> Phantom of Equestria: The Beast's Blood
>  by The Warmaster
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Arrival of the Killer Prince
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Six humans sat at a table, half of them counting wads of American dollars, while the other three counted up the amount of ammunition they had and loading it into pistols and other types of guns.


  “Hey, Brutus!” One of the ones counting the cash said,his voice filled with a gruff German accent. and one of the others looked up.


  “What do you want, Schwein?”  Brutus asked, an American. Brutus was somewhat pale white, with a scar across his left eye, and a cigarette in his mouth. A typical American mercenary, to be perfectly honest.


“Oh verpiss dich, stechen.” The German Mercenary growled. His face was covered in a beard, his blonde hair helping in covering his tan and scarred face. The only things fully visible were his brown eyes, which glared at Brutus angrily. One of his large, bulky arms swung over the table, coming to a rest on one of the guns. “I was wondering what our next contract was gonna be. I did not ask to be named a pig, dummkopf.”


Brutus laughed. “Ah, but it's much more fun to call you what you are.” He quieted down when Schwein pointed a gun at his head. “Anyway, our next assignment is….” Brutus checked the file. “...we got a request to be met in person for a special assignment. The meeting place is in… Pennsylvania.”


“You think it's that merc killer?” Schwein asked.


 “What Merc Killer?” Brutus replied, confused.

“You haven't heard?” Schwein asked, surprised. “Apparently, merc groups have been given assignments to meet up with their employer lately, but they never return from it.”


“So this guy might be planning to off us?” Brutus raised an eyebrow. “Even if it is, we gotta go. If this employer does try to off us, we can take him. Plus, if we don't go, he'll just kill some other merc group.”


“Bullshit.” Schwein chuckled. “You don't give a damn about our competitors. You are just worried about your pride.”


  “Ah, you read me like a book.” Brutus chuckled. “So, shall we book a flight?”


  “Sure thing, arschloch.” Schwein replied, frowning. “How are we gonna get our weapons there?” 


  “Duh, we will use the supply depot we have in America. It's around Pennsylvania anyway.”

   “Right. Forgot about that.”






Two Days later, Pennsylvania 

“So, any info on this guy?” Schwein asked, glancing around with his hand over his pistol.


  “No, unfortunately. All we know is that he is willing to pay a lot of money, is potentially a Merc Killer, and has a special job.”


  “Verdammt.” He swore, spitting on the cement sidewalk. “So how far away are we from the meeting point?”

 “About five minutes. And stop holding your hand over your gun. If a cop sees you, then what?”

  “If a cop sees me, and tries anything, he won't be a cop for much longer.” 

  “That's what gets you wanted in half of the U.S.” Brutus said, turning a corner.

“Fine.” Schwein reluctantly lowered his hand.

When they arrived, they found themselves in front of a large storage building. Metal shutters lined the walls, holding whatever they had inside locked away from the world.

  “I don't like this.” Schwein said, motioning to the rest of the group. The other five with them took up positions around the area, waiting for something to happen.

“Ah, good. You're here.” A voice said from behind Schwein and Brutus suddenly, deep and filled with boredom. The two Mercenaries turned, guns pointed at the mysterious arrival. But they slowly looked up as they met the face of the newcomer, almost a full meter taller than them.

The man was bald, his head the only organic part of him revealed by the massive armor he wore. The armor itself was charcoal black, with a single amber eye in the center. In his left hand was a massive mace, almost as tall as a person, and the other ended in a metal claw, with two barrel-like things poking out the top.

“Who the fuck?” Brutus asked.

“Was zur Hölle ist das?!” Schwein asked, which translates into: ‘What the hell is that?!’

“I am Ahriman, your employer. Before we can begin, I have to give you a small test…” the massive person said, raising his head. His face seemed almost regal, though his eyes were unlike any normal human’s. Odd circles surrounded his pupils, with eight lines flowing out to the ends of the eye, almost forming a star.

Suddenly, he vanished, and up above, one of their men screamed in pain. They glanced up to see one of their friends impaled on Ahriman’s claws, the gunner’s eyes wide in pain and shock. Ahriman tossed the corpse of the now dead mercenary to the ground, before charging at one of the others.

  The mercenary in question unloaded his pistol into Ahriman, the bullets bouncing off of his armor. In return, Ahriman pulled up his claw, and a thunderous roar erupted as the sight of muzzle flash Burst into existence in front of Ahriman, and the mercenary exploded as massive bullets tore him apart. 

Everyone else blinked, before coming to their senses and opening fire on the massive monster. Unfortunately, they soon found their bullets could not even scratch the armor, and then even quicker found four blades in their chest, their own blood dripping out from the wounds as electrical energy flowed through his claws.

Soon only Brutus and Schwein were left, hiding behind one of the storage containers.

  “Shit shit shit.” Brutus said, eyes wide as he watched his mercenary squad get torn apart. “How the fuck are we supposed to kill this fucker?”

  “I don't know.” Schwein said.

  “Fuck… well, I guess this ought to work.” Brutus said, pulling out a grenade. Schwein looked at it.

  “Why didn't you use that earlier?!” He yelled, and Ahriman looked in their direction.

  “Because it all happened so fast!” Brutus replied. “Look, you gotta run. I'll take him down with this.”

  “Are you crazy?!” Schwein yelled again.

  “Yes. Now go!” Brutus ran out of their hiding spot, pulling the pin on the grenade as he ran.

  “If I can get it in his armor, I can kill the bastard!” Brutus said under his breath as he got closer. Ahriman’s claws raised upward.

  Before Brutus could blink, he was suddenly in the grip of Ahriman’s left hand, the armored appendage wrapped painfully around his neck.

  “You are different from the other Mercenaries I've tested…” Ahriman said as he looked into the distance. Brutus took this chance to toss the grenade at him, but it stopped in midair, before flying back where Brutus had started.

Brutus heard a scream as the grenade detonated, and he knew that Schwein was dead. 

That done, Ahriman turned towards Brutus. “Well, Brutus, you have passed my test. You are not a coward like the rest of the mercenaries. Standing still and firing at me from a distance is one thing, but running up to me, grenade in hand? That takes the kind of Bravery I'm looking for.”

The giant of a man dropped Brutus to the ground, who coughed violently as air returned to his lungs.

“Do you really think I'm going to work for you after you killed all of my team?!” Brutus growled, grabbing anything, which happened to be a knife from one of his dead companions.

“No, but you don't have a choice in the matter.” Ahriman’s eyes met Brutus’s, and suddenly Brutus froze, unable to move.

The tall giant stepped closer. “I have a place I need you to fight for. It is simple enough. In return, I will give you an inhuman power.”

  Brutus tried to tell him to kiss his ass, but he still could not move. Ahriman drew closer, and one of his claws lifted up Brutus’s head by his chin.

  “Of course, your name will no longer be Brutus. Your name will be Zero.” The name rang through his mind, even as Ahriman’s claw sank into his throat. “I wish you the best of luck in defending what is left of Equestria. If you do, I will also return to you your teammates.”

As Zero’s vision faded to black, he said one word, almost as if forced.

  “Deal.”






  Zero slowly awoke in a grassy field. The sky was a dark red, with clouds blotting out the sun as dead trees waved in the wind.  A surprisingly calm breeze flowed gently in the wind, stirring Zero.

 “Fuck….where the hell…?” The Mercenary muttered, sitting up and looking around. “Damn.. what kind of hellhole is this?”

  The grassy plain he had found himself in was dead, the yellow blades crumbling to dust in the wind.  A fire blazed in one corner of the area, burning a dark black. In the distance, he saw a mountain, though the mountain seemed almost to have been split down the middle, as if some divine power sliced it in two with a mighty blade.

  “Well shit… looks like I've been deposited in the armpit of Hell. Damn that bastard..” Zero got to his feet, blinking as he prepped himself for moving out.

  Then he blinked again.

  “The fuck…?” He asked, waving a hand in front of his face.  “Why can I see through my missing eye? Dammit, I need some sort of mirror…”

  His thoughts were cut off by a scream from nearby, and he turned towards the source. Black smoke rose heavily into the sky just beyond the forest.

  “Human life?” Zero said, sighing in relief. “They simply have to have a mirror or something so I can see what the hell is going on with me.”

 His goal set, he ran towards the forest between him and his prize.





  When he arrived, he found himself face to face with a town on fire. Wooden cottages blazed and collapsed, while the roars of inhuman creatures growled throughout the town. Zero walked forwards, sighting a massive, humanoid creature growling down at something. 

  The creature’s skin was gray, and its muscle-bound arm gripped a massive sword tightly. The creature itself was probably two meters tall, easily bigger than Zero or any ordinary human.

  The thing it growled at screamed, and Zero shot forward on almost instinct, his sword slicing through the monster before it could blink. The creature stiffened, before falling into bloody pieces, blood and viscera pooling around the new puzzle.

   Zero paused to look down at the woman he had just saved, only to stop short as his eyes widened. 

  Four cloven hooves backpedalled away from him in shock and fear, attached to a slim torso. A cartoonish amount of hair burst from the creature's head and rear, while it's muzzle opened again to let loose another scream. It was a tiny horse. Granted, a purple horse, but a horse nonetheless.

  “It's...huh?” Zero said, shocked and at a loss for words. The equine screamed again.

  “Help!” It yelled.

  “Hey, why are you screaming at the guy who just saved your life?” Zero growled, and the equine stopped its screams.

  “W-what? You're not going to kill me? It asked, and Zero shrugged.

  “Well, I could, but I need a mirror. It is of utmost importance. He balanced his sword on his shoulder, before looking at it in confusion. “Wait….where did I get this?” He asked. It was unlike any sword he had seen before, with its center being a dark shade of violet, while the actual blade was pitch black. It was almost shaped like half of a rocket, except more like a sword. It's hilt was a long, twisted rod of metal, seeming more like some sort of garden metal than a sword hilt.

  “Umm...I'm sorry, but you aren't here to kill me, right?” The equine asked again, and Zero sighed, putting aside the question of how he acquired the sword for later.

  “Yeesh, how many times do I gotta tell ya? I'm not here to kill you. I'm looking for a mirror.”

  The equine stood up, and Zero noticed three things he hadn't noticed before. The horn rising from the equine’s head, the wings protruding from it’s back, and the image of a six-pointed star on its rump.

  “...tell you what. If you save the rest of the townsfolk, I can get you a mirror. Deal?” It asked, extending it’s left forward hoof.

  “Sure.” Zero shook it. “So, I'm guessing there's more of those whatever they are roaming around?”

 “Yes, the demons attacked five minutes ago. Unfortunately, the Guard was completely wiped out, and now we are being slaughtered like animals for a Griffon’s feast.”

  “Well alright then. I guess I'll go clean up your mess for you.” Zero turned to leave. “By the way, what's your name? I'm not used to talking horses with wings and a horn, so I might as well attempt some form of greeting.”

  “Oh, um, forgive me. I'm Twilight Sparkle, the current ruler of what's left of this nation.” The purple horse said.

  “The ruler, eh?” Zero smirked as he walked away. “Well, Miss Sparkle, I am Zero, a lowly mercenary compared to someone of your standards. I'll go deal with your local demon infestation. Try not to die in the meantime.” He waved as he walked into the burning village.

“How rude. I can take care of myself!” Twilight said, and Zero chuckled.

  “Oh really? Then why were you screaming to the heavens for help? Or maybe it was just a feint for that demon?” Zero said, before bursting out into laughter.

  “Oh…. go save the town already!” Twilight yelped. Zero laughed again, before walking into the flaming village.

  “So, she said that there were other...winged..horse..bird...things, around here.” Zero sighed. “I am never gonna get used to that.”

  Before he could speak to himself any longer, another demon charged at him. This one seemed like a skeleton of a human, though it also had wings. A spear was in it’s hands as it charged at the mercenary, who ducked out of the way with his sword raised up. The skeleton, already flying fast, was unable to get out of the way, and was sliced in two.

  “Okay, how am I killing things with a weapon I have no idea how to use?” Zero said, looking at the blade with a raised eyebrow.

  His confusion was stopped as an arrow sunk into his leg, and he immediately went for cover.

  “Ah, shit!” He cursed, gripping his leg as the arrow protruded from his kneecap. “My fucking knee! Alright, it's not like this has happened before…” he grabbed his new sword, charging at the archer that had attacked him. It was another skeleton. He quickly swung his blade, removing its head and torso in a series of attacks he didn't know how to do. The Skeleton archer collapsed, dead once again.

  “What the hell? Are these some sort of fucking first level mobs in a video game?” Zero glanced down at the now vanishing monster as it turned to ash. “Well that's weird.” Two of the horse things slowly crept out of one of the nearby houses, looking at him with their giant eyes filled with fear.

  “Oh for the love of…” Zero sighed, turning towards them. “Twilight Sparkle has me saving your sorry rears. Go find her.” He pointed back where he had come from, before a loud roar ripped through the sound of crackling fire.

  A large beast stepped out from around a corner, growling at Zero. It had the head of a lion, probably the body too, but also bat wings and a scorpion tail.

  “Is that a fucking manticore.” Zero deadpanned, slumping. He turned to the two equines, only to see that they had vanished, replaced by a cloud of dust. “Oh great.” He turned back to find the manticore right in his face, a paw careening towards his chest.

  Zero dodged instinctively, jumping backwards a few feet. “I am going to ask someone about these abilities.” He looked towards the manticore. “So, I'm guessing you're the boss battle? Gotta say, the town could be more on fire. Oh well.” He rushed forward, only to find himself smacking the sword’s side on the beast, who then smacked him into a burning building.

  He went through the already weakened wall, destroying furniture for his landing. He came to a stop at the other wall, gasping for breath as blood dropped from the three gashes in his chest. He glanced up, noticing a mirror, and stopped.

 His body was completely different from what he had looked like before. Where muscle-bound arms once were, now were replaced by scrawny looking limbs. His hair had grown longer and  changed to white with red highlights at the ends,  while his eyes had turned red. His facial scars had vanished, replaced with smooth, pale skin. 

  His clothing was also weird. What looked like a biker jacket, with two shoulder pads and a useless zipper replaced his old jacket, while slim pants and boots replaced his military style equipment. A large scarf flowed down his back from his neck, seeming almost like a cape. Almost

  “The fuck happened to me? I look more like an edgy teenager than a mercenary!” He complained, but before he could complain and think about his new body any further, the manticore charged in, stinger tail poised to strike.

  Zero leapt out of the way of the charging beast, and it ripped through the wall he had been on. Burning wood pieces fell onto its head as it turned, and its eyes glared a bestial hatred. Zero took this time to stab it in the side with his sword like a smart person.

 The manticore roared loudly at the intrusion in it’s side, backpawing the mercenary back outside. He barely managed to keep a grip on his sword, which flew out of the wound with a nice, slippery sound. He landed on his feet, before charging at it again, slicing his blade through it’s tail before it could turn around, the poisonous stinger landing into the wreckage of the house with a wet thump. The manticore roared in pain, rushing out of the house to the street. Zero followed, chuckling lightly. 

  “Man, I don't know why I'm able to do this stuff, but holy hell am I glad I can. I'd be dead ten times by now.”

The manticore roared again, before bounding into the forest. More skeletons ran out of the town after it, vanishing into the oddly dense forest. Zero raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged, turning back to the blazing city.

 He walked back to where he had found Twilight, noticing a growing crowd of the equines. As he grew closer, he overheard her giving a speech to the survivors.

  “...and though we have lost many of our friends and family, we must be strong for them. We are some of the last survivors of Ragnarok, and we must fight against the demon horses that threaten our existence. Celestia and Luna will watch over us, and give us their protection.” She finished, and the survivors began shuffling away, getting to work on repairing the town. As they trotted away, Zero walked up to Twilight.

“On behalf of the surviving ponies of Equestria, I thank you.” Twilight said, lowering her head.

 “Don't worry about it. I've been assigned to help you. I think.” Zero shrugged, scratching his head.

  “Assigned?” Twilight asked, before her eyes widened with joy. “Then the summoning worked!”

  “The what?” Zero asked, confused as he looked down at the purple pony.

  “The summoning circle!” Twilight said, leaping from side to side in joy. “It was a last ditch effort to call for help, and it worked!” Her horn lit up faintly, and Zero felt himself forcefully dragged away as Twilight trotted towards a relatively untouched building. Like everything else, it was made of wood with a roof of hay and sticks. It looked more like a hut than anything else.

Twilight dragged Zero inside with her strange power, depositing him next to a circle made in the dirt with what looked like chalk or some other thing.

  “Okay. I can deal with talking horses. I can deal with demons and a new body. I cannot, however, deal with whatever the fuck that was. What the hell was that?”

  “That was a simple levitation spell. Do you not have magic from where you're from?” Twilight asked, looking at him in slight confusion.

  “Nope. We have technology and whatnot, but magic doesn't exist.” Zero replied, before blinking. “Wait, this place has magic?!”

  “Um, yes.” Twilight replied.

  “Huh. I guess it's a different world or something.” Zero said, looking up at the hut’s roof. “God damn that fucking Ahriman guy…”

  “Who?” Twilight asked. 

  “Nothing. So, what's with the circle?” Zero said, changing the topic.

  Twilight visibly brightened. “It's a special type of magic that can bring forth a spirit from death back to serve the one who summoned them. Normally you can tell a summoned being by the summoner’s cutie mark on them, but I don't really see one on you…”

  “If you try to take my clothes off, I'm leaving you to die.” Zero warned, and Twilight stiffened.

  “A-anyway, I attempted this summon just before the monster attack. They might have sensed the large amount of magic I used though...the attack must have been my fault….” Twilight slowly slumped down, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Hey, don't cry. I doubt it was your fault. So, how the hell did your world get like this? I seriously doubt it was always a hellscape.”

 “Oh...where to begin….” Twilight instantly snapped up, pondering.

  “No place better than the start.” Zero shrugged.

  “Alright. It all began two years ago…” Twilight began.


> Chapter II: Ragnarok Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


2 Years ago…..




Twilight sighed as she sat next to Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria. Her multicolored mane flowed in a nonexistent wind as her wings ruffled. Her tiara seemed to float in her mane, like a ship lost at sea, with Celestia’s horn like an island in the distance. Her coat was a regal white, with golden slippers covering her hooves. Her cutie mark was an image of the sun, and-





  “Wait, what's a cutie mark?” Zero asked, interrupting.

  “Hmm?” Twilight blinked. “Did I not explain it to you? A cutie mark is a symbol of a pony’s special talent. Celestia was able to raise and lower the sun, so her cutie mark was the sun.”

  “...flat what.” Zero stared at her, dumbfounded.

  “Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, confused.

  “Your princess...could raise and lower the freaking sun?!” Zero asked slowly. “Am I hearing this right?”

  “Um, yes.” Twilight nodded, a troubled look on her muzzle. “Does where've you are from not have someone who raises and lowers the sun?”

   “No, we don't, because the earth orbits around the sun, and rotates on an axis.” Zero explained carefully. “How can someone move a celestial body bigger than the planet they stand on?!”

  “Magic.” Twilight replied. “In theory, there is no gravity in outer space. Therefore, there is nothing to keep the sun from being moved. Nothing to keep it in place.”

  “Wha….” Zero had an exasperated look on his face, before he exclaimed, “I fucking hate magic!” 

  Twilight flinched at the profanity. “Um...can I continue with the story?”  

  Zero sat back down, sighing. “Yes, you may continue.”

“Alright. So anyways, me and Celestia were holding the Day Court….”






  Twilight sighed as another noblepony trotted up, as calm and sophisticated as all the others.

  “Greetings, Princesses. I am here to request a mansion built near one of the edges of Canterlot City. The view from a window would be fantastic for sure, and-” the Noble began, before Twilight interrupted him.

“Excuse me, sir, but I know of which edge you are speaking of. However, are you aware that there is an orphanage currently occupying that area? Do you expect us to simply destroy a home for the homeless? To remove the one thing those innocent fillies and colts have left?” Twilight glared at the noble, who shuffled back nervously.

  “U-um, no, your Highness. I was not aware that there was an orphanage there.” The Noblepony said nervously.

  “Oh really?” Twilight said, pressing further. “And yet you knew that the view would be amazing, meaning that you had to have visited that area in the past.” The Noble tripped and landed on his rump as Twilight stepped forward. “However, I have a proposition. You can build your mansion. Not in Canterlot, but somewhere with a nice view. Perhaps Vanhoover? I hear that there are some beautiful views of the ocean there.” 

   The Noblepony gulped, before getting to his feet. “I-I shall consider your generous offer, Princess Twilight. If you will excuse me.” The Noblepony turned and left, the Earth Pony’s hooves scrambling to get to the exit.

  Twilight gave a humph before returning to her seat. Celestia leaned down to her.

  “You didn't have to be that harsh with the poor pony.” Celestia whispered.

  “I did, Pri-” Twilight caught herself. “Celestia. He was obviously aware of those poor orphans, and yet he still wished to destroy their only home they have left, and for what? A shiny new mansion? I'm certain he has twelve elsewhere.” 

  “You know, back when Canterlot was being constructed, I asked the workerponies how they planned to keep it from becoming overcrowded. They replied with, ‘Don't worry about it, your Highness. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Celestia said, before glancing to one of the guards stationed nearby.

  “Please bring in the next one.” Celestia said, and the guard saluted, before trotting out.

“So Celestia-” Twilight began, but was interrupted when the castle began to shake violently, taking the two by surprise as they grabbed their thrones with their hooves. When the shaking subsided, Twilight glanced cautiously around. None of the other guards were harmed, just a little shaken. “Celestia, what was that? I had heard that there had been earthquakes recently, but not that bad!” 

  However, Twilight’s question went unanswered as Celestia had gone to one of the massive windows near the pristine marble wall. Twilight trotted up to her, confused, before following her gaze to the sky. She gasped.


 High in the sky, black storm clouds swirled violently in a circle, a red glow emitting from within. The sky seemed to almost warp around the clouds, reality seeming to bend as small, black objects flew out of the massive storm. 

  “Celestia...what are those things?” Twilight asked, squinting to get a good look.

  “Twilight, listen to me.” Celestia said suddenly, not turning to face Twilight as her gaze was fixed solely on the vortex. “I want you to get to Ponyville as fast as possible and-”





  Zero burst into heavy laughter, and Twilight paused. “Um, is there something funny?”

  “P-Ponyville?!” Zero gasped in between chuckles. “That is so bad a name for a town I don't even know a worse one!”

   “Excuse me?!” Twilight sat up. “Ponyville is a perfectly fine name for a small little town!”

  “N-No, it really isn't!” Zero laughed. “I suppose you find it a  perfectly good name because….” Zero trailed off as realization dawned on him. He groaned into his hands. “Oh God, please don't tell me all towns are named something similar.”

  “I'm not going to continue this argument!” Twilight growled, sitting back down with a huff. “Will you let me continue with the story? Preferably without interruption?”

 “Fine.” Zero sighed, letting her continue.





  Celestia did not take her eyes off of the vortex as she looked on in horror. “Twilight.” She said softly. “I want you to get to Ponyville as fast as possible, and get as many ponies away as possible. I'll have the guards begin evacuating Canterlot. Get to the Crystal Empire if possible. That's the safest place possible.”

  “Celestia?” Twilight asked again, worry growing on her muzzle.

  “Go!” Celestia roared, turning to face Twilight at last. “My sister and I shall try to hold them off for as long as possible, just get everypony away!”

  “Hold off who?” Twilight asked as she began backing away. Celestia again turned to stare at the vortex.

  “The demons.” Was all Celestia said, before her horn glowed, and Twilight’s vision filled with white.






  “And what happened after that?” Zero asked.

  “I got my friends and half of Ponyville’s population out before the demons arrived. Some were too stubborn to leave their homes. Like Applejack and the Apple Family….” Twilight sighed. “Nopony has seen Celestia or Luna, her sister, ever since that day. Some of the survivors left for the Crystal Kingdom, but we have no idea if they got there or not.”

  “And your friends?” Zero asked.

  Twilight sighed. “Rainbow Dash vanished one day looking for survivors, Applejack stayed in Ponyville, Rarity went with the others to the Crystal Kingdom, Fluttershy….I don't know what happened to her. And Pinkie Pie disappeared during Ragnarok Day, and I haven't seen her since.”

“Yeesh, sounds almost like you're the only one left.” Zero said, and Twilight winced. Zero noticed tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Oh...sorry, touchy topic. To be honest, I'm somewhat in the same boat as you.”

  “What?” Twilight asked, looking up at him as tears flowed down her muzzle. “What do you mean?”

  “Well...right before I arrived here, all of my friends and pals died to this one bastard by the name of Ahriman.” Zero said, before blinking. “All my friends...are dead….” He sat down, and Twilight cautiously put a wing around him. 

  “Umm… I'm sorry for your loss.” Twilight said, attempting to comfort him.

  Zero ground his teeth together, but both of them raised their heads when the sound of an explosion reached their ears from nearby. The two looked at each other, before rushing out of the tent.

  
When they reached the center of the town, they found a massive, bipedal and humanoid demon busy demolishing the town. It's skin was dark red, and rippling with muscles. The only thing it wore was a pair of ancient style shorts, while long black hair flowed from the back of the giant’s head, waving in the wind as it smashed a house to pieces. It’s face was that of rage, with two glowing red eyes staring angrily at the town. A guttural roar grew from it’s mouth, an ear-splitting cry of rage and a lust for destruction. The Demon stood nearly ten feet tall. 



Zero stepped forward, his sword appearing in his hand once again as he walked towards the demon.

  “Zero, you can't fight that thing!” Twilight yelled, earning the demon’s attention. It turned towards the advancing ex-mercenary, gripping a large plank of wood in it’s right hand.

  “So, big guy, I guess today is not your lucky day. Y’see, I'm really frickin’ pissed off right now, and you just happened to destroy the town I’m protecting. Now I need to let off some steam, so you better make peace with whatever gods you believe in.” Zero growled, his anger rising as he charged forward, holding his sword by his side to cut the demon’s leg off.


  Before Zero could blink, the creature was gone, and his vision was obscured by a massive wall of wood rushing to give him a full-body smack. Zero could do nothing as the demon’s wooden plank smashed into him, sending him flying back towards Twilight. The Princess activated her magic, slowing his speed, but not enough to stop him from barreling into her and throwing both of them into a mostly intact building.

  “Dear fucking Lord….what train hit me?” Zero groaned, sitting up from whatever broke his landing. He glanced down, and saw Twilight, unmoving on the ground below him. “Twilight!” He immediately put his head to her chest, and heard her heart beating away. “Oh good...she’s just unconscious. He sighed in relief, before standing up. He winced in pain as his right leg sent waves of agony up his spine, and he glanced down to find his foot pointed at an odd angle.

  “Dear fucking God that hurts!” He yelled, falling to his knees. 

  “....newbie is….?” A voice echoed in his mind. Zero glanced around. 

  “Hello?” He asked, only getting a roar from the demon as a reply. Suddenly his vision of the world darkened, and was replaced by darkness.

  “Okay, what the fuck is this?” He asked, looking around. He turned behind him to find a man who looked just like him, his arms and legs chained to an unseen ceiling. A single light fell down on him.

  “I had said,” The chained person said, glancing up in frustration. “This newbie is the one who gets control?”

  “Um, who are you?” Zero asked.

  “Not important right now. What is important, however, is stopping that demon before it kills us all.” The mysterious man said. “Listen, you incompetent fool. I can give you the power you need to beat that thing. All you need to do is-”

  “Oh I already know not to trust this.” Zero interrupted. “Weird guy offers me the power to beat my foe, but then it turns out that that power ends up really bad or some shit. No thanks.” 

  “Are you kidding me with this?” The Man groaned. “Look, if you die, I die. And so does Twilight.” Zero stopped at that. “Yeah, you want to save the only friend you have left, right? Just place your hand on my forehead, and you can save her and whoever else is still alive.”

  Zero hesitantly stepped forward after a few moments, before cautiously pressing his hand against the mysterious man’s head. Power then courses through Zero’s arm, and his last conscious thought was “oh shit.”







 Zero roared as his skin grew darker, and he leaned forward before reappearing back in place, his skin a pale white, his jaw extending as his skin morphed around his mouth, forming pointed teeth in the back. His own teeth grew points as his eyes turned black with red pupils, and an odd scarf formed around his neck, the two ends coming to a rest at his back. Black lines formed around his eyes, and the air around him grew hazy, an afterimage of his body as he let loose an ear-piercing roar of primal fury.


His broken foot quickly mending itself, Zero leapt out of the building, ramming himself into the side of the Demon, knocking it off balance. It fell to the ground, and Zero jumped up on top of it, quickly slashing his sword across it’s extremely tough skin. The blade broke through, and blood began to spill from the wounds he made. The demon quickly reacted, smashing Zero away with his plank.

  Zero crashes into a building, before flying right back out again, a high pitched screech coming from his extended mouth. His blade met the demon’s board, and Zero was sent flying into the sky. He soon came back down, blade slashing across the demon’s arm.






  “Nnnggh….” Twilight groaned, pushing rubble off of her with her wing. She winced as she slowly got up, feeling a couple of broken bones. Nothing a healing spell couldn't fix. She looked around in a daze, before her eyes locked on to Zero. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Zero’s transformation for herself.

  “...Ze...ro….?” She asked slowly as Zero fought the demon on equal footing, dodging it’s attacks, before reappearing and cutting up the demon’s arm.


  As she slowly trotted closer, Zero leapt up the demon’s remaining arm, cutting into it’s skin as he neared it’s head. Zero slashed up, slicing halfway through the monster’s head and killing it. The corpse of the demon fell to it’s knees, before stopping. Zero jumped down, letting loose a screech that no normal creature should ever make.  Twilight stepped forward.


  “Um...Zero…?” Twilight asked slowly, and the Zero turned. Up close, Twilight couldn't tell if he was more human or more demon. Red eyes surrounded in a sea of black stared at her in madness, and his somewhat long hair flowed in nonexistent wind. The creature that had replaced Zero stepped towards Twilight. 


   Then a large plank of wood smashed into the side of his head, breaking his neck. Twilight gasped as the demon Zero had killed rose from it’s knees once again, it’s wounds healing as it rose. The demon roared proudly, before leaping away. Twilight watched it go, before turning towards the collapsed body of Zero. She hesitantly stepped closer, before falling to the ground.

  “Zero…” Twilight muttered, in shock as her newfound friend lay dead before her. “Zero...no…. I can't….” tears formed once again in her eyes, running freely down her cheeks. “I can't...I can't lose another friend!” She cried, hugging his body. As she wailed, the logical part of her mind suddenly brought up an idea, and she stopped, looking up before her horn lit up. Magic-infused chalk floated over to her, and she began scribbling in the dirt around the body, forming a magic circle when she had finished.

  Tossing the chalk away, she poured her magic into the spell, the circle lighting up a light purple. Five minutes later, the glow faded, and Twilight dropped to the ground, tired. Gasping, she glanced over at Zero’s body. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, his body began to change, slowly reverting back to normal as he began coughing violently. She smiled sleepily as he sat up, Twilight herself attempting to get back on her hooves.

  “Wha….” Zero asked, eyes wide as he looked around. “What...happened? I remember….feeling energy course through me….then a massive plank of wood hit my head...I heard something snap….” His eyes landed on Twilight. “Did you….” he trailed off, before sighing. “How?”

  “Magic….” Twilight moaned, not bothering to lift her head. “I tried that summoning spell on you again.” 

 Zero raised his left hand, and saw a purple six-pointed star glowing faintly on his hand. He chuckled, before laying back down.

  “Thanks...Twilight.” He said, and they lay there for a while, simply enjoying the fact that they were alive. Eventually, the two finally got back up, gazing at the town.

  “So, what happened with the demon?” Zero asked.

  “Well, after it killed you, it jumped away from the town and back to wherever t came from.” Twilight said as she noticed some of the surviving townsponies running up to them. “Oh good, looks like just about everyone made it out okay.” She sighed in relief as they got closer. When they were a few feet away, she called out to them. “Hey, how many surviv-” she stopped mid sentence as two of the stallions shoved Zero to the ground, restraining him. “W-what are you doing?!” Twilight asked as some of the other mares started pulling her away, hatred boiling in their eyes as they stared at Zero.

  “Hey, what's the big idea?!” Zero growled under the weight of one of the stallion earth ponies.

  “Be quiet, demon! You thought you could slip into our ranks and kill us all when we weren't looking?!” The stallion growled, his green mane flowing down over his eyes. “We saw your true form, demon! We won't let you hurt our families any more!”

  “STOOOP!” Twilight yelled, teleporting in front of the stallion and throwing him off with a levitation spell. “Just what do you think you ponies are doing?!”

The stallion got back up quickly, preparing to charge Zero again, until Twilight put herself inbetween them. 

  “That bastard’s a demon, Princess! He plans to kill us all!” One of the growing crowd yelled.

  “I just saved your god damn village from a demon, you bastards!” Zero growled, getting back up. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have let that big old thing do it!”

  “Cease your lies, demon!” A mare yelled in the back.

  “ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled, earning everypony’s attention. “Zero saved you all from being destroyed twice. He has fought for you all, and I demand you release him at once!”

  “But Princess-” One of the ponies started, but Twilight glared at her.

  “No buts! If you want, you can charge him and we will finish this in a trial!” Twilight growled, taking Zero in her magic and teleporting the both of them away.


> Chapter III: Trial...Seriously?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day later

“I still cannot believe they actually went for the trial plan.” Zero groaned, sitting in a cage at the edge of the town. The townsfolk had decided that it would be safer to place him in a cage far from them while the plans for the trial and the location were being made. Twilight had asked him to go in the cage, in an effort to show him as trustworthy. It still ticked him off, but if it could help, might as well give it a try.

“Me neither. The ponies of this town are ridiculous!” Twilight groaned, sitting next to him outside the cage. “It makes me want to just leave, but…”

 “But your duty as the last Princess of Equestria demands you help protect them.” Zero finished, sighing.

  “That, and it wouldn't be right to leave them to their fate.” Twilight nodded.

“So, when does the trial start?” Zero asked after a moment.

  “In a few hours. But unless you can pull some magic words out of a hat, you're screwed.” Twilight replied. 

“Yep.” Zero chuckled. “I could just break out and run away. They would probably celebrate.”

  “Yeah, but if you ever came back, you would likely get lynched or something.” Twilight replied, her eyes towards the ground.

  “Hmmm… say, you said that your friends went missing or something, right?” Zero asked suddenly. Twilight’s ears twitched.

  “Yeah, they did.” She said slowly, turning to look at him through the metal bars. “Why?” 

  “I may just have a plan.” Zero chuckled, sitting back. “It's a stupid plan, and is more likely to fail than anything, but it's a plan nonetheless.” 





Zero sighed as he was escorted to his stand, his arms and legs shackled together with iron chains.

  “Where did you even find this stuff?” Zero asked, looking at the chains.

  “Quiet, demon!” One of his escorts growled, kicking him in the leg. They entered the ‘courthouse’. In reality, it was a roofless building with some chairs gathered from around the town, and a few desks for the judges area. Two of the judges were ponies he was unfamiliar with, who glared at him with hate. Twilight took up the third desk, trying to keep herself calm.

Other townsfolk gathered, taking up the fifteen seats in the room. Zero’s ‘stand’ was a large box. His escorts forced him to sit on it, and the box crumpled under him, old with age. He sighed, extending his legs to sit.

  “This court will now be in session.” Twilight Sparkle stated, looking at the ponies in the jury seats. “We are here to decide what will happen to Zero, who is under the accusation of being a demon.” She looked around.

  “Is this really necessary? Just break the chains and ditch these idiots.” A voice growled inside Zero’s head. 

“No, just trust me on this.” Zero muttered to himself quietly, glancing up at Twilight.

  “Let's get this over with.” Twilight said. “Whoever is the one who wants to start the charges, go ahead.” A Unicorn with a light blue mane, and a white coat stepped forward, his cutie mark, of all things, a burning cross.

  “Princess Twilight,” the unicorn said, glaring at Zero. “This demon was sent here to infiltrate our town, and slaughter us all in our sleep! We must kill this abomination before it brings more of it’s ilk!” 

  “How would you know that?” Twilight countered. “What evidence of these accusations is there?”

   “We all saw him, your Majesty!” The unicorn growled, before catching himself, and continuing in a more civil manner towards the Princess. “When he fought that demon that attacked us, he revealed his true form! He is clearly a demon, and he must die before he can do any more harm to us!”

  “While his other form is worrying,” Twilight replied, giving the unicorn a cold glare. “You have provided no proof that he is here to kill us. Instead, you have stated that he saved everypony here from being killed by that demon. If he is planning to attack us, as you say, would he really have agreed to this trial?” Twilight asked.

  “Permission to speak, Princess?” Zero asked, and a pony smacked him in the back.

  “You may.” Twilight said, before any of the other judges could say otherwise.

  “If what this blubbering fool said was true, there is no way he would have been able to acquire the knowledge of this.” Zero began, and the unicorn glared at him. “If anything he said was true, the only way he would know is by having acquired such information is if he himself was part of such a plot.” The unicorn gawked at him. The ponies in the jury shifted their eyes to the unicorn, uncertainty in their eyes.

  “That is untrue!” The unicorn growled, looking at Twilight. “This demon is attempting to use words to seed distrust in our ranks!”

  “Either way, what he said isn't true.” Zero shrugged. “I am not here to kill anyone.”

  “It could be that he is a rogue demon, who betrayed the other demons.” Twilight pointed out. “Besides, the demons have always had the advantage in this. They wouldn't need to try something like that. The accusations of a demon plot will be dropped. Next.” Twilight pulled a hammer out of thin air and smashed it into the table. The other judges looked at her.

“Your highness, if I may?” Zero said. Twilight glanced at him.

  “Sure.” 

  “I have a proposition to the court.” He stated, looking at the gathered ponies. “Even if I was proven innocent, I doubt these ponies would just drop their hatred of me. In fact, I expect to be kidnapped and burned to death.” 

  “So either way, your fate is sealed?” Twilight asked, confused.

  “Instead of this, why don't we make a deal?” Zero chuckled. “If I were to go out into the world, and try to find the Princess’s friends, who went missing over time.” A gasp of shock rippled through the building.

  “What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

  “Look. If we find your friends, who once used the Elements of Harmony, it might be possible to fight back against the Demons. I'm willing to go out and look for them.” Zero explained.

  “This is just the demon attempting to escape it’s fate.” One of the other judges growled. “If we let you go, you are more likely to flee back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of.”

  “No. I swear.” Zero said, remembering something Twilight had told him about. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He said, somehow making the motions while chained.

  “What makes you think we will trust the promise of a demon? I say we kill the beast-” the judge said, but was cut off by Twilight.

  “No, I trust him. No one makes a Pinkie Promise and breaks it.” Twilight stated, and the others looked at her uncertainly.

 “If you want, you can put some sort of spell on me that will kill me if I don't do this.” Zero suggested.

  “Preposterous.” The unicorn growled. “You would likely break the spell once you are out.”

  “Do remember that I am the former bearer of the Element of Magic.” Twilight said, “I could make such a spell that cannot be broken by most creatures.”  The others shrank back.

  “Are we in agreement?” Twilight asked, glaring at everypony. No one made a sound. She smiled. “Okay then. Motion passed.”





Zero was not surprised that he was given almost nothing for supplies and food. The ponies still glared at him even as he waited for Twilight to activate her spell. The purple alicorn stepped forward, her horn glowing brightly as magical energy circled Zero. The rings of magic closed around the Mercenary, before vanishing entirely, making him glow purple momentarily. 

“There you go, Zero.” Twilight said, yawning. “Good luck on your quest. I need a nap.” She walked away, and Zero shrugged, before beginning his journey through the woods.



 
Three hours later

Zero sighed, taking a small break on a tree that had fallen over. He gazed up into the blood red, cloudy sky, trying to find even the slightest glimpse of the sky beyond. Finding none, he shrugged, standing back up.

  “So, Voice in my head, who exactly are you?” He asked out loud.

  “Well, I guess I could say I'm you.” The voice replied. 

  “Spare me the bullshit.” Zero growled. “I know for a fact that before I arrived in this hellhole, there wasn't any goddamn voice in my head.”

  “Fine. I am Zero, before you and I became a single person for whatever reason. I guess now I am the Spirit of Laevateinn, the sword you use. I am also the source of those ‘instincts’ that kept you alive.” The voice relented, and Zero sighed.

  “So, I'm guessing you know about whatever happened back when we fought that demon?” Zero asked.

   “Beast Mode? Yeah, I know a bit about it.” Laevateinn said. “It’s a thing we can activate, since we are a Killer Prince.”

  “Killer Prince?” Zero asked, sitting back down on the fallen tree. “I'm getting more questions than answers from you.”


   “Killer Princes are humans with both Beast’s Blood and Killium, the essence of our weapons.” Laevateinn stated indifferently. “Now, are you done asking me meaningless questions?”

  “Well, could you teach me how to properly use my powers?” Zero asked.

  “And why should I?” Laevateinn asked.

  “Because I'm currently the one in control, and am more likely to get us killed without knowing how to use these bizarre abilities. I can't always rely on your instinct.” Zero replied, “And I get the feeling you don't want to end up dead because of my stupid actions.”

  Laevateinn was silent for a few seconds. “Fine. I'll teach you, at most so you don't try rushing a demon like last time. Also, I should note, that someone has been tailing you the entire time.” 

  “What?” Zero asked in surprise, glancing around. As his gaze panned over some trees behind him, a purple horn quickly vanished into the bushes, but not quickly enough for Zero to have not seen it. His sword once again in his hand, he pointed it towards the bush. 

  “Whoever is in those bushes, show yourself now.” Stepping closer, he raised his blade to strike whatever was in the bush. A familiar yelp resounded from the bush, and an even more familiar purple alicorn fell backwards out of the foliage, rubbing her head.

  “Twilight?” Zero asked, shocked. “The hell are you doing here?”

  “Umm…” the Alicorn grinned sheepishly. “Enjoying the scenery?”

  “Yeah, and I'm in a fanfiction.” Zero rolled his eyes. “So, why were you following me? What happened to the whole ‘Duty to protect the Ponies’ gimmick?”

  “During the wait for the Trial, I found a badly burned book containing a replication spell. Using that spell, I made a clone of myself to guard the village, while I snuck out and followed you.”

Zero sighed. “Well, it's not like anything can be done about it now.” He sat down on the fallen tree once again, patting the spot next to him. Twilight took the hint and sat down, and the two sat in silence for a few moments.

 “Do you have any sort of map so we know where we are going?” Zero asked. Twilight nodded, levitating out a small, rolled up scroll from her saddlebags, which he had not noticed earlier. 

  “It's dated back from before Equestria fell, but it should work in our favor.” She glanced at him curiously. “So, who exactly were you talking to?”

  “Apparently, I have this other guy in my head who claims to be my sword.” Zero replied, “And he promised to teach me how to properly use my newfound abilities, though he doesn't seem to like me questioning him.” He added that last part when he noticed Twilight’s eyes widen. “All he said was that I'm something called a ‘Killer Prince’, and that I've got Beast’s Blood and something called ‘Killium’ inside me. That's apparently what caused the whole event of me turning into a demon.”

  “Interesting….” Twilight muttered, writing on a scroll with a quill surrounded in her magic.

  “What are you writing?” Zero asked.

  “I'm just putting down what information we know about your powers. Perhaps if we learn more about it, we can better control it. You never know!” Twilight explained, rolling the scroll back up, and into her saddlebags. 

 “I see.” Zero said, deciding to stand up. “So, where's the nearest town?”

  Twilight pulled out her map again. “The closest ruins are… Fillydelphia, on the coast. We might find some survivors, but it's a week’s journey.”

  “That will give us plenty of time for training.” Zero said, walking off. “To Fillydelphia!”

  “Zero!” Twilight called. “Fillydelphia is the other way!” The Mercenary stopped, turning around.

  “Yeah, I knew that. I was just making sure there was no one else around.” Zero said quickly, following Twilight.


Hidden in the tree’s foliage, two emotionless red eyes watched the two go. The unknown being gripped her sword, before vanishing entirely.


  

  





> Chapter IV: Magic N' Stuff 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter IV








  ”Alright, now try again. Rush forward, slice up, before bringing it back down again.” Laevateinn said, his newfound astral projection watching as Zero practiced using his sword. ”Remember, myinstincts have helped you in the past, but they cannot help you win every battle. Eventually your luck will run out.” It had been three days since Zero and Twilight had departed from the village, and the two had gotten quite far. At least, they assumed they had gotten far, considering the near-endless forest gave them little clue. 





  “I know that very much already, thanks for telling me, asshole.” Zero growled, rushing forward. The tip of his blade slid across the dirt, carving a line in the ten feet between the mercenary and the tree he had been using for practice. The tree had several gash marks carved into its bark, proof of Zero’s hours of practice.





  Laevateinn’s sharp edge met wood, and Zero pushed himself upward the blade digging deep into the tree as the mercenary leapt upward, pressing his feet against the side of the tree to gain more momentum. He then pulled the blade out of the tree’s trunk, flipping it above and behind his head. A sudden surge of energy flared through Zero’s limbs, and his eyes widened, before he let out a guttural roar, a fierce cry of such power that no human could ever make, and brought the sword down,  cleaving the tree in two as he fell back down. Black, lightning-like energy coursed down the blade, the tree bending and parting as the edge of the sword made its journey down the tree.





  Zero leapt back to look at what he had just done. The tree had been thoroughly split in two, the sides bending downwards and touching the ground as the mercenary panted.





  “What… was that?” Zero asked,  turning to his ghostly mentor. 





  “What in Celestia’s name is going on out there?! Are we under attack?!” Twilight’s shrill voice asked from inside the tent, ten feet away from where the Mercenary was standing. The purple alicorn mare crawled out of the tent to glare at Zero, a tired expression on her muzzle. “Are you still training? Get to bed, or Celestia help me, I'll send you to Tartarus in the morning!” She huffed, before crawling back into her tent. 





  Zero stared at where she had been, before chuckling, putting his sword away inside its sheath and turning to his ghostly doppelgänger. “She's right, we had best ought to get to sleep before we become more of a burden for her.”





”If we are to survive in this hellscape, then you need to get better with using Laevateinn, not resting when there could be demons nearby.” Laevateinn stated, his transparent arms crossed as he looked back at the tent. 





 “Yeah, well it's better to be even somewhat capable of using a sword and fully rested than able to use the sword effectively, yet can barely stay awake for more than twelve seconds.” Zero chuckled. “Besides, the road to Fillydelphia has been relatively clear of demons. I doubt one is just gonna suddenly pop out of thin air.” He yawned, pulling out his bedroll, before lying down and quickly falling asleep.





  Laevateinn stared at his sleeping form, before sighing, and looking out to the forest around them. ”Don’t think I cannot sense your presence, just because he can’t. You will not take Laevateinn from him like this, do you understand?” The forest was silent, and the ghostly apparition chuckled. ”You will fight him at Fillydelphia, as promised. Just keep your end of the deal, and keep those demons off us.” With that, Laevateinn’s astral form vanished, returning to Zero’s mind. 





  Once he vanished, one of the tree’s shook once, then went still, several leaves falling to the ground.













“Morning, exercise nut!” Twilight’s voice pierced the veil of sleep, and Zero cracked his eyes open to find the purple princess staring down at him, a pan hovering next to her. “I made breakfast, so get up already!”





   “I'm up, I'm up…” Zero groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. “What time is it?”





  “Well, I would say about noonish? It's hard to tell, since there isn't a sun and all.” Twilight rolled her eyes, putting some eggs next to the mercenary. “You'd be surprised at how many eggs were just lying around out here.”





  “Wait… aren't you ponies against eating other creatures?” Zero asked, sitting up and looking at the scrambled eggs next to him on a ridiculously clean plate, considering the state of the world.





  “Yes, but eggs aren't technically alive until they are practically at the hatching phase, or a little bit before.” Twilight shrugged. “Besides, the world has gone to Tartarus. It's eat or be eaten out here.”





  “Fair enough. That doesn't explain how these plates are so clean, considering, you know, the world is fucked.” Zero shrugged, scarfing the eggs down quickly.





  “With the apocalypse comes all sorts of new diseases and filth. I make sure to clean all my plates to keep my body healthy!” Twilight beamed, already finished with her food.





  “But you don't know for certain whether or not the food you just ate already had such diseases in them, do you?” The mercenary countered. Twilight’s smile faltered, but she just shrugged.





  “Well, you can't win them all.” She said plainly, using her magic to disassemble the tent, packing everything into her saddlebags. Zero simply stared, egg halfway inside his mouth as he watched the process. Twilight noticed this, and huffed loudly. “Oh come on, you've seen me do this several times by now! Get over it!”





  “Oh, sorry, it's just magic doesn't exist in my world, Princess. I seriously doubt I will ever get used to seeing an entire tent float up in the air and collapse into those tiny bags.” Zero growled, finishing up his food and packing his things. His plate floated up and into the purple horse’s bags, vanishing entirely. “Fucking ponies and their god damned physics-fucking…”





  “By the way, I've been meaning to ask.” Twilight said, pulling Zero up with her magic. “What type of magic do you use? I felt a lot of it released when you broke that tree apart, but I couldn't really get a complete read off of the released energy to pinpoint an exact type.”





 “There are different types of magic in this world?” Zero asked. “This place just raises more questions every day…” He paused as something Twilight had said clicked into his mind. “Wait, I have magic?!”


  


“Yes, you used it earlier.” Twilight rolled her eyes, “There are several types of magic: Fire, Ice, Wind, Thunder, Light, and Dark!” She said, smiling faintly as she listed them off. “Stuff like levitation is more of a baseless magic. It requires no actual element, and is sort of a null zone in the field of magic. Actual elemental magic requires a bit more concentration, and a bit more of actual thought to putting the spell together.”





  “So… levitation is simple because you aren't trying to create a element of nature incarnate?” Zero asked, mostly lost.





  “That's somewhat of an abridged version, yes.” Twilight grinned. “Some ponies are naturally adept at a certain type, and thus there are several fields of magic available to unicorns at an early age.” Her horn glowed bright purple, and a beam of purple energy shot out, knocking down a nearby tree. “While that might have appeared to have been Light Magic, it was actually a levitation spell. Instead of levitating an actual object, I focused on the particles of air, pushing them forward at high speeds to act like an extremely powerful punch.”





  “I'm pretty sure there's a flaw in the physics of that, but hey, what do I know.” Zero glanced around. “We should get moving. We’re supposedly making good time, but I won't believe it until I see the ruins before me.”





  “Fine, let's get going.” Twilight rolled her eyes, and the two began to move on towards Fillydelphia. “I can just as easily explain the physics of magic to you along the way anyway. Maybe then we will learn what type of magic you use?”





  “Sure, you talking, purple… bird horse…” Zero groaned, pulling out Laevateinn and getting a few practice swings in as they walked, Twilight babbling all the way.













Two Days Later, Fillydelphia Ruins





   Zero and Twilight stared at the expansive ruins before them. Massive skyscrapers had long since crumbled and toppled, leaving barely formed towers behind. Streets were filled with rubble and equine skeletons, countless souls lost during the beginning of Ragnarok. Few buildings remained standing, several having collapsed inwards or crushed beneath the rubble of a fallen skyscraper.








    However, all of these gruesome sights were not what took up the duo’s attention. Instead, it was a human girl, seemingly in her mid-teens, standing ten feet between them and the ruins. Long, silver hair flowed down her back, ending at her waist as she shifted. Her white jacket, white black lining, covered almost all of her upper body, her hands barely visible as they gripped the black and bright red sword pointed at the two. Her pale skin hid behind her jacket, her red eyes glaring at Zero in particular.





  The blade in her hands was almost identical to Laevateinn in all but design,  instead having a massive guard that flowed down in front of the girl’s hands, instead acting more as part of the blade than anything else.





  “I… am Amane…” The girl muttered, her hands clenching around the sword’s hilt. “You, who stole my brother’s body…” She let out a guttural and unnatural growl, her face shifting and becoming more demonic than human, a jagged and pointed jawline erupting beyond her natural lips. ”Die!” She roared, rushing forward and bringing her sword forward to cut Zero to pieces.





> Chapter V: Amane, the Killer Princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zero leapt away from her initial strike, bringing forth his sword just in time to narrowly deflect her next strike from piercing his heart. Instead, the tip of the blade cut through the skin of his left shoulder, blood already beginning to leak through as Zero winced, jumping back. As Amane leapt at the mercenary once again, a beam of purple energy cut through the air between them, forcing the demonic girl to stop her progress towards Zero, her glowing eyes glaring at the source.


“Stop this, now!” Twilight ordered, stamping her hoof into the ground, wings spread out in an aggressive stance, her horn already charging up another spell. Amane growled, before letting loose an ear piercing screech of rage. Twilight cried out in pain, dropping the spell as her wings covered her ears. The demon girl launched herself at Twilight, her blade aimed at Twilight’s chest.

The Princess of Friendship winced as she heard the sound of metal piercing flesh. She looked up to see the back of Zero, standing in front of her, crying out in pain as he clutched at the sword currently burying itself in his… less than sturdy spot between his legs.

“I have made many mistakes in my life…” Zero squeaked, eyes wide with the most unholiest of pains. “...but none can compare to this…” He dropped the sword in his hand, his attempt to use it as a shield having failed miserably. Even Amane looked pained, grimacing as she turned away from the sight, removing her blade as Zero tumbled to the ground, clutching his lower region as blood soaked the ground.

Amane watched him fall, her demonic visage slowly returning to normal. She slowly raised her sword, flipping it upside down to point the tip at Zero’s trembling head. “F-for my brother…” She muttered, until a beam of energy smacked into her, sending the silver-haired girl flying straight into a tree, flopping down as she fell unconscious.

“Oh my Celestia, are you alright Zero?!” Twilight asked, looking over her comrade with an extremely worried expression.

“I just… got my manhood… cut in two…” Zero managed to gasp out as he fought against the dark spots emerging from the edges of his sight. “Of… course… I'm not alright!” He said, before falling unconscious as well.

“Z-Zero?! Oh buck, what was the formula for that healing spell again?” Twilight yelped, panicking.





 A few hours later

Zero groaned as he woke, looking around to find that he was still in the ruined city . He put a hand to his head, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, Zero! Thank Celestia you’re awake!” Twilight spoke up, stepping into view.

“What… happened…?” Zero groaned, sitting up. “I had this horrible nightmare, where this psycho bitch appeared out of nowhere, and in the fight she stabbed me right in the dick…” He paused, eyes narrowing. “That wasn't a dream, was it?”

“Unfortunately, no. Even more unfortunately, not even my magic could repair the damage done… so I removed it entirely, to lessen the pain.” Twilight shuffled her hooves, looking down. “Though… it's not every day someone risks their stallionhoods for me…”

“If you start getting feelings for me, I'm immediately ditching you. And even if I had my dick, I would not bang a horse.” Zero stated blandly. Twilight looked up, her face reddening.

“I-I was just thanking you, jerk!” Twilight turned around, huffing. “It was awkward enough having to remove your stallionhood, so don't make things weird!”

“Fine, whatever you say, you crazy purple horse…” Zero rolled his eyes, before realizing something. “Wait, where is the girl who attacked me?”

“She's tied to that tree over there.” Twilight pointed her hoof off to the side. Zero followed it to find Amane, true to Twilight’s words, tied to a tree with rope.

“Where'd you even get the rope?” Zero asked, before shaking his head. “You know what, nevermind. I don't want to know. Let's just see if she's cooperative enough to talk to us.” 





Amane groaned, slowly returning to consciousness as the image of the floor came to her.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Enjoy your forced nap? Good, because I have a few questions for you.” She slowly raised her head to find Zero staring at her with a neutral gaze. She yelped, shifting to find herself tied to a tree. “Yeah, don't even try to escape.”

“Release me, you monster!” Amane growled, attempting to break free of her bonds. However, whoever tied them was obviously an expert, as the rope wouldn't budge an inch.

“Monster, eh? Says the one who stabbed a mans dick. Now, since you have destroyed my most precious part of myself, I think the least you can do is answer a few questions before I do the same to you.” She visibly paled, only now noticing the sword laying casually to the side. 

“F-fine, I'll answer your damn questions.” Amane muttered, eyes suddenly fearful.

“Good. Now, first and foremost, who are you, and why did you attack me?” Zero asked, sipping some tea out of a cup that was graciously given to him by Twilight, who returned to the campfire they had constructed.

“I already told you, I'm Amane, a Killer Princess, and I attacked because you stole my brother’s body, you vile monster.” Amane said, before letting loose a frightened squeak as Zero’s sword was raised up slightly, digging into the wood between her feet. Zero grinned, removing his hand from the blade and leaving it there.

“Monster is a bit harsh, don't you think?” Zero smiled innocently. “Now, I didn't steal anyone’s body. We should get that straight. I was transported here like this, after some asshat in armor killed all my friends. Now, unless your brother is that ghost that lives in my sword, I personally don't know the guy.”

”Well, you should probably know that she's talking about me.” Laevateinn said, appearing next to Zero. 

The mercenary turned to him. “Wait, she's your sister? Then why isn't she.. y’know, all ghostlike, like you?”

”Because, you moron, she obviously didn't get combined with a mercenary like I did.” Laevateinn rolled his eyes, turning back to Amane. ”Great job in the fight, by the way. Though I don't really approve of losing that particular part of me, you did well.”

“What, you planned for this to happen?!” Zero growled, turning to his duplicate as Twilight stared at him from the campfire, sipping her tea.

”Yes, because I wanted to see if you had actually learned anything from our training. Which, by the way, you have. Somewhat. Still need to learn when to let others die though.” Laevateinn said.

“Excuse me?! Just because you’re an incorporeal asshole, doesn't mean I can't still kill you!”

”Actually, it does. You cannot do anything to me. Or perhaps your brains were kept mostly in your dick, and losing it has made you dumber?” Laevateinn said snarkily, causing Zero’s eye to twitch.

“Oh, that's it! If you ever get your own body, I'm kicking your ass! You hear me?!” Zero growled. Amane, having watched the two bicker the entire time, began to giggle lightly. Both Zero and Laevateinn turned as they heard this, both raising an eyebrow.

“I-it's funny to see my brother getting so worked up by another person.” Amane giggled, unable to stifle them. “So… have you really not stolen my brother’s body on purpose?”

“No, I haven't. But once I find the asshole who did this, I'll be sure to let you have a crack at him.” Zero said. “Now, since I seriously don't want you trying to kill us again, I'm going to offer you a deal.” Amane looked at him curiously. “You can join me and Twilight on our mission to find the rest of the Elements of Harmony, and not kill us along the way. Or, I can avenge my dick and kill you now, so I don't have to deal with you again. What do you say?”

Amane stared at him for a moment, before sighing. “Fine… but only if you help me find a way to return my brother to his body. Or any body.” Amane said. Zero nodded, before cutting her ropes and setting her free. 

“You want something to eat? Me and Twilight were planning to make some food before we venture into the city.” Zero asked. His answer was Amane’s growling stomach. “I'll take that as a yes. Come on, we can learn more about each other!” He said, before pulling her along towards the fireplace. She was hesitant at first, before sighing in defeat, and followed him along willingly.
> Chapter VI: The Blade Queen and Thunder Pigeon (Crossover)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fillydelphia Ruins, outskirts

“Damn, this place is a mess…” Zero commented, his gaze traveling across the ruins of Fillydelphia as the trio moved through them. Rubble from destroyed buildings scattered across their path, with some of the larger pieces proving to be obstacles in their way. 

“Well, of course it is, Zero.” Amane muttered. “It's called ‘ruins’ for a reason.” She walked ahead of Zero and Twilight, scouting ahead in case of danger. “This is common knowledge.”

“Well maybe I haven't seen a city this fucked up before, Amane.” Zero replied. “Where I’m from, there were no demons, and cities certainly weren't this damaged.”

“Must've been nice, growing up in a world like that.” Amane muttered, gritting her teeth to suppress her anger. “Now, we should keep moving in relative silence. Demons might be around.” Before the other two could say anything else, the relatively intact walls of a building exploded into dust and shrapnel as the gray-haired girl moved past, her instincts kicking in as she leapt back to avoid any damage.

“What the hell?!” Zero yelled, his sword materializing as he stepped in front of Twilight defensively. “Who's there?!”

As the smoke and rubble cleared, the trio found an unusual sight growling in front of them. It was another human, a man with almost fiery red hair, and a chunk of metal covering his forehead. The man was extremely buff, though he seemed a bit malnourished, a barely fitting jacket covering his arms, which held an absolutely massive hammer over his shoulders. His eyes were wide, madness clear in them as he roared, swinging his hammer into the ground again, causing the ground to buckle and break beneath it.

“M-Mjolnir?!” Amane yelled, dropping next to Zero as her own sword appeared in her hands. 

“You know this guy?” Zero asked as Mjolnir slowly pulled his hammer up and out of the ground again.

“Yes… he's a Killer Prince like you. But why is he attacking us?” Amane muttered, stepping back slightly as the hammer-wielding maniac began moving closer. 

“It doesn't matter. If he decides to be our enemy, then all we can do is strike him down!” Zero replied, before charging towards the other Killer Prince, sword to his side for a leg sweep. His vision darkened as the mad Killer Prince smashed his hammer against Zero, propelling him backwards and into the ground behind Twilight and Amane.

“What… what kind of power is that?!” Twilight asked, checking on Zero, who was slowly getting back up.

“The power of a Killer Prince… who's lost himself.” Amane sighed, before leaping up into the air and bouncing off one of the taller buildings towards Mjolnir, her sword aimed for his chest. The crazed warrior glared at her, before swinging his hammer between her blade and his body, electricity sparking along the massive hammer as her sword made contact. Before she could pull away, electricity traveled up her blade from them hammer, sending Amane flying back as she screamed in pain, electricity rushing through her body like lightning.

“Amane!” Twilight yelled, before looking back at Mjolnir, who was now moving closer to the group. “He.. knocked them down in one hit…” She gulped, before getting into her own fighting stance, her horn leveled at the approaching warrior. “I have to defend them…”

Meanwhile, the downed gray haired woman fought against losing consciousness, trying to fish something out of her jacket pockets. She eventually found what she was looking for, and pulled out a small blue crystal, which hovered above her hand as a pair of voices echoed through her mind once again. “To those who are not afraid to see the light and rise like a phoenix to stop those who will harm others, use this crystal to summon us, the Blade Queen and Thunder Phoenix, and a brave new frontier will be opened, but for those who wish us to do harm to others that don’t deserve it, beware…”

“I… hate having to call someone else for a favor… but… please help…” Amane groaned, resisting the urge to sleep. “We’re getting torn to bits…”

As if in answer, a vortex opened up a few feet from her and spat out two lightly armored female forms. One had rusty blond hair with a tiara sticking out of it, but her most defining feature was the pair of wings on her back that appeared to be made of pure electricity. A single sword was strapped to her side. Her companion had a mop of short white hair, with a feathered skirt surrounding her legs. She didn't appear to have any weapons.

“Woah, who in Tartarus are you two?!” Twilight yelped, jumping to the side to stare at the two newcomers. Even Mjolnir had stopped, his eyes seemingly observing the two and judging their next actions. Behind them, Zero slowly started to shakily stand up, eyes growing dark.

The two girls brushed against one another as they took in the scene. The winged girl looked over at Amane and whispered something to her companion. Nodding, the white haired girl ran over to her and handed her a single green bottle. “Drink this, it should heal you.” The girl said. Meanwhile, the winged girl kept an eye on Mjohnir, her hand on the pommel of her sword.

“Who… are you people?” Amane asked, her hand shakily grabbing the potion, still feeling as though electricity ran through her body.

“I'm Mira, known in my Equestria as the Blade Queen. The girl over there is my sister, Cassie, the Thunder Phoenix.” The girl replied.

“A-Amane, Killer Princess.” The silver-haired girl introduced. “My brother-” she was cut off as a high pitched screech echoed through the ruined town, and Zero leapt past the group, his skin a sickening pale white as his jaw extended beyond normal human capabilities, his eyes pitch black, with red pupils. A long red scarf ran from his neck, and it almost appeared as if several faded versions of him existed in the same place, afterimages of him almost like a cloak as he soared past them, rushing towards Mjolnir, his sword almost glowing as he smashed it against Mjolnir’s hammer, before being knocked back. “...and that's my brother, Zero.”

Cassie had leapt out of the way as Zero came flying in her direction. Her wings held her in place as she hovered. “This guy sure seems fun…” she said sarcastically.

“Please, don't worry about Zero.” Twilight said, backing up. “Also, probably keep some distance from him. He's in Beast Mode, and we don't know if he knows we’re allies or not…” Her point was accentuated when Zero  looked up at Cassie, eyes red with almost primal rage.

Cassie shuddered, “No problem with that, Twi…”

“But, do try to help. We were walking through the ruins when Mjolnir attacked us, and he’s really tough…” Twilight continued as Zero leapt forward again, ending in the same result as the last one.

Cassie nodded. “Mira, let's give Beast Man over here an opening!” She called over to her sister. Mira gave a nod before eight blades shimmered into being. She then charged forward, while Cassie swooped in from above. “Astinic Fall!” Cassie shouted as she pulled her sword out. In an instant, the wings turned solid as the electrical energy arced up from her, before she landed ten quick blows on Mjolnir, the runes on her sword delivering a devastating shock every time the blade hit. Then the electrical energy from her wings slammed down onto Mjolnir, causing electricity to course through him.
Mira then slipped behind him and delivered a flurry of slashes from her blades, each strike both blinding and burning him. The two then retreated to avoid being hit by the hammer.

Mjolnir roared, energy coursing through him as Zero charged again, his blade prepared to strike the towering warrior down. But as he got near, Mjolnir’s body began to literally glow with electrical energy, and in a burst of light, released all the energy at once in an explosion that sent Zero reeling back once more, crashing into a building. Mjolnir seemed unfazed by Cassie’s attack, though the strikes from Mira had left their mark as he roared, before leaping away.

“We… drove him off?” Amane muttered, watching Mjolnir vanish over the ruins.

“Looks like it.” Cassie said as she sheathed her sword. Her wings had gone back to being pure electricity.

“Well, that's great!” Twilight smiled. “Now, where's Zero?” The buildings exploded once again as the Killer Prince in question leapt out, red eyes searching for his enemy.

Mira kept her blades out in case Zero decided to attack her and the others. He roared, and started to move towards them, until Amane suddenly appeared in front of him, her blade flashing and sending the crazed Killer Prince’s blade flying off into the distance. She then quickly bashed his forehead with the pommel of her sword, sending him staggering backwards and clutching his head. She didn't pause in her assault, and continued hitting him only with the back of her sword, until he finally slumped to the ground, unconscious. He soon returned to normal as Amane casually flicked her hair out of her eyes.

Both Cassie and Mira let out a sigh of relief. “Faust above, that was too close….” Cassie muttered. Mira stayed silent, her blades fading into nothingness.

“He should be up in an hour or two.” Amane said, her sword vanishing from her hand as she walked back to the group. “He's already suffered much worse when we fought the other day.”

“Well, at least you’re looking out for him, Amane.” Twilight said, trotting up to the trio.

“So…. What happened here? I’ve only seen this much devastation when Cassie and I went to investigate a destroyed town…” Mira asked, looking around.

“Twilight, you handle this. I'm going to go take a nap. You wake me, you die.” Amane muttered, walking up to one of the ruined buildings and laying down against the wall.

“R-right…” Twilight nodded, before turning back to Cassie and Mira. “Well, to make a long story short, a few years ago, on Ragnarok Day, as we call it, the sky tore itself open above Equestria, and demons poured out from this hole and destroyed most of Equestria. We don't know why or how it happened, everypony has been too preoccupied with trying to survive against the demons.”

“I'm truly sorry…” Cassie murmured. She then frowned. “For some reason, the way that happened sounds like something from another game I played back on Earth, but I can't remember it…”

“I can't help you there.” Twilight shrugged sheepishly, before examining the two. “So… are the two of you Killer Princesses too? We don't know of many humans out here…”

The term seemed to ring a bell with Mira. “Cassie, I think that game you were thinking of was Phantom of the Kill, because they don't use Summoners like Brave Frontier. They had Killer Princes and Princesses!”

Cassie facepalmed. “Right, that was the game…” She then looked at Twilight. “To answer your question, we’re called Summoners.”

Summoners? Interesting…” Twilight pulled out a book and quill, opening up to a blank page before writing down something. “Please tell me everything about yourselves!”

“What the hell is it, Laevateinn? Why'd you have to wake me up from the somewhat pleasant dream?” Another voice asked. The trio turned to see that Zero had woken up, and was clutching his head, his silver hair disheveled. “Also… why does my body hurt this badly?”

“Well, you did go berserk and try to stab a hammer wielding brute only to get sent flying every time.” Cassie said, a small smirk on her lips.

“Who the hell are you, Thunder Thighs? And what are you smirking about?” Zero growled, his sword rematerializing in his hand.

“The name’s Cassie, the Thunder Phoenix.” Cassie said, her hand on her own blade.

“Call yourself whatever you'd like, Spark Plug.” Zero replied, stepping down from the pile of rubble he had been knocked out on and closer to the group. “So Twi, what exactly are these chicks doing here?”

“They helped us fight Mjolnir, Zero.” Twilight commented, backing away slightly.

“Right, right, Mjolnir.” He shrugged. “So, you still haven't answered my question, Thunder pigeon. What're you smirking about?”

“It was nothing of your concern.” Cassie retorted.

“Right, right, Laevateinn. I know better than to start fights with a chick, even if she's as irritating as this one.” Zero rolled his eyes, talking to seemingly the air on his left.

Cassie turned to Mira and did the cuckoo sign.

“He's not crazy.” Twilight whispered. “As ridiculous as it sounds, he’s got the original Zero stuck inside him. Amane can see him too, so I'm pretty sure he isn't crazy.” 

Mira then sighed and said, “I’m guessing you're new to this whole Displaced thing?”

Zero turned from talking to his ‘original’ and looked at her. “The hell is a Displaced?”

“What's the last thing you remember before you ended up in this world?” Cassie asked.

“That bastard Ahriman killing all of my pals and sending me here.” Zero replied angrily. “I was originally a mercenary before all this bullshit.”

“Then like it or not, you're part of a Multiverse. Whoever this Ahriman is, he’s the one that Displaced you.” Cassie said. “There are millions of us out there, each in a different Equestria. The only way we can actually contact each other is by something called a Token, an object that represents you that's sent into something called the Void.”

Zero blinked. “Right… in English please?”

“Don't mind him, he isn't as dumb as you think.” Twilight commented. 

Cassie sighed before saying, “Long story short, you're now a character of a game, movie, TV show or book in a cartoon universe. And there's no way of getting back to Earth.”

“Right…” Zero muttered, looking back at Twilight. “Are you sure these two are sane?”

“Well, it would explain how you got here.” Twilight shrugged.

“Maybe this might convince you.” Mira said before a summoning circle appeared around her right hand and she chanted, “Terra Halcyon Lance, I call on your aid!” In a flash of light, an armored figure stood next to her, armed with a two handed pike. His armor had vines covering it, while his hair was a bright green.

“You called, Summoner?” He asked.

“Woah! What kind of summoning technique is that?” Twilight asked, rushing in front of Mira, eyes sparkling. Only to see eight blades mere inches from her.

“Please… don't do that.” Mira asked, her eyes showing the faintest hint of fear.

“O-oh, s-sorry…” Twilight muttered, pulling back from the girl. “But still, I must know that summoning technique!”

“Twi, don't pressure the girl. If she wants to teach you, she’ll teach you.” Zero interrupted, looking between Cassie and Mira. “Now, I don't fully believe any of what you said is true. But, it does put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle in place, so I guess I'll believe you for now.”

Mira then looked at Zero. “Did you happen to play one particular game back on Earth?”

“Well that sure as hell is very specific.” Zero shrugged. “Didn't play a lot of games, was too busy with my mercenary work.”


Mira shrugged. “Was just wondering, but it may explain why you're now Zero from Phantom of the Kill.”

“I don't think I've heard of that game before. But it doesn't matter. All that matters now is helping Twilight find the rest of the Element Bearers and fix this world.” Zero replied, looking up at the blood red sky.

Both Cassie and Mira gave each other a silent glance.

“What? I'm trying to repay a debt between me and Twilight. She wants to find her friends, so I'll help her find her friends. It's as simple as that.” Zero shrugged. 

“Where exactly were you guys headed before hammer boy showed up?” Cassie asked.

“Well, we were sorta going through Fillydelphia to look for Twi’s friend, if one of them is here, that is. They were all separated during Ragnarok.” Zero shrugged. “This was the closest town from where we started, so we thought we’d give it a look first.”

“Which Element bearer was supposed to be here?” Mira spoke up.

“Um… potentially Rainbow.” Twilight said. “She went off looking for survivors, and the others either went to the Crystal Kingdom or disappeared.”

Mira frowned as she looked out into the ruins. “Let's hope we find her soon.” She said.

“Yeah… but she might already be dead…” Amane yawned, waking up from her quick nap. “Oh, hey Zero. Didn't know you were up already.” She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean, bro? I'm just being rational. This ‘Rainbow’ chick’s been gone for months, if not much longer. I doubt a simple mare could survive out here for long.”

“Rainbow's tough, I’m sure she's okay.” Cassie said, but her voice sounded like she didn't believe it.

“Well, at the very least we can recover her Element and form a new Elements of Harmony or something, right?” Zero asked, looking at the group one by one. “Aside from Thunder Sparks, I'm mostly sure we all embody some form of the elements.”

“The name’s Cassie. And Mira and I are only here because someone called us from our Equestria. So the chances of the two of us becoming an Element are like your name: Zero.” Cassie snarked.

“Aww, and here I thought you were trapped here forever. Of course, we could still lock you up in cages like irritating little gremlins and carry you around, but that would just add to your dead weight.” Zero counter-snarked in mock disappointment, stepping up directly in front of Cassie.

Cassie gave Zero a glare, and as she did so, Zero noticed a red glow beginning to emanate from her eyes, as if something was waiting for her to unleash the anger inside her. The Killer Prince simply stared her down, an almost bored expression on his face.

“So… are you going to do anything more than try to burn a hole in my head? Because right now you’re doing about as much of a good job at that as a whale trying to swim on land. Which would probably say a lot about your career too.” Zero smirked, casually poking her nose. He soon found himself flat on the ground with a sword blade that crackled with electrical energy pointed at his throat.

“You think you’re so important. One of these days, that attitude will end up getting you killed or worse, put someone else in danger.” Cassie said, her eyes colder than the Arctic north. Zero said nothing in reply, still smirking, until he suddenly kicked her footing out from under her as he got back up, and the two soon found their positions reversed. Zero chuckled, putting the edge of his blade up to her throat as Twilight and Amane rushed up to them.

“Listen here, Thunder Pigeon.” He growled, a hint of his Beast Mode creeping into his eyes and voice. “You think you can stand above me and pass judgment on my actions? I'll have you know that I've already died defending some shitty ass village not too far from here. And you know what happened? They kicked me out, because they thought I was a demon. So no, I don't really care about how my attitude will get someone else hurt. I'd gladly hurt one of those little shits if I didn't have Twilight with me.” His face was inches away from hers, fanged teeth obvious in his mouth. “I'm only doing this because I'm indebted to Twilight. And I don't care what a pretty little princess that wants to play hero has to say about me. Let that be a warning to you.” He leapt back, eyes and mouth returning to normal.

Cassie sat up, spitting out a small gobbet of blood.  “Unlike you, I don't treat others like they're Expendables." she growled.

“Listen, kid, I get it.” Zero rolled his eyes. “You want to be the big hero of the world, protecting ponies and talking big words. But here's the thing.” He gave her a toothy grin. “In the end, they'll turn against you for being so different, so powerful. It's much better to use that power to simply do whatever you want to do. Screw what other people say.”

“That’s what I’d expect a two bit Merc that couldn't even save his own team to say.” Cassie said. There was a momentary silence, Zero and Twilight’s eyes similarly widening at her statement. Unlike Twilight, however, Zero’s reaction was entirely different.

“BITCH!!” Zero screeched, before lunging at Cassie, and as he flew into the air between them, his body changed once again. His hands grew sharp claws, which seemed almost as if they could cut through steel, while his skin turned pure white, cracks forming along his jaw, before the skin behind it broke apart, revealing a second set of razor sharp teeth as his eyes turned black, his red pupils filled with rage. His speed instantly increased, and in the blink of an eye, his sword was swinging up towards Cassie’s neck, humming with blazing energy. In fact, flames had begun to form on the sword, flickering behind it like an afterimage.

As fast as Zero was, Cassie was even faster, her sword deflecting the blow before she threw a shattering uppercut, sending him flying backwards into a building. She then streaked forward, shouting, “Thunder Blade: Yellow Silk!” before she landed a rain of blows, the blast of Lightning dealing even more damage to Zero. Zero leapt up from the building, almost unfazed by the blows except for the multiple gashes along his torso as he let loose another screech, the sound breaking a nearby window and sending Twilight reeling on the ground below. The almost possessed Killer Prince then lunged forward at an even greater speed than before, Cassie noticing that the move broke one of his bones as he brought his sword towards her legs.

“Cassie has made a major mistake.” Amane muttered, walking up next to Mira as they watched the battle unfold.

Mira sighed as she watched her sister dodge the attack and send Zero crashing into the ground. “To be fair, he pretty much asked for it.”

“No, not that.” Amane muttered, noticing that the impact crater from Zero’s landing hadn't been from his body crashing, but rather his sword punching into the ground. “You see, especially with Killer Princes, there is a very real risk when using Beast Mode. My brother has been trying to keep Zero from using his full power, but what Cassie said broke whatever control he had on it.” She turned to look at Mira. “If Zero uses too much of his power, he will lose himself to it, and become a demon himself. And I know for a fact that, because of his Killium, he's unlikely to be stopped.”

Mira then winced as Zero got in a lucky blow, sending Cassie smashing through two buildings. “I need to help my sister! She's the only family I have after I lost my actual family to a fire…”  Zero screeched again, before rushing after Cassie, bursting through any ruins that stood in his way, sometimes breaking down other houses as well. 

“Just know that if you come close to killing Zero, I will get involved. And, unlike the idiot in my brother’s body, I have much more control over my Killium.” Amane warned, her eyes hardening as her sword appearing in her hand.

“Believe me, killing anyone is the last thing I want to do right now.” Mira said as her blades formed. She then ran towards the sound of clashing swords. Hang on, Cassie… I’m on my way...

She arrived to find a still very enraged Zero bashing his shoulder into an obviously wounded Cassie, the blow sending her flying back towards a wall, blood trailing behind her. The demon-like Zero was faster, and rushed up behind her once again, raking his clawed hand across her shoulder and crushing her back into the ground. Lines had begun to form around his eyes, black like his eyes, which now had glowing red veins streaking across them. A glowing red scarf flowed from his neck in a nonexistent wind, and he growled as he raised his sword above Cassie's head, one foot on her back and crushing her into the ground.

“Hey, Butthead!” Mira’s voice made him halt before eight blades impacted into him, pinning him to the wall. Gasping in pain, Cassie managed to crawl away, one of her wings limp. Mira then strode up, four of her blades detaching from where they pinned Zero. “I promised your sister I wouldn't kill you.” She said, glaring at the Killer Prince, who squirmed and screeched against the remaining blades imprisoning him. “And you’re lucky Cassie didn't go into her Omni form.”  The four hovering blades then turned so that they were hilt first. With a flick of her hands, the four blades smashed into Zero hilt first, stunning him enough that Mira pulled the other four blades out and chanted, “Blade Storm Barrage!” The blades then lanced into him, the light blasts from the blades simultaneously blinding and burning him. And when he tried to move, he found that he was unable to. “Paralysis effect, you’ll be unable to move for a while.” Mira said. She then ran over to Cassie. While her armor had taken most of the damage, Cassie had suffered a broken wing and several deep slash marks. She also had a shiner, which forced her left eye shut. 

“It looks worse than it actually is.” Cassie tried to joke, but groaned in pain. Her open eye then widened. “Mira, behind you!” Mira spun around and crossed her blades in time to block the thrust from Zero, but the power behind it sent her skidding into a wall. Dazed, Mira was too slow to block the next stroke, and the now-flaming blade bit into her side, causing her to scream in pain. The shock was so strong, she fell unconscious. The Killer Prince smashed his fist into her face one last time, resulting in a few broken teeth and a lot of blood, before screeching in victory, before turning back to Cassie, his fanged mouth hanging open, presenting his sharp teeth as he stalked towards her. Meanwhile, Amane watched from above, shaking her head sadly. 

“I knew they couldn't beat him like this… with each knockback, he draws on more power. It's hopeless for them… it's best to just wait out Zero’s rampage, even if it means their deaths…” Amane sighed. “Might as well take a nap…” She laid back against the wall she stood next to, and, finding a comfortable spot, soon fell asleep.




Inside Mira's consciousness…

Mira jerked awake, before noticing that she seemed to be in a strange metal room, a large computer nearby.

Before she could ponder this further, she heard the clank of metal boots before the massive armored figure entered. “Where… Where am I?”  Mira asked, her voice shaking. 

“I'm afraid you're near death, your body suffered massive trauma from fighting Zero. Even now, your sister is in danger.”

“I need to save her! I don't want to lose her!” Mira sobbed, pounding on the figure’s armor.

She felt the figure's hand bring her chin up so that she was looking at his helmet. “ I can bring you back, but you must understand that you will need to change in order to do so.”

“As long as I can save Cassie, I’ll do it.” Mira said, her heart racing.

“Very well…” The figure stepped back before his hands glowed with power. “Go Mira,and may your new form serve you well….”

As the energy hit Mira, she felt a sudden pain in her back before the two miniscule wings on her back formed into a pair of energy like wings. Her blades then formed, but one fell, forcing her to catch it with her left hand while a shield formed on her right. “No longer are you the Blade Queen… use your Holy Blades to help save your sister!” He then vanished as darkness took over Mira's vision…





In the physical world…

Cassie stared as Zero stalked towards her, glowing red eyes filled with rage, and as he raised his blade, her last thought was, I’m so sorry, Mira… before she closed her eyes in defeat.

The sound of Zero screaming in pain caused her to snap her eyes open and stare in shock. Standing in front of her,her wings splayed and her shield and blades at the ready, was Mira. “You… will not… hurt... my… SISTER!” The girl shouted before swinging her sword and sending Zero flying, causing him to smash through several buildings.

Amane woke instantly, sensing Mira’s newfound power as she stood back up. “Well, great. I hope Twilight comes in with that ability of hers before we really lose Zero…” She muttered, slightly angry as she looked down at the battlefield. “The amount of Eldritch this battle is going to attract will be insane… or worse, Replicants...”

Meanwhile, Mira had summoned Layla, and as the healer type unit patched Cassie up, the swordswoman readied her weapon. Zero’s screech of rage echoed loudly through the ruins, and, with a sound almost like that of a sonic boom, he lunged forward, his blade now blazing with black fire as he brought it towards the defending girl, and as their blades met, there was an intense shockwave that tore through the already damaged supports of the nearby buildings, causing them to collapse.

Disengaging her blade, Mira swung her shield and managed to knock Zero out in a single blow. As he sank to the ground unconscious, Mira sank her blade into the ground and collapsed.

“Dammit, I was hoping Zero would fight a little longer so Twilight would get here…” Amane muttered, dropping next to Mira. “Just my luck he had begun to power down before you had come back…” she casually tapped her boot against Zero’s side, checking for his response as his body slowly returned to normal. “Oh well, I suppose I'll have to wait a little longer to explain that secret to them…”

Mira didn't answer, she had fallen asleep after the adrenaline rush.

“Great, just me against all the incoming Eldritch. This is such a pain…” Amane muttered, kicking Zero again. “Hey, idiot, if you’re done sleeping, get up already.” The fallen mercenary was silent. “...Great. Twilight, look after them all. I'm going to go clear the area.” She said, turning to the alicorn, who had remained silent once she arrived at the aftermath of the battle. She meekly nodded, and Amane leapt up into the air, vanishing over a line of still intact buildings.

Cassie winced as her broken wing healed. “If you're going to yell at me, just do it.” She muttered, “I was stupid to say what I said…”

“Yeah, you really were.” The former Princess of Friendship replied, sitting in front of her. “Now, I normally would scold you, but I feel Zero did more than enough to teach you your lesson.” 

“If he hadn't pushed my buttons, I would have been content with ignoring him.” 

“And if you hadn't made fun of him for getting beaten up by Mjolnir, he wouldn't have decided to mess with you.” Twilight countered. “So even then, the blame still falls with you.”

Cassie gave a snort and looked away.

“So, what have you learned today?” Twilight asked, a small smile on her muzzle as she pulled out a book and quill.

Cassie gave the alicorn a single heated glare from the corner of her eye.

“I haven't had a Friendship lesson in years. While this isn't exactly friendship, it's still a lesson, and I want something nostalgic, so humor me.” Twilight stated, poking Cassie’s leg with her hoof.

“I wouldn't count on Cassie answering anytime soon.” Mira said, her voice slurred with sleep. “She tends to be a bit stubborn when she thinks she wasn't in the wrong.” She slowly sat up, the slash that Zero had given her now completely healed after her transformation.

“And I'm quite capable of handling stubborn ponies. Cassie’s a classic Rainbow case. Now, if I wanted to, I could point out just how wrong it was of her to say what she said about Zero’s old friends, but then we’d be here for a very long time.” Twilight smirked. 

“You want to know the reason why I said that? Because people like him, when they taste power, they think it's their right to abuse it,that they can get away from any consequences.” Cassie spat. “All power is is a double edged knife, it can make you powerful, but it also corrupts.”

Twilight stared at her. “Then why is it that, no matter what happened, up till now, Zero not only held back his own power, but also has never, not even once, actually hurt a pony?” 

“Because of you, Twilight. If he had been left to his own devices, he would have killed ponies without a second thought.”

“And yet, he decided to have himself vanished from the settlement we were at, vowing to bring back the missing Elements.” Twilight sighed. “Look, Cassie, he might hide it pretty well, but he does actually care about other ponies.” She then gave Cassie a heavy glare. “And even besides all of that, telling someone they were too weak and pathetic to save their friends, and likely the people he considered his family only a few weeks after they had died, was uncalled for. He isn't those bullies from Earth, he isn't the man you think he is, and if you try to piss him off again, it will be me who you will be dealing with. And you had better pray to Celestia that I will grant you enough mercy to leave you with at least some intact bones.”

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked behind her to see Mira shaking her head. “Let's just leave her alone for now. She’ll calm down after a bit.” The Summoner said gently.

Amane suddenly dropped down next to the group, pushing some of her hair out of her face as a glowing red scarf hovering behind her vanished. “I managed to kill off all the demons your little spat had brought. You’re just lucky it didn't bring back Mjolnir, or another Replicant.” She told Cassie. “Otherwise I might not have been able to fight them all off on my own.”

Cassie didn't answer, her eyes staring out into the ruins. Her wings had lost all of their electrical energy, and had reverted into a pair of tawny gold wings which were now folded on her back.

“Now, let's just hope that when Zero wakes up, he hasn't lost any important memories…” Amane muttered, looking down at her still unconscious brother. “I'd really hate it if he forgot all about Equestria and the rest of us…”

“Wait, memory loss?”  Twilight asked, looking up at Amane. “What do you mean?”

“It's a side effect of the Killium in us. Overextended use of it has been known to result in short term memory loss, and a gradual loss of one’s humanity. Another reason why Killer Princes have to be careful with their powers.”

Mira, meanwhile, was trying to fold up her new wings. “How does Cassie even manage with these things?!” She growled.

“Oh, that reminds me.” Amane walked over to Cassie, before casually flicking the wounded Summoner on the nose. “That's for almost causing me to lose my brother. Again.”

The Summoner ignored it.

“Well, I suppose we should send you two back to wherever you came from before Zero wakes up.” Amane sighed, looking at the two. “I doubt he’d be happy to see you, Cassie.”

Cassie scoffed. “Yeah? Feeling’s mutual.” Mira shook her head and glared at her sister.

“I'm starting to see why my brother dislikes you.” Amane muttered, weighing her sword in her hand. “I'm thinking of stabbing you myself… so annoying.”

“You’ll have to excuse Cassie, she can be a bit of a pain sometimes.” Mira said, her eyes warning Cassie not to say anything.

“She's just upset because she got her ass handed to her by that idiot.” Amane shrugged. “Understandable, to be honest. It was quite the show of force from where I was watching.” She smiled at Cassie, though the smile was an empty one. “Don't worry, I had already stabbed him in the dick yesterday, so he was understandably a bit grumpy.”

Mira rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Cassie, that temper of yours will get you killed someday…  she thought.

“So, how do we send the two of you back home?” Amane asked. “I want to take a nap soon, and you being here would get in the way of that.”

“Allow me…” A voice echoed before the armored figure from Mira's dream appeared. 

“And who the hell are you?” Amane asked somewhat impatiently. Meanwhile, Twilight suddenly began twitching.

“I’m known only as Company Master, their Displacer. And their only way back home to their Equestria.” The figure said, the eye lenses flashing in warning.

“Sebastian, what in the Immaterium’s name are you doing in one of my Universes?!” A surprisingly deep male voice emanated from Twilight, her eyes slightly faded as she glared at the figure.

“I'm only here to transport these two back to their Equestria, I have no interest in what you're doing, Ahriman.” The figure growled

“Right, I can truly believe that…” ‘Ahriman’ rolled Twilight’s eyes. “Don't all tokens have that ‘your contract is complete’ recall feature?”

“Unless the Displaced have no idea of how to send them back, that's when I transport them back.”

“Then why the hell do your Displaced not know that? It's pretty common knowledge.” Ahriman replied. “Your story has a lot of holes, Sebastian.”

“You concern yourself with your universes, I’ll deal with mine.” The figure growled before a single portal opened and he then vanished.

“Ugh, I swear, if he messed with anything at all, I'm going to kill one of his Displaced just to spite him… I was already too late to stop that other Void Dweller from messing with Sunset…” The male voice slowly faded away, and Twilight blinked.

“What happened?” She asked. Amane was about to answer, but paused.

“I… think you just fell asleep, Twilight.” She shrugged. “My memory’s a bit hazy…”

Both Mira and Cassie glanced at each other, a silent agreement to not talk about what had happened. “I wish you guys luck with finding the rest of the Bearers.” Mira said, giving a nod to Twilight.

“Yeah. Good luck with… whatever you’re doing in your universe.” Twilight shrugged. “If we meet again, please don't piss off Zero again. I'd rather not have to deal with that again…”

“As long as he doesn't push my buttons, I can deal with him.” Cassie said.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Amane groaned. “Your contract is complete. Go away so I can sleep.” She blinked. “How did I know that phrase…?”

Needing no further excuse, Cassie entered the portal. Mira, however, tossed a single crystal to Twilight. “Use that in case you need our help again.” With that, she entered the portal and vanished, the portal closing after her.

Once the portal closed, Amane turned back to Twilight. “You’re on first watch, Twilight. Set up camp while you do that.” She said, before lying down next to another ruined building and quickly falling asleep.

“I...but I… what?!” Twilight yelled, looking between the two unconscious siblings. “Ugh… these two are going to drive me insane…” She groaned, before starting to unpack their tent.
> Chapter VII: Recovery and Training
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

”Well, that battle could have been totally avoided, Merc. Now hurry up and wake up!” A familiar and arrogant voice called to Zero from the darkness that surrounded him. Black chains had earlier sprouted from the shadows, wrapping around the mercenary’s arms and legs and holding him in place.

“L...aevateinn…?” Zero groaned, clutching and crawling his way up to a new crack of red light gleaming in front of him.

”Oh good, you aren't dead.” The voice of the usually arrogant and dismissive voice that had followed him around now had a tinge of worry tied to his voice. ”Listen, you are going to feel very pissed once you learn about what happened. If you want to progress into the next part of our training, then you must keep calm. Understand?”

The red slit in the shadows slowly grew multiple cracks, before shattering apart, and Zero looked upon the familiar blood red clouds that blanketed the Equestrian sky. Zero slowly and painfully sat up from the rough ground below him, trying to roll his shoulders around, and wincing as pain flashed through his body, and he glanced around the campfire that had been set up around him.

A familiar purple tent sat a few meters away from the dying embers of the campfire in the center, the sounds of a certain purple alicorn shuffling and muttering in her sleep. To his left, leaning against a relatively intact stone pillar, was Amane, looking out into the ruins, her sword leaning next to her. She turned towards him as he got up, and muttered something Zero was unable to hear.

“I… what was that?” Zero asked, standing up unsteadily as he wobbled towards her. “And… where are we? The last thing I remember is… entering the ruins…”

“I had said it's about time you got up, Zero.” Amane muttered, getting up and walking towards him. “As for your memory problem… honestly, I expected you to almost forget who me and Twilight are after such use of your Beast Mode…”

“I'm… sorry, but… what do you mean?” Zero asked as she walked past him, before lying down on the ground next to him.

“Laevateinn will fill you in while you take your watch shift. Try to kill anything that comes near us.” Amane muttered, before almost immediately falling asleep.

”That's just like her… leaving all the difficult stuff to someone else in favor of a nap…” Laevateinn groaned, the astral projection scratching his head as he looked at his sister. ”But, since I'm partly at fault, I suppose I should fill you in…”

“Well that's an odd sight. Are you sure you're Laevateinn, or did he get replaced with someone who has more emotion?” Zero taunted, only to receive a glare from his astral replica.

”Shut it, rookie. At least I can fight without using someone else's instincts.” Laevateinn growled.  ”Tell me again, what kind of mercenary work did you do? Was it hired help at a local hospital or something? That would certainly explain why you're so pathetic.”

Zero chuckled, leaning up against the pillar Amane had been next to. “That's more like it, asshole. Now, are you going to fill me in, or what?”





“Fucking bitch…” Zero growled, his grip tightening around his sword as anger swelled up inside him. “If I ever meet that ‘Cassie’ whore again, I'll be sure to finish what I started and kill her…” 

”Well, you could do that, and get us all killed in when you lose control again.” Laevateinn shrugged, sitting on top of the pillar. ”Or, you could train with me to properly control your powers and not nearly lose yourself to the beast blood inside you like a real Killer Prince.” He hopped off the pillar, landing in front of Zero and pointing to his sword. ”For starters, why don't we use a more efficient manner of keeping track of that sword.”

Zero raised an eyebrow in confusion. “The hell does that mean? It just pops into my hand when I need it.”

”And that uses up a lot of your energy. Especially when keeping it up for long periods of time.”  Laevateinn replied, shaking his head sadly. ”Because of your little outburst yesterday, we can't risk training you in controlling Beast Mode just yet. We need your blood to simmer down before we start messing around with it. So instead, you'll be learning how to effectively wield your sword.”

“It's a sword that's almost as big as me.” Zero deadpanned, hefting it up. “What, am I going to shove it straight up my ass and have Amane carry me or something?”

”Nothing even remotely as stupid as that. Seriously, did you not go to grade school or something? It's a wonder you can even count.” Laevateinn taunted, before rolling his eyes. ”No, we are going to try finding a common sword for you to use.”

Zero stared at his ghostly companion, then hefted up the demon blade, then back to Laevateinn. “So… why can't I just keep using Laevateinn as it is?”

”Look… you’re imbued with the essence, the Killium, of Laevateinn. Since you don't currently have something to base it on, like any normal sword, it taxes you a heck of a lot to keep it fully manifested in this world. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why you lost to Mjolnir, and then that Mira girl.” Leavateinn explained, before noticing Zero’s expression, and sighed. ”Why did I have to give up my body to such an idiot… look, in simple terms, it's a sword made out of a constant supply of magic. Where do you think that magic is coming from?”

“From… me?” Zero said curiously, hefting the blade and weighing it in his hand. 

”Yeah, moron. And you aren't an unlimited supply of magic. Granted, it can be recovered with a lot of rest, but with how often you use that sword, it's slowly taking its toll.” Laevateinn nodded, before glancing around. ”Now… where to find a good sword…”

“Yeah, it's not like this place is littered with swords…” Zero groaned, letting the sword in his hand drop to the floor. It clattered onto the ground, before slowly vanishing, the red energy returning to Zero. “So where exactly are we going to find a sword?”

”We could ask Twilight when she wakes up.” Laevateinn suggested, and Zero sighed.

“Yeah… if anyone would know, it’d be her…” Zero leaned back against the pillar, gazing over the ruins they were surrounded by. “Well, it's not like we have anything else to do, so keep training me.”

”Whatever.” Laevateinn groaned.





Twilight yawned inside her tent, stretching her wings and hooves outwards as she sat up, before going through the arduous task of fixing her mane with her manebrush. She could hear somepony shuffling around outside, and decided to continue outside.

“Hey Twilight.” Zero nodded, before returning to his training. 

“Zero! You're awake!” Twilight yelled, before tackling the former mercenary in a hug, causing him to stumble and collapse with her on top of him. “I was worried you'd never wake up! Amane said you were really close to losing control of yourself, and that you might not wake up, and-” 

“Twilight… really glad you care… but could you please get off?” Zero groaned, and with a ‘eep! Sorry!’ Twilight teleported off of him. “Thanks… body is still sore from that fight…”

“Well, that's to be expected… you really pushed yourself.” Twilight nodded, glancing over to the sleeping Killer Princess. “Amane fought off a lot of creatures yesterday, so she's resting up. She called them Eldritch, if I remember correctly.” 

“Eldritch? I really hope this world doesn't have anything like those Cthulhu monster things…” Zero sighed, scratching his head.

“So… if you're sore, what exactly are you doing?” Twilight asked, glancing behind him. “I'd have expected you to still be resting.”

“Well, Laevateinn told me that I've been using too much of my mana generating my sword, so I've been learning how to properly use it in short bursts.” Zero shrugged. “That actually reminds me… do you know if there are any really good swords in this area?”

“Swords?” Twilight asked, before realizing why he was asking. “Oh, right. Um… since I am the Princess of Friendship, I had some level of knowledge on secret projects… but there weren't many things going on for swords.” She shrugged, flapping her wings slightly. “We could check the Royal Guard barracks, but most of the guard used spears.”

“Well, it's better than nothing.” Zero sighed, standing up. “Do you know where it is?”

“Most guard barracks are located in the center of town…” Twilight sighed. “But with the current state of the world, I wouldn't be surprised if somepony had already looted the place.”

“Anywhere away from the ocean is good.” Amane’s soft yet cold voice muttered from behind her. Twilight yelped, flipping around to face the Killer Princess, her heart pounding.

“Sweet Celestia, Amane! Don't do that!” Twilight complained, putting a hoof to her chest. Amane looked at her for a moment, before continuing with what she had been saying.

“The Eldritch are in much greater force near the coastline. If we move further inland, we will have less problems to deal with on our journey to the barracks.” Amane explained, looking between the two. “So, to ensure that we can effectively protect Twilight, going inland is best.”

“I'm not helpless. I can fight!” Twilight huffed, stomping her hoof into the dirt.

“And you're the bearer of the Element of Magic. If something happens to you, then we lose our only chance of fixing this world.” Amane countered, giving her a cold stare. “We cannot risk you getting hurt.”

“I’m still curious on what these ‘Eldritch’ are, Amane.” Zero said, interrupting Twilight’s next reply. “I thought we were fighting demons, not Cthulhu.” 

“I don't know what this Cthulhu is, but Eldritch are a common enemy.” Amane sighed. “I personally don't know how they are created or why, but they usually appear next to oceans and eventually travel inland. There are many types of Eldritch, and are quite the annoyances.”

“Right… anything else we should know about, Amane?” Zero asked, sighing.

“Well… there are also Replicants.” Amane sighed. “Think of them as clones of us Killers… they fight and kill each other to become their Prime version. When they kill another Killer Prince or Princess, they gain the other’s memories.”

“So… how do you know you aren't a Replicant?” Zero asked. 

“I don't know. All I know is Zero- I mean, Laevateinn, as you call him, is my brother, and you claim to not have stolen his body on purpose.” Amane replied. “Is that all of your questions?”

“Just one more…” Zero sighed, looking her dead in the eyes. “How many of your Replicants have you killed so far?” 

“After two years… twenty four.” Amane said after a few seconds. 

“That's a lot of times you've killed yourself…” Zero muttered, glancing around. “Well, we’re wasting daylight. Let's get a move on.”

“Wait!” Twilight yelped as Zero moved to start packing up. “I still have a question for you, Amane!”

“What is it?” The Killer Princess sighed, shuffling towards her earlier napping spot, which just happened to be next to Zero’s stuff.

“Where did you Killer Princes and Princesses even come from?” Twilight asked. “Zero was the first Killer Prince that town I was in had ever seen, yet you say you’ve been here for two years? It just doesn't add up!”

“Simple. We’ve been staying away from ponies.” Amane shrugged. “Sure, we might save a few of you every so often, but we know better than to interact with non-Killers. Zero’s experience was a good example of that.” Zero stiffened, before sighing. “We aren't welcome in your societies, because we aren't ponies.”

“But… where did you all come from?” Twilight asked again, twitching at the harsh criticism of her people.

“I don't know…” Amane sighed. “One day, I just… woke up. I have some memories from before that, but everything is extremely hazy…”

“O-oh…” Twilight sighed, somewhat disappointed with that answer as she began to clean up her tent and other items, and when they were done, it was as if no one had stayed there in the first place.

“Well, I might never be able to come to terms with magic existing… but it is definitely a handy thing to use.” Zero sighed, looking to Amane. “You're on guard duty for now. Laevateinn said-”

“I know what he said, Zero. You can't bring out your sword until you get a physical one.” Amane sighed, drawing her sword, which was remade into the familiar red and black curved blade.

“Yeah… wait, how come she can summon hers without a care, while I have to sit back?!” Zero asked, looking around for Laevateinn. 

”Simple. She naps almost all the time.” The voice of Laevateinn said nonchalantly. ”Guess you were just too dumb to realize that.”

“That… shouldn't… I fucking hate magic!” Zero yelled, scrambling his hair.  “I don't care anymore! You are all insane to use magic!”

“But… you use magic as well.” Twilight pointed out.

“Because I'm forced to in order to survive!” Zero growled. “You two are okay with it because you've had it all your lives, but this is all new to me!”

“You'll just have to get used to it.” Amane shrugged, walking ahead of them. “Let's get going.”

“It's not a big deal, Zero.” Twilight sighed, trotting after the Killer Princess. “Come on, let's go find you a sword…”
> Chapter VIII: The Heroes Of Ice and Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zero leapt upwards, leaping over the reanimated skeleton and twirled, his sword extended to his side and cutting the straight down the middle as he landed behind it. “Damn, these things are really starting to piss me off!” The trio had been walking through the ruined city for three days, battling dozens of demons as they cut past them. While before they had appeared in small groups, the monster’s numbers had noticeably increased the further the group got from the outskirts of the city. However, even in small numbers they could still be a threat, as the trio learned when the last two groups had ambushed them.

“You aren’t the only one! Stay back!” Twilight yelled, blasting a hole through a sword-wielding skeleton that had begun to crawl towards her, and it collapsed, dead. “Amane, how’re things holding up on your end?” 

“Fine.” She shrugged, cleaving her way through the winged demon in her path. “I might take a nap once all of them are cleared out.” 

Zero grunted as a lucky monster managed to dig the tip of its spear through his free arm, and he growled, before giving it a similar experience as his bulky sword cut upward, tearing through its arm and under its neck, killing it instantly. “We aren’t going to carry you to the damn place, Amane. You can rest when we get there, but not until then!” He turned to Twilight, blood dripping down his arm. “Twilight, how far is it?”

“Not too far!” Twilight yelled as she shot down a winged demon that was heading straight for Zero, and it dropped to the ground next to him, smoke curling from where it’s horned head used to be. “If my memory serves correctly, the barracks are just another few blocks down the road.”

“Right.” Zero said, glancing around, seeing that they had defeated all of the demons that had attacked them. “Good, that was the last of them.” He relaxed, before pointing towards his wounded arm. “You think you can heal this?” He asked Twilight.

“No problem, Zero.” The alicorn smiled, and her horn glowed a bright green. The mercenary’s arm lit up in a similar fashion, and he felt the pain slowly ebb away. “There, should be all better now.”

“Nicely done, Twilight…” Zero sighed, looking at the quickly fading corpses. “I can’t believe these things destroyed all of Equestria…”

“They did. Overwhelming numbers can normally bring down any of these cities.” Amane sighed, sitting down next to a ruined building.

“Yeah, and our team can’t function for long without weapons. I can clearly see that now.” Zero sighed. “I can’t just keep fighting with a sword made out of pure magic. I’ll collapse.”

“And we can’t have that.” Twilight nodded. “Besides, we might find information regarding one of my missing friends. The Royal Guard usually has a registry of all citizens entering and exiting the city. It was implemented after the Changeling Invasion, as a security measure.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be too far from here.” Zero sighed, walking past a pile of bones, the sight having become commonplace in the destroyed city. Twilight and Amane looked to each other, before following after.

“So, Zero, how does it feel to be a Killer Prince?” Amane asked, moving up next to him. 

“Well… I’m definitely far stronger than when I was human…” Zero shrugged. “Though… there’s always this weird nagging feeling at the back of my mind. I can’t adequately describe it…”

“That’s probably your demon blood.” Amane nodded, putting her hands in her pockets. “Each time you use ‘Beast Mode,’ you run a chance of letting your demon blood take control, and you end up going berserk.”

“Laevateinn already notified me of this fact.” Zero replied irritably, turning to Amane. “I just didn’t know that that annoying feeling was the demon blood.” 

“How is my brother anyway? I haven’t seen him around in a while.” Amane asked, glancing around the empty road.

“As far as I’m aware, he’s fine.” Zero shrugged, picking up a small piece of rubble, getting a feel for its weight before launching it at one of the remaining walls of a building they were passing by . It smashed through the wall, causing the entire thing to collapse. “He’s had me practice my swordsmanship on my own for the past few nights, so he might just be thinking about stuff.”

“Celestia damn it, Zero!” Twilight groaned, coughing at the resulting dust cloud. “If we manage to take back Equestria from the demons, who do you think is going to have to manage the reconstruction efforts?!”

“Probably you, oh mighty Princess of Friendship.” Zero chuckled, patting her on the head. “How far until the barracks?”

“Ugh, you're insufferable sometimes, you know?” Twilight huffed angrily, her chest puffing out. “The barracks should be just around the corner. As long as you don’t destroy the corner too.”

“Right…” Zero shrugged, before pausing. “Wait… do you hear that?” He asked, and was answered when Amane brought out her sword.

“Yeah. Voices…” She nodded, rushing towards the corner specified. Once there, she looked down the next alley, before turning back to Zero and Twilight, holding up her hand as they approached. “Two humans. Probably Killers. They’re poking around in the barracks.”

“Great. More obstacles.” Zero sighed wearily, materializing his sword. Twilight noticed that the blade’s luster seemed duller than before, and that Zero’s arm was slightly quivering.

“Wait, you two!” Twilight whispered, stopping them before they rushed out. “If they aren’t fighting each other, then maybe they’re friendly? We can at least try to talk to them!”

“What do you think, Amane? You’re the expert on Killers.” Zero asked. Amane looked down the alley again, before sighing.

“I guess we can try talking… saves me some energy.” Amane shrugged, sheathing her sword. Zero nodded, his own weapon dissipating as he stepped out from the corner, and began walking down the alley. Amane and Twilight quickly followed, and Twilight got her first look at the two unknowns.

The closest was male, his short fiery red hair waving in the wind, almost perfectly mimicking actual flames. He wore a metal breastplate, with what looked like red robes underneath, and a single ornate spiked shoulder pad on his right arm. An orange cape flapping behind him. What took Twilight’s immediate attention, however, was the massive broadsword he held behind his head, flames licking off its metal. In fact, the man’s entire attire seemed to be fire-based, as if he was some sort of pyromaniac.

The other one was the exact opposite of the seemingly flame crazed swordsman. They were female, a waterfall of light blue hair covered by a cowl, with a large purple bow connecting the two. She wore a bright blue dress, giving her an air of elegance, while a simple breastplate and shoulder pauldrons covered her upper body. Underneath her dress, her legs were covered up to her knees in meta boots, and in her hand was an ornate and seemingly ceremonial saber, with a large replica of a blue flower attached to the guard.

The two seemed to be bickering over something, and only until the woman spotted the group walking towards them did they pause in their argument.

“Um… hi! You guys are friendly, right?” Twilight began, stepping forward and extending her hoof out in greeting. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these two are-“

“Finally! I was wondering if anyone even slightly stronger than those skeletons was going to show up!” The swordsman interrupted, stepping forward with his ridiculous sword held at his side. “You! Fight me one on one!” He declared, pointing at Zero with a gloved hand. Zero was taken aback by his abrupt challenge.

“Honestly, Vargas… cool down, will you?” The elegant-looking woman sighed, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you kidding, Selena? I haven’t had a good fight ever since we got here!” ‘Vargas’ laughed, waving her off. “Come now, let’s have a honest fight! Or perhaps you’re just as weak as those skeletons?” 


Zero twitched, before glaring. Twilight tried to get between them, looking frantically back and forth while she talked. “Come now, you two. Surely we can be civil and talk instead of fight?”

“You want a fight so badly? You’ve got one, Firespitter.” Zero said, Laevateinn materializing in his hand. 

“Firespitter? Hah! Haven’t heard that one before!” Vargas grinned, putting his sword out in front of him. “I am Vargas, Hero of Fire! What’s your name?” He asked, still keeping his almost childish grin.

“Zero, the guy who’s about to kick your ass!” Zero growled, before rushing forward, sword leveled for a swipe at Vargas’ legs.

“Well now, isn’t that a statement!” Vargas laughed, before bringing his blade down on top of Zero’s, the strength behind his blade burying Laevateinn’s tip into the ground. Zero, unable to stop his forward momentum, flipped over Vargas’ head, falling flat onto the rubble behind the flaming swordsman. “But if you plan to defeat me, you’ll have to fight better than that!” He lifted his sword back up, Zero’s blade disintegrating now that it was disconnected from its sustenance.

Zero growled, rematerializing Laevateinn in his hand, before rushing forward, letting out a roar of rage as he swung his sword.

“Honestly... Vargas means well, but sometimes he can be absolutely ridiculous when he sees someone he thinks is strong…” The Swordswoman sighed, standing next to Twilight and Amane as the two warriors fought. “I’m Selena, Hero of Ice. It is nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” She extended her hand out to the alicorn, who put her hoof in it with a sigh.

“Zero’s kind of similar, but he’s just easy to anger. How long do you think it’ll be until they wear each other out?” Twilight nodded, sitting down.

“Oh, about three minutes. I can tell your friend only has basic sword training, so Vargas will likely defeat him.” Selena shrugged. “Also, your friend seems exhausted…”

“His sword is made out of magic. He’s been wearing himself down using it so often…” Twilight replied. “We came here looking for a sword for him to use while he recovers his strength.”

“Ah.” Selena nodded in reply as Zero and Vargas locked swords, the ‘Hero of Fire’ clearly overpowering the weakened Mercenary.

“Come on, Zero! I know this isn’t the limit of your strength!” Vargas grinned, shoving Zero’s blade into the ground before flipping it back up, and slamming the flat side of the blade directly into Zero’s chest, knocking him backwards.

“You… want strength?” Zero growled between heavy breaths, his eyes growing dark. “I’ll show you strength!” He let out a roar, dark energy rolling off him as he launched forward, swinging his sword to remove Vargas’s head.

“Huh. That’s a cool ability! But far too weak!” Vargas said, blocking Zero’s attack with his sword. Upon impact, Laevateinn shattered, and Vargas quickly delivered a hard kick into the stunned Zero, sending him flying into a building.

“Vargas, that’s enough! Zero is clearly not in a good enough state to fight you.” Selena called, walking over to them. “He’s been fighting on a drained supply of magic. There is no way he could win.”

“Yeah… your right, Selena.” Vargas sighed, placing his sword on his shoulders. “Hey, Zero! We’ll put this fight on hold until you’re back at full power, alright?”

“Urgh…” Came the pained reply.

“Great! Well, me and Selena have no idea where we are, so…” Vargas turned to Twilight. “Purple talking winged horse! Please tell us where we are?”

“These two are annoying…” Amane sighed, sitting up against a wall. “Twilight, you talk to them. I’m gonna go take a nap while Zero finds a sword…”

“Go ahead, Amane…” Twilight sighed, using her magic to heal the bruised and beaten Zero, who slowly crawled out of the rubble he had been smashed through.

“Thank you, Miss Sparkle, for assisting us.” Selena nodded in her direction. “As my friend here so bluntly said, we do not know where we are, nor do we have any idea of the situation this world is in.”

“How’d you know the world was in trouble?” Twilight asked. “Also, just call me Twilight.”

“Well, while I am unknowledgeable in the culture of this world, I can assume that a ruined and destroyed city, not to mention a blood red sky, are usually a sign of trouble.”

“Right… of course…” Twilight nodded. “Well, it all started two years ago…”