Thousands of years ago, a young half-demon by the name of Haxx was living amongst ponyfolk. One day, the young demon snapped and began a rampage. The princesses were forced to contain him, and send him to Tartarus. After many many years, he's back...
Thousands of years ago, a young half-demon by the name of Haxx was living amongst ponyfolk. One day, the young demon snapped and began a rampage. The princesses were forced to contain him, and send him to Tartarus. After many many years, he's back...
Hello young fillies and colts. I'm sure you are all here to hear a story? Well, I happen to have a story just for you. This story is a story that I repeated for years. This story is older than me, older than your parents. Generations older than you all, I can tell you that. This was way before Princess Luna was banished to the moon. This story here, is the ballad of the young half-demon, Haxx...
He was only ten years old. The young half-demon, his coat of red and his mane of a white-ish color, with a pair of horns on his head, had to go to school. His mother was really hoping for her child to get an education, despite his difference. Ten years ago, Haxx's mother worked at a club at night. She knew that bad things could happen at a club. With everybody drinking and taking strange substances, there was always a chance that somebody might go a little bit crazy. What she didn't expect, however, was that she would find a demon in disguise trying to charm her. After one night, it worked. Demons just have that suave and seductive personality that nopony could resist.
Nine months later, Haxx was born. His mother kept him sheltered for the first couple years of his life, but eventually, she let go of her protectiveness to let Haxx become one with society. Otherwise, he will never make any friends. That's something that almost every mother feared, especially this one.
"You stay safe," the mother told her young half-demon child as she helped him put his saddlebag on. The young demon didn't like wearing it, but his mother made him for he had to go to school. "I packed you lunch, and remember to ask Miss Blossom if you need anything. Alright, hun?"
The young half-demon looked up at his mother. He was slightly larger than a normal colt, but he has yet to outgrow his mother. "Are you sure the other kids won't make fun of me?" He asked her, his beady yellow eyes staring up at her. The mother stared into his eyes, sighing deeply. His eyes were just like a normal pony's eyes, but, when he gets angry, they change in a way that disturbed the mother. Luckily, he rarely gets angry.
"You'll be fine, hun. Make sure to treat others with respect, and make as many friends as you can. Alright?" She asked, messing with the young half-demon's mane. The young colt let out a cute giggle, and nodded.
"Yes mama," he answered. He turned and walked out the door, marching towards the schoolhouse with a smile. He had a few sharp teeth, which was normal for a demon. He had a pair of wings, which were menacing-looking for such a bright and young child. They were black, bat-like wings with holes scattering across them. On the underside, they were a green-ish color. Hopefully, he won't get teased for having these fangs, wings, and horns at school.
The schoolhouse was a single classroom building. A chalkboard was at the front of the room, with the teacher's desk sitting between the board and the sea of desks that filled the classroom. Haxx was, of course, a late starter to school. His mother had taught him everything he knew up to this point. Despite the setback, however, Haxx was to be put into a classroom of kids his age, so that he can get along with those like him and learn to act like a normal pony.
"Alright, little ones. Today, we have a new student," Miss Blossom announced to the classroom. She motioned with one hoof to the young half-demon who stood by her side. "I would like you all to meet young mister Haxx. Now, he's new to school. And he's a bit shy, so please, show him some warm welcomes and care." She patted the colt on the head, and Haxx gave a small smile.
A student raised her hand. The young unicorn filly's plea for attention was answered by Miss Blossom. "What's with your horns?" She asked him, curious.
Haxx took a deep breath and answered. "W-well, m-my dad was a demon," he answered, gulping. The young half-demon was a bit nervous saying this out loud, for demons were not very welcome in Pony culture, as he has heard from his mother.
"A demon?" Another colt piped up. "Your mother fell in love with a demon?" With that, the class broke out into laughter. Haxx frowned, but the teacher gave a look, and cleared her throat. This got the classroom to quiet down, and everything went silent.
"Now children," she began. "I want you to not tease or pick on Haxx for being different. He's a pony, just like you. Show him that we accept anypony in here, right children?" The class nodded silently in agreement, and Miss Blossom showed Haxx to his seat.
After class, the fillies and colts were called to recess. When all the kids ran off to their friends to have fun, Haxx was all alone. Quietly, Haxx went over to the sandbox and sat down in it, sighing. He began to play with a collection of pony dolls, obviously bored. After a couple of minutes, Haxx had gotten quite into this little play he was having. He had given each doll their own name, and started his own little family.
"Hey, Kraken. What do you want to do today?" Haxx said in a false deep voice as he moved the purple doll.
"I don't know. How about we go play a board game?" He said in a higher pitched voice as he moved the yellow doll.
"I don't like board games. How about we go exploring?" He said in the deep voice once again.
He moved the yellow doll up and down, as if it was bouncing. "But I want to play a board game!"
The purple doll let out a groan of distress. "We're never going to agree on what to do. We need somepony else to help!"
Haxx then moved the red doll towards them. "Hello there, ponies! Do you need any help with anything?" He asked in his normal tone.
"Oh, hello there Haxx," the yellow doll greeted. "Me and Corruption can't agree on what we want to do today. I want to play a board game, but she wants to go explore!"
"Well, you two just need to agree to disagree," Haxx said, looking between them. "How about this? You two take turns doing both your ideas, so that you both get to do something you want. The thing about friends is that they will never be exactly like you. That's what my mother told me."
"Oh, thank you, Haxx!" The purple doll exclaimed. "What would we ever do without your advice? You're the nicest pony ever." With that, Haxx smiled to himself as he stared down at the dolls.
Haxx was caught off guard when he heard a voice behind him. "Hey, freakshow. Whatcha doin?" Haxx turned around to see three colts standing near him. The one who insulted him gave him a look of disgust.
"I'm just playing with these dolls," Haxx answered, looking between them and the dolls.
The colts laughed. "Playing with dolls? What are you, a girl?" The lead colt kicked some sand at Haxx. Haxx let out a small scream of surprise. The sand got into his eyes, and the young half-demon began to whip the sand from his eyes.
"Aww, look at the little foal. Is he going to cry?" The colt laughed, taking the dolls. "Guess you don't need these., he said.
Haxx let out a soft growl as he stood up, tears in his eyes as he looked at the colts. "Give me the dolls back," he asked defensively, glaring at them.
"Oh, now he's mad?" The colts laughed. "What is little crybaby demon going to do? Call his daddy?" The colt laughed. "Or did your daddy leave you? Demons don't have time for little crybabies like you." The colts laughed as the lead colt pushed the young half-demon back. Haxx stumbled back a bit, letting out a soft growl of anger. "Give me the dolls now," he demanded. His eyes had changed from the normal pony-like eyes to a menacing black-ish color with yellow and green around the pupil. "Do it."
The colt snickered. "You think you can get what you want, loser?" He asked. The colt reared up a hoof, swinging it to hit Haxx directly in the face. But, he found his hoof stopping in motion, being held back by some force. Haxx's eyes were glowing, as he used his demon magic to hold the colt's hoof in place. The colt began to panic.
Haxx said nothing as he turned around to lift a spade from the sandbox. He twirled it around, and looked back at the colt. Haxx let out a snarl as he took the spade and rammed it into the kid's skull. The colt's screams were cut short as his body fell limp, dead. The other two colts screamed at the top of their lungs as they ran, the entire playground of kids joining them in the terror.
Now, I understand, this story may not be for children. That's because, it's not. This is a story to tell stallions. Because trust me, you all will grow up nice and strong knowing this. Anyways, after killing that young colt that was teasing him on the playground, Haxx went on a rampage. He went into the school, killed everypony in his sight. Including Miss Blossom. He then went through town, killing everything he could as he made his way to his own home.
Haxx opened the door to his house, breathing heavily. His eyes glowed as if they were on fire, his fangs bared as if he were about to attack the next thing that moved. His mother stopped to look at him, shocked. "Haxx! Darling! Oh, you're alright! What's happening out there?!"
Haxx snorted. "You lied to me, mama," he said angrily. "You told me they weren't going to pick on me!"
The mother stopped for a second, her eyes widening in shock. "Haxx...what did you do?" She asked slowly, backing up. Haxx continued to move forward towards her. "Haxx, sweetie, I'm your mother...stop this!" Haxx turned to pick up a kitchen knife, slowly bringing it towards his mother. "Haxx! Don't do this! Haxx!"
Meanwhile, word of the rampage got to Canterlot. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were immediately sent out to contain the young pony. They did so quite easily, for he was young and not adept in magic. Since his mother had been killed by his own hooves, they had to call up his father in order to run a trial for him.
The older demon stepped into the room. His disguised form was of a suave, handsome pony. But, he was not disguised here. He showed his demonic form, which was about the size of Luna, with full grown horns and a nice collection of sharp teeth. "What is the meaning of this?"
Celestia turned to face the demon. At her side was Haxx, who was put into a magic-bound cage so that he could not harm anypony. "Your son has murdered several ponies. Including a schoolhouse full of children and his own mother," she told him, taking a deep sigh.
"Oh, yeah?" The demon growled. "And what caused this nonsense?"
"They said mean things about you, daddy..." Haxx said softly, not daring to look up from the floor as he sat in the middle of the cage, his face stained with tears.
"Why control my son, then?" The demon snapped. "Control those ponies. Those xenophobic self-centered ponies are the reason why bad things happen in Equestria! Not my fault, not his fault! He's ten, he doesn't know better!"
"You seem to be missing the point here!" Celestia barked back. "He massacred over thirty ponies! He's a danger to society!" Celestia took a deep breath, continuing with a soft tone. "We see it fit to send him to Tartarus."
"Tartarus? Because he's a demon? That's right. Equestria, full of racism," the demon continued angrily.
"Learn to speak less or we shall send you to Tartarus with him!" Luna began, stepping forward with a growl. Celestia reached out one hoof to hold Luna back. Luna took a deep sigh and backed up a bit, keeping herself from starting any more unnecessary arguing.
The father, however, sighed and looked at Haxx. "Be strong, my son," he said softly.
Haxx looked up at his father with beady eyes. "You're going to let them send me away?"
"There's nothing I can do about it, son," the demon told him. "How long will he be in Tartarus?"
"As long as we see fit," Celestia told him, picking up the cage. "Now, return to your home. We will inform you of his release when it comes. But don't expect it soon..."
Haxx was banished to Tartarus. He has yet to be released, and the whole thing is now just a story that ponies like me could tell ponies like you for entertainment. The thing is, Haxx was banished forever. Many things have happened since then. Royalty has evolved, heroes have risen, villains have fallen, and generations were made. Now, here we are. Nopony has seen Haxx since he was banished. And we will never see him again. That's bound to happen when you're banished to Tartarus...
A grey pony stumbled into the kitchen. He had a pitch black mane, with hair that stuck up in a stylish way. He had brown eyes, but they were half-open due to him being tired. His cutie mark was two eighth notes, which he got when he learned how to play a guitar at sixteen. The grey pony opened the door of a cabinet and reached in to find his meal. Rummaging through cans of food, he found himself an apple and pulled it out. Staring at it, he shrugging and proceeded to take a bite out of it as he walked to the living room.
"Love Note," a voice called out from behind him. Note turned around to see who it was. A purple-colored changeling stepped out into view, a bright smile across her face. "Y-your awake dear," she said softly. Her eyes were a solid dark pink-ish, and her mane and tail was a mix of purple and blue. She had a soft blush on her face, kicking her hoof shyly.
Love Note smiled softly as he looked at her. "Good morning, Cruxia, sweetie," he hummed. He motioned for her to join him. As she stepped closer to Love Note, he was able to get a view of her full body. She was bloated in the stomach, for she was expecting soon. She took a seat next to Note, and Note quickly threw his hooves around her to hold her close. "How's the little one doing?" He whispered in her ear playfully.
"She's doing great," Cruxia whispered back, placing a hoof on her belly. Note placed his hoof atop of hers, smiling warmly as he nuzzled against her mane. He enjoyed the feeling of being with this mare he loved so much.
"She?" Note asked, laughing softly. "It's a little filly?" He moved back to look Cruxia in the eyes, a questioning look on his face.
"Mhmm," Cruxia answered, nodding slowly. "She's going to be daddy's little girl," she said in a playful manner as she smiled softly. Note returned the smile, leaning in and kissing her on the lips. The two closed the eyes as they kissed for the moment. Note finally moved back, smiling as he opened his eyes to stare at Cruxia once more.
"Me and the guys are going to go hang out," Note told her, moving to stand up. He was stopped when Cruxia reached out one hoof to grab his, pulling him back to her gently.
"Love," she began, giving him a serious look, "Y-you can't go out drinking too much. The foal w-will be here soon, and she n-needs a d-daddy to take care of her."
Note sighed and nodded. "I know, I know," he said, kissing her cheek, "I'm only having one. Alright? Not getting hammered or anything. Plus, somepony has to watch over the guys." He laughed softly. Cruxia smiled and let go of his hoof, allowing Note to stand up. Note moved to the door, opening it as he looked back at Cruxia. "Stay safe dear!" He called. He grabbed the guitar case that was leaning against the wall next to the door, and slung it over his back as he left the house, closing the door behind him.
After leaving his house, the first thing he noticed was two stallions approaching him. Both were white coated, one had dark blue mane, and the other a light blue. The one with light blue had black markings across his body and an array of rainbow-colored piercings on his ears. He was a unicorn, with a shield on his cutie mark. The dark blue maned stallion was an alicorn, with a snowflake on his cutie mark. Note smiled wide as he held out his hooves to the two. "Shouhei! Ireagato!" He called out with joy.
The light-blue haired one, whose name was Shouhei, let out a small chuckle, with the other stallion, named Ireagato, rolled his eyes. "Hey there Note. How are you?" Shouhei asked as he approached the stallion.
Note grabbed the two, bringing them into a tight hug. The brothers, although slightly annoyed by Love Note's constant affectionate gestures, have grown to accept it over the time they have spent with him. Shouhei even gave him a small hug in return. "Better than ever, actually," Note began when he let go of the hug. "Just learned that it's a she."
Ireagato perked his ears. "Really? Congratulations," he said, nodding with a smile. Shouhei reached out with one hoof, patting Note on the back with a wide smile. "You did great," Shouhei said to him.
Note shook his head. "Shouhei, c'mon pal," he began, pushing him off playfully. "We did great. I mean, look at us! We're heroes!" Note clapped his hooves together. "It was only two months ago. We took the law in our own hands, and took down the biggest criminals in Equestria. Not to mention, we made so many friends along the way. It's because of you guys that I was able to have lil' Cruxia." Note chuckled at the little nickname he gave the baby. "Tonight. We're going to have a little party. We're going to the club, and the drinks will be on me."
"Alcohol? I'm alright with that," Shouhei said, nodding with a smile. "I'm not much of a drinker, this may actually be my first," he continued.
Note stopped to stare at Shouhei, tilting his head a bit to the right as he gave a questioning look. "Wait, Shouhei, you never drank before?" Note asked, genuinely shocked at this.
"Not once in my life," Shouhei answered, nodding and giving Note an odd look. "Ireagato has gotten hammered before, but I have never had a single drink." Ireagato nodded in agreement with his brother. "He's telling the truth," Ireagato said.
Note quickly straightened himself, putting on his friendly smile and nodding. "Well, tonight will be your lucky night! We're going to get the guys together, and the mares, and we're going to celebrate like party animals!" Note raised his hoof to give the brothers a brohoof. They both accepted it kindly, first pounding hooves with Shouhei, then Ireagato.
In another part of Ponyville, there was a pet shop. This shop was owned by an odd pairing. A young adult griffon who lived outside of the Griffon Empire of which they normally reside, and her pet timberwolf. The griffon was a rather tough-looking character, for she works out a lot and loves exercise. She loves it almost as much as she loves her own pet, which is why she opened this pet shop.
A customer had just bought a food bowl and was heading out the door of the shop. "Thanks for shopping at Thunder & Bark's!" the griffon called, waving as the pony left the store. "Rhyme was right, Bark. This whole shop idea is really paying off." Thunder was answered by the timberwolf's playful bark.
Thunder heard the bell which hung over the door, the bell that would ring whenever the door had opened, ringing. She turned her attention to the door to see Note step in. "Hey, Mister Note! How are you today?" she called, waving to him as she leaned forward on the counter.
Note smiled as he walked up to the counter. "Thunder, buddy, it's been a while. How's the shop?" Note asked, looking at Bark. Bark gave him a playful bark and sat down in front of him, so Note could pet the timberwolf.
"Business is great," Thunder told him, tapping the register, "For an idiotic DJ, Rhyme sure had the brightest idea for me to open up a shop like this. Finally got out of that old dump and got myself a nice house. How about that?"
Note smiled, patting Thunder on the back. "That sounds wonderful, Thunder," Note told her. "So, what time do you get off tonight? I have something in store."
Thunder straightened up, looking at a clock. "About five o' clock. Why do you ask, Note? What exactly are you planning?" Thunder crossed her arms in front of her chest, tilting her head.
Note tapped the counter with his hoof. "Tonight, at six, we're going to get the whole gang together and meet up at the nightclub. Celebrating my upcoming daughter. She's going to have a great family to look out for her."
Thunder smiled. "A daughter? That's cute," she said, snickering. "I'll be there. I mean, we are family, after all. Without blood, of course." Thunder gave Note a wink and laughed.
Note rolled his eyes. "See you tonight, Thunder. If you catch the others, tell them about it!" Note then took off out the door, as Thunder gave him a playful salute. Bark continued to bark as Note left, bouncing up and down happily.
Note knocked on the door of the Castle of Friendship that was located in Ponyville. He was soon answered by the all well-known Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. "Oh! Mister Note! What brings you here?"
"Greetings, princess," Note began with a bow, "I'm looking for my friend, Morn Star. Has he been by?" Note asked as he stood back up, tilting his head.
Twilight nodded. "He's actually here right now. We were just discussing some spells and all. Did you need him for something?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah. Could you do me a favor? Ask him to meet me and the guys at the club at six tonight," Note told her, smiling wide. Twilight nodded, and Note nodded back. "Thanks, princess. See you later." Note said, taking off.
It was six o' clock in Equestria. Note was sitting at the bar at the nightclub which he owned, Love's Lovelies. Music blared as mares danced about, stallions watching in awe for they had nothing else to do with their lonely lives. A single shot in front of him, he stared at the counter as he awaited the arrival of his friends. The bartender, who was a black-ish colored pony with a white mane and tail, a red streak going through his mane, stepped up to Note. "Mister Note, you going to take that shot or am I going to do it for ya?" the pony asked humorously. The pony had red eyes, with a fedora upon his head.
Note looked up at the pony, giving him a sarcastic smile. "Misbeat, pal, don't make me knock that smirk off your face," Note told the bartender. The thing about Misbeat, is that he was no normal pony. He was a mastermind with a special talent that no other pony had. Before he became a bartender at Note's own nightclub, Misbeat was one of the most notorious criminals in Equestria. A cold-blooded murderer, thief, and con artist. He escaped prison more times than anypony could count. He was stopped, however, due to the efforts of Love Note and his group of vigilantes. Misbeat quickly owned up to his misdeeds, and took a role under Note's supervision, making sure to use his talents for the good of ponykind.
A pony took seat next to Note, tapping the bar with his hoof. "Misbeat, pass me a shot," he said. The pony had a white coat and a black mane, with blue eyes. His cutie mark had a bass clef on it, and a pair of headphones were around his neck.
Note looked to the pony, a smile upon his face. "Rhyme Beat, buddy, don't drink too much. We need you to man the DJ booth," Note said, laughing as he gave a brohoof to the stallion.
Rhyme shook his head. "Don't worry about it, boss. I've got it all under control. I'm only taking one shot for now, and one for the party, baby!" Rhyme winked and gave his usual cocky smirk. Note rolled his eyes as Misbeat walked back with the drink, placing it in front of Rhyme.
Note turned back to his own drink, staring at it patiently. He was unaware of the pony approaching him from behind. He was, however, aware of something slithering over his shoulder. Note slowly looked at the thing, only to be caught by surprise when the pony grabbed him from behind, throwing their hooves around him and squeezing tightly. "Note!" A mare's voice called. Note laughed as he turned to see the pony. She was a grey-ish pony with a long, black mane. Note could have sworn they were related. The thing about her, though, is that she was no ordinary pony. Two horns sprouted upon her head and a long tail replaced the usual pony tail which a pony had. The tail was almost like it's own creature, long and like a snake, with the tip of the tail being heart-shaped.
Yes, this creature before Note was no other than his favorite succubus. "Lilith, sweetie, how are you?" Note asked as he gave the young succubus a hug. Lilith has really improved since the first time Note met her. She used to live on the streets, for demons were not a welcome kind in Equestria. Both her parents were killed by racist ponies, leaving Lilith to fend for herself in the mean streets. Note found her and helped her onto her hooves, and when Note opened the nightclub, Lilith demanded to have a job as a dancer.
Lilith giggled, returning the hug. "I've been great. The club is doing well, been watching out for it for you. Of course, not alone. Rhyme and Missy helped."
Note laughed as Misbeat groaned at the nickname Lilith had given him. "That's my girl," he said, messing the succubus' mane with his hoof. "You going to be joining us for our get-together?" He asked her.
"Of course. I just went on break. Those stallions will have to wait," Lilith said, taking a seat next to Note. "Shot for me, Missy!" she called, giggling as Misbeat stormed away to get her a drink. "So, when do the guys get here?" Lilith asked Note, turning to him.
Note opened his mouth to answer, but Rhyme was a step ahead of him. "Right now, actually." The DJ said, pointing towards the entrance. Note and Lilith both turned to see Shouhei, Ireagato, Thunder, and a fourth brown pony with a blonde mane walk in.
Note stood up and smiled as he watched them approach. "About time you made it!" he said, greeting each with a warm hug, "What took you all so long?"
"Sorry, Note. Bark was a bit of a whiner when I tried to leave. So I brought him here. He's in the back room right now, chewing on a bone," Thunder told Note, shrugging. "Hope you don't mind." Note shook his head, smiling.
"And we had to convince bookworm to join us." Ireagato said, pointing to the fourth pony. The pony gave him a death stare as he raised his chin in defense.
"Well, I said many times that I was going to be with Princess Twilight Sparkle all day studying spells and all, but the princess told me that she has all the time in Equestria, and she gave me a speech about how friends are more important. So, yeah. I decided to show up." The pony said, nodding and giving a small smile.
Note chuckled. "Nice to have you here, Morn Star," he said. "I sent a letter to Prince Artemis and Princess Solar Flare. Hopefully they could join us in a bit."
Artemis and Solar Flare were the royalty of the Solum Empire, which existed in another world. It used to be that Solar Flare and Artemis were friends while the empire was ruled by Solar's father. Dark magic corrupted Solar, however, and she turned against her father, taking the throne for herself. She ruled the army and attempted to invade Equestria. However, thanks to the help of Note, Artemis, and the Nite Guard, they were able to take down the army and free Solar from the dark power. Soon after, Artemis married Solar, and they ruled the empire together. Note was given a stone that allowed him to open a portal to the Solum Empire at any time he pleased.
"Well, let's head to the back room," Note said, picking up his shot glass. "Missy, you coming?" Note asked, a smirk crawling across his face as he watched Misbeat grow annoyed.
Misbeat sighed. "Yeah. Let me serve these last few drinks, and I'll be right back," he said, turning to take another order from a pony. Note nodded and walked off to the back room, the rest of the group following close behind.
When Note entered the back room, he was shocked at what he saw. The back room was simply a large table with seats surrounding it, where Note would hang out or have meetings. However, a pony sat at the far end of the table, staring back at the group. She was a mare, with a blonde mane and a white coat. A nurse's hat was upon her head.
"Seraph." Note said, raising his chin. "What are you doing in my club?" Note was on the offense. Last time Note had seen the nurse, she was put behind bars. Note personally had given her younger sister to a hospital, for Seraph's younger sister was sick with an incurable illness. She had to take a certain rare medicine once a week, or she would die quickly.
"You can call me Nurse," she said, standing up. "I'm not afraid of the past, but I have changed." Note stepped forward, taking a seat on the opposite end of the table. The ponies behind him all looked at each other, shrugging.
"Sit." Note demanded. Nurse sighed and sat down, looking at him. "Please, Mister Note. I got out on probation. I need to do some community service. Would you let me have a job? Something, anything. You're the only pony I can trust."
"I put you behind bars a couple months ago," Note began, crossing his hooves. "But you come back to me and trust me above anypony else?"
"You're the only pony who understood that I did what I had to for my family," Nurse said, tapping the table with her hoof. "You would do the same for your family."
Note shook his head. "Cruxia can take care of herself. She's smart and she stays out of trouble. Plus, I left her a magnum and a dagger to defend herself with if anything happens."
Nurse shook her head this time, pointing behind him. "You know what family I'm talking about, Mister Note," she said. "You will do anything to keep them out of harm's way."
Note stared at Nurse long and hard, narrowing his eyes. He soon let go of the tough act and smiled warmly. "You have changed." Note said, opening his hooves. "Welcome to the party."
Nurse took a sigh of relief as the ponies cheered, crowding around the table.
After a while of chit-chat, Misbeat walked into the room. In front of him, a tray of drinks levitated in the air with no magic. "Look at Misbeat and his fancy telepathy." Rhyme mumbled, chuckling.
Misbeat placed the tray on the table as the ponies took their drinks. "We got royalty coming." Misbeat said as he took a seat next to Rhyme, taking his own drink for himself.
Soon after, an alicorn stepped into the room. She had a red coat with an orange and yellow mane. A tiara was upon her head and some royal shoes were on her hooves. The ponies turned to look at her. "Solar Flare," Note greeted, nodding. "Please, take a seat. Where's Artemis?"
Solar Flare took a seat next to Lilith, who was sitting next to Note. "Artemis could not make it, unfortunately. There was an issue back at the empire, he said he will handle it. He told me I needed to, well, have fun. Get along with you all. Thus, here I am."
Note nodded, handing Solar a drink. "Glad you could make it, at least," he said. Note then raised his glass into the air. "Alright guys. A toast! A toast to us. A toast to my wife and my daughter. A toast to family!" With that, the other ponies raised their glasses and cheered along, downing their shots and slamming their glasses on the table.
A pony poked his head into the back room. The pony was bald and wore a black shirt, signifying he was a bouncer. "Hey, boss. We got a couple of troublemakers here. Messing with the girls. Need a little hand."
Note sighed and began to stand up. He was cut off when Lilith placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of them." Lilith told him. Note smiled and sat back down as Lilith walked out of the room with the bouncer.
"She's so kind." Note said, chuckling. He sat forward and tapped the table with his hoof. "This is what family is about. Looking out for each other. I'll never let you guys out of my sight, ya hear?"
Laughter filled the room. "Note, are you drunk already?" Shouhei asked, shaking his head. Note raised a hoof to say something, but stopped and simply laughed.
That was the last thing Note remembered before he passed out.
Note's vision slowly came to. The first thing he noticed through the blurry vision was that two ponies stood before him. Upon closer inspection, they were not actual ponies. They had horns upon their heads, and the overall appearance of a threatening demon. It was this time that Note also realized that he was bound together by chains in a small, isolated room. Note began to struggle against the chains, but one of the demons punched him in the face. Note let out a groan of pain, spitting blood on the floor.
"L-Love N-Note?" Note heard a mare call out. Turning to his left, Note noticed that Nurse was next to him, chained up as well. She had blood leaking from her mouth, and several bruises on her face. "Don't fight them," she whispered, "You can't win."
Note stared at her for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. He then turned to the demons. "Where are we?" Note asked aggressively, clenching his teeth. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Note was simply replied by another strike to the face, knocking one of his teeth out. Letting out a loud grunt, Note spat up more blood. "Keep quiet till the boss gets here," the other demon answered, "Or else, you'll end up like your friend over there." The demon pointed behind him.
Looking behind the demon, Note spotted Morn Star, who was chained to the wall opposite of them. Morn Star was unconscious, with bruises and scars indicating that he had been severely beaten. Note opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when he noticed a pony walking in. Note was shocked at what he saw.
It was Twilight Sparkle.
The two demons turned and bowed to Twilight. "Greetings princess," one of the demons said, "We found these two at the nightclub. This one here, he is not Love Note. The boss said to bring him here, for he might be an outsider."
"Twilight?!" Note asked, struggling against the chains. "What is the meaning of this? What did you do to Morn Star?!" Note growled as he tried to lunge forward, stopped by the chains. "Answer me!"
Twilight turned her attention to Note, stepping towards him. "Twilight? I haven't been called that in years. As for you, I know you're a fake." Twilight sighed as she knelt down, getting in Note's face. "Although, I can't quite bring myself to kill you. You're just as handsome as the real Note." Note gave an odd look, just before Twilight kissed him on the nose.
"What in the name of Celestia is going on?!" Nurse demanded, watching this confusing scene. One of the guards quickly punched her in the face, sending her head to the right as blood swung from her mouth across the floor and wall.
Twilight turned to Nurse, shaking her head. "That name is a sin here. You really are outsiders, are you?" Twilight laughed. "Put the mare in a holding cell and kill the unicorn," she turned to Note with a smirk, "I'm keeping the pegasus." Note growled deeply as he narrowed his eyes at Twilight.
Shouhei groaned in pain as he tossed around on the ground. "Only one drink, he said," Shouhei groaned, "It'll be fun, he said." Shouhei eventually was able to turn over and get onto his hooves. Wiping his eyes with his hooves, he looked around to see where he was. The large castle and the royal-styled design of the area around him told him that he was in Canterlot. But, there was something off about Canterlot. Maybe it was the dark-looking streets. Maybe it was the lack of friendly ponies. It most definitely was the demonic guards patrolling the streets.
Shouhei felt a pain inside him. He felt the dark magic around him, and it caused the dark magic inside of him to swell up. Shouhei quickly turned to get away from the demons, away from the dark magic. Unfortunately, he found himself face-to-face with one of the demon guards.
"Careful, captain!" the demon said, placing a hoof on Shouhei's shoulder, "You're going to get hurt if you run around like that." The demon noticed that Shouhei seemed to be in pain. "Are you alright, captain?"
Shouhei, although confused as to why the demon called him captain, answered with the first lie that came to his mind. "Just a little cramp. Nothing...nothing serious."
The demon gave an odd look, but shrugged it off. "Whatever you say, captain," the demon said. "Emperor Haxx is looking for you. Said he wanted to talk to you about some of your troops."
Shouhei let out a grunt of pain. "I'll be there...soon..." Shouhei answered. "First, I need to, lie down for a bit. Tell him that, alright?" Shouhei asked the demon, hoping to get him away.
"You're the boss," the demon said, turning and walking away. Once the demon was out of sight, Shouhei quickly took off. He needed to find a way out. To find his friends. To find his brother. Otherwise, he'll find himself taken over by the dark magic that was causing him this severe pain.
The first words that Ireagato heard came from a mare with a thick country accent. "Howdy there, partner."
Ireagato slowly opened his eyes to look around. The area was very sandy, very hot, and very southern. Ireagato concluded that he was in Appleloosa. He tried to get up, but was stopped when he felt the barrel of a gun pointed against his head. Ireagato froze as he moved his eyes to look up at the pony above him. The pony was orange, with a blonde mane that was like the collar of hay. She wore it in a ponytail, with a cowboy hat upon her head and a sheriff's badge on her chest. She chewed on a piece of straw, and held a revolver in her hooves. "Don't move, pal." The pony ordered.
Ireagato stayed still on the ground as he stared up at the mare. "Whoa now. Let's talk about this," he said slowly. "I have no idea how I got here."
"Well, that makes the both of us, partner," the mare said, raising her gun and sticking out her hoof to help him up. "Get up now, boy. You look like an idiot down there on the ground."
Ireagato took her hoof as she pulled him up to his hooves. "Thanks ma'am," Ireagato said, brushing himself off, "So, uh, who are you exactly?"
"I'm no ma'am to you," the mare said. She took her revolver and placed it in its sheath. "The name's Applejack. Sheriff Applejack. This here, if ya didn't know, is Appleloosa. I run things around here. Put in charge by Emperor Haxx himself."
"Wait, what?" Ireagato asked, stopping and giving an odd look. "Emperor Haxx? Who in the name of Celestia is that?" Ireagato asked the mare. Applejack quickly took her hoof and struck him in the face. Ireagato's head swung to the side, and he held his cheek with one hoof. "What was that for?"
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "We don't say that name around these parts. We don't say that name around any parts. It's best if you never say that name," Applejack crossed her hooves. "You act as if you're an outsider. What's your name, boy?"
"Ireagato," he answered, giving an odd look, "And yes, I am an outsider, if you mean I don't come from Appleloosa," he continued, shrugging. "Not sure what that has to do with anything."
Applejack's glare got deeper. "Ireagato Ireto?" she asked, spitting out the stray she was chewing on. Before Ireagato could catch up, Applejack took out her revolver and held him at gunpoint. "Freeze! You're under arrest, partner!" Ireagato stopped and kept still as he stared at the barrel of the gun. Ireagato quickly went over how he will get out of this in his head.
Ireagato swiftly used his magical skill in cryomancy, freezing both Applejack's hoof and the gun. Applejack was caught of guard and shocked as she struggled to free her hoof. "Yeah, freeze." Ireagato muttered. He turned to run away, but found himself staring at even more guns. A dozen ponies surrounded him; holding rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. Ireagato slowly put his hooves up, realizing he has no escape.
When it came to Note, not many things phased him. He lived with death, he lived with insults, he understands racism. He was an alcoholic at heart, with a song for every occasion and a shotgun shell for every threat. Only a few things really affected Note. His friends' safety was above all. Rape was also something Note deeply hated. Fortunately, neither of those were in the situation.
Unfortunately, wearing a collar was something that Note hated. Wearing a collar was also something Note was doing right now.
Note was in the Castle of Friendship, if you could even call it that anymore. The place was eerie and dark. Demons guarded the halls, watched over Ponyville in the towers. Note was in the heart of it all. Sitting on a large bed, fit for royalty, with the mare who had collared him in the first place; Twilight Sparkle.
"So, tell me. Why exactly did you collar me, chain me to this bed, and call me a fake Love Note?" Note asked Twilight, groaning. "I mean, when I woke up this morning, I'm fairly sure I was still Love Note."
"You may be Love Note, but you're not this Love Note," Twilight said, sighing dreamily. Note gave an odd look as she continued, "He's such a handsome devil. Owns the nightclub here in Ponyville. Love's Lovelies. He likes to take matters into his own hands. Emperor Haxx loves him for that."
"Hold on," Note said, perking his ears. "That's me! I own the nightclub! I like taking matters into my own hands! I'm a handsome, well, I wouldn't exactly say devil, but, still!" Note snorted. "And who is Emperor Haxx?"
"You don't know who Emperor Haxx is?" Twilight let out a giggle. "Well, he's our ruler, of course! He watches over Equestria, takes care of us...plus, you're not even the real Love Note. I can tell a fake when I see one."
"What makes you think I'm not the real Love Note?" Note asked, crossing his hooves. "Do I have to show you a birth certificate or something? Do I have to call my brother up here? Kicker wouldn't like having to come up her from Appleloosa to prove I'm the real Love Note." Note rolled his eyes at the name of his own brother.
Twilight shook her head. "I can tell you're fake because you have two wings," Twilight said, laughing. She moved closer to him, brushing the wing opposite of her with her hoof softly. "One here," she whispered in a seductive tone. She then moved to the closer wing, nipping at it playfully. "And one here." Note let out a small squeak. "See? You are a Love Note. Sensitive in all the right spots." Note was shocked. Note loved going to the spa, especially since the sensitivity on his wings. Only a few mares in existence knew of that; The spa ponies, his own wife Cruxia, and Nurse Seraph. The last mare was something that he didn't want to repeat. Being strapped to a surgery table was the last thing Note wanted to happen to him again.
"W-what do you mean t-two wings?" Note managed, trying to fight back the relaxing sensation of Twilight massaging his wings. "Pegasi have t-two wings by b-birth!"
Twilight shook her head. "Love's right wing was cut off during a fight. He, Captain Shouhei, and Applejack found themselves in a gunfight between some of the idiotic terrorists." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Love was hit by an explosion, causing his right wing to detach."
Note clenched his teeth. "Ouch. I kind of felt that..." Note said. Sure enough, Note had a brief moment where he felt pain in his right wing, as if it had been torn off.
Twilight nodded, her hooves still working at Note's wings and back. "Of course you do. It was you who lost your wing. Well, not you personally, but the other you." Twilight giggled, "Anyways, Emperor Haxx, Kraken, and I were able to give him a new, prosthetic wing. It's completely metallic, but fused with some magic, it's practically weightless. Love was able to fly once more. Although, I miss this wing a bit." Twilight brushed his right wing sadly.
Note noticed that during the exposition that Twilight was giving, he had fallen victim to the pleasure of the massage. Note quickly perked up, pretending as if he wasn't affected by it. "T-that's a shame..." Note then narrowed his eyes, "Wait, what about Cruxia?! I'm married!"
Twilight looked at him. "Cruxia? I have no idea who you are talking about," she said, tilting her head. "I can't imagine my Love with any other mare. That would be horrible."
Note turned away and looked at the wall, scared. "Yeah, you're the one to talk." He muttered under his breath. Fortunately for him, Twilight did not notice, and continued with the massage.
One of the other things that really bothered Note was the idea of not being with Cruxia. That hit him deep.
Rhyme groaned when he felt a hoof patting his cheek. "Wake up. C'mon, wake up!" a voice called. Rhyme simply turned to the side and cuddled against the pillow he was laying his head against. "He's not getting up. Should I shoot him?"
That was enough to wake the sleeping pony. Rhyme shot up, looking around with wide eyes. "I'm up! I'm up! No shooting!" He called. He relaxed as he observed what he was seeing. He was in a room, one that had a couple beds. One pony stood before him, giving him a look of shame. She was a yellow-colored pegasus, with a firey-styled mane and a pair of aviators over her eyes. She wore a leather jacket, with a scarf over her neck. She was the embodiment of awesome.
"About time you woke up. I'm still having trouble waking your friend over here." The pegasus pointed towards another sleeping pony. It was no other than Princess Solar Flare, passed out.
"Solar Flare!" Rhyme called out. He quickly moved to her side, shaking her. "Solar! Get up!" he demanded. Solar Flare soon opened her eyes, groaning.
"What in the name of my mother do you want?" Solar asked, looking up at Rhyme. Her eyes searched him up and down, then towards the pegasus, and finally her eyes rested between the two. Her eyes widened as she stared in shock. "Princess Luna?!" She called out, shocked.
Rhyme turned around to see what she was looking at. Sure enough, an alicorn of dark blue with a mane that resembled the starry night was sitting at a table, back to them. Luna turned her head, only enough so they could see half her face. "Nopony's called me by that name in years," Luna said harshly. "How do you know me?"
Solar sat up, and Rhyme cleared his throat. "Well, princess, you are the princess of the night, who rules the throne with your sister, Princess Celestia, correct?"
Rhyme was answered with the pegasus punching him hard in the face, causing him to tumble over. "Never, I repeat, never mention that name!" the pegasus growled, standing over Rhyme.
"Spitfire," Luna barked. Spitfire's attention turned to Luna. "Calm yourself. He's not from around here, so he doesn't know." Luna turned around and stood up. Half her face was covered in a metallic mask, with a hole for her eye and some holes around the mouth.
"Princess Luna, what happened to you?" Solar asked. Spitfire quickly helped Rhyme back onto his hooves, and patted his back as he whined about the pain.
Luna sighed. "A long, painful story that I don't want to remember," Luna said, shaking her head. "Who are you? You are obviously important, given that you are an alicorn like myself."
Solar nodded. "I'm Princess Solar Flare. Leader of the Solum Empire," she told her, bowing respectively. "Although, it is only fair that I respect you for this is your domain."
"There are two things wrong with what you said," Luna began, "Firstly, the Solum Empire is dead. No longer. Crushed. Gone." Solar cringed at what she told her, shocked. "Secondly, this is not my domain. At least, no longer."
"What about your sister?" Rhyme asked. "Celestia," Rhyme stopped and looked at Spitfire, who assured him that she would not hit him again. "Celestia at least still rules Equestria, right?"
"No." Luna said, turning to walk towards a window. Rhyme followed her gaze, as he noticed that they were above the ground. Far above the ground. "The ruler now is Emperor Haxx. He took over, and rules with an iron hoof. He's pure evil."
"What about Celestia, then?" Solar asked, perking her ears. "Surely your sister could retake the throne. Where is she now? Is she here with us?"
"She's dead," Luna simply said, "By Haxx's own hooves." The room fell silent at this news. Rhyme and Solar looked at each other, shocked.
Misbeat slowly opened his eyes. Above him, a yellow pony hovered, with a pink mane and a cute-looking demeanor to her. "Excuse me sir, are you awake?"
"I think so," Misbeat said, groaning. He then opened his eyes fully, and screamed in shock. The yellow pony was not hovering, but was held up above him with two pairs of tentacles, extending from her back.
The yellow pegasus squeaked and hid her face. "I'm sorry if I scared you! I didn't mean to!" she said, whimpering softly. Misbeat stopped his screaming and dissolved into confusion as he stared at her.
"You...you have...things...coming out...of your back"! Misbeat said slowly, trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Y-yeah," the pegasus said, raising one of her tentacles to boop his nose playfully. "I've had these for years. I-I'm Kraken, nice to meet you. I wonder if Haxx will let me keep you!"
Nurse found herself locked in a cell. She was the only living pony in that little holding prison. The room was nothing but cells and cages, with bones and rotten corpses crowding the other cells. Nurse tapped on the bars of her cage, staying calm in the terrible situation. "Just got out of a cell only to end up back in one," she said to nobody but herself, sighing sadly.
Nurse perked her ears when she noticed the door opening. Into the room stepped a mare. Nurse's eyes widened. It was herself. "Hey! Y-you! You're me?!" Nurse called out from her cell.
The look-alike turned her attention to Nurse. "Well, when they told me that some outsiders were found, they did not tell me that another me would show up!" she said, shrugging, "Now I'm interested."
"What do you mean another you?" Nurse asked, shaking against the bars. "What is this place?! What's going on here?!" Nurse growled. "Answer me!"
The other Nurse walked up to her. "You're in another dimension, Seraph. Or do you go by Nurse still?" she laughed. "Ever since Emperor Haxx took over, I've been called Seraph! He's so sweet."
Nurse shook the bars violently. "Let me out of here!" she shouted angrily. "I'm tired of being behind bars! That stallion, always putting me behind bars!"
The alternate Seraph had taken out a bag. "Whatever do you mean? What stallion is putting you behind bars?" she asked. Seraph took a bonesaw out of the bag, which Nurse assumed that was to be used for the corpses.
"Love Note is what I'm saying." Nurse said, as an idea crawled into her head. "Mine, not yours. He put me in prison back in my dimension. Now, it's because of him that I'm here in this dimension. I'm going to kill him when I get out of here!"
The fake Seraph gave a thoughtful look, and smirked. "Well, if you want to kill him, I might be able to get you out," she said. The alternate Seraph placed the bonesaw back in the bag, and took out a mass of keys, jingling them teasingly. "What do you say? I let you out, you kill him?"
Nurse gave an odd look, and thought for a moment. She then clapped her hooves together and smiled. "Sounds like a plan," she said, seemingly happy but angry.
The fake Seraph smiled and went through the keys. Once she had found the right key, she placed it in the lock that held the cell door closed. She unlocked the cell door, and pushed it open. Nurse stepped out and smiled. "Am I really this gullible before prison?" Nurse asked. The fake Seraph gave an odd look and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off once Nurse grabbed her and tossed her back in the cell. Nurse slammed the door shut and picked up the keys. "Sorry, outsider. You're staying in there."
The fake Seraph growled as she shook the bars. "Let me out! Guards! Guards, she's escaping!" She shouted. Nurse simply put the keys in the bag and picked it up, walking out of the room with ease. "Help me!" The fake shouted faintly as Nurse made her escape.
Misbeat sat at a table, slightly annoyed. Opposite of him, Kraken sat down. She had made them a little tea party, four cups on the table. One for Misbeat, one for Kraken. "Who are the other cups for?" Misbeat asked, looking between them.
"Oh. This one here is for Angel Bunny. Where is he?" Kraken looked around. "Angel, sweetie!" she called. She soon stood up and walked away. Eventually, she came back with something in her arms. She put it down in the seat, and Misbeat was shocked.
Misbeat was staring at a dead bunny who had been stuffed. "Um, Kraken. It's, uh..." Misbeat began. "It's kind of, well, your bunny," Misbeat continued, rubbing the back of his head.
Kraken looked up. Her eyes showed a gentle naivety, as if she had no clue what Misbeat was getting at. "What about Angel? Does he look a little fat to you?" she asked, tilting her head. "He hasn't been eating much lately."
Misbeat could not believe what he was up against. This mare was naive, yet a complete psycho. Misbeat wanted to get out as soon as possible. He'd rather be at the bar. He'd rather be at prison! "Who's the other cup for?"
"Emperor Haxx," Kraken simply said, sipping her tea.
Misbeat tilted his head. He was fairly confused. "Emperor Haxx? Who in the name of Celestia is that?" he asked. He was answered by Kraken hitting him with one of her tentacles. Misbeat held his jaw in pain. "What was that for?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry. It's just, well, you're not allowed to say that name around here," Kraken told him, giggling. "Emperor Haxx said it himself."
"Yes. I did say that," a sudden deep male voice said. Misbeat perked his ears and turned his attention to where the voice came from. "Greetings, young pony. I am Emperor Haxx."
Shouhei felt as if his entire body was pulsing in pain. His head was pounding, his heart was aching. He didn't know how much longer he could last with this dark magic surrounding him. Shouhei headed down an alleyway, hoping to find a way out of Canterlot. Hopefully, there was a place without the dark magic.
Shouhei continued down the alley, only to run straight into a trash can. Shouhei tripped over and landed on his side. Groaning in pain, he tried to get up, only to get pinned down by something. Looking up with hazy vision, he saw a timberwolf above him. It growled deeply, but quickly changed it's expression as it tilted it's head. Shouhei immediately realized who it was. "Bark?" Shouhei asked. Bark responded with a yip, licking his cheek and wagging it's tail.
"Bark! Off boy!" Thunder called. Shouhei turned to look at the young griffon approaching as Bark hopped off of Shouhei and sat down at Thunder's side. Oddly enough, Shouhei didn't feel the pain. He didn't notice this initially, but it was at the back of his head. Thunder grabbed onto Shouhei's hoof and pulled him up. "Shouhei, what's going on here?"
Shouhei shook his head. "I'm not sure. We seem to be in Canterlot, but, there's demons." Shouhei thought for a moment. "One of them called me captain."
"Captain?" Thunder asked, tilting her head. "You're not a captain of anything, as far as I remember. What is going on here?" Thunder looked around, confused.
"Whatever it is, we need to get out of here." Shouhei said, looking back to make sure nopony was watching. "We have to find my brother, Note, all of them. Now."
Thunder nodded. "Don't need to tell me twice." Thunder turned around, facing her back to Shouhei. "Hop on. Don't worry, I can carry you." Shouhei shrugged and carefully climbed onto Thunder's back. Thunder was quite young, but she was also bigger than the other ponies, only rivaled by Solar Flare. Griffons were naturally bigger than ponies, after all. Thunder was also very buff. She was a wrestler, boxer, and bodybuilder. She was pretty much the strongest friend he knew.
"Bark. You know how to get out of Canterlot, right? Just follow the path we took here. Tear apart anypony or anything that tries to hurt you," Thunder told the timberwolf. Bark responded with two barks, and Thunder nodded with a smile. "Good boy," she said before taking off to the sky.
"Luna, please!" Rhyme begged. "We need to go out there. My friends might be out there, they might be in trouble!" Rhyme was panicking, for he was afraid of what became of his friends.
Luna shook her head. "We simply cannot go out there to find your friends," she said, shaking her head. "It is too dangerous. I'm wanted. They'd fear Solar Flare, it's too dangerous."
"What about Spitfire?" Solar asked, stepping forward. "Is she wanted? You didn't mention her name, after all." Solar looked at Spitfire, and Spitfire rubbed the back of her mane as she clenched her teeth.
"Well, I'm supposed to be dead," Spitfire told them. The two gave odd looks. "I kinda had to fake my death. But, I can go out there. I've got a disguise, just need to fix my mane," Spitfire continued, "Who are your friends, anyways?"
Rhyme thought for a moment. "Well, there's Misbeat, Thunder and her pet Timberwolf, Love Note, Shouhei, and Ireagato." He listed off, with Solar nodding.
Luna gave an odd look. "Ireagato? Shouhei? Love Note?" She asked. "You brought those three here?!" Luna stormed forward, angered. Rhyme backed up in fear. "You realize that there is too much dark magic for Shouhei to withstand! He already failed once! Now you brought another Shouhei just so he can fall victim to it once more!"
Solar stepped forward, between Luna and Rhyme. "We didn't bring them here on purpose," Solar told them. "We woke up here. Something else brought us here."
Luna took a deep breath. "Spitfire, take Rhyme with you. Go to Appleloosa, see if you can find them. Bring them back here, as soon as you spot them. Leave no witnesses. Especially if you find Love Note or Ireagato." Luna turned to Solar Flare. "You must stay here with me, for it is too dangerous for an alicorn to even exist here."
Solar nodded, "As you say, princess," she said, giving a small bow. Spitfire turned to Rhyme and nodded before heading off. Rhyme followed close behind her.
"Alrighty. Do you have a gun I can use?" Rhyme asked. Spitfire rolled her eyes and picked up a hoofgun from the table, handing it to him. Rhyme smiled. "Sweet. Thanks, Spitfire."
Spitfire raised a hoof, covering Rhyme Beat's mouth. "It's not Spitfire. When we leave this safehouse, you will call me Scorch. Alright?" Spitfire asked. Rhyme nodded, and Spitfire removed her hoof from his mouth as she turned to walk off.
Ireagato was in the sheriff's office, inside of a single cell that was in the corner of the office. Across the room, Ireagato could see Sheriff Applejack sitting at a table. Another pony was with her, who seemed like a doctor. The second pony was working on freeing her hoof from it's icey prison of which Ireagato placed on it with his magic. It brought a little chuckle to Ireagato that he did that.
"Keep laughing!" Applejack shouted angrily. "As soon as I get my hoof out of this ice, I'm putting six bullets into the back of you're skull, rascal!"
Ireagato shook his head. "I'll pass," he told her, sighing. "Why am I in here anyways?" Ireagato continued, looking back at her. "I'm not even sure what I'm doing here."
Applejack looked at him and laughed. "What are you doing here? I'm not sure why you're here in Appleloosa, but I can tell you that the crimes you committed against the empire is all the reason why you're in that tiny cell!"
"Crimes? What crimes?!" Ireagato protested, standing up. "I haven't done anything but wake up in Appleloosa! Unless your telling me that saying Cel-, I mean, saying that name is a crime, I've done nothing!"
Applejack growled. "Done nothing? How about murder, theft, vandalism, assault, disorderly conduct, forgery, fraud, harassment, kidnapping, arson; which I find quite ironic. Heck, even underaged drinking! You are a mess, boy. I'm turning your flank in to Captain Shouhei."
Ireagato paused and gave an odd look. "D-did you just say S-Shouhei?" Ireagato asked, tilting his head. "As in m-my brother, Shouhei Ireto?"
"Not your brother anymore, boy," Applejack said, shaking her hoof. "Ever since you stabbed him in the back, y'all been over. Now all he has left is Mister Note and his wife. You cold-hearted traitor."
"Married?" Ireagato asked, smiling a bit. "He married Lenal? I'm proud of-" Ireagato stopped himself and shook his head. "Wait, what? Stabbed his back? What are you talking about?"
"You denied to join your brother!" Applejack shouted, standing up. Applejack was really angry now. "You double-crossed him, betrayed the empire! Now you better shut your muzzle, or else I'll shut it with my hooves!" Applejack looked at her frozen hoof and growled, "The other one."
Ireagato opened his mouth to say something else, but decided it was best to keep quiet. It was more than likely that the crazed country mare was serious about shooting him. He needed a way to get out quick.
Note's captivity with the seductive Twilight proved to be a great challenge for him. If he had been captured by himself, he would probably be doomed. It seems Twilight knew just as much about Note. Note had learned that fighting back would not help his case, so he was relaxed and let Twilight massage him for the next hour or so. For a while, Note enjoyed it.
"Hey, Note..." Twilight whispered into his ear as Note was resting on the bed, eyes closed. "Note, wake up. The prince has arrived." Twilight flicked his ear playfully, which caused Note to stir.
"Mmm, what?" Note asked, yawning, "What prince?" He slowly opened his eyes and turned over, only to see Twilight standing over him. "Oh, um, Twilight... Note said, sighing deeply.
"What is he doing here?" a familiar voice said. Note, still underneath Twilight, moved his head to see the doorway. Note saw what he's been curious to see ever since Twilight told him about it. A grey pegasus, with a black mane and tail with an impossible looking mane-style. He had brown eyes. Most importantly, he had only one real wing. The other was entirely metallic, with blade-like feathers. "I told you to get rid of him!"
Twilight frowned. "Oh, My Love knows I can't resist a handsome devil like himself," she said, booping Note's nose. "Plus, look at this," she grabbed Note's right wing and forced him to extend it out, brushing it softly. Note let out a soft gasp. "He has a right wing!"
The other Note sighed and shook his head. "Emperor Haxx does not want an outsider running around!" he said. "Co, please, get my gun," the other Note said. When Twilight hesitated, Note winked to her. "I'll show you something special if you do." Twilight then smiled and strutted out of the room.
Note rolled over and sat up, shaking himself off. "Love Note, what are you doing to yourself?" Note asked, growling. "What happened to morality? What happened to family man? Cruxia?" Note growled. "You disgust me."
The other Note walked up to Note and narrowed his eyes. "I know the law. I follow it, if I want to. This is my family. And I do not know who Cruxia is," he spat. "The last thing I need in my life is a fake me running around, trying to screw things up for me!"
Note smirked. "That's right. You never met Cruxia, did you? Instead, you decided to get it on with a princess?" Note laughed, winking to Note. "You're ruined, Love. I betcha you haven't even gotten laid yet!"
The other Note growled deeply, shaking in anger. "You know nothing about me!" he raised his voice in anger, trying to control himself. "And for your information, I did get laid!"
Note smirked. "That's right, Love. Get angry," he said, winking. "I know you just as much as you know me, handsome devil." Note grabbed the other by the cheek, and pulled him in. Note placed a kiss on his counterpart. The other Note was confused at first, but instinctively returned the kiss. Note continued to kiss with the double, using the distraction in order to take the chain off himself. The other Note seemed to have lost his train of thought, as he forcefully took the collar of Note. Note leaned forward, forcing the other one to lay back on the bed. Once Note was on top of the other, he pulled back from the kiss. "Man, I'm an idiot."
The other Note began to say something, but Note punched him. "Ah, screw you!" the other growled, staring up at the Note who had him pinned down. "I'm a freaking good kisser."
Note rolled his eyes and smiled. "Thanks!" He said, before collaring him to the wall. Note got off of him and walked towards the doorway. He quickly moved to the side of the door when he heard somepony approaching.
Twilight opened the door and walked into the room. She pulled Note's very own six-barreled shotgun which he had nicknamed Tolerance. "Corruption!" the other Note shouted, tugging at the chain. "Look out!"
Twilight tried to react, but she was too slow. Note moved from his hiding place and took Tolerance from her hooves. He then flipped it around and hit her in the head with the butt of the shotgun, sending her to the ground and out cold. Note smiled and quickly checked the ammunition inside the shotgun. "Salt rounds? How thoughtful of you!" he said, heading towards the window. Note broke it open with the shotgun and hopped out, flying away. The other Note growled and shouted for the guards as he tugged against the chain.
Spitfire landed at Appleloosa, and let Rhyme off her back. She groaned and stretched her wings and back. "You are heavy, you know that?" she asked.
"Hey! I need to eat enough to keep my energy up! Don't you go around calling me fat or anything!" Rhyme protested, stomping his hoof in a childish manner.
"Whatever," Spitfire said, standing straight up. "We got to find your friends. Now, where do we even begin?" she asked, looking around for an idea of where to find them.
Rhyme tapped her shoulder. "Um, Scorch, I may be wrong, but..." Rhyme pointed towards the sheriff's office, which had ice shards sticking through the wall. "I think I know where Ireagato is."
Spitfire looked at the place, tilted her head, and nodded. "Looks like we found him," she said, taking off in that direction. Rhyme quickly followed, clumsily stumbling to catch up.
Ireagato broke the already frozen lock on the cage, allowing him to easily push the door open with ease. The sheriff's office was a mess; ice shards were against the walls, a bunch of them used to kill the doctor and pin his corpse to the wall. Applejack's hooves were frozen together, as if she had been hogtied. "I'm going to kill you!" Applejack shouted, struggling to get free.
Ireagato shook his head. "You're going to get some serious frostbite before you do that," Ireagato told her. "See you later, partner," he said, mimicking her country accent. He quickly made his way out of the sheriff's office. Ponies were heading his way, for they had heard the commotion. Searching around for an escape, Ireagato spotted two ponies heading to him. One was very familiar. "Rhyme Beat?" He asked quietly.
Rhyme and Spitfire rushed towards him. As Ireagato was distracted by them, one of the ponies raised a rifle to shoot Ireagato. Rhyme quickly reacted, pulling out his hoofgun and shooting the pony in the arm. The pony dropped the gun, and fell over, screaming in pain. Rhyme quickly moved up to meet Ireagato. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked the alicorn, patting his back. "You seem to have company. Let's get out of here!" Ireagato nodded, and the two took off as they followed Spitfire. Rhyme turned back and fired a couple of blind shots at the ponies chasing after them. Gunshots whizzed past them, barely missing.
"Quickly!" Spitfire shouted. "We need to lose them and fly out of here!" The ponies continued running out of town, hoping to find enough time to take off. Their plans were cut short, though, when a bullet struck Spitfire in the wing. Spitfire screamed out in pain, falling over and tumbling across the ground.
Rhyme stopped and turned to her. "No!" He shouted, quickly going to help her up. Ireagato stopped and turned around, looking at the two first, then to the mob. The mob pulled out their guns and released their gunfire upon the three. Ireagato thought quickly, creating a wall of ice between the three ponies and the angry horde.
He kept his magic up, making sure the ice did not chip away from the oncoming heavy fire. "I can't hold it...much longer..." he said through his teeth. "Hurry!"
Ireagato felt his magic growing weaker, due to the hot sun beating down and the oncoming gunfire, he couldn't hold a wall of ice for long. Once he thought his magic would let up, something unexpected happened. A large explosion blew both the ice wall to pieces, Ireagato onto his back, and the mob a couple feet into the air.
Rhyme looked up, and saw rescue. Luna and Solar were flying above them. Luna had a large scythe on her back. Luna quickly flew down to the mob, and before they could react, she used her scythe to dispatch of them one by one, as she moved with ease and fluidity. Solar went to Rhyme and Spitfire. "Quickly, get her on my back. Rhyme, go with Luna," Solar ordered. Rhyme and Ireagato quickly helped Spitfire up and onto Solar's back. The pegasus wrapped her hooves around the alicorn's neck to support herself.
After Luna finished off the last pony, she quickly ran over to them. "More are coming!" she said, sheathing her scythe. "Quickly, hop on!" Rhyme obeyed, climbing onto Luna's back. The three swiftly took to the air as more ponies stampeded towards their location, firing shots into the air after them as they made their great escape.
Once the trio had disappeared from sight, the ponies stopped firing. A single white-coated pony made his way through the crowd. He had a light blue mane, and markings across his bodies. His eyes showed anger. "How could you let them go?" the unicorn asked, grabbing one of the ponies.
"W-we couldn't catch them, Captain Shouhei!" the pony told him. "We're Earth Ponies! We can't fly! We're no match for three alicorns!" the pony whimpered, scared.
Captain Shouhei gritted his teeth. "Alicorns?! Was one of them my brother?" he growled. The pony nodded slowly. "You let me brother get away?!" he threw the pony to the ground. The pony scrambled to get away. Captain Shouhei drew his sword and angrily stabbed the pony in the chest. The pony screamed in pain as the sword was kept in his chest. The fake Shouhei turned to the rest of the crowd. "I want you to find him! And the other alicorns! If I don't get his head on a silver platter in the next three days, you'll all look like this worthless trash!" he shouted. He turned and kicked the dying pony, causing him to groan in pain. "Trot it off," he mumbled angrily, taking the sword and storming away.
Note loved to fly. It was relaxing, freeing, and a great cool-off. Except for when he's a wanted fugitive. Note quickly found a place to land, a small back alley that was isolated, fenced in, and only contained a dumpster and a couple trash cans. All he needed to do was get out of town without drawing attention. The shotgun was slung over his back, for he didn't dare to lose it if things get rowdy.
Note inched across a wall, peeking around the corner. It was an alleyway, with a small view of the street. Note waited until the coast was clear, and then made a run for it. He slid and stopped at a large pile of garbage bags, taking another peek so he could make another run. He made the second run, stopping at a small wall that blocked off half the alley exit. He peeked out, looking around. He caught eye of an interesting and familiar pony.
"Nurse Seraph?" Note whispered to himself. He hid back behind the wall, and watched for her to walk by. Once she did, Note quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind the wall. She dropped her bag and let out a small squeal as Note stopped and held her as if they were doing a romantic dance. "Nurse, is that you?" Note asked.
Nurse blinked, and nodded. "Yeah, it is. Is that you Note?" The Nurse asked, narrowing her eyes. "I know there are doubles here, I've already seen mine."
Note narrowed his eyes. "It is me. But, I want you to prove it is you," Note told her, letting her go but keeping his guard up. Nurse straightened herself, and thought for a moment. She cautiously walked up to Note, grabbed one of his wings, and ran her hoof along his sensitive spot softly. Note clenched his teeth. "O-o-okay! It's you, it's you!" Note protested, pulling away.
"Alright then," Nurse said, sighing deeply. "So, Mister Note, what do we do?" The Nurse asked, crossing her hooves. "We're in some alternate dimension with some Emperor Haxx ruling Equestria. What did you gather?"
"I learned that this Note never met Cruxia, has a metallic right wing, is actually evil, is in love with Twilight, who is really great at massages, and that I'm a great kisser," Note told her, taking a deep breath. "Don't ask about the last part."
Nurse nodded. "I probably don't want to know anyways," she said, shaking her head. Nurse peeked around the corner and looked around. "So, where do we go? Ponyville is too dangerous. We need to find somewhere to hide. Someway to get back home."
Note patted her on the back. "We'll find a way. We always do." Note turned around only to get struck in the face hard. He let out a scream of pain as Nurse turned around. Nurse barely avoided the oncoming punch as she stumbled back to find herself staring at a large demon. He stepped over the knocked-out stallion as he approached Nurse, forcing her to back up against a wall. Nurse attempted to hit the demon, but the demon grabbed her by the neck. Nurse began to choke as the demon raised her in the air, smirking with confidence.
"Hey, stupid!" A stallion shouted. The demon turned to see who it was, only to get impaled in the face by a sword. The demon dropped Nurse as she gasped for air, breathing heavily. The demon fell on the ground, limp and dead. Note groggily opened his eyes, his conscious coming back to see two ponies nearby. Nurse stood up and looked at who saved them. She was shocked. "Ireagato?" she asked.
The young stallion stared at her, then at Note. "I heard that there were outsiders. Didn't expect some important ones like you two." He walked up to Note and pulled him up to his hooves, "Especially you, Love Note." Ireagato grabbed his hoof and shook it.
Note shook his head into focus as he stared at Ireagato. "Wait...you're Ireagato...from this dimension?" Note asked him, still a bit confused and dazed.
The alternate Ireagato nodded. "I am from here. I'm not a part of the empire though. Tell me, are there others?" he asked, eager for an answer from the two.
Note shrugged. "There was a third...but he's dead now," he told him, taking a deep sigh. "I don't know if any of the others are here." Note turned to Nurse, who nodded in agreement.
Ireagato frowned. "Alright then. We'll work with this. I will take you two to see Luna," Ireagato said, spreading his wings. "C'mon now, miss. I will carry you." Nurse smiled brightly, walking past Note with a wink as she picked up her bag and climbed on Ireagato's back. Ireagato clenched his teeth, giving a fake smile. "Easy. Let's go." Ireagato took off into the air, followed closely by Love Note.
Misbeat felt a certain level of discomfort as he sipped his tea. He was at a table with a dead rabbit, a mutant pony, and a demonic emperor. This was definitely not a normal day. "So, mister, where do you come from?" the demon asked.
Misbeat took a gulp and answered. "Well, I was born in Manehattan. Got into gambling and all. It was a pretty boring life, really." He decided to use his con artist skills to his advantage.
Haxx nodded, sipping his tea. "I see," the demon spoke with a deep voice. "You seem like the kind of pony who has fun. With your hair, your oddly...edgy kind of look, and even your suave look.
Misbeat nodded. "I have a suit back home to go with it," he told the emperor. "With a nice fedora as well. You should see it sometime. It gets all the mares, and the stallions." Misbeat smirked as the demon leader began to laugh. Even Kraken giggled a little at the joke.
"You know, I like this one," Haxx told Kraken, patting her on the back. "I might actually let you keep him around." Kraken let out a squeal of joy as she hugged Haxx. Haxx let out a small laugh as he hugged her back gently.
Misbeat looked around. He needed to find a way out of this place. He couldn't keep up his con for long, since he knew nothing about what was going on. Maybe a distraction would work?
Misbeat's ears perked when Haxx spoke again. "Young stallion, you have a nice sense of humor. Could you tell us another joke?" the demon leader asked, sitting up straight. He towered greatly over Kraken and Misbeat.
Misbeat thought for a moment, and nodded. "S-sure. I can think of one..." Misbeat smiled and continued, "What do you call a con artist behind bars?" he asked. When the two gave a shrug, he gave the answer, "Dis-con-tinued!" The two erupted into laughter. Misbeat quickly thought of a new one. "What did the bartender say when the drunk pegasi left the bar? Fly safe!" The two seemed really easy to entertain, for they continued to laugh at the joke. Misbeat straightened himself as he told the third joke. "Do you know why I'm not laughing at these jokes?"
Haxx looked at him with a curious look. "Why is that, mister?"
Misbeat smiled. "I'm beating a dead horse here." Misbeat, using his telekinesis, flipped the tea table and launched it at Kraken, causing her to fall over under the table. Haxx stood up quickly, only for Misbeat to jump to the side, using his telekinesis to trip Haxx with the demon's own chair. Misbeat quickly sprinted out of the house as Haxx shot magic bolts at the pony. "Thank you for coming out, I'm not coming back!" Misbeat shouted as he ran away from the cottage, heading into the forest.
It didn't take long for the group to re-assemble. Luna, Spitfire, Rhyme, Ireagato, and Solar Flare were already at the base hidden in the Everfree Forest. Misbeat, was trekking through the Everfree Forest, sensing his friends through his telepathic abilities.
The alternate Ireagato landed in front of the base, followed by Love Note. The base was in a massive tree, built like a large treehouse. Nurse climbed off of Ireagato's back, stretching. "This is the place, eh?" Note asked as Ireagato walked up to the door.
the alternate Ireagato knocked three times. "Not the best place I could ask for, but we haven't been caught yet," Ireagato said as the door opened. Before him stood Rhyme Beat. "Who are you?" Ireagato asked, pulling out his sword.
Rhyme threw his hooves up, frightened. "Whoa whoa whoa! Ireagato, buddy, no need to be hostile!" the stallion said. He backed up into Princess Luna, who pushed him to the side.
"Ireagato. Who have you brought with you?" the princess asked, looking at the ponies. Her eyes focused on Note. "Is that..."
Ireagato nodded. "They are the outsiders. Found those two in Ponyville," he said as he pointed at Note and Nurse. "Can I get inside? I'm kind of exhausted."
Note chuckled at knowing this Ireagato was the same bumbling joker that he knew. "Come in, come in!" Luna said, stepping to the side to let the trio in.
The real Ireagato was sitting at a table, a makeshift ice-pack in his hoof as he used it to dull the pain on Spitfire's injured wing. Nurse quickly ran up to them, bag in tow. "Ireagato!" she called.
Ireagato turned around to see her. "Nurse? What are you doing here?" he asked. He stepped to the side as Nurse quickly overlooked Spitfire. "She was shot in the wing," he told her.
"Ireagato. You're okay." Ireagato turned around only to get hugged immediately by Note. Ireagato was caught off guard, but kept his footing as he slowly gave Note a hug as well.
"Yeah...you too..." he said slowly. He was actually really glad that Note was okay, but was still annoyed by the hug attacks. It was right after Note left the hug that Ireagato locked eyes with himself. "Who are...you?..." Ireagato asked, slowly approaching his other.
"I'm Ireagato Ireto. Former prince. Great with ice. Brother of Shouhei." The other said, holding out a hoof. "Good to know I'm just as handsome in your world."
Ireagato stopped and looked down at his hoof. "Wait, are you the reason why I was locked in that cell and accused of all those crimes?" Ireagato asked. The other Ireagato nodded firmly. Ireagato then smiled and accepted the hoofshake. "You are amazing!"
Note rolled his eyes as he sat down. "Ireagato's talking to himself again," he said in a teasing manner. Both Iregato's turned and glared at Note as he laughed.
Solar Flare walked into the room and stopped in surprise. "Note? Nurse Seraph? Ireagat...o's?" She said the last one slowly, looking between them.
Rhyme threw his hooves into the air. "Somepony please explain what's going on!" he said, confused. "Which one is the real one? I'm lost!" The ponies around began to laugh, even Luna giggled a bit.
Shouhei was still a bit weary, but felt a soothing with Thunder. They had left Canterlot, and headed south towards Ponyville; which was the only place they knew well. "I know we'll find Bark near the Everfree. He's smarter than some will think," Thunder said, seeming a bit worried about her pet timberwolf.
Shouhei sighed. "Yeah. I'm sure he's fine. Don't worry," he assured the griffon, patting her back. "What do you think is going on, anyways?"
Thunder shook her head. "If only I knew..."
Meanwhile, heading flying over Ponyville and heading towards Canterlot, was the other Shouhei on a chariot. "Captain," a soldier called. Shouhei turned to the soldier which accompanied him. "You should take a look at this." The soldier handed him a pair of binoculars.
Alternate Shouhei took the binoculars forcefully and looked through them. He spotted a griffon flying towards them. "Who is that?" he growled. He then noticed something off. He spotted himself on the griffon's back. He gritted his teeth. "Outsiders. Take them down." Shouhei ordered, throwing the binoculars at the soldier, who stumbled to catch them, almost falling out of the chariot. Alternate Shouhei looked at the soldier. "Now you idiot!" he took a rifle from the soldier, and took aim.
Thunder spotted the chariot. "What's that?" she asked, squinting. "I think there's a patrol. Should we make a run for it?" she asked, turning her attention to Shouhei.
Shouhei shook his head. "I think I can divert them. They still think I'm their captain, I believe." Thunder nodded and turned around, only to get struck in the leg by a bullet. She let out a loud scream as she lost control of her flight, causing Shouhei to hold on for dear life. Thunder kept her on her flight path, but was quickly zooming towards the ground. "Forest! Go for the forest!" Shouhei shouted. Thunder aimed herself towards the forest the best she could, zipping into the treeline and less than a second later, crashing hard.
The alternate Shouhei growled as he watched the two disappear. "Go! Find the bodies!" he ordered, taking a whip and using it on the two demons who were guiding the cart. They let out a neigh, as they turned to head back down to the forest.
The alternate Note paced back and forth in the bedroom of the castle. "You should have killed him, Corruption," he said, looking at Twilight. "You should have known that leaving another me alive would cause this. You know just as well as Haxx and Shouhei about what I'm capable of."
Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you're just too cute to kill!" Twilight sighed, frowning. "Give me another chance. Next time, I'll rip his skull out and give it to you!"
The alternate Note sighed. "You're so romantic, Corruption," he said, giving her a kiss on the lips. "Don't hold back." Note then trotted out. "You owe me a shotgun, by the way!"
Twilight smirked. "Oh, I am getting that Note Booty," she said. She smiled, her teeth turning fanged as dark magic surrounded her body. Her eyes glowed green. "I'm killing all of them."
The hidden treehouse was calm. The ponies were having small talk and the such, catching up and putting together everything they knew about what was going on. Note and Nurse were discussing Spitfire's condition. The pegasus was lying on the table, asleep. The two Ireagato's were talking to each other about whatever they felt like. Rhyme and Solar were discussing about finding their other friends with Luna.
Nurse used to have a medical license before she went dark and became a criminal and black market dealer. Note, on the other hand, had a history of creating some strange things. Some called him an inventor. He thought of himself as 'just creative'. "So, you think you could actually create an entire wing?" Nurse asked Note, tilting her head.
Note nodded. "I saw the wing that my alternate other had," he told her, thinking. "That wing is most definitely a design I would make. He had some help, of course, but I'm sure if he could do it, so can I." Note smiled, picking up Tolerance off of the table and holding it in his hooves. "Tolerance, my baby, is my own design. Made it myself in a shed. If I can make a fully working six-barreled rotating shotgun with multiple types of ammunition that are compatible with it, I can make a wing. I could probably even make other things!" Note laughed a bit, feeling like he accomplished something.
Nurse shrugged. "You seem pretty confident about it. If you can make another wing, that would be beneficial. At this point, I'm not sure if I can save Spitfire's wing in the condition it is in. It was hit in a critical spot. It's looking like I have to amputate." Nurse took a deep sigh, as Note patted her back.
"You know, I think we need to differentiate the worlds here!" Rhyme announced, turning to the others. "Like, it's confusing since there are two of everypony here. Like, Alternate Equestria? Something?"
Alternate Ireagato looked at him, giving an odd look. "Is he serious?" he asked, turning to the other Ireagato. The original Ireagato nodded, answering his question.
Note shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt. How about Destroyed Equestria? Corrupt Equestria? Demonic Equestria?" Note pitched ideas left and right, hoping for a good answer.
Luna sighed and hung her head. "They're idiots. We're ruined," she groaned.
Rhyme raised his hoof. "That's it! Ruined Equestria!" Note, Nurse, and Ireagato shrugged and nodded at the idea in agreement. Rhyme cheered for himself. "Yeah, I had a great idea!" he said to himself.
Suddenly, a scream sounded from outside. The ponies all turned their attention, as Luna, Note, and Ruined Ireagato all darted towards the door. The other ponies quickly got ready for an attack. Luna opened the door, drawing her scythe slowly. Before them, there was a trap laid out to catch anypony who ventured near the treehouse. Caught in the trap was Misbeat, who was hanging upside down with one hoof caught in the rope trap. "Misbeat?" Note asked, quickly going to assist the stallion.
Misbeat noticed Note from his upside down position. "Note? You're here? Really?" Note and Ruined Ireagato quickly helped Misbeat down from the trap.
"How did you find us?" Note asked the stallion. "How did you get here?"
Misbeat slowly stumbled to his hooves, brushing himself off. "Well, I woke up in a cottage. There was this mare there, except she had tentacles and stuff on her back..."
Note shook his head. "Wait, what?! Tentacles?!" he asked, shocked.
"Kraken was her name," Misbeat told them. "Anyways, she had a dead stuffed rabbit. There was also this giant demonic guy. His name was Emperor Haxx."
Luna's ears perked as she glared. "Haxx?!" she growled, stomping her hoof. "You were with Haxx? What did he tell you? Did he hurt you? Did Kraken hurt you?!"
Misbeat shook his head. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you for asking, princess," Misbeat said with a small bow. "I did hurt them though. Threw a table at the freak and a chair at the other freak. It was kinda fun." Misbeat let out a laugh as he continued, "Anyways, can somepony here tell me what in the name of Celestia is going on?"
Slowly, the world lightened up around him. Shouhei felt groggy as his eyes slowly opened, seeing nothing but trees around him. He felt pain everywhere on his body. Rolling to his side, he saw Thunder next to him. She was rocking in pain, as she had been shot in the hind leg. Shouhei cautiously got to his hooves, moving over to Thunder. "Are you alright?" he asked her, placing a hoof on her side.
"It...hurts!" she told him, growling in pain.
Shouhei kept himself calm as he observed the situation. When it came to medical attention, he can do some pretty amazing things. Carefully, Shouhei turned her over as he carefully held her leg still with one hoof. "Alright. Thunder, I want you to try not to move. This may hurt," Shouhei warned her. Using his magic, he carefully searched into her leg and was able to grab the bullet. He carefully pulled it out of her leg, as she let out a screech of pain.
Once the bullet was finally removed from Thunder's leg, Shouhei tossed it to the side and sought a way to bandage the wound. He thought of the old technique that almost everypony knew. He carefully took a part of his vest, biting onto it with his mouth as he used his hoof to tear a piece off. He then took the cloth and used it to dress Thunder's wound, wrapping it around her leg and tying it into a makeshift knot to keep it on. "That's the best I can do for it. Can you stand?"
Thunder slowly and painfully pulled herself up, putting all her weight on her three good legs. Her left hind leg had to limp a bit. "I...I'm good," she told him.
Shouhei gave a soft smile. A rummaging sound in the distance caused the unicorn to perk his ears. "We better get moving. It's not safe out here," he told her, remembering the first time he ventured into the Everfree Forest. This place was not very pleasant, and he would love to get out as soon as possible.
Thunder nodded. "I agree," she said, looking around. "I don't trust this place one bit." She gave a small scowl, limping forward slowly. Shouhei let out a deep sigh, staying by her side as the two walked on to find shelter.
“You mean to tell me that there are more of them?!” Haxx spat as he stood in the main room of the castle in Ponyville. “And you let them live?!”
Ruined Note stomped his hoof. “No, sir. Co let them live. I attempted to kill the outsider.” He had gotten the collar removed, and was furious as he tapped the table impatiently with his hoof.
Haxx looked at Twilight, who sat next to Ruined Note. She had a bruise on the side of her head where Note had clocked her with the shotgun. “Why in the name of Tartarus did you keep an outsider alive?”
Twilight sighed. “Okay, listen, he was cute. Just like Note here," she told Haxx. “You expect me to kill the literal copy of my lovebird here?”
Haxx growled. “He’s nothing like your lovebird!” he spat. “You know just as well as I do that he’s a danger. And now he’s loose! Running around like an animal! It won’t be long before he joins the resistance. He probably already found the resistance.”
Ruined Note stood up, clearing his throat. “Emperor, if I may, this...other-worldly Note is intelligent. He’s practically the same as me. Although, he seems a bit scared.” Ruined Note grinned. “That fool didn’t kill me when he had the chance. Nor did he kill anybody. I can tell that he is scared to kill. But he’s still smart.” Ruined Note flexed his bladed wing as he had a devilish grin. “With your permission, I will personally be there to see the torture and execution of this outsider who dares to share my name.”
Haxx stared long and hard, his ferocious demonic eyes locking onto Ruined Note and Twilight. He nodded. “Very well then. But I’ll have you know, you should not fail me again.” He smiled, holding out a hoof. “You two mean a lot to me. I don’t want the others to see you as failures. This is your shining moment. Get it done.” With that, Haxx turned and walked out of the main room, leaving Ruined Note and Twilight alone in the room.
“How many years of necromancy have you lived and you still haven’t killed him?” Ruined Note asked Twilight, cocking his head.
“I can kill you,” Twilight told him, kissing his cheek before walking off. Ruined Note simply sighed, sitting back down on the throne.
It’s been about two hours since Note and his friends have found their way to the hideout. Note was hard at work as he was crafting a new wing for Spitfire. Seraph assisted him the best she could. Misbeat walked up to Luna, sharpening his shiv. “So, where’s the rest of your army?” he asked the princess. “For such a royal figure like yourself, and the fact that you’re still a problem, you must have one.” “You’re looking at it,” Luna told him simply. “The rest of the Resistance is in hiding. This is all we have in the Everfree. Me, Spitfire, and Ireagato.” Misbeat’s jaw dropped. “Three ponies, and you expect to survive?” he asked her. “Are you crazy? The entire country is out to kill you. And you’re hiding with three people?” “It’s actually a great plan,” Solar said aloud as she walked up next to Misbeat. “She’s in a remote location. If she had an army out here, it would be suspicious. It’s actually a common thing amongst royalty. If the kingdom was to be attacked, the royalty will be separated from everypony else, hidden in a remote location that the enemy will have trouble accessing.” “The royalty would be prepared for the zombie apocalypse,” Rhyme chipped in, smiling like an idiot as he looked at them. Misbeat looked at Rhyme, giving an unamused glare as he shook his head. Rhyme frowned. “What? It’s true.” Misbeat looked back at Luna as he gave a small smile. “So, you’re out hiding with the Captain of the Wonderbolts and a former prince turned runaway hero.” Ruined Ireagato looked up. “How did you know that?” he asked. Ireagato patted Ruined Ireagato on the back, laughing a bit. “He knows,” he told the other, shaking his head. “He knows a lot.”
Shouhei continued trudging forward, keeping by Thunder's side to make sure he doesn't leave her behind. Thunder was moving like a soldier, pushing herself past the gunshot wound as she grunted. "Bark...where did he go?" She mumbled.
Shouhei shook his head. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But Bark...he's a smart boy. He'll make it. I'm sure of it. Just worry about you, Thunder. You're hurt, bad."
"I barely feel it," Thunder spat as she stumbled a bit. "It's nothing. I've been through worse. Give me a break." She rolled her eyes as she moved slightly faster to pass Shouhei.
Shouhei gave an odd look to her, shaking his head. "Thunder, c'mon. Just let me he-" He was cut off as he heard a gunshot, quickly taking cover behind a tree. Thunder did the same, wincing in pain.
"Come out you two pests!" a familiar voice called from the forest. Ruined Shouhei growled as he stepped out of the bushes, holding a hoofgun. "You can't hide forever. I will personally execute you both." He looked around as two guards with rifles walked out into the clearing behind him. "Shouhei, buddy, we already killed your little brother. Why don't you just embrace it?"
Shouhei flinched slightly. His heart sank upon hearing about his brother dying. He shook his head. "No..." He whispered. "He's not dead..."
Thunder looked to Shouhei. "Shouhei! Stop that!" She whispered, looking around cautiously. "He's trying to call you out! Don't listen to him!"
Shouhei narrowed his eyes as he drew his blade, stepping out from hiding as he faced Ruined Shouhei. Ruined Shouhei grinned as he stared at Shouhei. "Oh, now you decide to stop hiding? I can't believe I used to be such a wuss!" Ruined Shouhei laughed as he aimed the hoofgun at Shouhei. "Now do me a favor and join your family in Tartarus!"
Ruined Shouhei fired a shot at Shouhei, but it was quickly blocked by Shouhei's magic. "Try again you insufferable monster," he spat.
Ruined Shouhei narrowed his eyes. "Guards, gun him down," he ordered. After a long moment of silence, Ruined Shouhei growled. "Guards!" He turned around, only to find himself facing Thunder who held two unconscious guards in her talons.
Ruined Shouhei quickly went to fire at Thunder, only to get cut off as Shouhei knocked the gun out of his hoof with his magic. Ruined Shouhei growled as he quickly turned to Shouhei. "I will kill you faster than you killed him," Shouhei spat, readying his sword. "Draw, now."
Ruined Shouhei smirked as he drew his sword, readying it as well. "I know everything you do. You're nothing compared to me."
Shouhei growled. "I'm everything compared to you,'" he spat back, charging at Ruined Shouhei. Ruined Shouhei growled as he swung his blade, clashing their blades together.
