
Alex didn’t say anything, he had to admit this Rainbow was skilled but. . . her attack was too directly and predictable, it wasn’t hard to read her movements, he didn’t want to prolong this battle so. . .
“Are you ready to listen now? As I told you I don’t want to hurt anypony”
“Lies! You said you want to fight Daniel!”
“That doesn’t mean I want to hurt him”
“What you are saying have no sense! Enough talking! Let’s fight!”
“Sheshhhh, why are you so stubborn!”
Rainbow once again attacked Alex, as before no hit impacted on her target, knowing she was wasting energy she flew up, Alex wondered why she did that but when he looked up, the sun blinded him for a moment, Rainbow took this opportunity to hit him in the cheek, sending him some meters away. Alex landed on the dirt and nuzzled his cheek, it hurt, it hurt a lot, thank God she didn’t bumped any of his teeth but this one enough to make him angry.
“Ha! How you like that weakling!”
“That’s it!” Alex thought, he stood up and saw the pony with a death glare, he put on his hood and assumed battle position.
“You think putting on that hood will help you! How dumm you can be?”
Rainbow Dash repeated her strategy by flying up again.
“I was right! You are so predictable!” Alex thought and chuckled.
This time thanks to his hood, Alex didn’t get blind as before, it was still hard to see but this time he could see Rainbow coming at him, she swinged her fist but Alex blocked it and delivered a hit on his own, it impacted in Rainbow’s cheek, this time the cyan Pegasus was the one sent away.
Rainbow stood up, shocked for what the human just did, she nuzzled her cheek, it hurt.
“Now we are even, stop this nonsense before any of us gets seriously hurt” Alex said in one last attempt to end this fight peacefully, he didn’t want to have to use. . . “that”
“Ha! You think after hitting me I will just back off, keep dreaming! The only one who will get seriously hurt it’s you!”
Knewing her sun trick was not going to work again, Rainbow decided to return to the old strategy “Fists and kicks” she approached at him fast and started her attack.
Alex was blocking all her attacks, waiting for the right time, when she tried to kick him, he quickly grabbed her hoof and pulled it to make her lose balance, Rainbow fell on her stomach while Alex never let go of her hoof, she tried to flew away but his grip was strong, she was going to use her other hoof to kick him but an immense pain invaded the hoof he was now holding with both hand and. . .twisting.
“Hey. . . ahhhhh. . .what are you doing to my hoof! Damn! It hurts!”
Alex gave another twist, he didn’t want to add so much pressure to not break her “ankle”.
“It seems you never was trapped with an ankle lock. . . sorry but this was the only way to stop you without hurting you. . . much”
“Let me go!” Rainbow said and tried to fly away but Alex twisted her hoof again stopping her immediately
“Just calm down and listen!”
Rainbow was desperate, the pain was unbearding, she was trapped and she knew it.
“. . . Daniel. . .please help me”
“Fire Style, Fire Ball jutsu!”
Alex saw a huge fireball coming his way, he immediately let got Rainbow’s hoof and jumped away.
“Damn! That could had killed me” He thought
“Hey! What you think you are doing to my friend?” A masculine voice said.
When Alex saw who was the owner of that voice, he finally saw him, Black wings, Anime’s style hair, there was no doubt, that was Daniel. . .he looked kinda cool, he gave him that, Daniel looked back at him, Applebloom was right, he was another human, he didn’t know if being happy or worried for his presence, he hadn’t forgotten what happened with Tom and Chuck, he shacked the feeling and ran to where Rainbow was and helped her to stand up.
“Rainbow! Are you ok?”
“ . . . yes aghhh! I’m fine but my hoof! I think it’s hurt bad”
Daniel took a look on her hoof, she was right, it wasn’t broken but it was fractured, anger started to increase inside him, he looked at Alex, daggers in his eyes.
“HOW DARE YOU TO HURT MY FRIEND!”
This was getting out of hand and Alex knew it.
“Ok! Listen, I’m sorry about your friend but she didn’t want to listen to any word I said, I had to apply a submission hold in her hoof to calm her down, it was never my intention to hurt her, I only wanted to stop her meaningless fight”
Daniel looked at Alex for several seconds, he wasn’t Applejack but somehow he knew this human was being sincere.
“What are you doing Daniel? I’m fine, just kick his butt”
“Shhhhhh Rainbow, I think we had enough battle for today”
“What? but but”
“Look at your hoof Rainbow, for what I saw before using my jutsu, his grip on you was tight, he had every chance to break your hoof and leave you incapacitated for weeks but he didn’t”
“He said he wanted to fight you”
“. . . . what? hmmmm, did he tried to explain why he said that?”
“Well. . . .yeah but. . .”
“At least you tried to listen to his explanation?”
“. . . .”
“I thought so”
Daniel turned to Alex:
“Ok! I’m willing to listen to you but not here! After I heal my friend, will you come with us to a little town near here?”
“You mean Ponyville?”
“What?! how you. . . never mind, yes! That town, what you say? Deal?”
“Hmmm, ok! But she will not try anything stupid right? Alex said while pointing Rainbow with her finger. She was looking at him with daggers in her eyes, she hated losing, she hated it so much.
“Don’t worry, I will talk to her, I promise no harm will come to you if you come peacefully”
“That works for me”
“Good!” Daniel replied and turned to check Rainbow’s hoof, he placed both hands on it and said:
“Light Style: Divine Regeneration Jutsu”
Much to Alex amazement, Daniel’s hands started to shine, after some seconds, Rainbow stood up as if nothing happened, Alex was shocked but also noticed Daniel gasping a little.
“Hmmm, that regeneration trick is amazing but. . . it seems it consumes a lot of his energy. . .need to take that in mind” he thought.
“ahhhh, I’m glad your friend is ok now, before we go to Ponyville, I think an introduction is in order, I’m Alejandro but you can call me Alex by short”
He extended his hand for a shake, Daniel smiled and received it gladly, while shaking their hands he said:
“And I’m Daniel Blaze, Daniel by short and my friend with anger issues here is Rainbow Dash”
“Hey!” Rainbow said offended
“Nice to meet you Rainbow. . . I must say, looking at you when you are not trying to kill me. . .I must say you are kinda cute”
Rainbow stared at Alex for some seconds, a crimson blush invaded her face, Alex hated himself for what he was going to say but he just had to.
“But a little flat chested for my liking”
Rainbow once again stared at Alex, her face was still red but this time it was for fury.
“Well! If I’m going to be a wonderbolt. . .big breasts would get only in my way so I’m fine like this”
“But Rainbow. . . SpitFire is the best wonderbolt and her breasts are huge”
Silence invaded the place until Alex and Daniel started to laugh high, Rainbow could not take it anymore, she punched both humans heads.
“Hey! What was that for?” Alex and Daniel asked.
“For being jerks! And you’ll see, I’m already working in my breasts, just wait in some months, not even Fluttershy’s will compare to me!”
None Daniel or Rainbow noticed, but Alex blushed a little when Rainbow mentioned her. . .just imagining her in anthroform was enough to turn him on. . . and even better, she had big breasts. . .what no! bad Alex! Bad Alex! You already have an amazing girlfriend. . .even if she is technically the same pers. . pony, it still is cheating!
“Ok ok, whatever you say Rainbow and sorry but please listen. . .you are not bad the way you are, as I said, you are cute, a little too agresive but cute in the end, you don’t need big breasts to be pretty”
Rainbow Dash once again blushed and looked away.
“I still want them a little more bigger at least” she muttered.
After that kinda awkward moment, the trio proceeded to walk to the town, in their way there, Daniel asked some questions.
“Sooo, Alex. . . can you please tell me how you get to this world?”
“Uh. . . well. . .I can’t give you many details but I got some help to get here”
“Some help?. . .don’t tell me it was a person named Kuro?”
“Say what?. . .no no! it was a . . .half friend of mine, don’t worry, he is not evil. . .most of the times”
“That’s a relief, ok. . next question, According to Rainbow, you said you wanted to fight me. . . care to explain that”
“Hmmm, Daniel, I promise every important question will be answered but I’d rather to do it when it’s just the two of us. . .it can be a little hard to believe and is kinda shocking. . .ok?”
“Hmmm sorry Alex but I don’t like to hide anything to my friends and marefriends, you can tell us everything, trust me, after all I have gone through. . .there are not many things that can surprise me”
“Marefriends?. . . yeah why not? (sigh) ok, let’s talk once we are with Twilight and the rest of the elements”
“Good. . . . hey! How you know about Twilight. . . and the others?” Daniel asked shocked.
“I told you it was shocking, just wait until we are in the library with everypony present”
“You know about the library too?. . .now I’m so curious!”
After that, Daniel only asked Alex basic questions, where he came from, his age, about his family, he answered them gladly, Daniel recognized the country Guatemala, he never was there but he knew it was a nice place. Rainbow asked him about his fighting style, she had to admit that “ankle lock” was effective, he told him about his training and he did it for his sister, after hearing that story, Daniel and Dash no longer thought he was dangerous, even though it was sad how he lost his family.
After several minutes of walking, they finally reached Ponyville, Alex couldn’t believe it, it was just like the Ponyville he already knew and loved, many anthroponies were walking or working in their business, obviously almost every one of them stared at him curiously, he felt like the first time he was presented to everypony in his own Equestria.
“How Alex, I must say you are taking this very well”
“Nah! I’m kinda used to it and before you ask, what I will tell you later will also answer that”
Daniel and Rainbow nodded and the trio continued their way, they finally reached the golden oak’s library, once again, Alex was shocked to see it wasn’t any different but he didn’t have any time to look at it better for the door opened very fast and he was tackled to the ground, by that moment all he could see was. . .pink.
Chapter 4: Explanation
“Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! You are finally here! And you are a human! I hope you are a good human! Like Daniel and Will” Alex stared at the pony who had just pinned him down, there was no doubt it, it was Pinkie! Well, anthro Pinkie, the same pony face but human body, her clothes were cute and her breasts. . . no! bad Alex! She was staring at him with a huge grin, he smiled too.
“Hi Pinkie”
Pinkie’s face changed from happy to a shocked one, she got her face in front of Alex.
“Ohmygosh! You are a psychic! Please Please be my friend! I never had a psychic friend!”
Alex covered his ears, she was yelling so high, for his luck, Pinkie was immediately floated away by a magenta aura and then placed next to his favorite alic. . . Oh! She was still a unicorn in this world.
Alex stood up and noticed everypony in front of him, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy. . .(wow! She was so pretty and her breasts were huge. . .No! Bad Alex! Bad Alex!)
There were other people with them, there was Spike, Damn! He looked awesome! Even more than his little pupil brother and that was saying a lot, there was a little colt no more older than 10 years, if his knowledge about the series was right, he was Pipsqueak and finally there was another human with them, he looked like any other guy, not older than 20, he seemed harmless, his ponies friend looked awesome with human bodies, even their clothes reflected their personalities nicely, like Rarity with her white dress or Applejack with her western clothes and Stetson, once Pinkie was next to Twilight, he said:
“Thanks Twilight”
As with Pinkie, Twilight was surprised but she didn’t overreacted like her party friend, she raised an eyebrow and asked:
“I know we haven’t met before but it seems you know my name and Pinkie’s, wanna explain that?”
Alex chuckled at the question, he wasn’t doing any good job hiding his knowledge about Equestria, there was no point anyway, Daniel had made very clear he wanted everypony to know his story.
“Don’t worry Twilight, I promised Daniel to tell you everything that is need to be known, right Daniel?”
Daniel walked next to Alex and nodded.
“He is telling the truth Twilight and don’t worry, he means no harm to any of us”
Twilight and the rest except for Pinkie sighed in relief, then all of them proceeded to enter the Library. Once inside, everypony got comfortable but none of them moved their sight off Alex, even after Daniel reassured them he wasn’t a bad guy, some of them still had their doubt, Alex didn’t mind at all, he knew they were just a little scared and that was understanding. He grabbed a little chair and sat down. Everypony were in front of him, the stares on him continued, he smiled and asked:
“Ok. . .what you want to know?”
“Do you like parties!!” Pinkie Pie asked immediately.
“Uhmmm, yes Pinkie, I love parties, especially your parties”
“Uh? but you never been in one of my parties”
“Technically. . .I have, don’t worry Pinkie, I promise everything will make sense eventually”
“. . . .Ok!” Pinkie said still smiling, Alex smiled as well, it was good to see this Pinkie was as carefree as his friend.
“Next question?”
“Yeah partner. . .what’s your name?”
“Alejandro but you can call me Alex”
The cowboy Pony extended her hand and said:
“Nice to meet you Alex, my name is. .”
“Applejack, the most honest pony I would ever know”
“. . . what? how you. . .”
“Before you say anything Applejack, I know every one of you”
Alex started to point everypony while saying:
“Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Spike, Pipsqueak. . .the only one I don’t know is that other human over there, may I know your name?”
“Ah!. . .oh yes. . Will. . sir”
“Nice to meet you Will”
Everypony, humans and dragon were shocked, was he some kind of spy? Alex found the scene quite cute.
“Now that I saved us the needing of introductions and made clear I love parties. how about if we move on to the really important questions?”
After some seconds, everypony calmed down, then a hand was raised, it was Rarity:
“Hmmm, as my ahem “coltfriend” Daniel does. . .do you come also from Earth”
“Yes, my home planet is Earth but is not now where I’m living now”
“Is that so? Then where are you Living now?”
“Equestria”
“What?!” Everybody present screamed. “But how? We never saw you before here in Equestria!”
Twilight said.
“Well. . .yeah, you see. . .I come from another Equestria. . .in another world”
The room became even more quiet than a Library, after having some seconds to process what Alex had just said, everypony in unison screamed again:
“WHAAAAAAAT?”
Alex covered his ears again.
“Hey! Easy. . .yeah, I come from another Equestria, it’s not big deal”
“Not big deal! Is way more than that! It’s the most big lie I ever heard! If you really know about us, you should know my friend Applejack is the one and only Element of Honesty, she will confirm you just made that up! Right Applejack?” Twilight said looking at her friend but she noticed Applejack didn’t have any sign of disbelieving.
“Right. . .Applejack?”
Applejack shooked her head slowly.
“. . . No Twilight, Ah know what he just said sounds pretty stupid but. . . he is telling the truth”
Everypony present including Alex could swear they heard Twilight broke. Daniel approached to her and said:
“Twilight? Twilight? Are you ok?”
“Uh? oh yes yes, I’m fine. . .I’m just impressed there is one creature who can deceive Applejack’s lie detection”
“Hey!” Applejack and Alex said.
“Sorry but I just can’t believe what you are saying, that’s just not possible!”
“Twilight, after meeting 3 humans from another world. . .you really think there is not possible that other Equestrias could exist?”
“Then show me you are not lying!”
“Ok”
Alex then took out his Iphone and looked at his photos album. If not for the fact he noticed these ponies already had smartphones, he would had had his doubts about showing his device to them, it seemed this pony’s tech were more advanced than his Equestria, before showing anything to them, he made sure to erase every picture where he appeared in his pony form. It wasn’t the time to show them that yet.
“Here, check it for yourself”
Everybody in the room looked at the screen while Alex sliced all the pictures, there were so many of them, all of them were shocked, they were seeing themselves in those pictures but they were. . .diferent, by starters they weren’t biped and they were naked!.
“Ohhhh look how cute we look!” Pinkie Pie said.
“Pinkie!” Everypony shouted.
“What? we do look cute don’t we?”
Everypony didn’t say anything. . . somehow they were kinda agree with her, Twilight melted to see how cute Spike looked as a little boy dragon, Spike didn’t share her thoughts, Daniel noticed there was a particular pony that appeared in almost every picture, there were even very much ones with only him and her.
After they finished looking at the pictures, all of them were amazed.
“Wow! I can’t believe there are other Equestria out there! an Equestria where we look so diferent! that’s just amazing!” Twilight said.
“Yep! what can I say, the multiverse is a fascinating thing” Alex answered.
“But to think we are so different in there, at least I’m happy to know my fashion sense cross between worlds” Rarity said while fixing her mane.
“yeah! and I’m sure my other self is awesome! By the way, is she already a wonderbolt?”
“Nope but she is close, how about you?”
“I. . . .hey Pinkie isn’t it something you want to say?”
“Nope! Go ahead Dashie, answer Alex question”
“Ok ok! I’m not a wonderbolt either but I’m close too, you’ll see! I won’t let the other Rainbow to surpass me”
Everypony rolled their eyes and laughed, Alex notice Fluttershy and Daniel was just staring at him, it made him feel a little uncomfortable.
“What? is something wrong? Daniel? Fluttershy?
Daniel and Fluttershy didn’t know what to say, just by looking the pictures made it obvious but they wanted to know for sure. . .gathering braveness, Fluttershy said:
“Well. . . it’s just I noticed. . .that you have so many pictures with my other self. . . can you please tell me why?. . .if is ok with you”
“Hmmm, well I guess that was to be expected to be noticed. . .ok. . .you see, Fluttershy and I are. . .lovers in my world, we have been living together for some time already”
“What?!” Everypony yelled again, Alex chuckled a little, he was staring to get used to that.
“Yeah. . .why you ask Fluttershy?”
By this moment, The shy Pegasus was as red as a tomato, for her luck, Daniel was with her. he nodded to her to let him answer:
“Well Alex, in this world. . .Fluttershy is my marefriend”
“Oh! I see! Congratulations, if she is just like my special mare, you are pretty lucky but I must say I’m confused, didn’t Rarity just said you were her coltfriend some minutes ago?”
“Well yeah! She is my marefriend too, in fact. . .I have other marefriend, I have a herd”
Alex widened his eyes but calmed down quickly, again thanks to his experiences in the other Equestria and also by reading tons of fimfictions, the idea of this world being polygamous wasn’t that crazy, in fact, now that he thought about it, he never asked anypony in his world is their society the polygamy was legal, it didn’t matter for him anyway, Fluttershy was the only one for him.
“Wow! That’s kinda interesting, but you are not exactly acting like their boyfriend”
“Things. . . .happened and right now, let’s just say I’m taking a break with some of them”
Alex noticed it was a tough topic so he decided to leave it.
“I see, so who are your other marefriends if I may know?”
“Sure! You already know about Fluttershy and Rarity, the others are, Twilight, Applejack, Lyra Heartstrings, Aurora and Princess Luna. . .I may have a couple of mares outside town who might join eventually but for now they aren’t part of my herd”
Alex was impressed, he didn’t knew who was Aurora but to think Daniel even had Lyra in his herd?
“Wow Dude! You are quite a ladies man, good for you”
“How about you darling? How many marefriends you have aside Fluttershy?”
“Oh me? I don’t have anypony else, my love is only for my special cute Pegasus, I don’t believe in Poligamy”
Many jaws were in the floor after Alex said that, After fixing his, Daniel asked:
“So herds are forbidden in your Equestria?”
“I’m not sure about that, never took the time to check but even if they were legal, I just can’t see myself loving another Pegasus aside Fluttershy, besides, On Earth, you know very well Polygamy is very uncommon”
“I see. . .I hope you don’t think less about me for. . .you know”
“Hahahaha! Relax Daniel, if this Equestria allows Polygamy, who am I to judge, in fact I think you are pretty lucky, so many cute girlfriends around you. . .I just think it’s not my thing, that’s all”
“Fiu! That’s a relief to hear you say that and at least I know now I don’t have to worry about you courting my marefriends or looking to bed ponies to cease sick needs”
“That’s right! I may be many things but I will never betray my cute marefriend!”
Everypony looked at Alex with different opinion now, they knew he was some. . human they could trust now.
“Ok? Any other question?”
“Yeah! we know you came from another Equestria but. . .how you got here?”
“Hmmm, that one is a little tricky to answer, I just can say a. . .somehow friend brought me here in order to help me get something I need”
“And who that “friend” is darling?”
“Sorry Rarity, but that’s are one of the very few things I can’t reveal. . .personal reasons”
“What exactly do you need to let yourself being dragged to another world sugarcube?”
“Well. . . I didn’t know about being transported here before accepting the deal but. . . if you want to know what I’m looking to get. . .it’s a birthday present for my marefriend. . .yeah I know it sounds pretty stupid but. . .yes! I love her that much”
Everypony awwwww to that statement.
“Any other question?”
Will raised his hand and asked:
“What exactly he wants you to do to get your perfect present?”
“(sigh) before answering that, I need for everypony to stay calm for what I’m going to say. . .ok?”
Everypony shared a look but nodded in agreement.
“Ok. . . I. . . damn! This is hard to say”
Fluttershy grabbed Alex hand.
“C’mon Alex, how bad can it be?”
Alex felt his doubts going away.
“Thanks, even if you are not my Shy, your confort is as powerfull as hers” Fluttershy blushed after hearing him say that.
“Ok!. . . I need to fight with Daniel. . .and win”
Chapter 5: Let's Battle!
There was no sound in the room, everypony were lost in the words that Alex just said, after some seconds, everypony except Daniel and Applejack started to laugh.
“Hahahahahaha! Nice one Alex! I didn’t know you have that good sense of humor” Rainbow said patting Alex’s back, he didn’t pay much attention, his sight was focused in Daniel who was just staring back.
“Hellooooooo! Alex! I said you have a good. . .uh?”
Rainbow was stopped when Alex raised his hand, everypony looked at him, he had a serious look in his face and not only him, Daniel also had the same expression.
“Alex. . . .you are joking. . .right?”
“Applejack, please tell them I’m telling the truth”
Applejack looked at Alex and nodded.
“Yes everypony, he is serious”
“What?. . .but you can’t?. . .why would you want to fight Daniel?” Twilight said hyperventilating.
“Yeah!” Everypony said in agreement.
“(sigh) look girls, I know it’s crazy but. . . it’s the only way I have to return to my Equestria and get my present”
“You don’t need to fight him! We. . .we can help you returning your world?”
“You know how to open portals at will and to specific dimensions?”
“Well. . .I. . .”
“That’s what I thought, look Twilight I know you are amazing with magic but only my friend can get me back to my dimension”
“And who is. . .”
“Please don’t ask Twilight, I already told you I can’t tell you, I made a promise to not to”
“Ok. . . .but how about Princess Celestia? Or Princess Luna? Maybe they can help us!” Rarity said.
“That won’t do Rarity, Even working together with her, we haven’t even found a way to Daniel’s world, not to mention trying to find more of them”
“Hmmm, so they don’t know he actually can do that? hehehehehe, so both Discords had everything covered after all” Alex thought while smiling, he had to admit those bastards were smart.
For the next minutes everypony started to think of ideas about how to help Alex, the only one who remained silent was Daniel and Alex, they kept staring each other. Finally the winged human raised his hand and everypony stopped talking.
“What is it Daniel? You have something to say bro?” Spike said
“Yeah. . . Alex . . .”
“Yes?”
“Fighting me is the only way to get to your home?”
“Yep! I need to fight to get home and I need to beat you to get the present”
“And that’s all? You are doing this because you have to?”
“More or less, to be honest, I think fighting you would be fun”
“I see. . . .that’s what I wanted to hear. . .I don’t know what kind of mysterious force brought you here or arranged our meeting but. . believe it or not, I feel the same, I think this fight would be fun, ok! I accept your challenge! If is not a deathmatch.”
Everybody’s jaws once again fell to the floor.
“Don’t worry, we don’t have to fight to the death, just a good casual match giving all we have”
“That works for me, let’s do it!” Daniel said excited and stared at Alex who was excited too.
“WAIIIIIIIIT!”
Both humans turned around to see some very pissed off mares, ironically Spike and Will seemed as excited as both humans but they managed to not show it.
“You. . .you just can’t decide it that easily, you are just going to fight for some kind of creature said so? Are you both children or stupid?” Twilight said.
Alex and Daniel shared a sight and chuckled, Daniel approached to her and said:
“I know you might not like it and I understand and you are right, we might get rushing this thing but you must understand, Alex needs this in order to return to his home, I don’t know if in the end he will but I really want to help him, besides. . .not every day I get a chance like this, another human to fight and for what I saw out there. . .he will not be easy to defeat. . . Right Rainbow Dash?”
Daniel turned to see his friend who only looked away. Daniel again turned to see Alex:
“What exactly are the rules?”
“I really never asked, I suppose fight until one of us can’t continue or say “I give up”
“I see. . .when?”
“Well. . . I’d like to do this the fast as possible but knowing your Pinkie Pie, she might have a nice welcome to Ponyville party ready for me and it would be bad to waste and I’d really like a little tour through this town so what about if we do it tomorrow, in a plain field outside the town”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea! My friends and marefriends can come to watch the fight?”
“I don’t see why not”
“Oh yeah!” Rainbow said while everypony sighed in relief, at least they could be audience to make sure nothing would get out of hands, they still didn’t like the idea but deep inside, they did want to see this fight, of course neither of them would say it loud”
In their way to sugarcube corner, everypony in town greeted Daniel and his friends, some of them stared Alex suspiciously, he by his part was only waiving at them, Pipsqueak approached Daniel and said:
“This is exciting Daniel but. . .are you really going to fight Mr Alex with all you have? I mean. . .are you going to use your jutsus?”
Daniel’s eyes widened, his little “son” was right! Even if Alex was skilled enough to defeat Rainbow Dash, he still had a tremendous advantage with his jutsus and elemental powers. . . it may be kinda unfair.
“I. . .I don’t know Pipsqueak, maybe not, I want this fight to be even”
“But if you don’t use them, it would be an insult to Alex, holding back to your opponent is the worst insult you can do to him” Spike said.
“I guess you are right. . .Ok! If I see the need to use my powers, I will!”
Spike and Pips nodded, in their hearts they felt bad for Alex, he was not going to last one minute with Daniel going full power.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The party in sugar cube corner was going smoothly, after some reassuring words from the mane 6 and Daniel, everypony softed with Alex, he was talking and answering some questions with the town people while in a table Daniel was telling everypony what he and the kids discussed.
“So, you are going to go full power with him uh?. . .too bad, I guess this fight will be a quick one” Twilight said.
“Oh C’mon Daniel! At least make it last longer! Play with him a little”
“By my part. . .I feel bad for Alex since he will not have a chance against your. . . jutsus Daniel dear, just try to not hurt him so much, he is a kind person”
“Don’t worry Rarity! My “good try” party will cheer him for sure after he loses to Daniel”
“hmmmm, just don’t be too hard on him ok? Fluttershy said worried for both humans.
Applejack was the only one who didn’t say anything, she and Daniel were just staring at Alex, for What Daniel and Rainbow said, Alex had already saw a little of Daniel powers when he helped Rainbow Dash, he didn’t seemed worried. . . in fact he looked confident. . .something was off.
Daniel noticed Applejack worried eyes and asked:
“Are you thinking the same as me Applejack?”
“Uh. . .ah think so, even after seeing yer fire jutsu, he hasn’t showed any sign or worry, neither he has some ace in the hole or he is really good not showing he is intimidated”
“yeah, that’s what I thought, I think he has both”
Applejack looked at her coltfriend, he seemed even more excited than before, before she could say something, there was a knock in the door, she rushed to open it and freeze in that same place after seeing who it was, it was the Princesses! Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Aurora! After the shock, she immediately bowed.
“He. . .hello Princesses”
“Hello Applejack, we came as fast as we could after reading Twilight’s letter, are you all ok?”
“Uh?. . .well yeah we are, what makes you think we wouldn’t be? Did Twilight didn’t say Alex is not dangerous in her letter?”
“Yes she did, I just wanted to hear it from the Element of Honesty”
“Thanks Princess, now please come in”
The princesses entered the bakery, everypony bowed the moment they saw them, even Alex, as with the others, he recognized them immediately, they looked gorgeous and gave that radiant power his own Princesses friends had as well, the only one he didn’t recognize was the beautiful lady besides them, she looked like a human. . .not counting she almost was 3 meters tall! Even taller than the princesses who were very tall as well.
Princess Celestia and Luna approached to Alex who was still bowing.
“You may rise. . .Alex I believe”
“. . .Yes, hmmm, nice to meet you Princesses. . .”
“Please Alex, if what Twilight told me is true, you may already know our names”
“Twilight? I see, well yeah, Thank you Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence”
“Wow, Twilight wasn’t lying” Luna said.
“Yeah! this is really exciting! Another human from another Eq. . .”
Aurora was stopped by Cadence’s aura.
“Hmmmm, Aurora, I think it would be better to keep that information between us, nice to meet you by the way Alex”
“oh! Sorry. . . I got carried away, by the way, it seems you don’t know who I am, I’m Aurora, nice to meet you”
Alex smiled and grabbed her hand and kissed it, he didn’t know if she was some kind of royal but she definitely was gorgeous.
“The pleasure is all mine Miss Aurora”
Aurora blushed a little and retrieved her hand.
“I. . .I have a boyfriend”
“I know, Daniel already told me, don’t worry, I have a girlfriend too and I’m devoted to her to the end”
After that, Celestia said:
“Ok my little ponies, let’s the party continue” she then approached to Alex and whispered. “And after it ends, we need to talk” she wasn’t saying it as a threat but Alex noticed how serious she was, he only nodded in response.
- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - --
The party continued smoothly, Alex greeted many ponies, there were some awkward moments like when Aloe and Lotus asked him if he had the same “stamina” as Daniel and if he wanted to come to the spa for a special treatment to find out, Redder than a tomato he declined the offer, they giggled and told him the offer was always open, he also could meet his favorites fillies in the world, the CMC, they seemed a little older than the ones he already knew, he was shocked to find out Sweetie Belle was Spike’s marefriend.
Once the party was over, the only ones remaining in the bakery was the mane 6, Spike, the 3 humans, Aurora and the princesses, all of them went to the dining room for another chat.
After Alex explained everything to the princesses himself, they were surprised and didn’t say anything until Luna spoke:
“So you need to fight Daniel to return home?”
“yeah! as simple as that”
“Even knowing you can’t defeat him?”
“Luna!” Celestia said.
“What? is the truth, this human has no chance against my Daniel” Luna said while looking at Alex with so much confidence in her eyes, she expected to intimidate Alex but he didn’t looked like it.
“Hmmmm, I don’t know how things will go tomorrow but I can assure you I will give all I have” He turned to Daniel “And trust me in this Daniel, it wouldn’t be wise to underestimate me”
“Nonsense! It is impossible for you to win, Daniel has wings! Skills! Jutsus! He is far beyond as an average human! You have no chance! Surrender now that you have the chance!”
“LUNA! I THINK THAT’S ENOUGH!”
“I only want him to know his place! An average human without super abilities can’t defeat a mighty warrior like my Coltfriend!”
Everybody present didn’t say anything, Luna was talking rude but they believed she was right, the fight was practically decided. Much to their surprise, Alex raised his hand.
“Hmmm, may I say something?”
“yes you may Alex and please. . .forgive my sister rudeness”
“It’s ok Princess Celestia, hmmmm Princess Luna?”
“Yes?”
“I will defeat your coltfriend, you said an average human without any abilities can’t win right?”
“Aha?”
“Then I will have to use my own abilities to defeat him, I may not have wings, or jutsus but I can tell you I have my own skills and weapons and I can tell you this, if Daniel is as overconfident as you are right now, he will lose for sure tomorrow”
Luna’s anger increased by every word Alex was saying:
“I see, so tell me, what are those. . .abilities you are speaking?”
“Yes they are. . . .It’s not your business”
“What?! how dare you?”
“You really think I would tell you or anypony here about my way of fighting? In a fight, nothing is more important than information and what to do with it, sorry but he will have to find out tomorrow”
“Hey! But you already saw he can use Jutsus!”
“If he decided to show that to me, that’s his problem not mine, I don’t have to tell you anything if I don’t want to”
“But. . .but”
Daniel raised his hand to speak.
“It’s ok Rainbow. . .he is right, it’s called strategy remember? I must say I’m impressed Alex and I also want to apologize for what Luna said, he turned to see her “That was uncalled for Luna”
Luna only looked away, she was pissed off but still she thought what she said was the truth, Celestia then said:
“Ok my little ponies, I must say I don’t exactly agree about this but it seems this fight is something that must happen, I still have my issues about your presence here Alex but I could prove you are not like Tom and Chuck, I’d like to know more about how you ended here but it seems you really can’t share that information, I will let it slide since you are not here to harm any of my subjects.”
“Thanks Princess, for the vote of confidence”
“You earned it Alex, now, I hope you don’t mind if we can watch the match tomorrow?” Cadence said excited.
“Of course! You and Shining. . .”
Alex was cut by Daniel’s hand in his mouth. He then whispered
“Shhhhhhhh, it seems you know about Shinning Armor too. . . it’s a long story I may tell later but . . .”
“It’s ok Daniel, I can tell him” Cadence interrupted Daniel and approached Alex and spoke:
“I don’t know how are things going with the Cadence and Shining Armor in your world, I do hope they are living Happily but here. . .”
Cadence was trying to tell what happened between she and her husband but the worlds weren’t coming out, Alex understood and put a hand in her shoulder.
“I. . .I don’t know what happened but. . .I’m sorry if he hurt you, if you need to talk about this. . .I’m all ears.”
He wiped her tear with his finger while she smiled warmly and hugged him tightly.
“Thanks, I’ll have it in mind”
After they broke the hug, the Princesses and Aurora gave their farewells but promised to come back the next day, everypony else also proceeded to go to their homes, Daniel and Twilight offered Alex to stay in the library, he declined, telling them he already had a place to stay, they wondered what place it could be but decided to not make questions.
Alex took his backpack and promised to return ready the next day, he then proceeded to go to a very known place, the sisters old castle.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside the castle, Alex was looking at the bonfire he made, he didn’t exactly wanted to be all alone there but he needed to be to call him:
“Discord! Show yourself”
After some seconds, in a bright light, the dracoenous appeared in front of him.
“Hohohohoho, what is it my dear human?”
“It’s all ready, I can’t believe it but I did it, I hope you have my price ready?”
“Oh this?” Discord made the rainbow diamond appear in his pawn. “Don’t worry, it will be yours. . .once you win”
“Perfect, now you may go”
“As you command. . . hahahaha! I really can’t believe you are really doing this! I will have so much fun tomorrow!”
“Just as you wanted. . . were you leaving?”
“Of course I’m on my way. . .with the diamond you will get. . .after you win and remember, if you get too scared to fight tomorrow, you will stay here for a long time!”
“It won’t happen, I promise, good night”
“oh! Ok. . .but . . . whatever!” Discord was about to snap his finger but stopped. . .he stared at Alex for some seconds until he could not take it anymore.
“Ok Alex Tell me! Why are you really doing this? We both know I can’t leave you here, Fluttershy would be heartbroken if I did and we also know Fluttershy is not really a fan of jewelry so I never bought your story about wanting this diamond for her entirely. . .if it was for Rarity I might buy it but not with Fluttershy, tell me! Why haven’t you ask me to end this ruse and take you home?”
“hahahahahaha, you really want to know?”
“Yes! The question is killing me!”
“Ok. . . first, because I promise you in advance, second. . . I really want to fight Daniel, I’m excited to do it, it’s not like I have the chance to fight another human with superpowers. . . what can I say, I always loved to play online with folks of different countries. . . this is somehow similar”
“I see, so in the end. . .you are doing this because you want it? not for the present?”
“Yes! Don’t misunderstand, that diamond is still the best choice to give her as a present and I will make sure to get it but my main reason to do this is because I really want to fight Daniel and Win!”
“Hmmmm, you are more interesting than I thought” Discord handed the Diamond to Alex.
“Uh? what are you giving me this? I haven’t win yet?”
“Oh please Alex, you really think that diamond is unique? There are tons like that in the chaos dimension, I’ll show you?”
Discord then summoned a mini mountain of rainbow diamonds and made them disappear the second later.
“Disappointed?”
“Nah! I kinda saw that coming, anyway thanks Discord, but still, why are you giving it to me?”
“This is no longer about getting that price, it’s about you and me win what we want, we both want to prove my counterpart, Daniel and everypony that you can beat him and I was right all the time”
Alex looked at discord with determinate eyes.
“Oh yeah! and don’t worry, I will go all out with him”
“That’s the spirit, give everything you have Alex! And who knows? Maybe you will learn a thing or two after this adventure ends”
“I do Hope so Discord, anyway, good night. . . tomorrow will be awesome!”
Discord nodded and disappeared in the flashlight, Alex laid down on the floor, meditating how to take Daniel down.
In the Library, Daniel was sit with Spike in the coach while drinking some cocoa.
“What are you thinking Daniel?”
“Uh? nothing Spike . . . it’s just. . . I’m just a little distracted, I’m too excited for tomorrow and maybe. . . a little worried”
“Don’t be, you have the upper hand here, we all know you can beat him”
“Thanks Spike, I just hope you are right”
Daniel kept drinking his cocoa and wondering what would he encounter the next day.
Chapter 6: Show me what you got!
Alex woke up early and warmed up a little, he needed to be in his top for what was coming, after having a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee that magically appeared in his room, (He noted to thank Discord later) Alex put on his new assassin clothes also provided for his Dracoenous friend, He made an inventory of his gear he was going to use and was glad that Discord also provided a couple of things he requested at last minute, they may come in handy later.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel woke up and greeted everypony and drago and proceed to have breakfast with Spike and Pipsqueak.
“Ready for today Daniel?” Spike asked.
“Yes, I’m kinda nervous”
“Nah! don’t be, just stick to your jutsus and he will not stand a chance”
Daniel chuckled at his friend, he would like to have the same confidence but in his heart he knew Alex was right last night, Overconfidence could be his doom in this fight.
They exited the library, the rest of the band was already there, the colors and Lyra included, she hugged her coltfriend and said:
“Oh my gosh Dani, when Rarity told me about what happened last night, I couldn’t believe it! it’s so exciting!”
“Gee, thanks Lyra, so are you coming to the event?”
“Of course I’m coming, in fact, all Ponyville is coming!”
“What?! all Ponyville knows about this?”
“Uh? yes? I mean, haven’t you seen the posters all around town? Here check this one”
Lyra handed a little poster with his photo on it.
“Come to see the our hero Daniel face to face against the invader”
“The invader?”
Daniel kept reading the poster, everything was there, date, time, etc.
“Hmmmm, Lyra, who did this?”
“Well, many witnesses said they saw many Batponies sticking them in the walls. . . I would believe it was Princess Luna”
Daniel face palmed, he loved Luna very much but this was too much. . . and was it really necessary to call Alex like that? He noted to talk to her later.
“I just hope Alex don’t see this posters”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex was entering in Ponyville when he noticed something on the ground, it was some kind of poster, he took it up and read it, his eyes widened.
“Wow. . . the invader?. . .I like it, Hmmmm so the match will be in Sweet Apple Acress plain field, better be in my way there then”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel and all his friends and marefriends were in their way to Sweet Apple Acress, they waited for Alex but he never showed up so they thought he maybe saw one of the posters and was going there as well. Many ponies in their way there too, greeted him and encouraged him to win. Daniel felt flattered by their comments, now he knew he had to win, for his fans and friends.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex arrived at the place, it wasn’t hard to find since almost everypony was there, sit on wooden stairs, many of them had signs with Daniel’s face and name in it, he chuckled, it seemed Daniel really was a celebrity there, it reminded him the Gladiators tournaments. . .yeah, not his best memory to be honest. He also noticed the battle field was huge and it was modified, huge rocks all around the field, perfect for hiding spots, it seemed the princesses arranged everything perfectly to make the fight even.
Everypony saw Alex entering the field, he paid little attention to the commentaries.
“Is that the other human?”
“He is armed to the teeth! Even so, he will not stand a chance against Daniel”
“He doesn’t look so strong”
Alex only smiled and kept walking, he noticed the 3 princesses sat in her thrones among the audience, he greeted them, Cadence and Celestia waived back but Luna only smirked, it was obvious she was only there in hopes to see him defeated, after what he said last night, it was understanding. When he finally found a nice comfortable place, he sat with his legs crossed and waited.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel and his friends arrived at the place and man! Everypony was there! Luna really made sure to spread the news, when the audience saw Daniel, they immediately cheered at high voices, there was not secret he was the favorite by far, even though he was charmed by the welcome, his sight was only focused on Alex who was already there, sit on the ground and with his eyes closed.
All his friends and marefriends proceeded to take sit while Daniel entered in the field, even though there was much room, it still was too little to summon Kasai.
“Sorry Daniel, it seems you are on your own in this one”
“Yeah”
“But don’t worry, if you need my fire chakra, just ask! And. . . Daniel?”
“Uhmm?”
“Be carefull, we still don’t know what he can do, also. . . I’m pretty sure he is hiding something, Flare and the colors also felt it, don’t let your guard down”
“I know . . . and thanks”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel walked to where Alex was sitting, when he was a few inches from him, Alex opened his eyes and stood up, he smiled and said:
“Welcome my friend, ready for a great fight?”
“You bet bro”
Both of them nodded and shacked hands. At that moment, the 3 princesses landed on the field and approached the contestants.
“Hello my dear humans, I hope you are both fine and ready” Celestia said, both Humans nodded.
“Excellent, now let us begin” Celestia then turned to the crowd and talked using her Canterlot’s royal voice”
“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, TODAY WE ARE HERE FOR A GREAT SHOW, A MATCH BETWEEN TWO HUMANS WHO WANT TO PROVE WHO WANT TO PROVE THEMSELVES”
Everypony was cheering even higher by this moment.
“THE RULES ARE SIMPLE, BOTH HUMANS WERE GOING TO FIGHT IN THE ROCK FIELD WE THE PRINCESSES PREPARED, THE ONLY WAY TO WIN IS BY KNOCKING DOWN YOUR OPONENT OR SUBMIT HIM OR IF HE SAYS “I GIVE UP” ALSO, IF ONE STARTS CRYING OR HITS THE OTHER IN THE B…. THE AGRESOR WILL BE DISQUALIFIED”
Everypony laughed after hearing that.
“IN ORDER TO PREVENT CHEATING, ONCE THE BATTLE STARTS, A FORCE FIELD WILL BE CASTED IN THE ENTIRE FIELD, JUST ONE WARNING TO THE FIGHTERS, IF WE THE PRINCESSES DETERMINATE THAT THE FIGHT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED, YOU WILL OBEY AND STOP FIGHTING, AM I CLEAR?” Alex and Daniel nodded “WELL. . .WITH EVERYTHING SAID, LET US BEGIN!”
Once again, everypony cheered and Celestia turned to both humans again.
“May the best human win”
“Of course we know who will be” Luna said smirking.
“Enough Aunt Luna! Ahem. . . I’m cheering for both of you, please give us a nice show”
“You bet Cadence” Both humans said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The princesses then flew to their thrones while Alex and Daniel retreated from each other to a considerable distance.
“OK. . . . . . . . BEGIN!” Celestia screamed.
“SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!” Both Daniel and Alex screamed too.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex and Daniel stared each other for seconds, the atmosphere was dense, everypony was silent, waiting to see who would do the first move.
A single sweat drop fell from Alex’s forehead on the floor.
“Now!”
Alex threw a pair of throwing knives to Daniel, he barely had time to dodge and rolled out on the ground, that gave Alex the chance to approach to Daniel and tried to deliver a punch, Daniel blocked the hit and a fist exchange started, neither of them were giving each other any quarter, punches and kicks everywhere, they were jumping, rolling and finally they ended hitting each other in the faces and back off some meters away each other.
Both of them nuzzled their cheeks, Alex smirked and said:
“Mixed Martial Arts uh? why am I not surprised? Ok, let’s see how you manage that nice sword of yours”
Alex drew his katanas and adopted battle position, Daniel drew his sword as well and attacked, they clashed their weapons, Daniel knew how to use his sword, even using two katanas, Daniel was giving Alex a hard time, Still. . . Daniel was amazed, Alex’s katanas didn’t scratch, considering his swords was made of the strongest material in Equestria, that was quiet impressive.
Alex clashed his katanas with full force on Daniel but he blocked them with his sword, Alex was pushing with all his strength, Daniel hold his ground and pushed Alex away.
Everypony was speechless, the princesses too, none of them expected Alex to be standing after facing Daniel for that long. Daniel smiled and said:
“Wow! You are amazing Alex, I see you are well trained”
“Thanks, I’ve been training since I was 16 but I must say, you are pretty good too”
“Yeah. . . my grandfather trained me since I was little and after he died I kept the routine”
“That’s admirable, ok, enough talk, the ponies here came to see us fighting, not talking”
Alex once again rushed to Daniel but this time Daniel had a plan, they clashed their weapons again, Daniel needed to wait for the right moment, and it came! Alex swinged his both katanas in front of him and he blocked them but this time, as fast as a lightning he drop his sword, making Alex to lose balance for a second, the second he needed to use his fingers and push Alex’s right’s arm pressure point, Alex took this opportunity and drop his katanas as well, he delivered a strong kick on Daniel’s chest, sending him away, Alex jumped back as well, he noticed then that his right arm was motionless.
“He hit my pressure point? Damn! I need to fix. . .”
He didn’t have any chance to finish that sentence for he saw Daniel running at him with his fingers ready to immobilize him, he had to act quick. Without his right arm, he would not stand a chance, he immediately searched in his short bags and took a smoke bomb, he threw it on the floor and it exploded. The smoke screen covered the whole area around them. Daniel cough a little while trying to find his target. By the time the smoke banished, Alex was nowhere to be found.
“Damn! Where are you?!”
Daniel flew up to have a better view on the whole field, obviously Alex was hiding behind a rock.
“Alex! Come out and face me!”
“. . . . . . . . .”
“Fine! I will make you come out!”
Daniel started to make the seals with his hands.
“Fire style! Dragon flame bomb!”
A huge dragon came out of Daniel’s hand and he shot it to a nearby group of rocks, the dragon dissolved and huge fire balls took its place, all of them impacted on the rocks, making them explode, nothing was left in the place except for some burned mini craters. While everypony was cheering for the great show, all Daniel’s friend couldn’t help to feel a little shocked.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Wow! Don’t you think that. . .justsu was kinda dangerous to be used on. . .Alex?” Pinkie Pie said
“Well. . . they want to give everything they have. . .besides, I don’t think Alex was on those rocks” Twilight answered.
“. . . yeah, you are right”
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Damn! He wasn’t there. . . where are you?”
“I’M HERE!”
Daniel gasped but before he could turn over, he felt a piercing pain in his left leg, when he saw it, he could see an arrow stuck in it, he made a little scream of pain and finally turned to see his opponent. There he was, Alex. . . just a few inches from a group of rocks.
“Damn! I choose the wrong hideout. . .aghhh my leg” Daniel thought but there was something else in his mind, Alex was using his bow with both arms . . .how that was possible?”
“Didn’t I disarmed your right arm?”
“Oh. . .you mean striking my pressure point?”
Daniel’s widened his eyes. . .he knew?
“Sorry Daniel but remember you are not the only one here trained in martial arts”
To prove his point Alex used his fingers to disarm his own arm again and the second later he pressured the same place to cure it. Everypony was agape.
“I must admit. . .if you would had been able to disarm my both arms. . . . this match would be over, now I know I must be careful in close combat with you”
Alex took another arrow and pointed Daniel, he shot it, his target was now the other leg, Daniel dodged it with ease but his leg’s pain was killing him, Alex made sure to not hit a vital spot but damn! It hurt like hell! Knowing he had to heal it, he landed on the ground and made a hand seal.
“Earth style! Rock Blockade Jutsu!”
A thick rock wall surrounded Daniel, he was lucky Alex wasn’t able to fly, taking the chance, with much pain, he removed the arrow and once again used his chakra.
“Light Style: Divine Regeneration Jutsu”
The light healed the leg and it was as good as new.
“Fiu! Much better. . . I really can’t leave my guard down with him can I?”
“You are right!”
Daniel gasped and looked up his wall, there was Alex, with some kind of knuckles with claws in both his hands.
“Did he climb all his way up there?” Daniel thought but didn’t have much time to think about that since Alex jumped down with a powerful hit, thanks to sun, Daniel couldn’t see him very well, the kick impacted full in his face, he flinched in pain but after that Alex started to hit him everywhere, face, chest, legs, it was a fist storm, finally Alex used his both fist to hit Daniel full in his chest, sending him meters away.
Everypony gasped after seeing such brutal scene, Fluttershy was close to faint while all the others started to look Alex with angry eyes, some started to booing him, some even tried to throw some rocks and trash but the barrier made sure to not let it pass.
“Hey! Aren’t you going overboad? First arrows and now that beating?!” Spike shouted
Alex didn’t pay any attention to the drake, his eyes were only focusing on Daniel, the warrior stood up slowly, he coughed some blood.
“Hey! Aren’t you listening me?”
“I am Spike. . .and just for you to know, I don’t give a damn about what you or anypony in the audience think, I came here to have a match with Daniel, we are not children playing fighting! Remember that! Daniel made that clear the moment he decided to use his jutsus against me. . .didn’t you Daniel?”
Daniel finally stood up and looked at Alex, his mouth was bleeding and his face was covered in dirt, he nodded.
“You are right Alex. . .I must admit I never expected you to be this good. . .but I’m glad you are. . . too bad you don’t have chakra or jutsus. . .this could have been an incredible match if you would”
“hehehehe, you are talking as if you have this match won”
“I am. . .sorry Alex but warm up is over, time to bring the big guns!”
“Uh?”
“Combo!”
Daniel made a hand seal.
“Earth style! Rock Blockade Jutsu!”
“Ha! Another Earth wall to protect you while you heal yourself? I thought you had more imagination than that Daniel” Alex said while taking out his climbing knuckles again.
“I do!”
At that moment Alex was surrounded by three high walls, one behind him and two side to side, not giving him anywhere to go except for climbing them. . . still, they were even higher this time.
“What is he planning?” Alex thought while looking at Daniel who had just made a new seal.
“I’m sorry Alex. . .PRINCESS CELESTIA! GET READY TO TREAT ALEX BURN INJURIES IN ANY MOMENT! OR HIS LIFE COULD BE IN DANGER”
“What? Daniel. . .don’t tell me you. . .” Celestia started to say but. . .
“Fire Style! Flaming Phoenix jutsu!”
Daniel pointed his finger at Alex and out of nowhere a giant Phoenix made of fire materialized, his target was obvious. . .Alex!
“Daniel! That’s too dangerous!” Fluttershy screamed, she wanted her coltfriend to win but she also was worried for Alex’s safety.
Everypony looked horrified how the flaming phoenix was reaching his target, the invader had nowhere to go, the fight was decided.
Alex looked at the projectile coming to him, Daniel finally got serious . . .he smiled and looked something in his pocket.
Everypony’s eyes was set on Alex, he was done for, they only hoped that the princesses would treat him fast, much to their surprise, before the phoenix impacted, a blinding light appeared where Alex was.
While everypony was trying to figure what happened, the phoenix finally landed on his target, making a huge explosion, even greater than the flaming balls minutes ago. Daniel lost no time and shouted.
“Now Princess! We need to hurry!”
Princess Celestia nodded and started to glow her horn to make the field disappear!
“Aun no estoy derrotado Daniel?”
Everypony present were shocked to hear Alex talking in the dust screen, he didn’t understand what Alex just said. . .it was definitely Spanish but still. . . shouldn’t he be hishing in pain for the burns?
When the dust screen finally vanished, no pony could believe what they were watching, in front of Daniel was a creature. . . he looked like. . .a pony?. . . dressed with the same clothes as Alex but he was way different from the ponies he knew in Equestria. . .for everypony present. . .it was like some kind of mutant unicorn pony. . .he had hooves instead of hands, he had the pony ears, mane, tail. . .but was standing in 4 legs, Daniel and the rest who had seen Alex’s pictures knew he looked like the ponies of the other Equestria, in front of the strange unicorn, was a magical green shield barrier and he was chuckling.
“What. . . in Tartarus is that Sister?” Luna asked.
“I. . .I don’t know Luna. . .I think is some kind of Pony. . . a unicorn, Alex. . .somehow transformed in that creature and it seems. . .he has magic, that human is full of surprises”
“Ohhhh he looks so cute!” Princess Cadence and Aurora said, gaining Celestia and Luna’s stare.
“What? he does look cute!” Both Princess rolled their eyes.
Everypony wondered what happened to the human but they got the answer when the strange unicorn talked.
“You were right Daniel! It’s time to bring the big guns!”
Chapter 7: Round 2
Everypony was silent, they never saw any creature like the one on the battle field, by this moment there was no doubt, that creature was the Invader but how he managed to transform, he seemed to have magic since he looked like an unicorn. . . still, Daniel had defeated unicorns before, this time wouldn’t be different. . .right?
Daniel was looking at Alex, his pony form was amazing in strangely cute but still. . .he managed to block his jutsu so he knew he couldn’t underestimate him for his appearance, Alex looked a little uneasy, his spectral shield was cracked.
“Wow. . . a little more and that phoenix would had broken my shield and hit me. . . I need to be careful. . . and maybe if this gets out of hand. . .I will use “that”” Alex thought.
Daniel smiled and said:
“Gee talking about aces in the hole uh? I must admit I never expected this but I’m happy at the same time for I see I can fight at my fullest”
“I’m glad to hear that Daniel, it would be a disappointment if this were your limit”
“I think the same. . . now! Defend yourself”
“Earth Style, Wall crush!”
The two earth walls surrounding Alex started to come to close in a try to crush him but Alex glowed his horn and teleported outside, when the walls hit each other, they crumbled, leaving everypony surprised.
“Wait wait wait! You could teleport? Why didn’t you do it when I used my Phoenix jutsu?”
Alex chuckled “For two reasons, first, Teleportation spells takes a lot of manna, I’m pretty sure Twilight will agree with me and second, I wanted to test your justsus strength and I must say. . . I almost lost for taking that risk, you are strong Daniel, I must not forget that, now let’s continue”
Alex shot a green light beam to Daniel, he barely dodged it and flew away, Alex kept shooting light beams at him but no one stroked Daniel, Alex stopped, knowing he was just wasting manna, Alex levitated a pair of Throwing knives and shot them to him, Daniel smirked and dodged them as well.
“C’mon Alex, after sawing you couldn’t hit me with your beams. . . I thought you would do better”
Alex smiled “I did”
“Daniel! Watch out!” Twilight screamed while pointing something at Daniel’s back.
“Uh?” Was all Daniel managed to say before being hit in his leg and arm by two piercings knives. . .he hished in pain but before landing on the ground he noticed Alex’s horn never stopped glowing.
“Agggghhh, controlled. . .Knives. . .damn! I never saw that coming” Daniel said, he removed the knives carefully and made his hands seals.
“Light Style: Divine Regeneration Jutsu”
His wounds were healed in seconds but he didn’t have time to relax for Alex was already in front of him to deliver a powerful hit, he blocked it with his arms but the hit made him retreat a few meters and damn! It hurt a lot, It seemed Alex had a Pony’s strength. Just great.
Alex kept swinging his hooves at him, it seemed he knew how to fight even with that body but Daniel was no amateur, he blocked and dodged every hit. Daniel flew away again and Alex threw a couple of knives again, Daniel dodged them but this time he knew what was coming, the knives turned in midair and started to chase him, he flew at high speed but they were persistent, he then had an idea, Daniel started to flew to Alex’s direction, when he was a few meters from him, Alex smirked and said.
“Yeah right! You are so obvious using the most predictable strategy of the book, you want to dodge my knives in the last second to have them staving me! But guess what? that won’t happen!”
Alex took out other two knives and threw them to Daniel, he gasped and flew above to dodge those as well, now Daniel had 4 knives chasing him.
“Wow. . .I can’t believe that. . .Invader is giving my Daniel so much troubles!” Luna said while looking at Alex with daggers in her eyes.
“Well, he fights differently to any opponent Daniel ever had, his surprise element is his key points here, not to mention he is not half bad in using magic, his barrier spells and. . .to have that control over his knives, that takes weeks and even months of practice”
“I agree Aunt Celestia, they are giving their best here, I really wonder who will win this”
Luna looked at both alicorns and huffed, there was no way that Alex would defeat Daniel. . .right?
Daniel was getting tired of trying to get away from the knives but he looked Alex was getting tired as well, controlling the knives were taxing him as well, he smiled and thought about a new plan, he once again flew to Alex direction.
“You didn’t learn your lesson Daniel? That will not work!”
Alex was taking another knives and was about to throw them at Daniel but he then noticed Daniel had his hands ready for a jutsu.
“What?. . .”
“Fire Style: Big Fire Ball Justsu!”
Daniel threw a huge fire ball from his mouth, Alex released his throwing knives and jumped away to dodge the jutsu but it was that Daniel wanted, before he could do anything, Daniel was in front of him, in his hand there was some kind of air ball? For Alex, it looked like the. . .
“Rasengan!”
“Oh you have to be kidding me!” Alex thought before being hit by the jutsu in his stomach, Alex felt that hit like if his Applejack just hit him with all her strength after he said he would prefer pears above apples, but he was not done yet, in a last attempt while bearing with the jutsu, he commanded one of his knives still in his control to Daniel, it pierced Daniel’s rib but the damage on him was done, the Rasengan sent him flying and rolling to the barrier, he hit it so hard that he cracked it, he coughed some blood and fell on the ground face down. Daniel also landed on the ground, the pain on the rib was unbearable! Thank God it didn’t hit in a vital spot. . .well, Alex would never try to kill him but damn! It hurt like a bitch!
“Light Style: Divine Regeneration Jutsu”
Daniel once again managed to heal himself but. . .he was almost out of chakra, Alex wasn’t doing any better.
“Damn! Aghhh, that was. . . thank God for Pony’s endurance but still. . . .not cool Daniel. . .not cool at all!”
Alex slowly stood up, he was nuzzling his stomach.
“This is one of those times I really hate not having any talent in healing spells. . .but still . . .”
Alex kept started to walk to Daniel who was still kneeling on the floor, the winged human looked at the pony coming his way. There was nothing he could do, in his mind, his dragon friend was screaming.
“Daniel! You need to get up! use my powers to defeat him”
“Just wait for it Kasai, I don’t need your power . . .I hope”
“But. . . he is coming, you need to do something!”
Daniel knew Kasai was right, he could try to use his powers and try his chances but. . . he needed to wait the right time, his thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Alex was just infront of him, he looked pissed, he had a bloody mouth, it seemed the Rasengan did a good job on him, even though he tried to pretend to be fine, Alex looked damaged. Alex raised his hoof for the Killing blow when. . .
“Ok! It’s not or never!!”
“What?!”
Daniel’s body was surrounded by fire, he stood up fast and concentrated all his remaining chakra in his hand, Alex eyes widened, he didn’t saw that coming, Daniel was on fire and looked powerful but. . . there was something else. . . it seemed it was his final stand.
“Time to finish this! Fire style: Blazing Rasengan”
A red flaming air ball appeared in his hand and he directed right to Alex, Alex still managed to cast a shield but the rasengan started to crack it, Alex tried his best to keep his shield active but Daniel was wining.
“I will win Alex” Daniel said and pushed the jutsu even harder, the rasengan finally broke Alex shield and was about to hit his stomach again but. . .a few inches away from Alex. . .it banished.
Both humans were agape but Alex took this chance to turned around and kick Daniel with his hind legs, he was at his limit as well so the kick wasn’t very powerful but it was enough to send Daniel some meters away.
“Daniel!” everypony shouted
Alex was looking at Daniel, fear clearly seen in his eyes, once again Daniel was close to pulverize him, he didn’t even try to move, he just sat there and breathed heavily.
“It was an amazing match Daniel, too bad it has to end right now” Alex said and ignored the immense pain, he ran to Daniel and jump, he was planning to knock out Daniel by stomping on him. Daniel was having a debate in his mind”
“Now Daniel! You need my help and you know it!” Kasai said.
“Ok Kasai! let’s do it!”
In midair, Alex noticed Daniel’s body to get surrounded in fire again but this time was different, it seemed he was. . . regenerating?
“Oh damn” Was all Alex managed to say before gets pushed away by the impulse of Daniel transformation; he landed safely on the ground and looked up his sight and wow! He had to admit it, Daniel looked amazing, his clothes turned red and black, he had some kind of orbs attached to his shoulders and a big one on his chest, his hair became red with black strifes and his eyes became red and looked like dragon’s. Alex smirked and pretended to took out his phone from his pocket and talk to someone, he then looked at Daniel and said:
“Daniel! It’s Sora! He wants you to give him back his brave form!”
Daniel looked at Alex confused “Who is Sora?”
“Never mind. . . wow Daniel, it seems you still have some abilities hidden, I didn’t expect this”
“Yeah. . . Alex, I must congratulate you, you forced me to use this form. . .until now, no pony here pushed me this far but I think it’s time to end this”
“You are right, It’s time”
Alex searched for something in his pocket, Daniel took battle position, he knew Alex was almost out of energy but still he would not overconfident again, to his surprise, Alex didn’t took out a weapon, he took out a little bottle with blue liquid.
“Thanks Discord. . .I knew it would come in handy” he thought and drank every drop, everypony was looking at him and wondering what he just drank, some seconds later, Alex smiled and stood up with a jump.
“I’M BACK BABY!”
“What?!!!” Everypony shouted surprised.
“Damn! This potion is amazing! No wonder why is it too hard to synthetize! I just don’t want to think how much I own to Zecora right now”
No pony could hear what he was saying but it seems the Invader was as good as new, Alex stared at Daniel, then he cracked his throat and said:
“Well, I’m ready for round 2”
Daniel realized Alex drank some kind of healing potion so maybe his energy was back, he didn’t have any chance to think about it for Alex glowed his horn.
Alex casted another green shield in front of him but this one became like a veil surrounding Alex entire body, when the spell ended, Daniel couldn’t believe what he was seeing, Alex entire body and clothes became green, like if he just fused with the shield he casted.
“I’m ready Daniel. . . let see if your jutsus can inflict any damage now”
“Oh Yeah! this is going to be so awesome!” Daniel said and adopted his battle pose.
Alex also adopted a battle pose and alongside Daniel, they both shouted:
“Let’s end this my friend"
Chapter 8: And the Winner is . . .
Even outside the barrier and battlefield, everypony could feel the tension inside it, no one was moving, they knew both competitors were finally going to fight with everything they had, no pony ever thought the other human would give this fight, all of them smiled and started to cheer at high voices.
“This fight is awesome!”
“Go Daniel!”
“Go Alex”
“You both are doing amazing!”
Daniel and Alex didn’t pay any attention to them; their eyes were set on each other with a stoic face, to everypony’s surprise both of them smiled.
“This is so much fun” Alex said.
“Yeah I agree” Daniel answered.
“Are you ready?”
“I born ready Alex”
Daniel made his seals and:
“Shadow clone jutsu!”
Then from nowhere, dozens of Daniels surrounded Alex, all of them drew their swords and rushed to the human, Alex by his part, glowed his horn and 6 green spectral katanas appeared in front of him, All the Daniels came closer and Alex started to swing his katanas, many of them were cut and banished immediately, some managed to breakthrough his offensive and tried to cut Alex but even while controlling his 6 katanas, Alex did a good job blocking and dodging their attacks, he used his hidden blades to cut those clones, while defending himself, he noticed one Daniel away from the action, he was making new seals to summon more clones.
“So that’s the original one” Alex said, he started to run to him while cutting and dodging every clone in his way, by his part he was surprised to see they were kinda weak, maybe the power divides to each clone he makes, these clones were fast, he gave them that but didn’t compare to the original.
Daniel saw Alex coming but he was prepared.
“Water Style: Water dragon jutsu!”
Water materialized out of the air and formed a serpent dragon, the dragon attacked Alex with a huge growl.
“Damn!” Alex shouted and covered with his six katanas, the dragon impacted and sent him alongside with a few clones to air, all the clones disappeared and Alex landed on the ground, Daniel was surprised, even with that block, he was sure the dragon impacted him a little but he looked unharmed.
Alex didn’t lose time and shouted a light beam to Daniel, he barely dodged it by rolling to his side and prepared a new seal.
“Fire Style! Flaming Phoenix jutsu!”
Once again Alex saw himself being chased by that flaming phoenix; he charged his horn to summon two huge human spectral hands.
“Ok. . . I didn’t see that coming!” Daniel said surprised.
Alex grabbed the phoenix with those hands, once in his grip, it exploded and released dozens of fire balls, many remaining clones were burned by them, Alex and Daniel dodged the projectiles with ease, Daniel couldn’t believe what he just saw but he was not done, while Alex was dodging the fire balls, he used his top fire speed and focused his chakra in his hand.
Alex dodged the final ball and jumped high, when he turned to see Daniel. . .he found him in front of him with his. . . oh Damn!
“Fire Style! Flaming Rasengan!”
Alex tried to teleport but Daniel was faster, he extended his jutsu on Alex’s chest, it was a direct hit, he could see how the part where he impacted started to burn, Alex was was pushed meters away.
“I won!” Daniel shouted and landed on the ground while Alex also impacted on the ground and raised a dust screen.
Everypony started to cheer to Daniel, his friends and marefriends as well.
“Ha! Take that Alex! There is no way you can stand up after that!” Spike shouted.
“I. . . I just hope Alex is not much hurt” Fluttershy said but couldn’t hide his happiness by seeing his coltfriend wining.
The princesses looked at the field agape, Luna by her part was smirking.
“He gave a good match but this ending was unavoidable, Tia, remove the barrier, we need to trait Alex. . . Tia?”
“Aunt Celestia? Didn’t you hear Aunt Luna? We need to help Alex, he must be seriously hurt”
Celestia didn’t move an inch, she just kept staring at the battlefield, where Alex landed and she wasn’t the only one, Daniel also was looking at it, not losing his battle pose, everypony noticed that too and stopped cheering, why was he doing that? Didn’t he just won?
“hehehehehehe, that was an amazing jutsu Daniel. . . aghhh, it hurt. . . a little”
“A little?” everypony wondered why he said that.
The dust screen banished revealing Alex, he was standing in his hind legs and not only that, all his body was still green. . .except for his chest who had a big cracked fissure but it was not broken. Daniel sighed and said:
“So I was right. . . your new color is not to show off”
“Gee you noticed?” Alex answered and glowed his horn, seconds later, the fissure closed as if nothing happened. “Thanks Shinning Armor. . .for teaching me the basics of this spell” Alex thought.
“Damn! I thought my Rasengan inflicted some damage”
“It did. . .trust me, I felt it . . . even with my shield on. . . I can’t let myself impacted by more of those rasengans, now Daniel. . .let’s continue”
Alex summoned another big fist and shout it to Daniel, he flew away to dodge it but Alex was not done, he focused magic on his hind legs and jumped high to Daniel, Daniel saw him coming and threw a fireball jutsu at him but Alex deflected with another spectral hand.
“What the. . .” Daniel said while looking Alex in front of him.
“Yeah! that’s the word!”
Alex summoned two more hands and put them together, he then motion them to impact Daniel but Daniel was quick and made his seals.
“Fire Style: Flaming Veil”
Daniel got surrounded by his fire and he used his both arms to block the huge hands.
“What?. . . I can’t believe it!” Alex shouted. That hit had the power to even knock out an Ursa Mayor but Daniel blocked it?!
Daniel took advantage of Alex surprise and flew to his side at top speed, he positioned himself behind Alex and focused his chakra in his hand again, Alex felt a presence behind him and glowed his horn.
“Fire Style: Flaming Rasengan!”
Daniel impacted Alex’s back, Alex hished in pain for the impact but Daniel didn’t feel any flesh impacted, damn! This shield was tough! He tried to press his jutsu even further. . .if he could had pay more attention he would had notice Alex’s horn glowing and he as well would had seen a huge Fist coming his way but he didn’t, it impacted Daniel directly, sending him top speed to the ground, Alex also hit the ground full force making a little crater, he slowly crawled out of it. . .this time his back had a huge crack, this rasengan was even stronger that the last one. . .once again, he glowed his horn and the fissure closed.
“Wow. . . I can’t believe Ali is still standing after receiving Daniel’s best shot twice. . .with that shield he is invincible!” Pinkie Pie said.
“No you are wrong Pinkie. . .true his shield is amazing but you think maintaining it it’s easy? I have to admit I’m impressed seeing how Alex haven’t succumbed yet. . . but he must be reaching his limit already”
Everypony looked at Twilight and smiled, if that was true, Daniel would win this match, after all he had Kasai’s help and chakra. . .at least that was what they think but when they saw Daniel standing up from his own crater. . .they noticed he was so tired as well and obviously, even wearing his fire vail, that shot made a good number on him.
By this moment. . .both competitors were coughing blood, both of them were dirty and tired. . .but most of all, both were pissed! They looked each other with daggers in their eyes.
They both gave a war scream and rushed to each other, Alex with his green vail and Daniel with his fire vail, they started to clash their fists and hooves to each other, many impacted in it’s targets, faces, cheeks, stomach, neither of them were giving each other any quarter, Alex kicked Daniel in the chest and send him some meters away but he regenerated quickly and attacked again, he gave Alex a good fist in his nose, Alex covered it and hished in pain. . .it seemed his shield were weakening, he even had some parts cracked that didn’t regenerate anymore and Daniel noticed this, he had to end this quickly, the same was with Daniel, Kasai Chakra was also at his limit.
In a desperate move Alex tried to use both hind legs to buck Daniel but he dodged it, it was the chance he was waiting for, he kicked Alex and sent him flying, it was now or never, he flew high speed and made a third rasengan, this was it! his chance, there was no Alex could dodge that in midair.
“Nice fight Alex!”
Alex saw Daniel coming and smirked, he was grateful he was not completely out of his manna for that moment.
He glowed his horn and teleported to dodge Daniel’s attack.
“What? NO!!” Daniel shouted, how he could forget Alex could do that. He didn’t have any time to regret it for he felt two piercing objects in his chest and leg, he saw what happened and saw Alex below him with his two hidden blades piercing his chest and leg. . . his rasengan banished and he saw himself being carried by Alex.
“Daniel. . . aghhh, you were a great opponent. . . and I think you deserve to see what is coming, my best move”
Daniel couldn’t say anything, the pain was inmense, he then found himself being thrown on the ground with his face up, Alex started to hit him in the face many times, if not for his fire veil surely he would have his face without teeth, he thought maybe Alex knew that and he was just trying to weak his veil and he was achieving it, seconds later, his veil was almost gone, Alex didn’t want to waste more energy and manna trying to break it, he needed a huge impact to end this.
“Ok. . . let’s end this once and for ALL!”
Alex focused his magic in his hind legs again and gave a powerful jump, he jumped really high, he almost touched the barrier’s rooftop, he used his magic to remain in midair and started to focus all his remaining magic in his horn.
Everypony was looking at him with amazed eyes, he was planning to end this big.
“Let see if you can stand up after receiving this!”
Alex’s hoof was green shining even more at every second, Twilight and her friends started to scream.
“C’mon Daniel! Don’t give up!”
“We know you can win this!”
“Please Daniel. . . Don’t lose!”
“Yeah! I don’t want the “congratulations for being second place” party to be for you!”
“Yeah! C’mon Bro! you defeated many foes! Why is Alex diferent?”
“Yeah! he is a human just like you and me Daniel! You can beat him!” Will screamed
Daniel was almost unconscious; he then heard another voice in his head.
“You are weak Daniel, to think this human is beating you, you the bearers of the Elements, (sigh) Ok. . .If you release me, I will help you to pulverize him, let me help you to regain your glory!”
Daniel recognized the voice.
“Darkus. . .”
Daniel slowly started to turn black, everypony was looking at him horrified, his friends and marefriends knew what was coming, Alex also was confused but didn’t stopped charging his magic.
“Uh? that’s new. . .no matter, he can’t move anymore, this fight is mine”
“Oh no! Princess Celestia! Please stop this fight! Alex’s life may be in danger!” Twilight screamed.
Celestia noded and was about to stop the fight but she was stopped by Luna.
“Lulu? What are you doing?”
“Please Tia. . . just wait a little longer”
“What? Luna! I know you want Daniel to win but you know what happens if we let his dark side coming out!
“Just. . .trust Daniel Tia, please, just give him a chance”
Celestia looked at Luna with worried eyes. . . after some seconds, she decided to trust her, he nodded and stopped glowing her horn.
“Thanks Celestia”
(Inside Daniel’s mind)
“What you want Darkus?”
“Didn’t I just say it? I want to help you, if you let me”
“Why?”
“If you lose, I lose, I just know you won’t win this without my help, I don’t know what he is planning but I know he is preparing to give you the best he has, are you sure you can take that?”
“I. . .I can”
“What? what you say?”
“I can win this. . .without you!”
“Hahahahaha, yeah right, you think Kasai Chakra will be enough now? don’t make me laugh!”
“It’s not just Kasai’s. . .you hear them? You hear my friends. . .my marefriends, even the ones I have issues now. . . they may not have Chakra but their thoughts are coming to me. . .I can beat Alex. . .with their help, they are all I need. . .the only one not needed here. . .It’s you!”
Darkus only smirked and disappeared in the shadows.
“At least lose nice idiot” he said before completely banish.
“I will not lose, Kasai! ready for one last move!”
Kasai appeared next to Daniel and smiled
“You bet!”
(Back to reality)
Everypony, dragon, humans (even Alex) looked shocked at Daniel, he stood up with a Jump and stared to Alex, truth to be told, he still looked tired and messed up but it still looked he was ready to one last stand.
“I see you still have some fight in you Daniel but it’s too late! Behold my best move”
Everypony looked how the human managed to materialize two huge sledge hammers in behind him, each of them must size at least three meters.
Everypony looked at those hammers and thought it was just another simple spell, like when he materialize those huge hands and katanas but. . .Daniel, Twilight and the princesses knew that wasn’t the case, those hammers were special, there were fully charged with magic ready to explode and pulverize whoever they impacted. . .Daniel knew he could not take that, he definitely could not let himself being hit by that!
“Kasai . . .please give me all your left chakra!”
“Uh?. . .Daniel. . .are you sure? Your body may not. . . .”
“Just do it! you know it’s the only way, don’t you”
Kasai looked at those hammers and knew Daniel was right.
“Ok Daniel. . . take it all! . . .in fact, there is something I want to test but I must warn you, it could be very dangerous”
“I don’t care, if I can’t defeat Alex here, what I could do in the dragon’s kingdom if a stronger foe appears. . . let’s do it! and . . .Thanks my friend”
At that moment, Daniel felt his body fully awaken again, it hurt. . .it hurt a lot, he would not be able to take it for long, as fast as he could he raised his hand and screamed.
“Now Kasai!”
The from nowhere, much for everypony surprise and even for daniel’s, two spectral huge dragon claws started to mold something in his hand, Alex looked at this agape, the dragon claws were new but. . .that wasn’t what took his attention, it seemed those hands were molding. . .
“Damn! How can you still have so much power! Just fall already!”
Alex started used his magic to impulse himself, he couldn’t let that dragon finish the job. Not knowing it was too late! Daniel saw Alex coming at full speed.
“Faster Kasai! he is coming!”
“Done!”
“Yes!”
Everypony looked amazed what Daniel had in his hand, it was a rasengan but it’s ratio was at least 5 meters.
“Damn! My arm hurts! It hurts a lot!!!”
“You need to hurry Daniel! Finish him off!”
Daniel noded and jumped to Alex’s way, Alex saw Daniel coming and narrowed his eyes.
“I won’t lose Daniel!”
A few meters away from him, Alex and the hammers teleported but Daniel this time saw that coming, he used his wings to stop and turned over in midair, Alex appeared behind him and was shocked to see Daniel already looking his way.
“Way to go Daniel, but let see if you can take this!”
Alex propelled himself with magic one more time and swinged his spectral sledge hammers at him, Daniel also propelled himself with his wings and prepared his jutsu to impact.
“PROUD HAMMER’S DOUBLE AVALANCHE!”
“FIRE STYLE! LORD FLAMING RASENGAN!”
The huge rasengan impacted the hammers, the clash made the force field to crack, everypony was shocked to see that, all they could see was green and red auras, Alex was pushing his hammers, just one impact! It was all that he needed but Daniel wasn’t giving any quarter.
“Daniel! C’mon bro!” you can do it!” Spike shouted and everypony started to cheer Daniel with him.
“C’mon Alex! You got this far! Don’t lose now!”
“Daniel! Alex! Daniel! Alex!” The crowd was crazy.
“Please Daniel! Don’t lose!” Fluttershy screamed.
“Sorry Fluttershy! But he is done!” Alex screamed and pushed his hammer even harder.
“No, he is not! He will win! He is the best human we know! And the best coltfriend ever! I know I screwed it big time before by pushing him away from me but I still love him so much! Please Daniel, keep going!”
“Yeah!” all the other marefriends shouted, Luna included.
Call it Destiny. . . Call it fate or luck but. . . hearing her saying that . . .was the final impulse, Daniel’s dragon eyes shined and his body and rasengan blazed even more.
“Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” Daniel focused his free hand and made a final hand seal.
“Combo! Fire and Earth Style! METEORITE RASENGAN!”
Then from nowhere, the Rasengan changed its form, combined with Earth fragments and fire lava, it did look like a meteor.
Spike and Kasai were agape.
“He managed to pull an Element combination by himself so quickly?!” Kasai thought.
Alex looked at the new technique, not believing what was happening.
“Wow!. . . he evolved his jutsu in the middle of the clash?. . . hehehehe. . .damn”
The Sledge hammers little by little were cracked and pulverized, the meteor impacted Alex full body, Daniel could hear how his shield started to crack.
Alex was sent top speed to the ground, he hit it with so much force that the earth trembled and it even raised to the skies, leaving nothing more than a huge and deep crater in it’s place, on it. . .all that remained was an unconscious pony with his eyes closed and lifeless, little by little his green shield was shattering and finally gave up, revealing his clothes and fur true colors.
The rasengan disappeared in the air and Daniel landed full flat on, he was breathing heavily, in any minute, he was going to faint.
It seemed the fight was over, everypony was cheering at high voices for Daniel, many also seemed disappointed for Alex defeat, Princess Luna sighed in relief while Cadence and Aurora were cheering too, Princess Celestia was going to declare the winner when. . . .
From one second to other, the crowd became silent and were shocked, Daniel was the most shocked of them all, after a blinding light inside his crater, Alex. . . in his human form was emerging from it, barely he was standing, he started to slowly walk to where Daniel was, by his part, Daniel was out of chakra and energy, with work he was standing up.
“Imposible! How is that possible?!” Spike shouted
Daniel thought the same, how could Alex keep going after receiving that rasengan? Everypony’s eyes were set on Alex who remained silent, this was it! Daniel could no longer keep going, Alex drew his hidden blade and raised his arm for the killing blow.
“Descansa en Paz Daniel”
Daniel closed his eyes for the impact but it never came, instead he heard a big “PUMP” when he opened his eyes again, he saw Alex on the ground, his eyes showed no life, clearly he was now unconscious. After looking at him for some seconds, he sighed and smiled. Then before fainting too, he screamed.
“I WOOOOOOOOOOOOON!”
And as his opponent, he passed out.
Final Chapter: Epilogue
Alex opened his eyes and found himself in a hospital bed, the first thing he noticed was that he was in his human form, at first he panicked by wondering what happened to his pendant but his thoughts were ceased when he saw in the bed next to him Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie hugging a. . . Pony version of Daniel while the rest of the girls were just looking at them with urges to hug him too, He didn’t have a horn so he looked like some kind of Pegasus since his fur was peach but his wings remained black.
“Oh mygosh Daniel, you are so cute!” Fluttershy said while nuzzling Daniel’s fur.
“Yeah! I wouldn’t mind taking you home with me like this!” Pinkie Pies said excited.
“Girls. . .aghhh, I’m glad you like it and all but please. . . air. . .”
Alex couldn’t help to laugh at the scene before him, everypony and human turned to see him and smiled, Pinkie left Daniel go and jumped to give him a crushing hug, Alex received with gusto.
“Ali! You are awake! I’m so happy! Nice match by the way! I hope you are ready for an amazing party!”
“hehehehehe, Pinkie. . . all your parties are amazing and thanks” Alex said and returned the hug.
Rainbow Dash immediately flew in front of him with a grin in her face.
“Dude! That was an amazing match! I didn’t know you could do all that stuff! The transformation! The magic! Those combat skills! You definitely have to spare with me someday!”
“Gee Thanks Rainbow, I’ll think about it”
Alex tried to stand up and for his surprise, he was fine. . . no part of his body ached.
“In case you are wondering darling, Daniel used his healing powers on you”
“I see. . .thanks Daniel”
At that moment all of them felt a shining light behind them, seconds later, Daniel in his human form joined them with Alex’s pendant in his hand.
“Awwwwww, I wanted a nuzzle with you in that form Daniel” Twilight said.
Daniel decided to ignore her and handed over the pendant to Alex.
“I must say this is an interesting artifact Alex, who crafted it?”
“Princess Luna. . .my Princess Luna, she gave it to me as birthday gift”
“Nice gift I must say”
“Thanks Daniel” Alex said and stood up “By the way. . .nice match”
He then extended his hand for a shake and Daniel returned the sentiment immediately, everypony present smiled warmly to the scene.
After dressing up with clean clothes (Thanks Rarity, he thought) he, Daniel and the rest started to exit the hospital. Alex noticed his armor and weapon were nowhere to be seen.
“Hmmm Daniel, where is my gear?”
“We don’t know, in order to treat you, we removed all your armor and weapons and put them in the corner of the room but the second later. . .they were gone!”
(sigh. . .Discord) “It’s ok, I might have an Idea what could happen to them, after all, he knows I don’t need them anymore”
“Your friend?”
“Yeah, probably”
Daniel and the rest decided to not ask anymore, not that they would get an answer after all.
Once they opened the doors to exit the hospital, a huge crowd of ponies and the princesses were there cheering for them.
“There they are!”
“Way to go Daniel!”
“You both did great!”
“Marry me Alex!”
“Marry me Daniel!”
“Marry me you both!”
Alex and Daniel couldn’t help to blush, The Princesses approached to them seconds later, everypony present became silent and bowed, the humans did too.
“You may rise my little ponies and humans” Celestia said.
All of them stood up and from nowhere, Princess Celestia started to applaud, she was followed by Cadence and Luna afterwards, then everypony followed them.
“Thank you for that great show, you both fought with your hearts, I can only hope to see another amazing show like that in the future”
“Yes!” Cadence said “You two were amazing, all those movements and abilities! I feel like a filly again!”
Daniel and Alex chuckled, she just looked like Rainbow Dash minutes ago, Luna approached to Alex, everypony were wishing for her to not do or say something offensive. . .again, for their surprised, Luna gave Alex a little kiss in his cheek and said:
“You are a great fighter Alex and I’m sorry for all those things I said before. . . I hope you can forgive me some eep!”
For her surprise, Alex jumped and gave her a crushing hug.
“It’s ok Luna, you. . .I mean your counterpart is one of my best friends, I would never be able to stay mad with any of you, Thanks Lulu”
Luna’s eyes widened, It’s not that she didn’t like everypony to call her Lulu but almost everypony were scared to address her in such casual way, she returned the hug and shared some tears.
“Thanks Alex, my counterpart is very lucky to have a friend like you”
“You are also my friend now Lulu, don’t forget that”
“Thank you. . .”
After that tender moment, everypony, humans and dragon proceeded have an amazing party in the city’s hall, even Kasai was having a nice time with the Colors, all of them danced and ate cheerfully, Alex found himself again surrounded by beautiful mares asking him if he was interested in forming a herd, he found himself blushing hard.
“I’m a good boyfriend, I’m a good boyfriend” he kept repeating to himself.
Thank God, Daniel came to his rescue.
“Hey Alex. . .can we talk in private?”
“Oh! YES! WE CAN!” Alex and Daniel ran very fast leaving so many disappointed mares.
Once away from the crowd, both of them were recovering their breath.
“So. . .what you wanted to ask?”
“Isn’t any chance for you to stay here. . . with us?”
“Uh? (sigh) no. . . there is not”
“. . . .Fluttershy. . .right?”
“Yep! she may be my main reason but I also had many others. My sisters Sweetie Bell and Rarity, my little bro Spike, not to mention all my friends in Equestria”
“(Sigh) I guess your answer was so obvious, don’t get me wrong, I would do the same, it’s just. . . we could really use someone like you here”
“Thanks Daniel, I say the same”
Both of them chuckled and remained silent for some seconds until Alex spoke:
“It was really an amazing match wasn’t it?”
“Indeed it was, I really thought those hammers got me”
“yeah. . .but who would say you would evolve in the middle of the fight. . . just like the heros in the movies, that was amazing!”
“Yeah! and pretty stupid too. . . while you were sleeping, the doctors checked my arm and warned me to not to that again. . .they told me I almost lost my arm for do that, according to them, it could explode for the amount of power and pressure I gave it, and they say I must never do that again.”
“Wow. . .too bad, that move is very powerfull”
“And dangerous. . . sorry Alex, I could have put your life in danger”
“Don’t worry. . .nothing happened in the end, we are cool”
“Thanks Alex”
“No. . .thank you Daniel. . . thanks for the experience, now I have more confidence to protect my friends. . . my marefriend and. . . the future foal we may have someday”
“I say the same Alex. . .well except for the foal, I think I’ll wait a little longer”
Alex and Daniel chuckled again, then from nowhere a huge dimensional fissure opened in front of them. Daniel looked at it marveled but Alex knew what it meant.
“Well. . .I guess that’s my train to return”
“What but. . .it’s too sudden”
“Trust me, with my friend, everything is too sudden. . .please say goodbye for me to the rest ok?”
“. . . .Ok!”
Alex and Daniel gave each other a warm friendly hug, neither of them would accept it but they both shared a single tear, then they both nodded and Alex was starting to enter to the portal. Before he did, Daniel shouted:
“Alex! We. . . will meet again. . .right!”
Alex turned to see Daniel and smiled.
“I promise you this is not a good bye, take care Daniel”
Alex crossed the fissure and it closed the second later, leaving a little sad human wondering how he would explain to everypony what just happened.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alex landed on the ground of the Everfree forest. He was still smiling.
“Wow Discord. . .talking about end a conversation abruptly”
The draconeous appeared in front of him with a grin in his face.
“I know! that was hilarious!”
“I agree, lucky for you I like random stuff, anyway. . . sorry for. . .not winning”
“Oh! Are you still thinking about that? Don’t worry, I may have lost the bet but I won something even better!”
Discord showed Alex some photos with him and Daniel fighting but the one Discord liked the best was the one with Alex receiving that last huge rasengan, with a funny defeated “What the f…” face.
“Was it really necessary to take that perspective of me?”
“Yes! Yes it was”
(sigh) ok. . . well I guess it’s time for me to return home, Alex started to walk when a gift box appeared in front of him.
“Don’t forget Fluttershy’s gift, you earned it my boy”
“Oh yeah! the diamond, isn’t it a little too big box for it?”
“Big boxes are the best!”
“I guess you are right, thanks Discord”
Alex returned to the cottage where a very cheerfull Pegasus welcome him.
“Oh Alex! When you told me you were going on a quest for my gift you never mentioned you would take two days on it! I was starting to worry for you to not come to the party”
“What? are you kidding me? Miss the most beautiful Pegasus in the whole world’s party? Yeah right!”
Alex gave him a deep kiss in her lips, she received it gladly and returned it with the same sentiment, their tongues melted with each other, after they broke it to get some air, Fluttershy finally noticed the box Alex was carrying.
“Oh my. . .is that my present?”
“Hmm yes. . .yes it is” Alex thought for some seconds until a smile crossed his face.
“Want to open it now?”
“But is not my birthday yet”
“I know but. . .I believe I can’t wait to see you open your present tomorrow. . .what you say?”
“Hmmmm, ok, just because it’s your present”
Fluttershy unwrapped the box slowly until she finally opened it, Alex started to wonder if really a rainbow diamond was the best present for her. . . he felt a little stupid for a moment until he heard Fluttershy squee.
“OH! BY CELESTIA, THIS IS THE BEST GIFT EVER!”
Alex turned around, wondering why she was so excited over a diamond but when he saw what she had in her hooves, he was shocked, Fluttershy had a golden ring in her hoof, it had the rainbow diamond with the form of her cutie mark, she also had golden frame with the shape of a heart, in it, there was a big photo, the same they took when Alex moved to her cottage, they were so happy that day. Fluttershy was crying and smiling.
Alex looked at the frame. . .he chuckled to himself (Discord. . .you deviant Rat, who would say you could be so tactful)
Alex approached to Fluttershy and gave her another deep kiss.
“I’m glad you liked it Fluttershy, a good friend helped me to get it.”
He then gave her another warm hug.
“I just want you to know how happy I am of having you in my life, sometimes I’m still wonder how in the World I managed to get somepony as perfect like you and please don’t say you are not that special. . .YOU ARE! I won’t lie here, I still I have many doubts but I’m sure I want to spend my life with you and. . . our future family”
Fluttershy gasped and with tears still in her eyes, she asked:
“A. . . Alex, what you mean with. . . “Future Family?”
“(chuckle) What else would I mean my love? Ok. . .I will say it clearly, our future foal I know you want so much”
Fluttershy was shocked. . . until that moment, Alex had never shown any interest in having kids, she knew he was afraid of her safety after all that happened during his stay in Equestria, now. . .he was openly promising her they would form the family she so wished for, even if it seemed impossible, she started to share even more tears but with a huge grin in her face.
“. . .Thank you for everything. . .thank you for existing, thank you for being here. . .Oh Alex I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t exist”
“I’m pretty sure you would had found another stallion Fluttershy, after all you are the most perfect pony in the whole World, the one who must say that is me Fluttershy, Thank you for existing. . .thank you. . .for being real”
“Uh?. . .what you mean?”
“Nothing. . .never mind. . .so what you say? I’m in the mood to start trying tonight”
Fluttershy jumped to Alex arms, he caught her with no problems and both of them shared another intimate kiss.
“You read my mind Alex, maybe Pinkie is right and you are a psychic”
Alex smiled and while kissing he carried her to their room, knowing it was going to be a busy night”
Discord was looking at the couple from outside the window, he would never admit it, but he had a little tear in his eye, then from nowhere the other Discord appeared and said:
“I hope you haven’t forgotten about our bet my dear friend”
“Hohohohohoho, of course not” Discord then snapped his finger and dozens of cakes appeared in front of them.
“Celestia’s secret cake stock!”
“Yeah yeah! now take them before she. . .”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH DISCOOOOOOOOOOOOORD!”
Both Dracoenous heard in the distance, more specific from Canterlot, both of them snapped their fingers and disappeared with their bounty into the nothing less.
Alex and Fluttershy were busy in their business to pay any attention to the huge scream it just sounded.
“Uh?. . .didn’t you hear something Flutteshy?” Pony Alex asked to her marefriend already below him.
“No I didn’t! and personally don’t care! Come here my love! Focus! Focus!”
A beautiful Pegasus was packing her belongings in a saddle bag. She was excited but she was also feeling very sad. Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door.
“Hey! Are you ready Fluttershy? We will miss the train!”
“I’m on my way Rainbow” She replied.
After leaving Angel in charge of everything, she proceeded to fly along Rainbow Dash to the train station. She noticed her friend Rainbow Dash was looking very excited.
“I can’t believe it will finally happen!” Rainbow Dash said with a big smile on her face “The Equestria Games! This will be awesome!”
“Yeah, it will be awesome!” Fluttershy replied, as she looked down towards the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash noticed this and smiled at her “Cheer up Fluttershy; we are still here for him to come back!”
“But Rainbow Dash, what if he comes back and we are not here . . . he will definitely think we gave up on him!”
“Ok Flutes, first, that’s just negative thinking and second, I doubt he will actually believe that. Besides, if he can open the gate to come back here whenever he wants, he will definitely understand if we are not here waiting for him.”
“I guess you are right but, maybe I should stay here. . .”
Rainbow Dash was surprised after hearing this “What? No! We need you, Ponyville needs you!”
“I … ok”
“Now that’s my friend! Come on, we need to hurry!” – Rainbow Dash replied as she sped up. Even though she was smiling, Fluttershy couldn’t stop looking behind her. She still had hope “Maybe when I come back, he will be here … maybe …”
Alex and Steven were eating some snacks on the backyard of Alex’s house.
“Dude you really lost the truck?” Steven asked.
“Yeah. . . I’m glad there was nothing of value in it.”
“I know! But still, how can anyone lose a truck?”
“By leaving the keys inside and the door open … I guess.”
“. . . .How dumb can you be dude?”
“You have no idea Steven!” Both of them laughed at this. Steven took a sip of soda and asked “So, are you going on another trip?”
“Yeah, I think I made a mistake over there” Alex answered “Being honest, I screwed it up! I hope I still can set things right over there…”
“I know you will Alex. Now, there is something I really need to ask you, how do you do it?” Steven asked.
“How do I do what?” Alex took a big chunk of his hamburger
“You know what I’m talking about dude; one day you are all suicidal and stuff, and the next day you go back to normal? You really shocked me and all of your friends when you came back” Steven said “Are you sure you are feeling ok now?”
“Yeah! I am, all it took was a good friend of mine and a little girl to give me some advice and that was it.”
“Ok, if you say so. And, who are they?” Steven asked while finishing his food.
“Someday I will tell you Steven but for now, I really need it to be a secret!”
“Fair enough, I just hope I don’t die before knowing it. So, when are you leaving?”
“Tonight” Alex looked up to the sky “I’m leaving tonight…”
“Ok, just do me a favor; don’t come back like that again. Also, please make sure to bring me something this time.”
“Sure, I’ll bring you something. But you know what? I still have some hours left before I leave” Alex stood up and stretched his arms “Why don’t we go back inside so I can beat your ass in a video game?”
Later that night, Alex walked into a well known park. He was thinking about everything that had happened to him and his friends. After a couple of hours, he finally reached the old oak tree. He was glad to see that no one was around. He took Celestia’s pendant out of his pocket and it immediately started to shine. As it happened before, the portal started to open. It was amazing to see how much power this pendant had. Some other nights, Alex tried to open the portal using his own Pony magic but he only managed to create a small fissure, so small only a little cat would fit. Alex started to walk towards it but before going in, he looked back one more time.
“This is not a goodbye Steven …”
After that, he disappeared into the shining light.
In the Crystal Empire, Celestia was having a drink with Cadence and Luna. Suddenly, she felt shivers down her spine; she dropped her cup on the floor and closed her eyes.
“Sister! Are you alright?” Luna shouted.
“The magical alarm . . .” she muttered to herself.
“What? Did you say something Aunt Celestia?” Cadence asked while checking if Celestia was feeling ok. “No, I didn’t say anything. I’m just a little tired that’s all!”
“Well, if you say so” Lune replied “You really scared us, are you sure you are feeling ok now?”
“I’m sorry if I scared you” She answered “But I’m sure there is nothing else to worry about … not anymore.”
Celestia smiled and used her magic to pick up her cup from the floor “Now do your aunt a favor Cadence and give me a little more of that delicious tea you prepared for me!”
“Definitely!” Cadence replied.
“You definitely took your time my friend” Celestia said to herself.
Alex was walking through the Everfree Forest; it was quiet and dark. He decided to spend the night in the sister’s castle. He arrived and looked around making sure nopony was there; the place was really dark and silent which made him really nervous, he put on his hood and got ready for anything. He stood still, trying to feel the reason for his uneasiness.
Three Timberwolves jumped out from the dark corners of the castle and attacked.
Alex chuckled.
The Timberwolves were stopped mid-air as they were blinded by a bright light. When they opened their eyes to see their prey, it was gone. But instead of the creature standing on its two legs, there was a unicorn whose horn was shining bright. The Timberwolves growled and charged all at once. It didn’t take more than the blink of an eye for them all to be cut into hundreds of pieces, making it impossible for any of them to regenerate. Alex was breathing heavily “This… This is exactly what I wanted … but, I must keep practicing …” He managed to get to one of the rooms and got into bed. Taking his Meta pendant off and turning into human immediately. He was exhausted.
After a very good night of sleep, Alex woke up. He was feeling great. He got up and unpacked some food that he had brought with him. Still thinking about what to say to everypony, Alex put his pendant on again and decided that the next best thing to do would be to go to Ponyville just to get acquainted with the things that had happened while he was away; he also decided it would be a great idea to visit Zecora.
After a long walk, Alex reached one of his first destinations. The cottage of the most beautiful Pegasus in all of Equestria. He waited for some minutes, trying to see if there was any movement inside the place “maybe she went out with her friends” He said to himself “Ok, I’ll try to come back here later.”
As he was getting closer to Ponyville, he started to notice something. The whole place was silent. When he arrived, he confirmed that the town was empty. Every store and house was closed. Nopony was there to do the regular things they used to do. He noticed a piece of paper hanging on one of the doors which read: CLOSED DUE TO THE EQUESTRIA GAMES.
“Equestrian games?” He remembered hearing Rainbow Dash saying something about it.”How could they leave the whole place unprotected?” Alex tried to get close to the door but a magic barrier stopped him at some inches from it “So, that’s it! The Princesses have magically sealed every house!” Alex laughed at this “Well, I’m glad to see they are not that naïve…”
He started to think about a good place to spend the night since there wasn’t any way for him to get inside his friend’s houses. He looked around wondering about where the Games could take place. “Maybe in Canterlot!” he said to himself “Still, that place is really far away from here. I wouldn’t be there before night even if I could fly. The best thing I can do is to go to the train station and see if I can either spend the night there or catch the train”. After grabbing his stuff, he started trotting towards his new destination.
When he arrived at the station, he noticed there were some ponies around. He approached one of them and asked “Hey! Are you going to the Equestrian Games too?” The Pony smiled “Of course I am but I have to go pick a friend of mine first. You know how boring is to take the train to the Crystal Empire without having anyone to talk to, that’s a really long way to get there!” Alex laughed, pretending he knew what the pony was talking about “I know, I know. Do you know when is the next train coming?” He asked.
“Yeah! It should take like a couple of hours. There are still several other ponies that haven’t taken the train yet. And for sure nopony wants to miss the games!”
Alex and the Pony said goodbye to each other and went their own ways. He trotted around trying to find a nice place to eat something before the train arrived. He looked around and saw a lot of ponies were still there probably waiting for the same train as him.
After a couple of hours, he heard the train coming to the station. “All aboard!” the train driver shouted. Alex packed his stuff and got behind the other ponies that were getting on the train. “Passengers! By orders of Princess Celestia, the tickets to the Crystal Empire are free. Now, hurry up, we have a long road ahead of us!” The driver said before the train departed to its destination.
Alex trotted all the way to the last wagon and felt asleep. He was still feeling a little tired due to the thing that happened after he came across the Timberwolves. After several hours he heard the train driver letting everypony know that they had arrived at the Crystal Empire. He stood up and put on a robe, covering most of his face.
The train stopped and all of its passengers came out. Alex was amazed by the beauty of this city. The sight of the place was so amazing. The streets, the buildings, the castle at the distance, everything was made out of pure crystal. He left the train station and entered the town. The crystal ponies were just like the ones he saw back in the tournament, he liked this place; all cheerful and happy. It was obvious all of them were excited for these games; he wondered what kind of sports he would see.
Alex followed a big group of ponies; he asked them where the games would take place. They told him that they were heading towards the stadium and that he could come with them. When they arrived at the stadium, he noticed a long line of ponies at the entrance he also noticed how each pony was going through a strange machine before getting into the stadium. He heard other ponies talking about this machine and how it worked as a magic suppressor. When his turn came, Alex started to go through the machine, but noticed how his Meta pendant started to shine “Damn it! This thing will make me turn into human if I walk through it!” H jumped back, out of the machine. “Is everything alright sir?” the guards asked.
“Uh?. . Yeah, sorry! It’s just that I am scared of machines and this one seems to be damaged!”
“Why do you say that?” One of the guards asked.
“Come I’ll show you” Alex said.
When he and the guard walked inside the machine, Alex took of his Meta pendant. The bright light blinded most of the ponies around it who couldn’t notice him going back to his human form. Alex put the pendant on immediately, sending another wave of blinding light around him “This thing is going to explode!” He shouted. This caused fear on the surrounding ponies that ran away from the machine, giving Alex to get into the stadium without the guards noticing.
Once inside, Alex ran among the ponies that were inside. Making himself impossible to spot by any guard or anypony else who could have seen him getting in.
The place was awesome and enormous. There were games all around; some of them seemed like the Olympic Games from earth. After a couple of hours of trotting around the first games were announced. The first one was the flying relay race, Griffins and Ponies were competing. Amongst the participants, he recognized his friends Rainbow Dash, Bulk Biceps, Ditzy and Fluttershy!
Alex was speechless “I know Fluttershy likes races and all but… what is she doing there?” He decided to stay there and watch the entire race.
When the competitors started to fly, Fluttershy wasn’t on the last spots. She wasn’t as fast as Rainbow Dash but she wasn’t any slow either. When the race was over, Ponyville managed to get the silver medal. Alex was so proud of Fluttershy his eyes never looked away from her; she looked so pretty with her running clothes, he knew he had to get her heart back.
The final event was the flying archery competition using ice arrows. Alex was so curious to know how to make those arrows. During the contest, seemed Ponyville was going to win but then something happened, one of the contestants tripped and his arrow hit a cloud, it expanded and became like an iceberg that fell down the ground. Many Pegasus tried to stop it but it was just too heavy for them. With their magic being restricted by the machines at the stadium entrance, it was obvious that there was nothing they could do. Alex was worried about the Ponies that would be crushed by the falling Iceberg. He was about to jump in and use his magic when he noticed Spike had arrived. The dragon stood in the middle of the ground and roared, scaring some of the ponies around. His eyes glowed red as a he released a big fire blast that impacted the Iceberg. However, the speeding meteorite was too big; Spike would be unable to stop it by himself.
Alex jumped in.
“Spike stop! It’s too big! Let me help you!”
Spike turned his eyes and looked at the pony that was running towards him.
“A. . .Alex?”
Spike was shocked. He stopped his fire blast as his eyes grew wider. He knew this pony very well even though he was using a robe to cover his face. Alex looked up and his horn started to shine, he used some kind of magic to jump very high from the ground. The dragon was speechless; it was as if his friend was flying towards the falling ice. Alex shouted and emitted a green glow from his body. The light was condensed until eight ghostly-like blades formed around his back which looked like metallic wings. With a swift movement, Alex directed the blades towards the Iceberg, cutting most of it into small pieces. In less than a second, most of the Ice Mountain was nothing more than snow falling from the sky.
Everypony started to cheer for the unknown pony that had saved their lives. Amongst these ponies, all of his friends, the princesses and his loved one immediately recognized him! Alex landed in front of Spike.
“Spike, now melt the rest of it!”
The dragon was hypnotized but followed Alex’s order and breath an enormous blast of fire that exploded at the impact of the remaining ice. A tear came down his cheek; the emotion Spike felt at that moment was so huge, it made him breathe a huge fireball like never before. The crowd started to cheer for both of them. When the ice was completely melted, Spike looked down, but Alex was gone.
The Princesses landed next to Spike. They needed to check if he was fine. When they stood next to him, Spike was shaking “You saw him? You saw him? It was him! We need to find him!”
“Yes Spike we all saw him! Don’t worry, leave this to me! GUARDS! Find that brave unicorn and bring him here, don’t harm him. DID YOU HEAR ME?”
The Guard Captain ran as close to the Princesses as he was allowed and bowed down.
“But Princess, you saw that magic he used. What if he wants to use it against us?”
“Don’t worry; I doubt he will use it to harm you or any of us. Only use force if necessary but please bring him back safely!”
The guards nodded and went after him. But their target was very far away from them.
“Damn it! Damn it! Why did I do that? Now all of them know I’m here, I need to escape and fast! I’m not ready to talk to them . . . not yet”
Alex was running away as fast as he could. Making sure he was avoiding anyone who could possibly recognize him. The best he did was to get back to the train and get into one of its wagons.
“I knew I had to help but I have to be more careful. I… Godammit! I’m still very tired, this spell is exhausting… I really need to rest…”
Alex was about to fall asleep, hidden between the stuff on the wagon when he heard something that woke him up immediately.
“Sir! Sir! Did you see any yellow mustard unicorn with dark mane going into the train?”
Alex’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice; there was no doubt, it was Fluttershy.
“Sorry miss but no, I’d certainly remember every passenger that...”
“Oh! Ok . . . thank you sir” She said.
Fluttershy turned around and started trotting back to the city. Alex closed his eyes “I am sorry Fluttershy but I just can’t do this n…” a sudden shout made him open his eyes.
“ALEX! IF YOU ARE HERE PLEASE, COME OUT! I. . . NEED YOU!”
Alex’s eyes widened. The sound of her voice quickly vanished; it was replaced by the sound of somepony crying. Alex felt his heart was breaking, he wanted to come out and hug her; he missed her so much but, he wasn’t ready for this.
“Miss are you ok?” Heard the train driver talking to Fluttershy.
“Yes, I’m ok … it’s just that I’d love to … forget it …” Those were her last words as she spread her wings and flew away from the train station. Away from Alex.
“Kids these days” The driver said “Alright passengers … we’re going back to Ponyville now!”
The train started to move, Alex and Fluttershy were so near but so far away.
Alex woke up after some hours later when the train stopped at its destination. Carefully, he left the wagon without being noticed. Ponyville was still looking like an abandoned city, but Alex knew most of the ponies would be back to their homes on the next day. He started his way back to Sister Castle when he was stopped by a sudden realization “They saw me, Rainbow Dash will definitely look for me in that castle!” I thought about spending the night hidden at the station but decided to go back to the caste and as careful as he could to avoid being caught by his friends.
He finally arrived at the castle and made sure nopony was there. He got inside and grabbed his stuff. He ate something and made sure not to leave any traces of food around. After packing everything he decided to stay awake in case his friends decided to come searching for him.
He spent the whole night walking in circles. Having good and bad thoughts about the things he did and the ones he could have done. There was nothing he could do to avoid his thoughts, alone in the dark, he closed his eyes. Knowing very well what he had to do the next day.
The next morning, the Friendship Express arrived at Ponyville. Many ponies were already missing their homes and the beautiful town of Ponyville. Amongst these ponies, there were others that were not feeling that happy. One of the, Rainbow Dash, was one of the most impatient.
“Oh C’mon girls! We must start early!”
“Easy sugarcube, yah heard Twilight, we need to formulate a plan. It’s Alex who we are talking about, he won’t be any easy to find and besides, he could be back on Earth by now, remember he now can come and leave as he pleases!”
Rainbow Dash kick a stone, Applejack was right; Alex had a lot of time to hide from them and to go as far as he wished. Fluttershy was in the group too, she was to quiet and hadn’t say a single word during their travel back to Ponyville.
“Hey Fluttershy” Pinkie Pie said “Are you ok?”
Fluttershy looked up and noticed all of her friends were surrounding her.
“Oh!. . Don’t worry girls. . I’m fine!”
“Please Fluttershy; you know you can tell us how you feel. That’s why we are friends after all!”
Fluttershy looked at Pinkie Pie for a second until she couldn’t hold it anymore; she hugged Pinkie and started to cry.
“My . . . my words didn’t reach him, now I’m sure, he hates me!”
Everypony started to share some tears. They knew Fluttershy’s heart was truly broken.
“Please darling, don’t say that! You know he loves and cares for you. He is just a little confused; remember he departed when the situation was too favorable. I’m sure he is just scared to face us, but let’s be happy! He finally came back and you were right all this time!”
“I guess so, thanks Rarity” Fluttershy replied as she wiped off her tears.
“You are welcome darling, and no more tears ok? You don’t want Alex to look at his marefriend with her beautiful eyes all red because she had been crying!”
Fluttershy nodded she knew Rarity was right.
Eventually, the girls took separate ways to go back to their homes but before doing that, they decided to meet later, in order to organize their search so they could find Alex.
Fluttershy was walking happily, she was still sad but the happiness in her heart was growing bigger. She arrived at her home and got ready to have some rest but after closing the door behind her, she turned around and found something shocking. Scratches all over the floor and walls, even on the roof. All of her birds were in cages; her bear friend was tied up with a rope. Even her Angel bunny was inside a cage. But the most shocking thing was right in the middle of the room.
Fluttershy opened her eyes, she remembered what she when she came back to her home and raised her head; she looked around and found herself in her bedroom. Nothing in her place seemed unusual, probably she was exhausted and her animal friends took her there, she sighed.
“I guess it was a dream…”
A smile crossed her muzzle; she stood up and stretched a little getting ready to do her chores. Before leaving the room, she smelled something delicious, “pancakes?” she thought it was Angel cooking for her, she came down the stairs and entered the kitchen.
“Oh Angel! It smells. . .”
And then, she saw the real cook: Alex.
They both stared each other. Fluttershy was about to faint again but Alex acted quickly. Without moving from his spot, he shouted.
“No no no! Please don’t! It’s me! I’m real I swear!”
After hearing his voice, Fluttershy found the strength to remain conscious; then looked at him again. Alex didn’t know what to do so he grabbed a plate with some pancakes and offered it to her.
“Pancakes?”
She didn’t answer. She kept looking at him without saying a word. Alex was speechless, he wanted to hug her but somehow he knew what was coming; her eyes gave her away, once she was closed enough she raised her hoof and he closed his eyes.
She slapped him so hard, he thanked God that she held back a lot or his jaw would be broken. It still was strong enough to make him fall on his knees.
“Ok. . .I know I deserve…”
She slapped him again. Alex turned to her again and noticed she was crying.
“IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!”
Alex didn’t say a word; she needed to take it out and he deserved it.
“HOW DARED YOU? HOW DARED YOU DO THAT TO ME! YOU KNOW HOW MANY NIGHTS I DIDN’T SLEEP? I WAS SO WORRIED! YOU JUST LEFT A BUCKING LETTER! HOW DARED YOU! WHY? WHY? WHY HURT ME LIKE THAT! YOU ARE AN IDIOT!”
Alex realized how is auctioned had hurt her. He was a real idiot for leaving her like that. Fluttershy kept crying, but the tears turned into kisses; first on his cheek, then on his forehead and then on mouth. A very passionate kiss that lasted for a long time.
After kissing him, she stared at him again; tears started to came out and she put her head on his chest, hugging him with no intention to let go.
“Please don’t tell me you are just an illusion!”
Alex hugged her as strong as he could.
“I promise I’m very real”
Fluttershy just kept hugging him and crying, she felt strength was leaving her body and knew she was going unconscious again. She at him and asked:
“Will you be here when I wake up?”
“Yes, I promise”
“Thank y…” She closed her eyes.
Alex carried her to the couch and sat down, he tried to stand up but her hooves never let go of him, so he decided to stay on the couch with her watching her sleep. She was amazingly cute. He now knew leaving her like he did was one of the worst decisions of his life.
“I will never leave you again my love” he said and kissed her forehead, even in her sleep, she smiled and whispered:
“I will never let you go again…”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After some hours, Fluttershy opened her eyes only to notice Alex was still looking at her, she was still hugging him and didn’t think for a second of letting him go.
“Do you feel better now?” Alex asked.
Fluttershy nodded.
“Are you ready to talk with me?”
She nodded again.
Fluttershy let go of him. She turned around and looked at him in the eye; Alex knew what the first question would be:
“So?” He asked.
“I think you know very well what my question is . . . why?”
“Darling, I had many reasons to do it, but the most important was that I just wanted to protect you.”
“To protect me?”
“Yes, I mean, you saw all those creatures buying what that Minotaur said, the look on their faces and their anger against me. I was afraid of the things they could do to any of my friends or you so I wanted to protect you from them and from me.”
“Alex! Why are you saying that? I can understand about protecting us from judgmental ponies but why do you say you wanted to protect me from you?”
“Fluttershy, you saw me that day! I lost control of myself and became a psychopath! I dismembered that asshole and I … I enjoyed it!”
Fluttershy flinched for a moment; it was true that scene was traumatic. She even had some nightmares about that disastrous day but she knew him and understood how hurt he was that day after what happened to Proud Hammer.
“That’s why I wanted to get away from all of you” He continued “I didn’t want you to share any of my suffering.”
Alex looked down. He felt ashamed after he remembered all the things he did that day. Fluttershy smiled and raised his head with her wing:
“Alex, to be honest, I’m so mad with you right now. What you did to me was inexcusable! When I became your marefriend, I agreed to share everything with you . . . even your sadness but you didn’t even give me a chance or talked to me before leaving.”
“Sorry, I-”
Alex was interrupted by another kiss from Fluttershy, a very deep and long kiss. They didn’t stop kissing until they were out of breath.
Fluttershy looked at him again and said “I’m much happier that you are back here with me. Love, I want to know what made you return to us!”
“Well, it was all thanks to my best friend back on earth!”
Alex told her everything that happened on Earth, how Steven helped him overcome his fears and made him snap out of his depression. Fluttershy couldn’t help feeling thankful at Steven; he managed to do what nopony could. After a couple of hours of storytelling, Fluttershy knew anything she needed to know.
Alex continued “And that’s it, you already know the rest; I came back, went to the Crystal Empire and now we are here!”
“I see” She said “but tell me, why did you run away from me on the Crystal Empire?”
“Because I was scared. Maybe you won’t believe it but I do feel bad for leaving you and I know very well I disappointed all of you. But now, I’m just not ready to meet all my friends again, heck! I can’t even believe I’m talking to you right now! It’s just, I heard what you said in the Crystal Empire and with a little “push” I gathered enough courage to come to see you. I was excited, but I must admit I never expected all of your pets to attack me when I came in. I guess a little bunny did a good job spreading the word about what I did to you to the entire forest.”
They remained silent and looked at each other for a long time until Alex broke the silence.
“Fluttershy, what I really want to say with all this is that I’m sorry; I’m sorry for hurting you. I stand my reasons for what I did but you are right, I didn’t trust you enough to share my problems with you. The last thing I want is to see you suffering and I really thought leaving was the best way to achieve that, for you and me to be happy. I know now how wrong I was. I don’t want to be away from you but I will understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore, not after what I did. Just say it and I will leave forever, I promise…”
Fluttershy grabbed his hand with her both hooves and looked at him with a warm smile.
“Alex, sometimes I’m really impressed of how naive you can be. You heard what I said back in the Crystal Empire, isn’t it obvious that I still love you?”
“Well, I guess so…“
Alex was interrupted again by another kiss; deeper than the last one. Fluttershy then asked the question Alex wanted so much to hear:
“Alex . . . would you want to be my special somepony again?”
“Yes . . . I’d be honored to be your special somepony, but under one condition”
“Sure, tell me what …” This time was Fluttershy was the one who was interrupted by Alex. He hugged her as tight as he could.
“Fluttershy please, don’t die, please stay with me forever! I’ve lost the ones I love, I wouldn’t stand losing you!”
Fluttershy shared some tears. Even though she knew how strong Alex was, sometimes she forgot he was as fragile as anypony else, she got as close to him as she could and said:
“I. . .I can’t promise you I won’t die, but I can promise that I will do all that is in my power to keep living for you; for the both of us. And while I can, I will always be with you!”
“Thanks my love” Alex said whispering.
“But I also want you to promise me something” Fluttershy said.
“What is it?”
“Never leave us again, don’t be afraid to share your fears with us or at least with me. Remember you and I are a team now, your problems are my problems too, never forget that!”
Alex smiled and nodded.
They remained hugging each other for a very long time. When they finally let go, both of them proceeded to have a nice brunch with all the animal friends, it was no secret they were still a little mad at him for making Fluttershy suffer, but they agreed on giving him a second chance. Alex was glad for that; he had to admit they could be very intimidating when they wanted to.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Alex asked.
“Well, in my opinion” Fluttershy answered “I think we should go directly to Ponyville to see everypony else.”
“I guess that’s not a bad idea but . . . do you think they will not try to hurt me like you did?”
“Hmmmm, I think it is obvious Rainbow Dash and maybe Applejack will, but please don’t be mad at them, they are just hurt right now. I hope you understand?”
“I do but still I wouldn’t want them to hit me.”
“I will be there to treat your injuries, I promise”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel better about getting hit…”
“I never said it would” Fluttershy giggled.
Alex was still reluctant on meeting their friends right away, but after speaking with Fluttershy for a little longer, he finally agreed. They were going outside her house when they saw Rainbow Dash coming their way; they immediately got back inside the cottage. Alex ran upstairs while his marefriend talked with Dash.
“Fluttershy! Twilight is back from the Crystal Empire and it seems she needs to tell us something and it seems is very serious”
“Really? But I was . . . ok, just give me 10 minutes to get ready!”
“Ok I’ll wait here!”
Fluttershy went upstairs to talk to Alex. He listened what the Pony said.
“It seems our reunion will have to wait. I don’t think we want to put more stress on Twilight right now.”
“Yes, I’m kind of disappointed but I think this is something good, I will use this opportunity to soften them a little, don’t worry, we will have our reunion eventually.”
“Ok! Meanwhile I will go back to the sister’s Old Castle”
“Oh no mister! You are not going there anymore, you will stay here and that’s an order!”
“But I don’t want to bother you with…” Fluttershy put her wing on his mouth.
“Please Alex, don’t say anything”
“Alright, I’ll stay here.”
“Good! Don’t worry; there is enough food for several days. Knowing how Twilight is, we might be going in some kind of adventure so I’m not sure I will comeback today. In case I don’t, please feed my animal friends everyday and always wear your pendant when you are outside. It’s your choice if you want to speak to any of our friends while I’m away, ok?”
“Ok, Flutts, I’ll think about it”
Alex kissed her very softly “Have a nice trip”
“Knowing you are back, I’m sure I will, but I will be very impatient to come here again to kiss you!”
Fluttershy went outside to meet with her friend. In the meantime Alex decided to rest a little. He was happy everything turned alright with Fluttershy; he smiled while thinking about her and slowly started to close his eyes. Even though there was happiness in his heart, he couldn’t stop feeling something was not right.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Far away from him, deep in a dark alley; another Pony was unconscious. His eyes showed no color and his cutie mark was gone. Standing next to him, a hooded creature was laughing maniacally.
Alex woke up after some hours of sleep. His marefriend hadn’t returned yet; he feed the animals as she asked him, he then ate something, laid down on his bed, walked around the house, but after some hours he started to get bored. He promised Fluttershy he would not go back to the Sister Castle but he needed to get his stuff, so he put on his Metapendant and started his way there.
When he arrived, he heard some noises coming in from the castle. He was a little surprised from this noises so he took some precautions “somepony is in the castle” he said to himself. He followed the sounds that seem to come from the Castle’s Library. When he got inside, he noticed all the mane 6 and Spike.
“Damn! What are they doing here? Did Fluttershy tell them to come here?”
He discarded this possibility after noticing everypony was looking for some books instead of him. Sighing in relief, he rushed to his room to get his stuff.
--------------------------------
“Oh C’mon! there is nothing here! I honestly think we should be looking for Alex instead!”
“Easy Sugarcube, ah want to find our friend too but ah also think solving the mystery of that box is important too”
“But. . .but, c’mon!”
“She is right Rainbow Dash, the search for Alex can wait. Let’s focus in helping Twilight for now so that she can open that box.”
Everypony was shocked after hearing Fluttershy say this. She was supposed to be the most interested in finding the human, but for some reason she was calmed. It almost seemed as if she knew they would eventually find him. None of them said anything, it was nice to look at her in a good mood.
Suddenly, Twilight noticed something in a diary they were writing.
“Girls, I think I have something!”
----------
Alex returned to the cottage, he unpacked his computer and watched a movie, all of Fluttershy’s pets were watching the movie too, they were all enjoying it.
After some hours, they heard hoof steps coming towards the cottage, he put his stuff back inside his backpack and ran upstairs while the pets went back to their regular places and activities. He silently waited in his room until he noticed it was his marefriend.
“Alex? Alex are you here?” She shouted. Alex came down the stairs and hugged her “Oh! Thank Celestia you are alright!” She said.
“Ok, why shouldn’t I be ok?”
“well, you see; according to Twilight, right now there is an evil being roaming Equestria, and somehow he is stealing magic!”
“Stealing magic? Wow! Who is he?”
“He is a centaur named Tirek, an enemy Princess Celestia and Luna imprisoned a long time ago but it seems he found a way to escape from his prison.”
“That sounds really bad. But I believe the Princesses are dealing with the problem, right?”
“Oh yes! They sent somepony to deal with him, somepony who uses dark magic. I’m sure he will be able to handle that meanie”
“Dark magic? You don’t mean?”
“Yes, Discord is looking for him right now!”
“Well, I guess he is the God of Chaos after all. Let’s hope for the best”
“I’m glad to see you also trust him as much as I do”
“I honestly don’t know if I trust him THAT much, but as long as you and the princesses are ok with it. Now, because of the way you sound Fluttershy, it seems not everypony trusts him, right?”
“Sadly not, but I’m sure pretty after he catches this villain, everypony will finally see how lovely and good of a friend he can be!”
“Probably. And, why were you worried about me?”
“Because many ponies have been attacked by this enemy already”
“Well, you don’t need to worry that much. Babe, you know very well I can defend myself!”
“I know that but I’m your marefriend, one of my jobs is to always be worried about you”
They smiled and hugged each other very tightly. Fluttershy, remembered something important:
“Oh my! I almost forgot, Twilight told us to warn everypony to go hide inside their homes, sorry Alex but I need to go now. I almost forgot I had to warn everypony else; you don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Alex hugged her again “I know you will, now go!”
Fluttershy left her house to meet with the rest at Ponyville, leaving Alex alone again. He decided to eat something “Well, I guess we’ll have to watch another movie guys!”
After several hours, Fluttershy wasn’t back yet. Alex knew this was normal during this kind of emergencies because everypony would be doing something to help the princesses. However, he was feeling uneasy; he remembered having a bad feeling the other day, after thinking about it for several minutes, he finally decided to go out and check the town, he put on his metapendant and went left the cottage.
The road to Ponyville was really nice but the more he walked, the more he knew something was wrong. He trotted a little more but noticed how the place was completely silent. All of the inhabitants were hiding in their homes “Maybe I should do the same. I am pretty sure the girls don’t need to going around the place looking for strange things...” He was about to turn around when he had a bad feeling, as if somepony important to him was in trouble.
“What the. . . what was that? . . . Fluttershy!”
Alex trotted faster towards his destination, when he finally reached Ponyville’s entrance, he saw something shocking: trapped inside a cage, the Mane 6, Spike and Fluttershy, Discord was trying to open the cage from the outside.
“Why isn’t Discord using his magic?” Alex asked himself.
It seemed as if Discord was saying something to the rest inside the cage. Alex walked his way to the cage, carefully going around the bushes; making sure he wasn’t spotted by the ones who had trapped his friends. When he was close enough, he heard Discord speaking to the group:
“I’m sorry. . . I’m so sorry, I was a fool! I don’t know what else to say, I’m so so sorry everypony...”
Alex got nearer, he could swear there were some genuine tears in Discord’s eyes, that was really weird; something was definitely wrong, Alex noticed nopony was even paying attention to Discord, everypony including Fluttershy.
“Well. . . this is not exactly the reunion I had in mind but...”
Alex left his hideout, took off his pendant and started walking towards the cage.
------------------
“I know I screwed it and I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I will get you out of this!”
Discord was trying to open the cage with all his strength but it was tightly shut. After all, it was created with his own chaos magic. But now, his own was had been stolen.
“Give it up Discord! – Rainbow Dash said – Tirek not only got all of our magic, he also took our energy, you just don’t have the strength to open this cage”
“I. . .I will do it! you’ll see, it’s the least I can do!”
“Just stop it Discord! get out of here now while you can! you think this will change something? You betrayed us!”
Discord felt his heart being stabbed but didn’t stop trying to open the cage.
“I. . .I know and I’m sorry but please, at least let me do this!”
“Please Discord, just leave!”
Suddenly, everypony inside the case looked surprised. Discord stopped “What? Do I have something on my face?” But he noticed they were not looking at him, they were actually looking past him.
“. . . Alex?” Spike asked.
“Alex? What are you talking about little dragon, that human? He is not here”
“Are you sure about that dude?” A voice asked from behind Discord. He slowly turned around and saw him. There he was, the human, the very same who had broken Fluttershy’s heart, it wasn’t a secret since the day he saw Fluttershy crying in her bed whispering his name and asking herself what she did wrong, he disliked him with all of his heart.
Discord narrowed his eyes and walked towards the human, Alex didn’t slow down, he kept walking.
“What do you wan. . . .”
The Draconequus was interrupted by a hard punch on his muzzle. He landed on the ground, hissing in pain, he looked at the human, shocked.
“I heard everything! I will deal with you later! Now I have some friends to help!”
Discord was bleeding, Alex didn’t hold back at all with that hit.
Alex reached the cage and inspected it, it seemed it was magically locked, nopony inside it said anything. After he finished checking the cage, he looked around it and found what he needed.
“Fluttershy, Thank God you are ok!” - he said.
Fluttershy reached for the edge of the cage and extended his hooves trying to her human, he grabbed her and kissed her in her forehead.
“Alex, you are here, I knew you’d come!”
“Of course I would, don’t worry I will get you out of here in no time!”
“I know you will...”
Everypony was looking at the scene. They were all in shock; why was Fluttershy talking with Alex like that? Wasn’t she crying for him a couple of days ago? It was like she already knew he was in Equestria. Alex and Fluttershy noticed it, he said:
“Hi everypony, I know there are many things we all need to say and I promise we will have time for that but first things first, please, get to the other side of the cage!”
Everypony nodded and did as he said.
Alex put on his metapendant again, once he became a unicorn. His horn started glowing, then two spectral katanas materialized to his sides, Alex swung them cut the bars in pieces.
Once they were free, Fluttershy ran to her boyfriend. He hugged her tightly and soon everypony else was doing the same. Rarity gave him a kiss on his cheek. He didn’t know what so say, he was still someone who ran away after all.
“Hi. . .everypony! Look I know...” He was silenced by Rarity’s hoof covering his mouth, she shook her head and said:
“No need for that darling. I mean, my brother! You are here and that’s all that matters.”
Alex smiled, Rainbow and Applejack hugged him again. Rainbow Dash got close to them and whispered into Alex’s ear:
“Just be grateful I’m not at my peak right now, once I recover, you can expect a good bucking in your stomach!”
“That goes for me as well partner, sorry but you know we have to do it” - Applejack said.
Alex looked at them “I missed you too Dashie and AJ” he replied.
Most of his friends let go of him, most of them but Pinkie Pie “Hey there Pinkie, you can let me go now…”
“No!”
“What?. . .why?”
“I’m . . . I’m afraid”
“Afraid?”
“I’m afraid the moment I let you go, .you will banish again, just like you did before, you will leave again and I will never see you! I don’t want that, please. . .don’t disappear again, it has happened twice now. I would not stand for a third one!”
Pinkie raised her head to look at his eyes directly, Alex looked at her eyes and noticed how they were full of tears and sadness, there was also a hint of happiness, but most of all they showed worriness. She meant every word she just said, Alex felt like the worst piece of crap in the entire universe, he had never realized how much pain he caused her.
He hugged her like he never did and said:
“I promise you I will never leave you again Pinkie. I’m here to stay with you, with everypony!”
Pinkie’s eyes widened – “Really?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye”
A huge smile showed up on her face “And remember, you can’t break a Pinkie Promise...”
“EVER!” - he finished the sentence.
Alex turned his head and saw Spike standing near him. He got near the dragon but his words failed him. Much to his surprise, Spike only extended his claw for a shake.
“Why did you take so long?”
Alex smiled and extended his hand. He knew exactly what to say:
“Kept you waiting uh?”
They hugged each other strongly. Alex felt some tears falling on his shoulder but didn’t say a word. He knew words weren’t necessary.
---------------------------------
Alex put on his Metapendant and the whole group went to SugarCube corner; he took Discord with them using his magic. Once they were there, he was tied up with a rope. Nopony said anything but Fluttershy “Are. . . are you sure this is absolutely necessary Alex?”
“After what he did, he should be grateful I’m not as mad at him as I was with Bright Courage!”
“But. . .he apologized and well, he seemed pretty honest to me...”
“He did that just because he lost his magic. Sorry Shy, but at least for now, having him tied up seems fine by me, I can’t take any risks with him.”
“Aren’t you taking things too far?” - Fluttershy asked.
“I’m just being cautious Shy, I promise we will deal with issue the best possible way, but I need you to trust me now.”
“ok” Fluttershy replied, she decided to trust him with all of her heart. Discord didn’t say anything, he didn’t even refuse to get tied up. Closing his eyes he lowered his head and took a deep breath while the group started telling Alex everything he needed to know.
---------
Far from them, an evil Centaur was looking for a specific Alicorn. He was ready to steal all of her Alicorn magic, FOREVER.
Alex listened to the explanation about everything that happened with Tirek, even though all of them were worried about Equestria’s fate, it was obvious that their main concern was Twilight. All of them assumed Tirek was looking for her simply because she was an Alicorn and of course he wanted to steal all of her magic.
Once they were done explaining how they ended up trapped in the cage and got their magic stolen, Alex felt an urge to beat Discord. Trying not to do it, he approached him.
“I hope you are happy traitor!”
Discord didn’t say anything. Narrowing his eyes he turned his head away.
“I guess you are not. Anyways, enjoy your last day in Equestria. Because once we solve this I will ask Celestia to send you into exile forever!”
Everypony was really surprised of hearing Alex talking like this, but none of them dare say anything. Fluttershy knew very deep in her heart that Discord could face a severe punishment for what he did. Exilement could be one of them, it was either that, being turned into stone again or even death. But it was better not think about it.
After trying a couple of times Alex finally gave up. It was obvious Discords was not going to say anything. Alex turned around and started to walk away. But suddenly...
“What gives you the right?”
Alex stopped. He clenched his fist and slowly turned his head.
“What did you say?”
Discord eyes were so full of hate. It was easy to tell he would kill Alex if he could.
“What gives you the right to judge me?”
Alex grabbed his own chin. He seemed to be thinking deeply before giving an answer.
“Mmmm, what gives me the right? Let see… First of all, you betrayed the Princess and helped a crazy Centaur literally steal everypony’s magic in all of Equestria and then, you betrayed your only friend; who, in case you forgot, IS MY MAREFRIEND!”
Discord closed his eyes and started to laugh.
“Your mare friend? Hahahahahahahaha! Excuse me for forgetting it. I guess I just forgot after seeing her cry every night asking me what she did wrong that caused you to leave her.”
Alex wasn’t prepared for that. Discord didn’t stopped there, the “dagger” had to go deeper.
“And let’s all not forget what an amazing friend and lover you are. So amazing, you decided to abandon everypony who cares for you without even minding how heartbroken would your friends be, oh yeah! I am totally sure the princesses will award you for such amazing feats!”
“Discord! That’s enough!” Fluttershy said. She stood next to Alex, grabbing his hand with her wing.
Discord noticed how she grabbed Alex’s hand “Why are you doing that? Did you just forget about all the tears that you…”
“STOP!” Fluttershy shouted “We are back together and we’ll keep it that way!”
Discord was about to say something else but Alex stopped him:
“You are right Discord, I know there is so much I need to do to make up for all the things I did to my friends; I know I abandoned them, I know I hurt them and the fact they forgave me so quickly makes me feel happy but it also makes me feel even worse for all the wrong I did. I made mistakes, horrible ones, but I tell you this, I will set things right; I will make Fluttershy be the most happy mare in this World and I will be the best friend I can be for all of them. I will atone for my sins, because I know I ran away, but at least I don’t have to live the rest of my life knowing that I betrayed them! Knowing that I’m the reason Equestria may fall to an enemy, and worst of all, knowing I betrayed my best friend for a beast who only used me because I was so stupid and blind to fall for his lies!”
Everypony was so shocked. Even though it seemed Alex was going a little too far, they knew he was right. It seemed that Discord’s betrayal would be something really difficult to forget.
Alex didn’t want to talk to Discord anymore so he turned around and walked away. Fluttershy noticed this and got in his way.
“Alex? What do you think you are doing?”
“What do you think baby? We need to...” He kept walking towards the exit but Fluttershy pushed him a little.
“You are not thinking about facing this Tirek, are you?” Spiked asked from a distance.
“What? No! unless it is totally necessary. We need to find Twilight first, and once we are all together, we can think of a plan to stop him!”
“But that monster is still out there darling, what if he sees you? He will try to steal your magic too! Please don’t go out”
Everypony seemed to agree with Fluttershy. They didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
“Listen - Alex said - I am confident in the fact that Twilight can defend herself, but I just can’t stay here knowing she is out there and that this monster roaming around.”
“At least let us go with you partner!” Applejack replied.
“Sorry AJ but your magic has just been stolen and it’s obvious you are pretty tired. All of you should rest before you try anything.”
“That’s not true!” Applejack shouted, she tried to argue but Alex proved his point by gently pushing her with his hand, Applejack fell on the floor. She was barely able to stand up. It was no secret that Applejack was the strongest of the group, yet, she was so weak and defenseless right now.
Alex turned around wanting to get outside but Fluttershy was still standing in his way.
“I’ll be fine, I promise!”
Fluttershy’s answer was a crushing hug “Please, come back to me.”
Alex seemed very surprised after hearing this “Are you not trying to stop me or coming with me anymore?”
“I know I will only be a burden if I come with you - she answered - I also know I can’t stop you from doing this. As I told you before, we are a team and I choose to trust you.”
Alex was amazed at her words. He didn’t want to let go of her. He wanted to remain in her arms forever, he was so in love with her. This was a force impossible to resist but he knew he had to go. He let go of her and walked towards the exit. Before leaving, he turned around and saw all of his loved friends; all of them looked so worried and they were unable to hide it. He looked at them and said:
“This time, I will not disappear, I’ll be back with Twilight, I promise you all with all of my heart!”
Everypony nodded, Alex smiled and put on his Meta Pendant, leaving the place.
-----
Alex was wandering around Ponyville. As before, Ponyville was a now ghost town; every house was closed but he knew some inhabitants were still in their houses as he felt their eyes looking at him.
It was a fact all of them were afraid. Considering there was a crazy monster looking to steal all of their magic, it was understandable. He wandered around for a couple of hours but Twilight was nowhere to be found.
“Where could she be? - he asked himself - maybe in the Two sisters Castle’s library? Well, that is a little far away so I better start my way there”
Alex started trotting. He didn’t want to go to fast because he wanted to save some energy, just in case he needed it. Just in case...
-------
Alex was still on his way to the castle “I really hope she is in there. Otherwise, how am I going to find her in this huge world? It’s not like she would appear in front of me out of nowhe…”
A bright light blinded him but he was quick enough to move out of its way. Twilight appeared right in the middle of this shining light “Twilight! Is that really you?” Alex asked.
She had her eyes closed and it seemed she was dizzy “This is too much magic, I can’t control this crazy teleportations!” She said, clearly irritated.
It seemed as if she hasn’t listened to him so he got closer to her:
“Twilight?”
The Alicorn opened her eyes after hearing Alex’s familiar voice. She turned around and saw his friend, not in his human form but looking like a charming pony.
“Alex?”
“Yes Twilight, it’s me, how did you...”
He wanted to ask a couple of questions but he was immediately interrupted by a hug from his alicorn friend, she was so strong he felt his ribs were almost broken.
“Oh it’s you Alex! It’s you! It’s so good to see you again!”
“I’m glad to see you too Twilight but. . .god please! If you keep hugging me like this you’ll break me in half!”
Twilight remembered her strength was magically enhanced and immediately let go of him “Oh sorry! … Hey! Don’t forget why I should be mad at you right now!” She replied. She seemed a little furious.
“I do Twilight, and I’m sorry. I promise we will discuss this matter later, but for now, I must bring you with me back to Sugarcube Corner, all our friends are waiting for us there!”
“Really? - she asked - Are they ok?”
“I will not lie to you Twilight, their magic was stolen but they seem to be fine. Do you think you can teleport us there?”
“I can’t, it would be dangerous for you if I do!”
“Why? As far as I know, you are an expert with this teleportation things.”
“Well, under normal circumstances I am, but right now… you see...” - Twilight told Alex about how the three Princesses gave all of their magic to her in order to protect it from being stolen by Tirek and how she was having trouble controlling this great amount of power. Alex understood the situation and felt a little bad for her, it was a great responsibility to lay on a little pony like her. Celestia had so much trust on her. Alex also explained Twilight how he rescued their friends and had Discord tied up. Twilight didn’t say anything about it, she was still hurt about his betrayal but deep inside wanted to believe he was truly sorry for his actions.
“I see - Alex said - so how about we trot there instead?”
“I like that idea, let’s go” She answered.
Alex smiled, but before they could start their way back to Sugarcube, they heard a powerful voice screaming her name:
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT!”
They heard the evil Centaur screaming in the distance. It was weird, Tirek wasn’t suppose to know about her existence as an Alicorn.
“It seems you have an admirer Twilight, how about we ignore him for now and try to get to Ponyville in one piece?”
“Another good idea Alex!” Twilight answered, trying to ignore the fact that a crazy beast was looking for her.
They were doing an excellent job in hiding from Tirek while on their way to Ponyville. Unfortunately for them, he had reached their destination too. He was right in the entrance to Ponyville furiously charging his horns with magic. Alex was speechless, Tirek was indeed a huge monster, red skin with black fur covering his four legs, his black eyes and white beard made him look more frightening.
He noticed he looked a lot like the Tirek he remembered from the movies. He had kept a lot of his appearance but seeing him in real life made him look more evil and a lot stronger.
The powerful Centaur opened his mouth again and shouted:
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT, IF YOU DON’T APPEAR BEFORE ME WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES! YOU CAN KISS PONYVILLE GOODBYE, DID YOU HEAR ME?!”
Twilight closed her eyes and gasped: “Coward...”
She turned to Alex and smiled. What she was about to say was pretty obvious.
“I have to go Alex, otherwise he will destroy Ponyville and our friends!”
“I know Twilight, let’s go!”
The look in Twilight’s eyes was pretty clear too “I’ll go alone Alex...”
“What?” He asked. He couldn’t let her do that.
“Alex - she said - he has stolen all Equestria’s magic, except the Alicorn and the magic that was given to you by the amulet. I am sure he is insanely strong by now. I don’t even know if I can stop him!”
“That’s more a reason to take me with you Twilight, I know we can do this together!”
“But Alex, I…”
“Twilight! I know we can do this together, trust me!”
“Promise me this Alex, if things get too difficult, you’ll run away.”
Alex smiled.
“You know very well I won’t do that Twilight, we start this together, we end this together!”
Twilight knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. She knew the human was determined. She smiled and nodded, Alex smiled too.
These great friends started running at full speed towards the powerful enemy that was threatening the life of everypony.
Twilight and Alex started running towards Tirek at full speed, even though they had no clear idea about what to do next.
“So Twilight, what is exactly the plan?”
“I. . . I don’t know, maybe we could talk with him and make him stop - she turned her face and looked at Alex’s expression - Ok, ok. He doesn’t look like he would want to talk this through. Do you have any ideas Alex?”
“It’s simple. we have to kick his ass!”
“Simple?! You do remember what I told you, don’t you? He stole almost all of Equestria’s magic! He must be unbelievable strong now. Do you really think we have a chance against him?”
“Well, considering you are like a Super Saiyan 3 Alicorn right now, I believe our chances are not that bad!”
“Super 3 what?” - Twilight asked.
“Forget it! You are a very powerful Alicorn now! - Alex answered - anyway, it is obvious he would wipe the floor with me if I fight him alone. But with your help, I believe we can do this!”
Twilight wasn't really that sure about this but knowing they had no other choice but to fight in order to save Ponyville; Alex’s plan was the best thing they could try. Twilight nodded at Alex. Even though she was a little scared, seeing how determined her friend was, made her feel a little confident.
Alex’s horn started to glow, catching Twilight’s attention. Immediately, his battle gear materialized out of nowhere and was assembling around him magically.
“Alex, I didn’t know you could teleport your gear like this!”
“Yeah, it took me weeks to master this, but it is totally worth it. This is a lot more practical than to carry my stuff around in a saddle bag!”
“You impress me - Twilight replied - I hope you teach me that spell when all this is over, do you realize how cool. . . ”. She was about to finish her sentence but Alex interrupted her:
“Twilight, I honestly believe we have more important things to worry about, don’t you think?”
Twilight blushed - you are right! - she said as they ran faster towards their target.
----------
Tirek was running out of patience. Not even two minutes had passed since he threatened to destroy the town; regardless, he decided to start having some twisted fun. Charging a big blast of magic, he aimed for one specific target.
Twilight and Alex were so close now. They saw him charging his magic blast and almost yelled after they realized his target was the Library!
“I always hated books!” Tirek said before launching a powerful magical blast at it. Twilight, knowing who could be inside, teleported as fast as she could into her home.
“Why did you do that?” Alex shouted. Were those books that important? The answer was revealed just a second before the beam impacted the library. Twilight managed to escape the explosion with her owl friend in her hooves.
“So, that’s why she risked her life. She did it to save him!” Alex said to himself. He felt really happy for her. But his happiness didn’t last long, for the next thing he noticed was the hole where the Library used to be. The Oak Tree was almost burned down, hundreds of book pages were spread around it. It was a horrible view.
Just by looking at the sadness in Twilight’s face after watching her home being destroyed was enough to make him mad. He started running again towards his target.
“Maldito!” he shouted, as he summoned 2 spectral katanas to this side.
--------
Tirek looked at his “work” with pleasure. He saw the Alicorn teleporting away from the Library right before it was blown to pieces. Noticing the sadness in her face made this moment even more delightful for him. He was about to scream at her when suddenly...
“TIREK!”
He heard somepony screaming at him. He turned around and saw to sword like weapons coming towards him, ready cut his face. He barely had time to dodge the attack but it wasn’t enough, one of his horns was cut in half. He screamed in pain as he looked at the culprit. It was a unicorn, weird dressed and armored to the teeth. Using his magic he made his horn grow again.
“It seems cutting off his horns will do nothing. Or does he just heal really fast?” Alex asked himself.
“HOW DARE YOU!? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH YOU FILTHY UNICORN?” Tirek shouted.
“I couldn’t care less you asshole!” Alex replied.
“How will I enjoy draining all of your magic but I believe a good beating is necessary before I do that!”
“Do your best, dumbass!” Alex smirked as he pointed his spectral katanas at him.
Tirek started running towards the unicorn at a very high speed. He clenched his fist, ready to strike the unicorn. It was a little surprising that this unicorn didn’t seem to back off “I guess I’ll just finish him off then” Tirek said. Right before he could hit the unicorn with all of his strength, a powerful magenta colored beam hit him on his side, sending him flying meters away. He regained his balance and turned around “You will pay for what you have done!” he shouted as he saw Twilight charging her horn and flying towards him.
Tirek quickly regained his balance and shot a powerful magic blast at Twilight who casted a shield. However, Tirek’s magic was so powerful, it still sent her flying away. The centaur laughed but immediately noticed some arrows coming his way. He also casted a shield but the arrows pierced through it, burying themselves deep in his arm. He hissed in pain but immediately took them out, then he looked up and saw the unicorn approaching.
“Don’t forget you are also facing me asshole!” Alex said while shooting another arrow using his magic.
Tirek casted another shield but it was pierced too. However, he had time to dodge the projectile this time.
“What? Those points are definitely made of Darkness Stone but how? He is using his magic with no problem. . . How is that possible?”
He didn’t have much time to think, as Alex summoned his katanas again and swung at him; Tirek started to dodge all of his attacks while trying to bind the unicorn with his magic. But he had no success. The unicorn always freed himself pretty quickly.
“Why? Why can’t I bind him for long? It’s like his armor was made of that cursed Darkness Stone too! Damn it! It makes no sense!” Tirek said to himself.
Alex noticed his confusion and smiled. It was good to know he still had a trump card up in his sleeve. Even Alex was surprised after he found his immunity to Darkness Stone.
Knowing nothing was working and that he could not dodge the unicorn attacks forever, Tirek shot a magic blast at Alex. The unicorn jumped away but the explosion caused by the impact of the beam sent him flying away. Tirek took this opportunity to hit him with his fist. Alex barely managed to block the attack with his hooves and a small magical shield he casted around them. But it wasn’t enough, Tirek broke the shield and hit Alex with so much force, it made a small crater on the ground.
Alex coughed and some of his blood poured on the ground “Damn! If I hadn’t cast this spell to protect me, I would be dead just by the sheer strength of this monster!”
Immediately, Tirek charged his magic again “This will teach you some respect, insect!”
Tirek was about to shoot a powerful magical beam at Alex but once again he was interrupted by a magic blast that hit him hard on the chest. He backed off some meters away and saw Princess Twilight shooting more magical blasts at him.
“Nice job Alex, now let me handle this fight!” she shouted.
Alex stood up and nodded. Moving away from the magical attacks.
“Ok… just give me a few seconds.” He said.
Twilight and Tirek began to exchange magical attacks. The powerful spells casted by both adversaries sent shivers down Alex’s spine. Tirek and Twilight kept shooting at each other; it seemed they were equal in power but Tirek was faster, he managed to grab Twilight using his magic and started draining hers, but suddenly he heard the unicorn shouting:
“Proud Hamer Avalanche!”
Tirek saw a huge green hammer coming down on him. There was too late to escape the impact so he just closed his eyes. The hammer hit him so hard, it sent him flying away.
“How do you like that Asshole?” Alex screamed.
Twilight stood up. She was amazed at the amount of magic and the powerful attacks Alex was able to cast. The unicorn wasn’t done, he shouted as his horn started to glow again brighter than before.
Tirek was barely standing up when he saw a giant green fist coming his way. All he could do was look at the unicorn who casted this spell. The unicorn looked so angry. The giant green fist impacted him with full force. The centaur didn’t have time to think, a powerful magenta beam hit him on his side, and then another giant green fist hit him on the other.
Twilight and Alex were fighting like one. Their attacks were doing what they needed to do: Keep him down. Even though most of the real damage was being done by Twilight.
“We are so kicking his ass Twilight!” Alex said.
“Yes we are my friend! Now, let’s finish this!” She agreed.
However, a red bubble surrounded their enemy. “WAIT!” Trek shouted; Twilight and Alex stopped attacking, it seemed Tirek was giving up.
“You. . .You can’t beat me!”
“I’m sorry to differ with you but, yes we can and we will! You can’t keep that barrier forever and when it is gone, you will fall down!” Alex shouted.
Tirek knew they were right. If he was fighting the alicorn alone, it would not be much of a problem; but this unicorn was turning the tables against him. Not that he was very powerful compared to other unicorns but he was strong enough to give the alicorn a good advantage. Gladly for him, he had a trick up his sleeve.
Tirek dissipated the red force field but before Alex and Twilight could continue their assault, he summoned seven bubbles above him. The duo stopped their attacks after noticing who were inside the bubbles: the Mane 6, Spike and Discord.
“What? But... but how? I rescued them!” Alex said.
“Hahahaha! I don’t know what you think you did but let me tell you this, I knew these ponies and dragon were important to the Princess. For this reason, when I stole their magic I made sure I could summon them whenever I wanted to. Just in case, I did the same with Discord even though he doesn’t seem as important to you as the others. What do you say, do you want to make a deal?”
Twilight was so angry. Alex stepped forward and said:
“What kind of deal?”
“Your friends in exchange of all Equestrian Alicorn magic!”
Their friends started to yell from inside the bubbles, telling Alex and Twilight not to agree to this nonsense.
“Please Twilight, don’t do it. It’s not worth it!” They all said.
Fluttershy was screaming too, she wasn’t worried about her own safety. She was worried about Alex, she was thinking about what Tirek would do to Alex if he managed to get all of their magic. Much to her surprise, Discord spoke to her:
“You are worth of this deal Fluttershy. You were the one who taught me that Friendship is magic! I had this friendship and magic… now I have nothing.” He turned his face away covering it with his claws.
“Answer me now!” Tirek demanded.
Alex made up his mind. It was now or never.
“We have made up our mind Tirek…
...DIE!”
Alex summoned his spectral katanas and in a burst of rage and magic he threw them straight to Tirek’s face.
“Alex no!”
A feminine voice screamed, making Alex’s katanas stop at a few inches from Tirek. But the centaur wasn’t done, as soon as the katanas stopped, he hit them with his fist, shattering them to pieces.
Alex looked up, he immediately recognized the voice.
“Fluttershy... why? I was so close, why did you stop me?”
“I am sorry Alex but please, don’t kill him. I know you are better than that!” she said while sharing some tears.
Alex looked at her and then at his friends, all of them were really shocked after realizing what he was about to do. Alex would have stabbed Tirek right on his face if it wasn’t for Fluttershy. It was very clear now, he was about to take someone else’s life… again. He felt ashamed of himself.
“I’m sorry guys. Thank you for stopping me Fluttershy. I am not a monster...”
Tirek started laughing, this whole thing seemed ridiculous to him. Even though he was having some “fun” while looking at these creatures, he was getting impatient:
“Enough of this bullshit! The magic… NOW!”
Even though their friends kept asking them not to do it, it was all decided now. A warm feeling invaded all of Twilight’s heart:
“Ok... I will give you the all of the alicorn magic in exchange for all of my friends!”
Tirek released them but kept Discord imprisoned. Twilight noticed it and demanded him to release Discord too.
“Thanks Twilight - Discord said - I am sorry for this Fluttershy…”
“I know.” She replied.
Alex started to believe Discord may have regretted his actions, he didn’t have much time to say anything to him for a second later, Tirek started to steal all of Twilight’s magic. When he was done, Twilight’s cutie mark disappeared and her eyes lost all shine, just like the rest of her friends. Tirek on the other hand, grew stronger than before.
“What the hell are we going to do now?” Alex wondered.
“FINALLY! I FINALLY DID IT! ALL OF EQUESTRIA MAGIC IS MINE!”
Tirek looked at Alex “Well... almost all of it. But soon it will!”
“Hey! You promised you would leave my friend alone in exchange for the alicorn magic!” Twilight shouted.
Tirek started walking towards Alex “This unicorn was no part of the deal princess…”. Twilight and the rest were horrified as they saw Tirek charging his magic, ready to shoot at him. This was it, what could they do to help their friend? Right before the impact, everypony started feeling weird. Suddenly, they were in the Everfree Forest.
“How did this happen?” Spike asked but only Twilight knew exactly what had happened: she turned to Alex who was lying on the ground. He seemed to be in pain, they noticed sparks coming out of his horn. Fluttershy ran towards him and picked him up.
Alex opened his eyes “I... I never thought teleporting a whole group would hurt this bad” he said.
“Alex you teleported all of us? - Fluttershy asked - are you ok?”
“No I am not…”
“Is he going to be ok Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes never stopped looking at her coltfriend.
“Yes he will be fine but he must be really exhausted. Even I would be feeling very tired after teleporting all of us here. Alex, I must say you never cease to impress me!”
“Arrrghhh… Thanks Twilight, I felt like I was hit by a truc… a centaur…”
Twilight smiled and nodded, it was good to see her friend safe. however, she didn’t have any magic left; what were they going to do? What was that thing she felt in her heart before rescuing her friends? She was distracted when Discord spoke to her.
“Thanks for saving me too Twilight! I know I don’t deserve it; I can’t believe I was fool enough to think there was something more important than friendship, but there is no such thing. Nothing is more important! Tirek gave me this medallion as a proof of friendship but he was lying. Now I want to give it to you as a symbol of our friendship. I want you to be sure that this time, the friendship I am giving you is no lie.”
Discord put the medallion on Twilight’s neck. Alex noticed how Twilight’s eyes were shining like a rainbow, he thought he was hallucinating out of exhaustion.
“Do you think this is the last one we need?” Applejack said. Alex didn’t know what she meant by that.
“There is only one way to find out, girls! Let’s go to the Tree” Fluttershy picked Alex up and put him on her barrel “Come my love, I will carry you. Now is my turn to protect you…”
Fluttershy started to walk but it was obvious she was having troubles carrying Alex. She was very exhausted after losing all of her pegasus magic. Surprisingly, Discord picked up Alex and put him on his back “This is the least I can do - He said - I’m really sorry for everything I did.”
Everypony started their way to the Tree of Harmony.
“Thank… you…” Alex whispered. Discord heard him and stopped for a moment “Uh? Are you talking to me?” He asked.
“Please… don’t… make me repeat it!”
“I won’t - Discord replied - I know you still don’t believe me but I’m really sorry!”
Alex didn’t say anything, Discord didn’t want to bother him so he reassumed his way.
“I believe you… but don’t misunderstand me, I’m still mad at you!”
Discord smiled.
-----
Still hiding from a monstrous centaur, who was destroying everything just for his own pleasure, the group managed to get to their destination. Alex was marveled when he saw the Tree and all the elements in it; he also noticed a little crystal box with six keyholes. Five of them had a key inside, but the sixth one was nowhere to be found. However, Twilight got near the chest, and after touching it with the medallion she got from Discord, it transformed into the sixth key.
The mane six turned their keys at the same time and the box opened; a rainbow light came out and surrounded them. Alex, Spike and Discord saw how their friends were all transforming; all of them looked amazing! Their manes and tails grew larger and had different colored stripes that matched their natural color, their hooves were now showing their cutie marks as if they were imprinted. Rainbow and Fluttershy had their wings glowing with rainbow colors too.
They had to admit it, all of the Mane 6 looked amazing and powerful, Alex couldn’t help his heart from beating so fast after at looking at Fluttershy in her new form; she had done the impossible, becoming even more beautiful! Somehow, he knew everything was going to be alright now.
The six ponies flew out of the cave in order to face Tirek. The centaur saw them approaching and tried to fight back without any success. The Mane 6 shot Tirek with six colored beams , draining all of his magic. Tirek started to shrink until he was nothing more than a weak and skeletal centaur, any old pony would look stronger than him now. Finally, they opened a portal to some kind of prison and sent him there forever. It was all over!
Alex, Discord and Spike witnessed everything from a distance, cheering at their heroes.
Alex, Spike and Discord were celebrating their friends victory over Tirek. They were discussing about how the girls had defeated one of the biggest threats to Equestria in a long time. Right after defeating Tirek, the girls flew all over Equestria, each one of them in a different direction; it seemed that by doing this, they were restoring all of the magic that was taken away from everypony.
“It seems everypony is getting their magic back, I bet it’s the girls” Alex said.
“You are absolutely right Alex” Discord replied.
“... By the way” Alex, sounded a little reluctant “Thank you for bringing me here…”
Discord looked down and didn’t say a word.
After some minutes the girls returned; Alex, Discord and Spike started to feel physically better. Their magic had returned. Alex was picked from Discord’s back by no other than Fluttershy using her magic.
She brought her boyfriend to her and when he was close enough, she kissed him.
“Fluttershy - Alex said - I didn’t know you could be this… aggressive while kissing”
“There are many things you don’t know about me Alex; but don’t worry, we have a whole life for you to learn about them!” They laughed and started kissing each other again.
---
On their way back to Ponyville, they saw something odd, the crystal box that had awakened their new powers was floating towards Ponyville, looking like it had a mind of its own. It landed on a plain area and buried itself deep into the ground. What happened afterwards was even stranger, a huge crystal castle started to emerge from the ground, it had Twilight’s cutie mark on the top.
The group flew towards the castle. They landed in front of it, admiring its beauty. Suddenly, and to everypony’s surprise, the girls started to revert back to their normal appearance.
Alex, got behind the girls and started glowing his horn without anypony noticing.
- - - - - -
“Oh sweet Celestia! Are you all seeing what I’m seeing” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, but whose is it anyway?” Twilight wondered.
“I believe it is yours Princess Twilight” a motherly voice came from behind them, everypony turned around and was glad to see that the three Alicorn princesses were safe. It was a kind reunion but after a short while, all of them noticed somepony was missing.
“Hey! Where is he?” Rarity asked a little panicked.
“Where is who?” Luna asked.
“Ali! Where are you Ali?” Pinkie Pie screamed.
“Ali?” Luna asked “Who is Al. . . you. . .you don’t mean?”
“Yes Princess Luna, we are talking about Alex! He was here a minute ago!”
The three Princesses gasped, everypony started looking around for him. Without them noticing, Alex had transported himself away into some nearby bushes, even though his friends helped him, the truth was that he was still a little weak, he decided to wait for the right moment to run away.
“I am sorry for doing this, but I just can’t face them right now” He said to himself.
Alex closed his eyes for a couple of seconds until a voice shouted:
“Ali! You said you were here to stay! YOU PINKIE PROMISED!”
Alex opened his eyes and looked at his friends, he noticed how Pinkie Pie was again in tears, that sight was enough to break anybody's heart.
Alex didn’t know what to do, he was really scared of facing the princesses.
“You know what to do...” Alex heard someone whispering in his ear. He smiled “Yeah. . . I guess I know, thanks Angela”
Alex glowed his horn again as he disappeared from the bushes he was hidden in.
-----
“How could you, how could you break a Pinkie Promise?” Pinkie continued repeating this while crying on the ground. However, someone started stroking her mane.
“Do you really think I would break a Pinkie Promise?”
She raised her head and saw the one consoling her “Ali!”
“Well, unless you know another good looking human named Ali around here!”
Everypony was so happy to see him again, a group hug was inevitable.
“Oh sugarcube, we thought yah maybe escaped again!”
“Yeah! don’t you dare do that to us like that again, do you hear me?” Rainbow dash said while trying to hold her tears.
“Sorry girls; to be honest, I was really going to escape again. I’m really scared to face the princesses. But a Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise.”
Princess Celestia and Cadence approached the group. Alex looked at them coming at him; he was really scared. What were they going to say to him? When the princesses were in front of him, he immediately started to speak:
“Hi Princess Celestia, Cadence, It’s been a whi...”
He was unable to finish his sentence. Both princesses hugged him “You don’t need to say anything - Cadence said - welcome home my dear friend!”
“Thank you so much, it feels really good to be home” Alex answered while he tightened his arms around them.
“You really took some time off, didn’t you - Princess Celestia said - but I’m really glad you are back!”
“I know - Alex replied - but there were some things I needed to do before I came back…”
“No need to explain my friend - Cadence said - but I believe there is somepony you need to see immediately, don’t you think?”
Alex knew exactly who it was; he noticed Luna, who was standing behind Celestia. She was just looking at him. When their eyes met, Alex noticed the look in her eyes was from someone that was really upset.
“Wow, is she that angry with me?” - He asked.
“Well - Cadence replied - she surely is a little angry, but I think it’s something else, go talk to her Alex; she needs it”
Alex hoped for the best and started walking towards her. When he was close enough, he extended and touched her mane.
“It’s been a while Luna… How are you?”
There was no reply. Lune didn’t say anything; she wasn’t even looking at him.
“You look good, you mane is beautiful as always…” Luna was still looking away. Alex let go off her mane “Ok…” he said before extending his arms and hugging Luna.
“I’m sorry Luna, I’m sorry for leaving you, for leaving everypony, I’m sorry for being a horrible friend and hurting you!”
Luna heard him loud and clear. Even though the thoughts in her head were telling her to beat Alex to a pulp for all of the suffering he had caused them with his disappearance, it was her heart who took control of her. She looked at him and hugged him too. Alex felt her tear falling on his shoulder, but didn’t say a single word.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you hear me? Or swear I will hunt you in your dreams forever!”
After they reconciled, the whole group went into the new castle. Everything inside it was very beautiful and Twilight’s cutie mark was all over the place. It was inside this castle that Twilight understood what her role as a princess was, the Princess of Friendship, her duty: bring the power of friendship to every creature in all of Equestria.
Twilight started telling the princesses how they defeated Tirek, the fight, the magical chest, their magical beam, etc. Celestia smiled and turned to Alex:
“Thank you Alex, thank you for helping us protect the inhabitants of Equestria!”
“No problem Prin. . .”
“Call me Celestia. That is fine, and you know it” She smiled at Alex which nodded.
Suddenly, they heard several ponies coming to the castle. They surely were all of Ponyville’s citizens. As the group was coming out of the castle to greet the citizens, Alex was about to put on his metapendant but was stopped by Fluttershy who shooked her head while smiling at him. He smiled and nodded, grabbing her wing; the couple walked outside next to the group.
Outside the castle, all ponyville citizens were reunited; when everypony came out, they immediately bowed to their rulers and the second later started to cheer for the heroes: all of the mane 6 waived their hooves, Rainbow couldn’t help to fly and pose for the photos from the ponyville reporters. Alex was a little nervous before reaching the group outside.
When they finally were in front of the citizens, the cheers stopped. All of them started to look at Alex, he couldn’t help to feel cold sweat coming down his head. What would Ponyville think about him? Did Bright Courage manage to poison their judgment with his words? Were they going to start a mob and expel him from this place? He knew the princesses and his friends would not let that happen but still, he wasn’t sure if his heart would endure this kind of rejection.
They kept looking at him for several seconds which felt like forever. Finally, a little filly who stepped out from the crowd started to trot towards Alex; a very well known filly: Sweetie Belle.
Alex was scared, he knew how much he had disappointed her after he abandoned everypony. Maybe she was here to tell him how horrible he was. When Sweetie Belle was in front of him, Alex kneeled down, using all of the strength he could gather, he spoke to her:
“Hey Sweetie Belle, how have you been?” ...
Alex noticed she still didn’t have a cutie mark - Still looking for your cutie mark I believe? - He felt so stupid after saying this. He remember how important this was to her.
“Well… All I can say is that I am really sorry about everything i did… it’s good to see you little pony. Please take care of yourself…” Since there wasn’t any response from her, Alex knew the best thing to do was to go back to the group. He stood up and started walking back to where Fluttershy was.
Sweetie Belle looked at Alex walking away from her; her heart started to ache, she knew she had to act quick, but even though she wanted to say something, it seemed like her voice had left her. She believed she had no right say a word, she turned her back to her brother on that tournament. She wasn’t there to support him when he faced that mad Minotaur, how could she make it up for that? Every second Alex was getting far and far away from her; but she didn’t want that, right after tears started running down her cheeks, she found her voice.
“Brother” - she said, almost whispering.
Alex stopped and turned around immediately.
“What… what did you say?”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t help it anymore and ran towards him and started to scream:
Alex felt these words like knives cutting deep in his heart.
“Sweetie Belle, aren’t you mad at me?”
“Mad? I’M FURIOUS! But. . .Oh! brother I wanted to see you again so much! Please… Never leave me again and please forgive me for being a bad sister, I don’t care what happened in that tournament. I was and I will always be proud to be called your sister, sorry for what I did, please forgive me! Please don’t go away again!”
Alex couldn’t say anything, he hugged her and started to cry. She felt her brother’s warmth and knew he had forgiven her. No more words were needed to say, they both knew their bond was as good as new, even stronger than before.
The remained like that for a long time. Some of the ponies that were gathered in the place started to cry. They knew how these two felt towards each other. Suddenly, the crowd started to cheer for them, everypony was applauding for this reunion. Alex was speechless. How could they not be mad at him after they saw him killing a Minotaur in the tournament?
Mayor Mane came out of the crowd. He made a signal and everypony became quiet.
“Alex did you really think we would blindly listen to a killing Minotaur instead of trusting our friend and true hero?”
“Well… I… ”
Lyra got close to him:
“Alexis, you need to start having more faith in us. I don’t know what other cities may think about you, but you can be sure that Ponyville is with you until the end.”
Everypony nodded and started to cheer for the human. Even though it seemed impossible to believe, it was real. Alex felt on his knees and cried harder than before. The words he just heard took a lot of weight off of his shoulders.
“Man! It’s really so good to be home” he said to himself. He stood up, and reunited with the group. It was now the time to celebrate Tirek’s defeat.
Deep in a forest between Gryphonia and Equestria, there was mountain that most of the times was surrounded by mist. Not many creatures would dare to visit the place, not because it was scary or anything like that. It was because the visibility wasn’t that good and both terrestrial and flying creatures could get lost in the forest or even crash against the tall trees around it.
Halfway up the mountain, there were several caves that were unexplored because they went deep into the ground. There was one cave in particular that had its entrance covered by the local flora. If anypony was near the place, they could have heard the noises coming from within. A creature wearing white robes lived inside, it seemed that it had been its inhabitant for a long time now.
This creature was holding a device that looked metallic and had a red light shining inside. After pressing a button on its side, a red beam of light hit a rock and it disappeared instantly.
“I can’t believe it! This power is overwhelming! I can’t believe the possibilities this energy gives me. But even though its power is immense, it won’t match theirs! - it said - these beings can move celestial bodies with their power! Well, I know they are no gods or anything like that. As far as I know, they breath, eat and bleed just like I do. But I need to know how is it that they are capable of channeling all this power…”
This creature seemed to be very interested in understanding how the magic of Equestria worked. It had been studying it for a while; starting with the plants, rocks, minerals, but its curiosity wasn’t satisfied until it obtained a living creature. An old pony that was crossing the forest was its first victim.
That day, it was trying to determine if the water from a lake near the mountain was safe to drink, when the noise of a pony trotting around caught its attention. It went back into the woods, using trees and plants to cover itself until it was close enough to listen to the pony whistling a melody “Is this creature sentient?! - it said - I… I can’t let it go!”
It grabbed a stone and jumped towards its prey, hitting him on the head. A single hit was enough to put him out. The creature then grabbed it and dragged it into the cave “I need to know what this is!” it said.
After a couple of weeks, the agonizing pony muttered some words before his last breath.
-What?. . . It's not possible. . . You look like...!
---
Even though several weeks had passed, this thought never left its head. Was there really another one?
It always made sure to go unnoticed when it traveled. It was very careful with anything it did, maybe the old pony was just crazy or the blood loss was making him imagine things. Maybe the pony had confused it with a Minotaur or something like that.
“Damn it! my head hurts! Maybe it’s time for me to return and get some more resources. I also have to take more samples - it said - How long has it been since I went back? One year?. . . No! It’s being two years, two months and six days. Wow! Time flies when you do the things you love!”
Gathering everything needed, it was preparing for a long travel to a known destination. It was a long way back to the place where it arrived. After leaving the cave, it said some unintelligible words and almost instantly, two manticores landed to its side. Normally, any creature would be scared to death after seeing a manticore straight to its eyes. But this wasn’t the case. The manticores looked really calmed, almost as if they were trained.
“You two, make sure no creature comes near my cave - it said aloud- kill anybody who does!” - The two powerful beings roared in agreement and then flew away.
It was surely a long travel, but it knew there was no other way to go back where it belonged. While on its way, memories of the first time it arrived came to its mind. The first time it set foot on this land, everything looked menacing, some creatures that resembled wolves tried to kill it. It was almost a miracle how it managed to survive, but all of these things made it stronger and more knowledgeable of the place and how to handle such beasts and other dangers. Including the manticores that now were nothing more than mere slaves.
But now, it had reached its destination. There was a big tree standing in front of it.
“A simple tree, who would say that a tree would be the gate to this realm! Sometimes I wonder if it was either destiny or simply... No! I am pretty sure this wasn’t any luck, I was chosen to come here! Screw those idiots back home. This is my place now! It is all mine! All I need to do is to obtain more power, until I manage to defeat these beasts!”
Suddenly, there was a noise nearby “Those damn wolves! But I know how to handle them now. I’ll just kill them for fun!” - It said while running towards the source of the noise. But when it found where the sound was coming from, it smirked.
“It is not what I was expecting, but I’ll still catch it! - its eyes were looking at the small creature trotting nearby - I’ll take it with me!”
Right before catching its prey, another noise came from behind the little pony. Two timberwolves jumped out of nowhere and attacked it; even though the little pony tried to fight back, he was no match for these beasts. The timberwolves did what they did best: kill.
However, right before the fatal blow, the timberwolves were distracted by a figure coming out of the woods. They growled and jumped towards their new prey. Only to find a quick death.
“Stupid beasts, at least I managed to get their cores. They are intact, and I know I’ll put them to good use.”
- Thank you…
A voice came from behind.
It turned around and noticed the little pony was still alive. There was nothing it could do to help him. It got near the dying pony and looked at him “You know you will die because of these wounds. It was really stupid of you to come to this place!”
The little pony raised his head. He wanted to see his saviour, but his vision was blurry “I never thought this could happen. But I am glad to know that you came to my aid! Thank you HERO!”
- Believe me, I am no hero!
The poor pony took a deep breath “It is an honor for me to have been saved by the Hero of Canter… Canterlot. Alex the human!”
- WHAT?! What the hell did you say?!
HE stepped back but stopped and fell on his knees. This was something HE never imagined. This dead creature that was lying in front of him used his last breath to say something that almost made him go crazy.
- This… this can’t be!
WHAT THE FUCK IS ANOTHER HUMAN DOING IN MY WORLD?!
I’m so relieved we were able to defeat Tirek. I have to admit that when he stole all of the Princesses and Twilight’s magic, I really doubted there was a way to save the day; but in the end everything turned out alright. It’s pretty interesting how the girls were able to summon their element magic without their jewels. So many questions to be answered, but I’m pretty sure Twilight won't waste any time trying to figure that out.
Day xxx
After the victory celebration, Fluttershy and I took a moment to go to her cottage. We started kissing as soon as we sat on her couch, it was really wonderful, we talked all night long about the things we did while we were apart. It was painful to know about all the times she spent next to the EverFree Forest waiting for my return. I have no problems admitting I felt like a piece of crap. Sometimes I wonder if I deserve having someone as good as her by my side. She always seems to notice when I’m thinking about this and tells me to not feel bad; that I am the only one for her. . . I am a man, but she made me cry like a child when I heard her say this.
Day xxx
Even though Rarity looked sad, she agreed to let me move into Fluttershy’s cottage. It was something we talked about for days and we finally decided it was time to take our relation to a new level, we decided to live together. It was a little harder to convince Sweetie Belle, but after promising to be her babysitter when she had a sleepover with her friends, she agreed with no problems.
Day xxx
Today was a tough day, I was summoned to Canterlot with my friends. The Princesses wanted to reveal my return there; of course I had my doubts, everypony knows the kind of assholes many nobles in Canterlot can be. I visited Proud Hammer’s grave and paid my respects, I thanked him for what he did and promised to honor the change he gave me to continue living. After that, we visited the castle where Luna had a little surprise for me, when we reached the throne room, Luna and her sister revealed a stained glass with images of me and Proud Hammer defeating Bright Courage. When it was time for the conference to take place, just like the first time, a big scenario was built and after a nice and motivating speech from Celestia about friendship and forgiveness, my dear friend Luna introduced me to the ponies. Of course a lot of ponies were booing at me, but many others were also supporting me, like Fancy Pants and his wife, PixelBerry, Joe and many others.
Of course there were nobles telling the princesses that I had to be exiled, to be put in a dungeon, that I was a huge threat, a murderer, etc. It was very difficult to stop Rainbow Dash and Applejack from beating them to a pulp, even my marefriend looked ready to fight but I managed to calm her. Celestia and Luna; using their Canterlot Royal voice, made sure to silence them all, stating that if they or anypony dared to say something like that again, they would end up being exiled instead. After that, Luna gave me a document that released me from any charges pressed against me for the things that happened in the Tournament. I must admit watching those nobles get what they deserved was amazing but this document was beyond incredible.
Day xxx
Today was a really fun day, after many requests from Luna, we finally set all the equipments and a video gaming console in her bedroom. After that, I showed her all the games I brought with me, she loved every one of them. We spent the whole day playing Call of Duty. When we were done playing, I saw her eyes, and I immediately knew it. . . a new gamer was born, probably it would not be a good idea to tell her about online gaming yet.
Day xxx
Ok, I will not get into many details but it was no secret she literally had no experience in it, same as me. So neither of us were willing to take the first step, but what happened tonight, well. It happened, Fluttershy and I were kissing passionately before going to bed like we always do, then I saw her face; those beautiful blue eyes staring at me and then giving me one of the most beautiful smiles ever. Right there, I knew we were both ready. I lost no time putting on my Meta Pendant and did what we wanted to do since a long time ago.
Fluttershy and I finally became one this night! BEST NIGHT EVER!
Day xxx
These past days were awesome, since the first time Fluttershy and I sealed our love, we have never felt so close to each other. We’ve been hanging around a lot, helping her taking care of her animals or having dates regularly. I finally realized that true happiness does exist. Only one thing caught my attention, during one of our dates in Canterlot, while we were walking, Fluttershy stopped regularly to take a look at stores selling baby things, it is almost like she wanted to. . . Nah! It can’t be.
Day xxx
Now I’m sure, I really hoped it was not the case though. I overheard Fluttershy talking with Rainbow Dash about what she would do if she was a mother, I couldn’t believe it,! Fluttershy wanted to start a family! I was angry at myself, I should have felt happy about that; my marefriend loved me and wanted to have foals with me. But I just wasn’t happy about that. Even though I said that the reactions from Canterlot’s inhabitants didn’t have any effect on me, the truth is that they do. I’m afraid, afraid for my marefriend and my friends. I was grateful about how all of them supported me through all of this, but I knew it would bring problems to them as it happened to my sister Rarity. Even though her fashion business is going smoothly, I noticed how her customers list from Canterlot decreased a lot. Pinkie Pie also stopped going there for party requests, I even received a couple of letters demanding from me to leave Equestria immediately. Thanks to Luna and her night guards, we found who the culprit was and we felt a lot safer.
Before talking to Fluttershy about having a family, I asked Twilight to run some tests on me just to know if it was possible for us to have foals. While in my pony form, we visited a doctor what happened to be a good friend of her. much to my surprise, he didn’t find anything wrong with me and according to him it was possible for us to have a family!
Keeping my promise, Fluttershy and I talked about starting a family. We also talked about the things I was scared of. Deep inside I knew I was being ridiculous but after what happened at the Tournament with Proud Hammer and Tirek, I became overprotective with her. What would happen If I’m not here for her or our foals? A lot of questions were clouding my mind. But as always, she managed to calm me down and told me not to worry about this, she said we would be fine. She didn’t deny the fact that she wanted a foal in the near future but she was willing to wait until I was ready for this. I told her that I appreciated her patience and understanding by right now I feel I am just not ready yet.
Day xxx
It’s been three months already since I moved to Fluttershy’s cottage. Not many things have changed on my end, but Twilight and her friends have been very busy lately, using that map inside the castle is awesome! According to the Princess of Friendship, it shows the places where they are needed in order to solve a friendship problem, at first I wasn’t that worried about the girls and my babe to go to their first mission. I mean, really? How dangerous can a friendship problem really be? But when they told me about what Starlight Glimmer did, I regretted not going with them and was very close to tell Fluttershy not to go to any more missions. My marefriend knew what I was thinking and told me not to worry and to trust her and how it was her mission as an Element of Harmony to go where she was needed. I can’t deny I felt so proud of her but I still don’t like watching her go where danger is.
Day xxx
Discord returned from his punishment three days ago. It was true that in the end, he helped stop Tirek, but his actions could not be easily forgotten, of course the mane 6 and I asked Princess Celestia and Luna not to be too hard on him. She told us she was only doing it to set an example. But in the end, the Punishment was not too severe.
Traveling around Equestria, building or fixing homes for homeless ponies with his chaos magic, it was not too difficult for him, but the country is not exactly small. In any case, it is very impressive for him to finish this in less than 4 months. I can’t say we are exactly good friends now; but because Fluttershy is spending more and more time with me, he started to act like an older brother. But at least we tolerate each other, except for the times I try to incinerate him for turning my hair in cotton candy when I wake up in the morning!
Day xxx
Spike and I have been training every morning since the incident with Tirek. I believe he felt guilty for not being able to do anything at that time. I told him not to be that hard on himself, he calmed down and then he told me about his friendship with that unicorn filly and gryphin chick from the tournament; they had been in contact since the week after I left them, maybe he felt alone. I couldn’t help to feel like an idiot for that, but I must say I never thought I’d see my little bro being a ladies man or dragon. Not to mention the face Sweetie Belle’s makes anytime he mentions them, it’s just priceless!
Day xxx
Today I will travel back to Earth to get more supplies, and by supplies I mean candies, soda and the newest video games. I’m sure Luna and Pinkie Pie will be waiting for me to come back as soon as possible. As always, I need to be carefull with the portal, the last thing Equestria needs is to have to deal with unwanted humans. Considering the fact that Celestia and Luna are really thinking about letting me bring Steven and some other brony friends I have here to Equestria.
Day xxx
I just came back to Equestria, I was away for only 2 days but damn! I really missed here, I love Earth but I can say without a doubt that Equestria is my home now. My trip to Earth was very nice, I spent some time with Steven and my friends, telling them how I was travelling across the globe and how happy I was with my girlfriend. All of them congratulated me and said that they were dying to meet her in person. Of course I couldn’t show them a picture of Fluttershy so I lied again telling them she was afraid of cameras. Once I got everything I needed I waited until it was night and transported my cargo to the tree.
Fluttershy didn’t waste any time and hugged me as soon as she saw me. She was followed by Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Spike, Lyra and the rest. Then I proceeded to share all the candies I brought with them. Pinkie made a little party in my honor; Even though I told her it was not necessary. I believe it was as a way to show me how grateful she was for the three boxes of Snickers and Twists I gave her. Shining Armor and Cadence were there too, I was glad to see them after so long. It is a real shame their work as Rulers of the Crystal Empire don’t leave them with too much free time but I promised to visit them in the near future. Even though the party was nice and my friends were amazing, the best part was at the end of the day. When Fluttershy and I showed how much we missed each other.
Day xxx
Ok, I know that the fact that I am living in Equestria, a land that is not supposed to be real, I would never be impressed by anything else again; but Discord proved me wrong, I was looking for a birthday present for my cute marefriend when he appeared before me saying he wanted to make a deal. To make this story short:
I was transported to a different dimension where I was supposed to meet and fight a winged human named Daniel, and If I won, Discord would give me something amazing for Fluttershy. The Equestria Daniel lived on was full of anthropomorphic Ponies, Yes! Ponies that looked and stood up like humans! Can you believe it? Now I do! Well, all I can say is that we fought on an amazing match, the Shield Cloth spell Shining Armor helped me create came in handy. I lost in the end, but I must say that watching him use Ninja Jutsus brought back some interesting memories about an anime I used to watch when I was younger.
It would be fair to say I really liked Daniel, he is an amazing guy and I hope we will meet again some day. Once I was back in Equestria, even though I lost, Discord gave me something to give to my Birthday girl! I was immensely surprised when I saw a ring instead of the diamond Discord promised to give me; I would have been angry at him but in the end, I understood what he meant with this ring. It was time for Fluttershy and I to take our relationship to a whole new level. This was an engagement ring. Thank you Discord.
Day xxx
Today we are traveling to Cloudsdale to meet my fiance’s parents. I hope they are as kind as Fluttershy. After all, not every day a pegasus tells her parents she will be starting a family with a biped alien. . . I’m so screwed.
