> Power's Price
>  by Crimson Lionheart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> [Prologue] A world of Brass, Steam and Talking Books (RE)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Author Notes- In the beginning, the story is set in an alternate, steam-punk universe. If you think I should add the tag, just comment below. Vulgar language throughout]


I yawned and breathed in the dry, musty air of the library. I looked around and saw a pile of books I had to read on my right and a mountain that I had already read on my left. I have been in this library for close to 2 days straight scour the books for any mention of the ‘Abyssals’. My ears heard the light snoring of my friend somewhere in this ancient library. An old man walked up to me carrying a small pile of books.

“Here is the rest of the books you asked for sir,” he said weakly as he placed them on the bench to my right

“Thanks Alfred, go get some rest. You don’t sound too good,”

“I’ll be alright. See you around Arin.” He said as he turned around to go back to his room

“Later Alfred,” I said as I turned back to my book. The room turned silent except the snoring from Maria and the light hissing from the steam in the various contraptions around the room.

I found my sleeping friend leaning against a bookshelf behind pile of scrolls, still wearing her leather armour and her unsheathed sword was laying beside her.

"Pffft, so much for being a body-guard," I whispered. She looked kinda cute when she was asleep. Her hair was in a pony tail with a few strands deliberately left out on each side of her fringe. A few light snores escaped her mouth. She was about 16 and buff as a bear. A little soft-spoken but not afraid to give me an ear full She could hand anyone their asses if they messed with her, and worse if they mess with me. 

My dad hired her to look after me before he left for war. That was 2 years ago. I don't know what was going through his head, hiring a 14-year-old girl to watch me. It hit me right in my pride, hiring a 14-year-old girl to watch a 15-year-old boy. He said something about being less conspicuous and that there is no men in the area to watch me. I am kinda glad he did, I have really love having her around, it feels like my brother is alive again, I don’t feel so lonely anymore, but it feels....I don't know....like more, better?

I realised that I was crouched and staring at her while I thought of this and quickly made my way back to my desk. I sat down and began reading my book again.



--20 Minutes Later--



I heard a faint yawn from behind me but continue to read." You still reading? I thought you would have left by now," her voice still hoarse from her sleep, but still as sweet as normal. I spared a quick look to see her get up and retrieve her sword. 

"Nah, I wouldn't leave you here like that," I said nonchalantly as I turn my eyes back to my book and continue to read.

"Oh, Arin, since when have you been such a gentleman," she stated with a thick coating of sarcasm, her voice clearing and turning sweeter.

"When am I not a gentleman?" I asked with an equal amount of sarcasm.

I could see her face contort from a sweet smile to a thinking face. "That time you pushed me into Mr Mac's bog, the time you spiked my drink before dangling me head first out the front of the town hall or how about that time you got that rock and stuck my armour to the cannon?"

"It was a magnet."

"I don't care, it was my favourite suit and I still haven't gotten it back yet. How do they work anyways?"

"Magnets?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know," I said truthfully, how the hell do they work?

"Wait," she said, returning to her sarcastic voice, "you found something that you don't understand and you aren't going 3 weeks without sleep until you find out everything about it?"

"That only happens when I find something interesting. That is just some random rock."

"What ever."

I returned to my book.



--1 Hour and a Half later--



“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” Maria asked, breaking the silence.

“Umm, what I am doing now. Why?”

"Because-, I was...wondering, would you....maybe....like to go the....theatre....with me?" I look up to see her cheeks flaring red.

"You might want to quiet down a bit, the Arenians might  hear you," I was almost proud of the level of sarcasm I put into that statement. She went redder when I said that. It wasn't even that hot. 

"Do you want to go to the theatre tonight?" She blurted out with a speed that a teska bike would be proud of.

I placed my hand on my chest and put on the most ridiculous face I could possible wear. "Oh my, I never would've thought that you would be such the gentleman." She looked shocked until she saw the layered sarcasm I put on the sentence. When I saw her face contort into one of rage, I put on a straight face. "Besides I thought you didn't like the theatre," I stated, confused. I used to love going to the theatre and I dragged her with me every time. I still haven't heard the end of it.

"I do, I mean, I don't....but...ugh. I give up. I’m going to get something to eat. I'll be right back," She said before standing up and storming out of the room, muttering something about being stupid. Well fuck you too.

I looked back to my book to see I was up to the last page. I quickly scanned through it finding nothing on the Abyssals. All this searching and I haven’t even found something referring to them, not even a paragraph.

I closed the book I had in front of me and threw it to the summit of Mt. Dissertation(The rough  pile of books that were useless). I reached for the next book to find it locked on the side that opens up. The title said “Damnatorum Anima”. I then pulled out the dagger from my belt and began picking at the lock.



--10 Minutes Later--



“FUCK IT!” I reach around for the gun on my back and slipped the cylinder out. I reached into my belt pack and pulled out a 2 inch long bullet before sliding it into one of the 6 barrels and taking a shot into the lock, blasting it clear off and making a loud bang that bounced off all the brass in the room.

“Alfred is going to kill me.” I open the book to the first page and see that it is empty. I check the next and the one after that, still empty. After checking about 30 pages I leant back in my chair and said more than a few...vulgar terms to myself. I felt an unnatural chill run up my spine as the books pages began to turn towards the middle of the book. When it was around the middle, it stopped turning pages.

Why are you reading my book?

I looked around for the voice, but I can't see anyone in the room.

Don't ignore me boy. Why are you reading my book?

Ok, I have gone insane from too much studying.

Speak to me!

May as well. 

"Ugh.....Hi." I said, feeling like a complete idiot.

So you can speak. Answer my question. Why are you reading my book?

"I need to learn about the Abyssals"

Do not confuse needs with wants.

"Fine then, I WANT to learn about the Abyssals" I put as much emphasis on 'want' I possibly could.

The Abyssals are not creatures from this plane, but another. They are humanoid in nature but have an ever-changing culture. I cannot tell you any more for I have not met one in a very long time.

"...That's it?" I say in disbelief. 2 days of searching for a 30 second description of them. 

There is another way to learn more.

"How?"

I could give you the chance to learn but you must do it yourself. But where I will send you is dangerous and only the strongest will survive.

I looked to my arms. Although I had some brawn, I wouldn't call it strong and I am nowhere near the strongest.

I can help you with that, give you the strength of the half-bloods, but at a price. Save the Abyssals. Save the Queen. Save the plane. That, is the deal.

I thought about what is happening. A talking book is giving me the chance to travel to a whole other plane of existence, study the things that have driven me crazy for the past 3 days, get some unknown strength and become the hero of not only a nation, but an entire dimension. "Deal!"

Close the book and grasp it with both hands.

I did exactly as told. I stood there for about 20 seconds and nothing happened. I just stood there. Eventually I began to notice the book was getting warmer and warmer. After a minute, the book was beginning to get too hot to hold on.

This may hurt a bit.

A pulse of heat rushed over my body before ensnaring me in a blanket of flames. I could feel it everywhere. It was like I was burning alive, but my skin was still pristine. It felt like being locked in a burning house. My heart and head felt like they were in a furnace and my back felt like there was lava pouring over it, making intricate and detailed patterns all over it. I couldn't think, I couldn't breath, I couldn't hear and I could barely see past the flames. Throughout all of this I held he book as if it was my life line. 

When I finally got over the shock, I began to scream. Not a girlie 'Ew, it is a spider' scream it was a 'I am burning alive and going to die scream'. I could feel the flesh on my toes and fingers begin to peel back, exposing the bones to the raging fire. I was in an excruciating amount of pain. I dropped to my knees and resigned my fate. I was outsmarted by a book. I knew the lock was on it for a reason. By now, my skin had been pealed back to my elbows and knees. I just kept screaming, even though I couldn't feel anything now. I was numb and running out of breath so I rolled to the ground and just stared at the doorway. I felt the fires intensify but I was out of breathe, so I silently screamed to myself. What I saw next made my heart jump.

Maria came running back in through the door and just stared at me. If I was to die now, at least it would be in the company of the most important person in my life. She ran to me with tears in her eyes and tried to touch me before pulling away from the heat. I feel slightly better knowing that the last moments of my life would be with her. Her tears formed a boiling puddle at her knees as she desperately looked for a way to help me.

I saw her get up and run into the next room and come back with a bucket in her hands. She splashed it on me but before the water was even completely out of the bucket, it had evaporated. I saw the hope leave her eyes and turn to sadness. That caused me more pain then what anyone would've inflicted upon me. I reached my bony hand towards her.

Then I blacked out.


Добро пожаловать в семью

> [I] Welcome to the Arena
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I awoke to a shockingly cold splash of water rushing past my face. I raised my head out of the water by instinct before dropping back down due to the splitting headache that it caused. The water began to rush back past my head and I began to regain feeling in the rest of my body. I reached out my hand to help myself up, but when I pushed down it felt like the earth was crumbling down around my hand.

I just layed there for a while and tried to reorientate myself. Every few moments the water would pass me again, dousing my entire body in ice cold water. Sometimes, a bit of the salty and foul tasting liquid would creep into my mouth and start me on a coughing fit. 

After what felt like hours, I reached out with my hand and dug my hand into the soft ground before trying to pull myself forward. My entire body ached from exhaustion, but I continued to pull myself out of the water to atleast give me a chance of surviving the water. I opened my eyes and saw that the tree line was about twenty feet ahead of me. The water is now only just lapping at my toes.

I knew that crawling everywhere is just going to waste all of my energy and tire me out. The ground here seemed to be a bit more solid so I tryed to push myself onto my feet. I pushed my upper body up with my arms before swinging my knees up to my chest. I shifted my weight to one leg and then swung the other one out. The moment I put my weight on my now extended leg It collapsed and I ended up in tangle.of arms and legs. I continued to try for a few minutes before giving up and just laying there, face down in some plant that covers the ground almost entirely.

I feel a tremendous kick to my ribs and ended up rolling twice over from the force as the air rushed out of me. I rolled onto my back and looked down at my body to see how bad the damage was. Atleast 3 ribs were broken out of place. I focused on my attacker but the sun beat down on my eyes with a vengance. The glare blocked out all view of my attacked except the horns on his helmet.

'So, I am in the Badlands. If I survive, I might find my father.'

You should probably cover your face

'Wait, what !?'

I then felt the full force of a barbarian's boot.




My vision had been flickering for the past few minutes as they carried me. I could see a large tan building which we entered, on the insides I saw hooves, weapons, barbarian helmets and creatures being held in cages.When my vision had returned entirely, I realised that  I was stuck inside one of these cages.
"Oi, Kahl ein!" was shouted at me in a deep voice from the cage on my left.
"What?" I asked as I turned to my left.I grabbed my ribs in pain. It looked like one of the barbarians that dragged me here, only he doesn't have his helmet on. That was the closest I have ever been to one, well, one that doesn't want to stomp my head in. He looks just like I do, only his feet seem rounded and hard, similar to the beasts that we used to ride a few hundred years ago. His legs were covered by a thick, fur leggings. His torso was bare and well toned with scars covering every inch of it. His face was longer than a regular human's and flat on the end, leaving a giant nose with a scar running over the left eye and running down to the bottom right side of his face. There are two jagged... things, for a lack of a better word, on top of his head that almost look like something was broken off.
"Er spricht Pony Zunge" called from my right. In this cage was a similar beast, only less muscular and a lot less scarred. "Do you know where you are, boy?" He said very calmy, his voice smooth and flowing with a slight British accent.
This caught me by surprise. I was not expecting him to be able to speak a language I can understand. "Wait! You can speak Arcadian?"
"Arcadian?" He said mockingly "This is Equestrian that we're speaking, and my friend and I were speaking Tauron before."
"What?" Now I was genuinely confused. How could another language be exactly the same as Arcadian. The chances of that is impossible.
"I'll take that as a no for my first question," He correctly states, "look, my name is A'ntaur, this is Jarr," he says as he gestured to each of them in turn. "Welcome to the Taura Royal Arena, where prisoners of war and empire wide felons are brought and forced to fight for their lives against giant creatures or each other for the enjoyment of the upper class. Which are you?"
"I don't know" My mind is rushing at a million miles a moment trying to understand this. "I remember water and grainy earth and... something stomping on my head."
"So a POW, been a long time since I have seen one, I though the empire signed the EPT."
"EPT?" 
"Equestrian Peace Treaty. Pretty much all sentient life that is in the known world has signed it. No war and fair treatment of all sentient beings. Of course, this place is a secret. Apparently it is a shrine to the old ways and a way to 'pay respects to all past participants and make sure this stuff doesn't happen again'. What a load of Stierscheiße."
"So what are you in here for?" I ask trying to change the subject quickly.
"Treason against the throne. I was supplying evidence to the Diamond Dogs and Gryphons that place like this still exist. Bit ironic I think" He gives out a bitter and short laugh.
I laugh awkwardly before asking about Jarr's reason for capture.
"He fucked the Tauran princess." He said with a laugh. I was completely shocked by how bluntly he said it. When he saw my reaction, he began laughing even more. "He was Tar'kor's best general, undefeated in battle. So when the EPT was signed, he, along with thousands other soldiers, fell into unemployment. Tar'kor made him an advisor to the royal family to make sure he doesn't fall into poverty. Then he got a little too close to Sharu, the Princess. A few days later they walked in on them 'in the act'"He lifted two fingers to make quotes. I notice that he is missing the ring finger on both of his hands. "He was banished to the arena for life after that."
"Damned for love," I said with a prominent sadness. "That is horrible." A shadow passed over me. I looked ahead to  see a group of guards walking past with a large pot and some bowls.
"Welcome to Taura." He says in a half sarcastic-half serious tone. "We healed your ribs a few weeks ago."
"Wait, how long have I been out?" I ask in a half panicked voice.
"Nearly 3 months now."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he said looking away from me and at the nearest guard."You are going to have to fight for your life in here, otherwise they wont feed you. You are safe for today, but tomorrow you are going to be put into the arena, most likely fighting a Lycanthrope of some description, probably a rat."
"Lycanthrope? Rat Lycanthrope?" I was really confused, I thought that lycanthropes meant werewolves.
"You can find out tomorrow." He said as he picked up his bowl, "but now, let's eat!"

Don't let it touch your tongue

"Why?" I ask out loud.
"What?" asked A'ntaur.
"Nothing." I said quickly, realising how stupid I must sound. 
"By the way, what is your name?" He asked after swallowing a mouthful of stew.
"Arin."
"Short, easy to pronounce and a very strong name."
"Yeah, whatever." I grab the bowl and spoon and pull it up to my face, 
"Dies wird lustig sein." I hear Jarr say as he lays down in his cage and tries to get comfortable. A'ntaur gives out a hearty laugh. I pull up a spoon of the soup and place it into my mouth.


Я не чистка, что до

> [II] Monarch Banter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I awoke the next morning, the smell of vomit and raw rabbit staining my clothes from the night before's dinner. I look around at my fellow captors to see that their cages are empty. I begin to panic a bit, the only people I know in this part of the world and now they are no-where to be found. I hear some banging on the front of my cage and some shouting as the rest of my senses return to me.
"Arin, you coming out?" I heard A'ntaur call from outside the cage. I saw him pull out a pin in the front of the cage and he gestured me to get out. It took a moment to get used to standing again. I looked around and saw everyone in a suit of leather armour and wielding an old and almost useless looking armoury of weapons. Around the edges are some things that almost appear to be made of steel with , wielding a sort of halberd. On a second level balcony, there were about 10 more of these things bearing large crossbows. I now noticed how big these beings truly were, standing another 2 foot over me, making them 8'3 at the smallest. "Listen, okay? All you need to do is put the suit on, march with the rest of us, not make eye contact with the guards and bow if you see the king."
I begin to look over the armour they have on display. "None of this would fit me in a thousand years." 
"Well you're fucked,"
"You," one of the guards with his helmet off pointed and shouted at me, "come here!" I almost ran over to him. "Just so you know, Princess Celestia is coming to the arena today. She thinks that you are here by choice, so if you want to reach the end of the day with all of your fingers and toes still attached, you should keep your mouth shut." I audibly gulped at this, like in plays. "...And you might need this." He tossed me my old backpack at me I saw my axes were still crossed on the front, with my sword behind them and my bullets were still in the front pocket. The back pocket was empty like always. "Any questions?"
"Yeah, a few"
"Shoot," I guessed that meant for me to ask him.
"Who is Princess Celestia?" He laughed in my face and told me to get lost. I then returned to A'ntaur and asked him about it. Turns out she was the leader of Equestria, and she visits the arena continuously to make sure that contestants  volunteer and the warden makes sure that we don't do anything to give away that we aren't. I use my sword to cut some of the straps on the armour down to my size, The hardened leather parts are still ridiculously big for me and will restrict my movement, but it will protect me. When everything is set up, we just sit around and wait for the arena to start the fights.





1 hour later


We could hear hoofsteps above our heads as the spectators all get into their seats. A'ntaur and I had spent the last hour discussing our pasts. I went first and he thought I made it up to start with, but eventually he began to believe me. He started to tell me about him, about how he was an ex soldier and how the minotaurs force their kids into service. After the war, he became an adventurer and then met his fiance, a diamond dog (I have no idea what they are). They cut off his ring fingers when they found out that he was getting married to another species and imprisoned him when they found files having names of prisoners. 
"So what is her name?" I ask, genuinely entranced by learning about such a fictional romance happening in real life. Just like so many romance novels I have read when I was alone...I mean, that I have heard about...but never read.
"Sheeva. She is a wild one, hard to hate, harder to like and damn near impossible to understand," he said with a laugh.
"Aren't all females?" I said with the most serious expression. We then both burst into laughter. 
The large, wooden double doors to the room swung open with a bang as a 9 foot tall minotaur strutted in. He had horns twice the size of most minotaurs, standing easily another 2 feet above his head and was almost covered in gold. Actually, pretty much all of him was covered in gold, bracelets, rings, golden plates encrusted with rubies, sapphires, diamonds and all other kinds of precious metals. But of all this, the most noticeable thing about him is his crown. Reddened brass that entwines with his horns making it impossible to remove. It has small inscriptions and drawing all the way around the base of it except for the front left of the crown being bare, which seems to make it look a little out of place. With all of his jewellery coupled with the fact that everyone in the room was kneeling, that makes him Tar'kor, King of Minotaurs.
Following him is a bulky minotaur that puts all else in the room to shame, wearing some form of breastplate and having a large sabre strapped to his back. Also a thin little minotaur, only just larger than myself bearing soft, sweet smile and no horns. I peek a quick peek to my left and see Jarr blushing, even with his head facing the ground. 
"Knien vor dem König!" The large minotaur shouts before kicking me behind the knee, forcing me to crumple from the impact. I had picked up some of the local dialect from talking with A'ntaur and understood exactly what he said.
"No" I said, returning to my feet and looking the king dead in the eye.
He stares me down and asked me "You would defy your king?"
"No" I repeated, my expression unfaltering. The king looked honestly confused by this, so I continued. "I do not defy my king, because you are not him."
"Really? And why is that?" He asked with an air of mockery around him.
"Can't you tell by looking at me? We aren't the same species, therefore, you are not my sovereign."
"Oh, I thought that your parents dropped you on your head when you were a child" This got a laugh out of the guard, even some of the participants were laughing.
"I don't know why you said that to me because it would explain your flat face much better." The entire room was shocked and silent. No-one moved, the king's face was contorted into a face of pure rage. His face got redder and redder and my smile grew wider and wider. 
"I will make an example of you! Cut off his head!" The large minotaur jumped into action, yet again kicking me behind the knee and bringing his godly blade closer to my throat. I closed my eyes and accepted that I was screwed, the worst part of it was, I couldn't stop smiling. Atleast I went down swinging...vulgar comebacks.
"Tar'kor, you know the rules," comes an angelic voice from further up the hallway that he came down, "if he truly isn't a minotaur then you have no jurisdiction." A white, four legged animal walks into the room. In the 17 years of my life on this planet I have never seen something so majestic. It's coat beamed like the cleanest silk, it's hair flowed in an other-worldly breeze, it's powerful looking wings tucking in close to her body and a long horn projecting from her head. All I could say was 'wow'.
"Wow!" I said, sounding like an Idiot.
"What do you mean, Celestia?" I remembered who Celestia was, the Equestrian Princess. Now where is she? "Of course he is a minotaur. Where else could he be from?
"Why don't we ask him?" Flowed that same beautiful voice from before. Wait..."Where are you from?"
"Did that thing just talk?" I ask, raising a finger towards the creature.
"Yes I did, and might I add that was quite rude of you."
"I'm sorry, uhm... I am from Arcadia, The Jewel of the Human Empire, leaders in science, machinery and culture." I said like it was a promotional slogo. It was actually, but we'll keep that to ourselves." I am Arin"
"Much better, I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria and maiden of the sun." She says as she lowered her head slightly. "I rule over my little ponies so that they can live a happy and fulfilling life filled with peace and harmony"
"Those are some qualities I can respect in a leader." After saying this, she gives me a smile....I think.
"Perhaps we should move to the royal box, the show is about to start," suggests Tar'kor.
"I would like to ask one more question, if that is all right."
"Of course your highness" I decide to show some respect to her, she seems like a good leader, unlike Tar'kor.
"If you aren't a minotaur, and you aren't from Taura, then why are you here in the arena?" To anyone normal, it would have sounded like just a regular question, but I could sense the implications on it, no matter how well hidden they were. I looked around the room, only moving my eyes and seeing all minotaurs preparing to raise their crossbows, threatening me into doing what they want.
"Oh, I came to Taura because I heard about the wonderful people and delicious food they have here," sarcasm is a good talent to have, even if it is one of the few that I have, "but then I ran into some of Tar'kor's guards just outside of town that bet me that I wouldn't last one round in the area. Not someone to back down from a challenge, here I am." Damn, I almost think I fooled myself.
"Is that the truth?" she said inquisitively.
"Why would I lie to you?" I answer, flicking my eyes towards Tar'kor. She gave a slight nod.
"How long do you plan to stay in Taura?" she asks.
"I think might stay for one or two fights, then I might go with my friend to meet his fiance," I said gesturing to An'tour. I now feel a little weird having a casual conversation with royalty while everyone else in the room is bowing.
"I might stay for your second fight, should you decide to take it, 
"It would be an honour, your highness."
"Please call me Celestia"
"I would rather call you Princess, my lady, for in my culture, to call a monarch by their first name is a sign of disrespect."
"If you insist, Arin," she said with the same smile-like expression from before, I am sure it is a smile. "Come along Luna, Crimson." She shouts behind her. A few boring moments pass before a slightly smaller, midnight blue version of Celestia came along. She stood about my height. If Celestia was majesty, then this one was beauty. She had beautiful eyes that you could lose yourself for hours in, her hair looked just like a starry night that reminded me of my time star gazing with my father. She walked with her head down to the ground and rushed past me to get to Celestia's side. Following this beautiful creature came another, this one was a stark contrast. It was more muscled than Celestia or obviously Luna and was scarred like a veteran of war. He was a deep red with a royal blue man and ice blue streaks through it, he was also missing a horn, he was clearly Crimson. My eyes returned to Luna, watching her almost cling to Celestia as they left the room.
"Eyes to the ground, freak," Crimson ordered in a smooth, deep voice. I ignored him and continued to start at the beauty that just blessed my eyes with the mere sight of her. I then got a sick feeling in my stomach and the feeling of falling, then the feeling of vomiting, then intense pain in my family jewels.
"You are still fighting tonight, Arin," Tar'kor says with a grin as he holds the door open for Crimson, "and I am looking forward to it."





"Take out the lycanthrope, I want Arin to fight a berserker."
"Just shoot him now and save us the trouble of recapturing the thing."
"No, I want to watch him be smashed into oblivion."






Все градом принцесс

> [III] Preparations 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Why does thou force me to attend these events, Sister?" Asks the small alicorn to her larger sibling at her side. "I haven't made such an appearance in over a thousand years and it is still so soon since I returned"
"Sister, you need to become more public so our subjects and allies can see that you are not Nightmare Moon any more." Celestia responded in her kind, cheerful voice. "From what I could tell, that...Arcadian, was it? Yes, he couldn't keep his eyes of you," Luna did a double spit take. "I think you have an admirer."
"Thou are lying, he is another species and would not even think of looking at royalty" Luna tried to say with an absent look, but even that doesn't hide her reddening cheeks.
"Luna's got a colt friend, Luna's got a colt friend," Celestia sung quietly in Luna's ear. She was careful not to let anyone else hear her. Luna was going red and tried to hide her face. 
"Excuse me, your highnesses, but the fights are about to begin." says Tar'kor from the other side of Celestia. Both princesses sat up straight and turned their heads to the arena.





I was laying in the same place for what felt like hours, I only just found out that I had been kicked a few minutes ago. Then again, I wouldn't have heard anything before that, the pain was too great. I look around and saw that the room had been emptied pretty fast, from about 30 competitors, down to 10, An'taur is still next to me and trying to comfort me about my recent pains but Jarr is no-where to be seen. 
"You good?" asks An'taur, realising that I am slowing beginning to move again. 
"Do I look good to you?" I growl at him.
"I don't swing that way, but besides the fact you are bald and have no decent muscles on you, you are ugly as fuck!" He shouted with a laugh. Why did he say that? I didn't even ask... Oh, okay. He likes to take things out of perspective.
"Are you kidding me? I have the ladies flowing off me!" I said in a pain filled voice. 
"Well how do you think they will like you when they found out about your blue, crushed balls." He joked making everyone in the give out a short laugh.
"Atleast I still have my looks" I said as I put on a horrible, fake smile. This made all the remaining minotaurs begin to laugh. It was long and hearty, almost as if they all rarely laugh. When the laughter died down, An'taur changed his expression to one of almost fear.
"Jarr fought the Lycan," He said, looking down.
"Did he..." I was almost afraid to ask.
"Oh no, he is fine. He went back to his cage after his fight. But..." he looked up as he said this but returned his eyes to the stone as he continued, "all fights are to the death, and he won, so the lycanthrope is dead."
"I am not seeing the downside to this," I said ignorantly.
"If the Lycanthrope is dead, then what are you fighting?"
"Maybe they found something weaker that I can fight?"
"Yeah, maybe..." He hopes in a solemn voice. "Listen okay, you are going to fight next, you were supposed to fight first,  but I was able to put them off long enough so you actually get a chance of standing."
"Thanks"
5 guards marched down the steps leading up to what I assumed to be the arena. The one standing in front of the rest had his helmet off. "Can he walk yet?" 
"Yeah, I think so," An'taur pulls me to my feet. I stumble for a bit as the pain returns, but I stay standing. We begin to walk up the stairs and An'taur starts to give me some advice. "You walk out, let everyone cheer you on for a bit, then you need to turn to the royal box and bow. You can say a few words then they bring out your opponent. Leave your weapons here so that they allow you to come back here and get them, I'll give you some advice on how to kill it, then fight. And hope to god you win." We walked to a small room with a bench and a minotaur standing near a lever. There was a door that appeared to be made of spears leading out into the arena. The shouts of minotaurs and the beating of drums and other instruments filled my ears, forcing me into an adrenaline state. I take off my pack and place it on the bench. I loaded the hexagun with my incredibly large ammunition and sharpened my blades. 
"Hurry up, they are waiting for their next victim," calls the minotaur at the lever. I walk up to the gate and nodded to him. He pulled the lever down and the gate fell. I walked into the arena and the cheers were so loud I couldn't think. I heard mixtures of insults on my way out of the room. It is a simple arena, a large circle with stone ruins and pillars throughout. On top of each of the pillars are small torches. The whole arena went quiet when I reached the centre.
I turned to the Royal box and gave a long, sweeping bow. "I wish to dedicate this fight to the most beautiful creatures I have ever laid eyes on, Princess Celestia and Luna." The crowd gave a short cheer. I looked and saw Celestia smiling, like always, but I also saw Luna blushing like mad, mustn't be used to being complimented. Just below the Royal box, a minotaur stepped up onto a platform with a megaphone in hand.
"As this is our main event, our competitor decided to take on the greatest creature we have, The Berserker!" declared the arena announcer. The crowd began screaming again and started to chant the word 'zerker' over and over again.
"Just give me a moment to collect my weapons!" I shouted up to him.
"Hurry up!" He barked back without using the megaphone. I rushed back to the little room that I came from to grab my gear.
"Ok, you have no chance of defeating the berserker." Thanks for that little piece of confidence An'taur. He looked at my hexagun."Does that thing shoot fire?" I shook my head. "Ok, then your best bet is to try to out last it, if you can make it 10 minutes, they stop the fight. Aim your blows at it's left knee, all of it's past competitors have. A while ago, someone broke it and it didn't heal right. If you can shatter the knee, it'll slow it down but wont stop it. There are small cracks all over it's skin, aim your sword blows at them. If you don't get in between the cracks, you wont do a thing." He put his hand on my shoulder, "Good luck man".
"Thanks."





I was standing in front of the Royal Box facing away from it, just like I was told by the announcer. "Bring up the Ber-serker" I hear the announcer call from behind me. A large circle of floor in the middle of the room slid away and I noticed massive counterweights behind the seats begin to lower. A giant stone statue of a creature was slowly being raised up. It's arms were thinker then I was and had a distinct blue discolouring. It looked like it was made in the liking of a creature made of complete muscle. If the berserker was a tenth as strong as this thing looks, then I am screwed. The platform levels out with the ground and I notice that there is nothing else on the platform except the statue. I start to look around for the berserker but everything is quiet and still.
"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" The crowd erupted into cheering. I slowly turned my head back to the now more grey statue.
"Well...fuck"


Я буду чувствовать, что утром


> [IV] First Fight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The 40 foot behemoth rushed straight towards me, crumbling one of the stone pillars in the process. I dive and roll out of the way but roll wrong because of the pack on my back. The berserker runs past me from the moment it already had and crashes straight into the stone wall underneath the royal box, making the entire room go quiet as it shakes and large, visible, foundation shattering cracks appear around ground zero. The crowd  became louder than ever now. The beast bounces back, shakes it head and roars, as if our ears weren't already ringing. 
I swung my Hexagun out  and took aim. It turned at me and started running. I took two shots, both shots hit it in the chest and did no damage. I tried to dive out of the way again but it cought my feet and spun me out of control. I heard it smash into another wall and another roar. Just in front of me was the torch from the pillar it knocked down. I slid my gun back behind my back, removed my sword from it's sheathe and picked up the torch. The rapid thumping from behind was clear it was coming at me again. I spun around to see that it was only a few feet away. I quickly side-stepped to the left and swung the blade at it's knee as it passed. It tumbled and stopped a short distance away. 
I rushed over to it and jabbed the torch into it's back where I thought it's heart was. It cried in pain as the flesh....stone...whatever turned a horrid, murky black before I pulled the torch back. With where the torch was as a target, I stabbed down with my sword until I couldn't stab it any further. It let out a last screech before going silent, the crowd following suit. I turned to the royal box. King Tar'kor was absolutely stunned just like the crowd, Luna looked relieved and Celestia looked pleased and somewhat forlorn at the same time.
"I win," I hear another dying growl from behind me, "now what do I..." I never thought that a marble pillar could move so fast, wait. I smashed into the pillar and it crumbled on top of me. I lay there with a thick layer of marble stones covering every inch of my body with my face only just exposed. I can hear the roar of the crowd laughing and cheering but it is shadowed by the mighty roar of my resurrected foe. My entire body ached, I could feel the thousands of cuts and scrapes all over my body. I could feel warm blood pour all over my body. I just wanted to quit, just lay back and let this thing crush me.
"And another Minotaur is added to the ever growing list of those who have bitten off more then they can chew," I hear Tar'kor shout from above. The crowd began to cheer. Now I just wanted to get up, keep fighting. Just to prove him wrong. I wanted to see Tar'kor's face when I place the head of his precious little berserker at his feet.
I pushed my arms outwards with all the force I could muster. It hurt, a lot, but I wanted to see the look on his face. I kept pushing, harder and harder, until my right arm broke through my rock sarcophagus. The crowd cheered even more, louder then the creature could ever dream of being. I pushed off as much rock off my chest as fast as I could. I sat up and watched the rocks tumble off my chest. I leant forward and slowly staggered to my knees. I was tired, starving and in pain, so much pain, but I was standing. "You can't get rid of me that easy!" The crowd roared at an all time high now, how loud can minotaurs shout? This already was twice as loud than I have ever known. I looked at the berserker and it looked at me, my sword still protruding from it's back.  "Come at me bro!" I shouted at it. This time it walked over to me, well, there wasn't much room to gain moment but this was the slowest I have ever seen it move. It looked like it was staring into my very soul. It was angry and looking for revenge. I tugged on my two axes on my backpack but they didn't budge. I ripped them off and held them at the ready.

This might help

`	I felt a burning sensation in my toes, then my knees. I looked down and saw that my body was slowly catching on fire. This wasn't any normal fire though, it was black with a slightly red hue and it felt like I was only standing too close to a fire, instead of being in the middle of it. I began to panic.

Don't panic, let the flame take you

'Well, I am fucked anyway. May as well listen to the thing that put me in this place.' I relaxed and I felt the heat rise and go to all places of my body. I saw that all of my cuts were being cauterized. I could feel my muscles expanding and strengthening underneath the flames. When the flames reached my hands, they rushed up the handles of my axes and along the blade. As the fire attached itself to my two blades, my hands felt like they had been thrown in to a furnace but soon cooling back down to how it was before. I fell to one knee and howled a throaty scream. I looked at the berserker who is now only a few feet away. 
I got back to my feet and dodged the first punch it threw at me. I dashed for it's right leg then jumped and swung my right axe as hard as I could at it's knee. The axe turned the skin black before plunging a good foot into it's knee. It wailed as I fell back down and landed with a roll. I gripped my remaining axe in one hand. It used it's left hand to try and squash me with an open palm. I jump out of the way and spin  to gain more moment for my next strike at it's wrist. I close my eyes and put everything I have in to my next strike. I swing until I feel my axe hit something solid and immovable. 'I can't believe it, I didn't even cut it's arm.' I open my eyes to find my axe stuck up to my hand in the marble floor. The berserker lifted it's arm and look like it was about to cry when it realised that it's hand didn't come up as well. It turned to me, lowered it's head and roared in anger. 
I tried to pull up the axe to cut it's head off but the axe wasn't moving. I stumbled backwards and fumbled around to try and get my hexagun out. I looked to my left and right quickly. I had a rampaging berserker in front of me, rubble on on side and a marble pillar on the other.When it finished it long and pain filled roar, the berserker charged me. I shot 3 bullets at him, all just bouncing off of him. When he hit me, he picked me up and kept running. I pulled out my dagger and tried to stab in between the gaps in his skin as many times as possible. I felt a solid bang as both of us stopped suddenly. My vision began to fade to black. Even with my failing vision I could see that it was smashing me against the edge of the stadium over and over again. As the last little bit of my vision faded, I saw what was left to see through a haze of fire.


Никогда не сдавайся вашей души

> [V] The Prize for Surviving
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

//This chapter is a bit boring, a lot of it is An'taur's back story and some bits on how Taura works\\

I awoke to shouts and threats. I pulled myself to my feet and looked around. 3 of the participants have captured one of the guards and are holding him as a human....Minotaur shield and at knife point. Around the edges of the room are guards pointing their halberds and crossbows at the 3 revolutionaries. The gladiators made a small circle around where I laid.
"Haben wir den Dämon zu töten, bevor er uns tötet" Tar'kour shouts at the minotaurs.
"Wenn er uns tot will, würden wir uns schon tot." An'taur retorts. He is the one holding the guard, Jarr is at his side leveling the guard's halberd towards the guards and another, smaller minotaur is holding a smaller sword. There are 8 guards with halberds and 3 with crossbows. Tar'kour is here with his bodyguard with the sabre. They continue to shout at each other in Tauran for a few seconds before one of the guards called out.
"Der Dämon ist es wach" One of the guards near the door turned and ran. Another dropped to his knees and began to pray. Tar'kour looked at me with fear in his eyes, but tried to look like he was still in control of the situation. 
"Why didn't you tell us of your demonic abilities?" asked Tar'kour, trying to sound intimidating, but to no avail.
"You never asked," I said with a cocky smile. He may not be able to hide his emotions, but I am a master.
"Fine then, under the power vested in me, by the royal crown of Taura and it's populace, I sentence you to death by hanging." He said copying my smile, his fear still evident.
"What is my crime?" I hadn't planned for this. 
"Being a prominent threat to the safety of all Taurans."
"Then there is no need to put him to death," I never thought I would be so happy to hear such a beautiful voice, "we can simply take him away from Taura and Taurans. I would gladly take him off your hands and bring him back to Canterlot."
"...And then make him a threat to your little ponies? You may be their leader, but I won't let you put them at risk like that. He will be hung this afternoon."
Celestia stepped forward. "You would do well to remember your place, Tar'kor. You do not make choices about my little ponies, only my sister or I can." Her horn began to glow, "and if you would like me to remind you of your place..."
"Take him then," he turned to me and Celestia's horn dimmed, "but just remember, if you are ever seen here again, you will be killed on sight."
"You got it," I said quickly. Tar'kor turned back towards Celestia and reminded her that dinner would be served at 7 before walking past her into the hallway.
"Arin, would you join Tar'kour, Luna, Crimson and I for dinner tonight?" Celestia asked politely. I heard a groan from up the hallway.
"Actually princess, I don't think I will be eating...."
"There will be Equestrian food there as well," Celestia quickly cut me off.
"Oh, then it would be my honour." I said with a slight bow.
"I'll see you there. Just...see if they can give you a bath," she half-joked with a smile.
"Of course your highness." Celestia turned and followed Tar'kor up the hallway. I began to remember what I had been through. "Someone catch me!" Why does no-one ever catch me?





"He's awake!" I awake to An'taur's face being uncomfortably close to mine. My entire body burns and every movement aches. I am still on the floor, just propped up against the wall. "So how did you do it?"
"Do what?" I try to push myself back against the wall further, but a sharp pain stopped me. I pulled my hands up to see them wrapped in a dirty brown rag.
"You breathed fire," I looked at him like he was crazy.
"Bullshit, I can't breathe fire."
"What about when you covered yourself and your axes in that freaky black fire."
"Well....that doesn't.......I can't breathe fire" He got me there, even if I technically wasn't the one who did it. 
"It was amazing," he said in hysteria, "You looked like a demon fresh out of hell. The way you ducked and dodged the berserker's swings, you looked like you were dancing. If you could fight like that, how the hell did Tar'kor's guards get you?"
"I don't even think I was in control," An'taur looked slightly confused so I started to explain to him what had happened to him up to when I appeared here. The library, the book, the voice inside my head, waking up in the water, everything. That reminded me. "How haven't I died yet?
"I don't know, I guess that demon just makes you good at fighting."
"That's not what I meant. I woke up in exposed water, isn't all water that isn't from a spring highly irradiated?"
"Um....no?"
"The eridium spill mustn't have spread this far south."
"You can really talk about the weirdest stuff sometimes." An'taur said with a quick laugh. He took a seat next to me against the wall.
"You don't know the half of it," I may have only met him the day before, but he reminded me of my brother, Derek. We just sat there smiling to ourselves for a while, just enjoying each others company.
"Holy shit, you're dining with royalty tonight. You need a shower." Yup, definitely Derek. He carried me to the closest group of guards. We asked the guard if I could use the guard shower. Of course they told us to bugger off. We then told them that I was dining with Tar'kor and Celestia. They let me in and I had a quick shower and quickly washed my clothes, well what's left of them. I put my clothes back on after letting them dry for a bit. I hobbled back to to An'taur with my clean, ripped clothing and we sat down against the wall again to chat more.
"So tell me about how you met Sheeva." 
"She was actually trying to kill me. This was before the EPT and Taura was at war with the Barrow Alpha and the Gryphon Kingdoms. She jumped me from behind the door to my room. After some struggling, I knocked her out. I was going to kill her but I took pity on her, so I let her go. We ran into each other again when she tried to kill Tar'kor's elder brother, Shar'kor. I saw her in the shadows and tackled her and knocked her out again before asking for Shar'kor's blessings to torture her to death. Of course I got his blessing so I took her back to my room. I tied her down until she woke up. We started talking for a bit and learned a bit about each other. She was a bit hesitant at first but when she found out that I was the one who let her live the first time and that I was against the war between our people. I snuck her out again and thought that was the end of it. Little did I know that while I was talking with her, another assassin had done away with Shar'kor and forced the crown down to Tar'kor"
He then waited a few moments before continuing, "then she starting sneaking in to my room randomly. We would just sit and talk for hours on end. We only got caught once, and that was by my captain. I told him the truth and asked him to keep it a secret. He obliged and we continued doing this for months until I kissed her. It was a little awkward at first but we got the hang of it. The Barrow Alpha was killed by a mysterious assassin who wishes her name to not be known and the ETP was signed. Peace reigned throughout the world. The burrows went back to being run by their own Alphas and the Gryphon Kingdoms went back to being city-states. Wasn't long until I asked her to marry me, and she said yes."
"Obviously,"
"Shut up! I was then approached by some of the Alphas and Gryphon Diplomats. They wanted proof that there was still POWs and mistreated prisoners here, against the EPT's Rights for all Sentient Beings. I accepted and tried to expose him, I got caught when I was trying to get the documents out by the same captain who promised to keep everything a secret. He ratted on me, telling them about Sheeva, my proposal and the deal with the Gryphons and Dogs. They cut off my ring fingers and chucked me in here," He held up his hands and showed his two missing fingers, "Sheeva has snuck in a few times, but I told her to stop so she doesn't get caught."
"That's horrible," I say in melancholy, the cheery mood ruined a long time ago.
"That's how it is. If it is the last thing I do, I just want to hold her again. Just one last time."
"I promise, until yours or my last breathe, I will make that happen."
"It's hopeless, you're getting out of here tomorrow and I'll be stuck here, destined to fight till the day I die, or if I am lucky, they'll let me stitch wounds for the rest of my days. I am the closest thing to a doctor this place has had in 50 years."
"I'll get you out of here, I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I'll keep this one."
"What ever." We stayed quiet for a bit. How close he was to Derek was almost scary. I heard some soft hoofsteps from the corner. I looked over to see the smaller minotaur from before slowly walk over to me.
"Can you get me out too, please," He sounded like he was 10 years old.
"I can try, doesn't mean I'll succeed" He was about my height and much thinner, with almost no muscle on him. His horns are only just poking out of the hair on his head. "What are you in here for?"
"He tried to steal food from a noble's house. He was brought in while you were fighting. He saw you breathe fire and helped me drag your half dead ass back in here. He also help fend the guard off while you woke up again."
"Thanks for that," I looked him dead in the eye to make sure he understood how much I meant it. He shyed away and began blushing, "I guess I have two reasons to come back."
"Hündin," I heard called from the cages.
"Three then, happy Jarr?"
"Es ist mir egal,"
"You know what, one day I am going to learn Tauran, and I am going to kick your ass for all the smart ass comments you make!"
"Ich bin für diesen Tag warten zu, Hündin"
"Hey, why is his name just Jarr and not Jarr something?"
"Well, my name should technically be just An. When your family does an exkommunizieren against you, you lose your last name and are considered to have no family. None of you family can ever speak to you or help you. You always get exkommunizieren if you are found guilty of treason or infidelity amongst other crimes. Especially if you are a member of the royal family."
"Huh?" Did he just say royal family?
"There are two royal families, Taur and Kor. Each generation fights it out and who ever wins gets to be king and their heir. My brother lost against Shar'kor so the Kor were kings. Also, if Tar'kor dies, then I am the rightful king, because there is would be no other to take up the bloodline and Taur would hold the throne indefinitely. Jarr won't tell me his family name."
"Dämon, you have any idea what time it is?" Asked a guard as he entered the room.
"I have no idea," I said in an overly cheery tone, "tell me, what is the time?"
"8:30, you are very late." 8:30, but doesn't dinner start at....
"Fuck"


Нам нужно поговорить

> [VI] Dining with Royalty and Entering my own Mind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

//Another boring chapter, this one is more focused on Arin's background. Luna is about 3/4 between S1E2 and S2E4. I promise that the next one will be better\\

"Are we really going to wait for him until he arrives?" Tar'kor complained.
"It is only polite," retorted Celestia.
"But he is over an hour late, he is surely below your manners"
"We are waiting and that is final"
"Ugh" Tar'kor face-plated on to his empty plate. Luna was asleep curled up next to Celestia and Crimson is sleeping with his head laying on the table.





I bursted into the palace after sprinting from the arena. The guard that informed me of the time ran after me, keeping pace quite easily even with his steel plate armour. The Palace was like a large manor house made completely of stone. The guards looked like they were going to stop me, but moved out of the way when they saw who I was. My escort ran in front of me to lead me through the labrynth of hallways that make up the Palace. After two rights, a left, a hidden staircase and an awkward sprint through a room with female minotaurs getting dressed, we finally reached the dining room.
"That was fun. If you want to do it on the way back, just ask." The guard shouts back at me before standing to the side of the two guards standing at the door. I was still half a hallway back so I kept on sprinting. I forgot to slow down to got through the door so I just barged through it. I saw everyone in the room jump. Crimson went from laying his head on the table to into a bipedal fighting stance with his pole arm. Everyone else just jumped thankfully. 
"Sorry I was late. There was no way to tell the time down in the arena" I say with a slight chuckle. The table was low to the ground, with only just enough room underneath it to put your legs. I walked over and sat down on the cushion next to Crimson and opposite an empty space, Celestia to the right of it and Tar'kor to the right of Celestia.
"It is ok, we were waiting for you before we start," She stated politely before leaning down towards the empty spot next to her. She nudged the cushion a couple of times before saying something quietly to it. Luna's head pops up like a molecat. She looks around, still half asleep. Celestia let out a short laugh, "teenagers."
"You're only a few thousand years old than me," Thousand years? Just how old do these things get?
"Hey Luna, guess what?" Celestia leant in close to Luna and whispered something in her ear. I listened carefully but I couldn't hear her.
"He isn't my..." Is all I could hear from Luna. She turned a bright shade of red and hid her face underneath the table.
"Tell the chef's that they can bring the food in now," Tar'kor shouted at the door. Everything was quiet in the room. A heavy, awkward silence remained until the waiters arrived pushing a trolley with 4 platters on it. They were placed in front of every equestrian and minotaur before all being revealed at the same time. "Whoops, looks like we forgot to order for you Arin. I hope you don't mind."
"It's alright, I just wont..."
"Nonesence, here." Celestia cut half of her sandwich off and it levitated the other half over to my plate. "I am not that hungary anyway"
"Um... thanks. How did you do that?"
"You mean telekinesis? It's a basic skill that any magic user knows," she says non-chalantly as everyone begins to eat bar me. "I think that everyone is more interested in what you did and how you did that." 
"Well, before I came to this land, I made a deal with a talking book that told me that if I helped him, he would give me power and knowledge. Next thing I know I know, I am here. That's when Tar'kor's men jumped me," Tar'kor nearly choked on his soup. Everyone else was shocked except Celestia, who feigned it quite horribly. "Jumped me and....and...and bet me I wouldn't survive one round in the arena. I accepted his challange and signed up for the arena straight after that. I think the powers activated itself when I was close to dying." Everyone returned to eating slowly, Tar'kor was death staring me while sipping from his spoon. Celestia tried to hide a smile while mouthing to me 'good one'.
"So is this the only powers that the voice promised? The whole covering yourself in black flame and breathing fire?"
"I don't know, he only said that he qould give me power." I tried to pick up the sandwich but my wrapped hands made it next to Impossible. "The price of power" I gestured to my hands.
"Here, let me get that for you," Celestia levitated the sandwich up to my mouth. I took a bite and felt like it was missing a lot of flavor and texture. I remembered the wolf steaks we ate back home.
"What do I have to do to get some meat around here?" Everyone was shocked by this, even Celestia. "What?"
"Arcadians are," Luna gulped mid sentance, "carnivorous?"
"So the midnight beauty can talk; and her voice is as beautiful as her apearance," she turned the deepest red, "and no, we are omnivorous," I said.
Celestia, suggested whilst regaining her composure, "perhaps you should tell us more about Arcadians."
"Well, we are the pride and jewel of the Great Human Empire,"
"We have heard this before!" Barked Tar'kor.
"The majority of us are intelligent, but not that strong of fighters. We rely on machines to do most of the work. We are the head of research and mechanics all accross the Empire. Recently we were able to develop a machine that allowed us to fly at high speeds." I said this with great enthusiasm. My tone turned to one of sadness "But the Empire is at war with the Barbarians, sorry the Minotaurs."
Everyone looked to Tar'kor. "I swear that I am not at war with anyone." Strange, he almost looked like he was telling the truth. "I Swear on my Kor."
"What? You aren't fighting the Humans Empire to the north?"
"To the north is Equestria, and further north is the Gryphon Kingdoms." Tar'kor defended
"Yeah Arin, I have flown all around this planet in years past and have not seen hide nor hint of Arcadia or the Great Human Empire."
"Then that can only mean one thing..." I said solemnly. Everyone looked at me. "...I am further away from home than I thought I was."





We finished our meals and we began to chat again. We talked about what amazing machines Arcadians have invented. I also talked about my past. Luna stayed quiet throughout our conversations. They were all interested in Maria, getting laughs out of Crimson and Tar'kor when they found out she was my body guard and she was a girl. Celestia and I playfully defended females, saying they were just as good as males. Although I kept a smile, I was really missing her. When I get back to her she will probably end up bashing me three times for leaving her alone and another for scaring her. 
"So do you have any siblings?" Celestia asked, breaking me out of my train of thought.
"I had one, Derek. He was drafted into the war and was one of the first casualties." Celestia offered her condolences. "My father didn't really spend a lot of time with me, he was always busy working for the duke. Derek practically raised me, and when I lost him, it nearly destroyed me. Maria kept me together but only just."
"I think we should change subject," Celestia said quickly.
"I thoroughly believe thou are thinking correctly" Luna said softly.
"Thou? Don't you think this is the wrong century for that kind of speech."
Luna's eyes became wet. She then stood up and rushed out of the room and down the hallway. "Ugh. Crimson, can you deal with this?" Crimson was already halfway down the hallway when Celestia finished talking.
"Was it something I said?"
"No. Well, she is a little self conscious about the way she speaks." I felt sick in the stomache. I had just made fun of a teenage girl about what she thought was wrong with her.
"I think I should leave."
"No, we were having such a good time. Don't let this little misunderstanding ruin a good night." 
"It's just that I need some rest after the fight today."
"Well, in that case I think that I should head to bed as well. You can share a room with Crimson, here in the castle. The caravan back to Equestria leaves at 8 tomorrow, sharp. 
"Thank you, your heighness." I stand up, walk out the door and down the hallway until I reach a crossroads. I turn around and walk back into the room.
"Right, left, right then pull on the bust's nose," Celestia said as if she had waited for it.
"Right, how could I not know that." I followed the odd instructions and ended up in a large room with a large, stone, 4 poster bed with a feather mattress on it. I fell alseep the moment my head hit the pillow.





"Let me in Luna, please!" Crimson banged on the thick, stone doors that led to the second master bedroom.
"We do not with to see thou!" A sob stricken voice called back.
"He didn't mean to offend you, he was just trying to involve you in the next part of the conversation."
"A conversation where he does nought but insult our speach practices. No, we will not stand for it.
"Hey, look. He isn't that bad of a pony." Crimson cringed at the thought of being nice about him, but it is the right thing to do. 
"You really think so?" Luna sounded like her resolve was weakening.
"Ugh, yeah. And if you want to date him, it would be totally ok.
"We do not wish to be infatuated with such a monster." Crimson immediately realised that was a bad move. 
"Oh yeah, look me in the eyes and say that."
Luna opened the door open enough so that she is completely visible. "We! Do! Not! Like! Him!" She shouted quickly, making sure she emphasized every word before slaming the door shut before Crimson can react. "Why would everyone think such a thing about us?" 
"Need some help Crimson?" Celestia asked as she gracefully walked up to the door.
"Celestia, you can deal with this. I, am goin to sleep." Crimson walked up to the wall and pressed in 3 bricks making the wall peel away, revealing an entrance to his room. He began to walk inside.
"You'll be sharing a room with Arin for tonight." Celestia called out after him.
"Celestia be damned"
"I am standing right here, you know?"
"Why do you think I said it?" The wall healed itself when Crimson walked through. Celestia turned back to the door.
"Luna, let me in please."
"No!" Celestia rolled her eyes and in a flash she was standing behind Luna.
"Come on Luna, let's get some sleep." Celestia walked back to the bed. Luna turned around and looked at Celestia with her still tear filled eyes. Celestia gesture to the bed and Luna quickly galloped to the bed. She curled up close to Celestia and nuzzled into her. Celestia felt a strong jab in her stomache.
"That's for outsmarting me." They both gave a short laugh before passing on to sleep.





I looked in to the blackness of the void, nothing could be seen. I couldn't feel any ground beneath me or the feeling of falling. There was just...nothing.
"Behind you."
I turned around and saw an old man standing on nothing. I wonder how I turned around.
"Welcome to your mind"
I tried to talk, but nothing came out.
"You need to think it, speaking comes out in real life." 
"Oh."
"I am here to answer any and all questions."
"Okay, first one. Who are you?"
"My people call me Vlast, but you might know me as the talking book or the voice in the back of your head. I have been guiding and protecting you this entire time."
"What happened in the arena after I passed out?"
"Not even a thank you? No? After you passed out, I gave up a thousand years of my life to release an ability called Hellfire Breathe. It incinerated the berserker and spared your life. Just let it be known, I can never do it again."
"You gave up a thousand years to save me?"
"Normally, it wouldn't matter for our people live for millions of years. But I am old and nearing the end of my journey."
"Where am I?" 
"Still not hearing a thank you." He waited a few moments before rolling his eyes and continued. "You are on Equis, home to the Minotaurs, Ponies, Gryphons, Zebras and countless other creatures, not to forget Abyssals. You are aproximately 930, 000,000 miles from your home planet."
"...And you made me appear here?"
"Correct."
"Well besides the whole flame thing, what other powers do I have?"
"I will slowly reveal these to you, if you take too much on too fast, you could kill yourself. It is very messy"
"One last one, what am I supposed to do now?"
"If I you did decent in the Arena, I would have just said 'figure it out yourself', but you clearly need some help. That is where I am sending you, to train with the best of the best. Now relax and this wont burn as much as it did last time."
My vision faded to flames, then to black.


Вы узнаете, от спартанцев

> [VII] The Best of the Best
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure, it didn't hurt as much as last time, but it still hurt. I rolled around in pain. I saw that I was laying on some small, green plant. Actually, a large green plant. It covered this entire area. In front of me was a forest and a flower patch. I relaxed a bit. Besides the horrible burns and splitting headache, it was peaceful.
Tell no-one but the Spartans you are here.
I heard the last of the fire burn off me behind me. Solid footsteps and cryptic mumbling approached me from behind. I knew it was too peaceful.
"Hey...hey you okay?" I felt solid hands placed on my back and have me a quick shake.
"Come on, not more Minotaurs,"
"Minotaurs? Where are you from? Was there another out post? What happened?" He rolled me over. He was human, completely human. He had incredibly large muscles and looked like he was wearing military armor "Ubi te dicis erant ex? Which city are you from?"
"What? Arcadia," I said half-heartedly. It is good to see another full human.
"That isn't a Terradisian city, is it?"
"No, it's a part of the Great Human Empire."
"Look, we'll continue this in the house." He picked me up and helped me walk towards yet another stone building. I swear, the only places that Vlast sends me to are ones where they make their homes out of stone. We walked in through the back door, through the kitchen and into the living room where he laid me on the couch. "Who are you?" He asks as he steps away, looking as confused as I was.
"Name's Arin, I am an engineer from Arcadia, who are you?"
"Miles Eremita, how did you get here?"
"Where is here?"
"Ponyville, Equestria. I’m the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment. Ubi te dicis erant ex?"
"What?" I gave him the strangest look when he finished talking in tongues.
"Nothing," he quickly acts like nothing happened
"Wait..Spartans? Vlast said something about Spartans..." I tried to think back. I was in my head and we were talking about getting me trained, then he burned me up and then he said something in the weird language. Then he told me to keep it a secret from everyone but Spartans.
"Who is Vlast? Is that the demon inside of you?" How could he have known about that?
"How do you know about that? ...And he isn't really a demon. He is just a being...that possessed me and gave me powers in return for...He isn't a demon!"
"What does he want with the Spartans?" His face changed to one of defensive rage. He flicked his hands and they came alive with white flame. He was on the other side but I could feel the heat from here. Lines began to make their way from his wrist up his arm stopping a few inches below his elbows.
"Calm down, he doesn't want anything from you," The lines began to lower and he began to calm down; but stayed on edge. "He wants me to learn from you. He said that you were the best fighters to have ever walked the universe and if I was to survive, I needed to learn how to fight from you." Ok, I was pulling this out of my ass, but it worked. The flames and lines disappeared from his arms and he stood up straight and tall.
"Well, we are the best." Wow, this guy is full of himself, "...and you want training?"
"Yeah!"
"No,"
"Huh?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
"What?"
"Even though you are human, you need to be a Terridisian to be a Spartan. And if you want to be a Terridisian, you need to follow all the rules. Starting with rule number one, nothing is hidden. You seem to think that there isn’t a Demon within you. So what is it? What are you hiding? What is Arcadia? Tell me everything and I might consider it."
"Vlast is not a demon, he can't be. He only gave me these powers so that I can save his race of people from something. Demons want to destroy and hurt, he only wants to save." Vlast is more than just a demon, he is...an anti-demon?.
“Yeah, and the demon within Damian tried to upturn the Devil, and he defeated him to keep the order. As Damian says, good intentions open the gates of hell... whatever that means.”
"I have no idea what you just said, but he isn't a demon!" I realised how childish we must have sounded. "Ok, Arcadia is the jewel of the Human Empire. A cultural hub filled with science, arts and a natural beauty. What about this Topaz place?”
He looked out the nearby window solemnly, “... not a place with arts and natural beauty.” He turned and began walking back the way we came through. He leant against the walkway and faced away from me, “You wouldn’t happen to be from one of the colonies... would you?”
"I told you, I came from Arcadia. I made a deal with the 'Demon'," I tried to make the idea of him being a demon stupid, "and woke up in Taura before being thrown into a Minotaur Arena."
"That would explain the scars. An arena, nasty business there. You survived down there?"
"Yeah. Some things happened and I ended up being transported to Equestria. I fell asleep the night before, woke up here."
"Stand up," he ordered me like one of his privates. I followed suit because this guy scared me. He began to walk around me and size me up. "I need to think for a bit, wait here," he walked back the way we came. I sat back down and waited. I looked at my clothes. They were still torn and ripped from the fight. My entire stomach area is exposed and only half of my chest is covered. My silk pants looked like a wolf had ripped them up. The only thing that looked half wearable was my heavy, black trench coat. I think I should see if Miles could lend me some clothes. I was about to call out for him when I heard some heavy panting. I look around for where it came from but saw nothing. I stood up and slowly backed up to the wall. From around the couch came two giant wolves with giant, gleaming fangs.
"WOLF ATTACK!" I shouted out to Miles. Before I could run or defend myself, they pounced on me. They tackled me to the ground and pinned me there. "Help me miles!" I couldn't fight their gorey and ticklish licks at my exposed skins, one was even nuzzling my chest.
Miles walked back into the room. "Lupus, Haiti, get off of him," he said as if this happens every second day to him. They got off me but keep tasting me. I clambered behind Miles and held him in front of me. "I was going to let you train with us, but if you’re this much of a pussy..."
"Not fair! They were trying to eat me!"
"Do you see how fluffy they are? Do they look like they could hurt a fly?" I peak around and look at the little monsters. They are both staring at me with their blood thirsty eyes, their tongues dangling out their mouths, trying to taste my flesh while I protect myself. Miles reached down and patted each on the head.
"They are very small for wolves," I said from my thoughts
"They’re fully grown."
"Wolves mustn't be as big here. Where I am from, wolves would stand another head over you,"
"Is that so?" Miles turned around and walked back out of the room, the little devils followed him."I need to show you something." I followed them back the way I came in, checking all the corners to make sure the bitches weren't going to jump me. Miles was waiting for me at the back door. He turned to the two evil beasts rolling around on the ground. "Go get Luna."
They rolled on to their paws and ran into a shed. A bright flash from the doorway nearly blinded me. "Wait, will I need weapons for what you're showing me?"
"It would help." said before walking into his shed.
I'm on it
I followed him down the stairs. I hear some clunking from all around me. Four machines jumped out wielding some kind of short, hollow piece of metal. "What the fuck did I do this time?" Miles walked over to a bench and throws a small hexagun at my feet.
"Defend yourself!" All the guards raised their small tubes at me. I guess it is some kind of weapon. I could feel the air heat up rapidly just in front of me. I looked down at the puny weapon at me feet before looking back at Miles. I kicked the small gun away from me. The heat was near unbearable now, but I showed no pain.
"No thanks, I brought my own," just as I finish talking, the air in front of me burst into flame. I could see the slight shape of a handle, so I grabbed for it. I pointed the far end at the closest machine's head before pulling (hopefully) the trigger. It's head shattered into a million little parts. I began to spin and slowly lower myself at the same time. I lined the shot up with the next one quickly and pulled the trigger again. I disposed of the other two in a similar manner. When I had finished my twist, I was facing Miles again. I was crouching near the floor with my left leg out to keep balance. By now the flames around my hexagun has died down and shown my weapon in all of it's glory. I noticed my shredded backpack, my dagger and my sword all appeared next to me on the ground.
"Impressive," he muses. I picked my bag and weapons up and reattached them all in their right place. I also loaded my hexagun again, displacing the 4 used cartridges and dropping the empty ones on the floor. "One last test," Miles says as he turns and walks towards the far side of the room.
'What happened to my axes?'
They are still where you left them. Not even my power can get them out.
'God damn it!'  A blinding flash stunned me and my vision was blurred white. After stumbling around for a while, my vision returned and Miles was gone. "Miles, you there?" Nothing called back. I kept walking around, looking for where Miles had disappeared to. I notice a few strange markings on the floor and some cupboards and shelves nearby. On my way over to the cupboards to see if he is playing some childish game, I stepped on the gun and it slipped out from underneath me. I Flailed around for a bit before falling flat on my face on top of one of the strange symbols. My vision flashed a blinding white. I couldn't see anything, I curled up into a ball in case anything tried to kill me. Yeah, that seems like a legitimate excuse.
"Get up bitch." I hear Miles groan from somewhere nearby. He yanks me to standing position and drags me to a large metal door. "You want Spartan Training? I have seen in your head already and seen that you are good at heart, but it is going to take more than heart," He said as the door opened. "You see that building there, in the centre?" he says as he points to a large skyscraper in the centre of a stone city. The city itself lays inside a massive dome, being several miles high. The buildings near the walls only stand a few stories high and get taller the closer they get to the centre. The skyscraper in the centre seems to nearly hit the top of the dome as it comes to a point.
“Your mission is to make it there alive. Make it there, you get spartan training, die and you save me the resources." I walk carefully into the city and begin to look around. The sound of light laughter resounded behind me followed by a sharp clunk of metal falling into place.
I turned around to see the massive door shut tight and Miles nowhere to be seen. I turned back around to the sight of large hexaguns being pointed at me. Well, these ones only have one barrel, so....monogun? Just gun works I guess. Anyway, they were being held by metal men who had surrounded me entirely. I gave a half-hearted smile before making a mad dash between two of the men-things towards a nearby building. I hear some bullets being fired and whizzing past me. I barged in through the door and dived behind a counter for cover. Everything went eerily quiet. I slung my gun onto my back before pulling out my dagger. I pushed my energy towards my fingertips and watched as the dagger's blade began burning.
Three metal men with swords for wrists barged in and ran towards me, jumping over any furniture in the way. Bullets start flying into the room from outside as the other metal men form a perimeter outside. I stab one of the bots in the face, making his head explode into a shower of nuts and bolts. Another bot narrowly missed me with a wide swing. I ran to the back of the shop and burst through the back of the shop into a long alley.
My target loomed over the other buildings, but even then other buildings still dwafed me. I began running through the alley towards the centre building. After a short run I heard the bots break through the door behind me and knew that they would start shooting again. I don’t think my luck will save me this time. A loud thud breaks my train of thought. Whatever it was, it was big enough to shake the buildings beside me. I begin to run faster, trying to escape whatever behemoth could make such a thunderous sound without being seen. I reach the end of the alley and turn onto the main street. Before me stands a giant, and I mean GIANT bot-man-thing with a giant hexagun who's barrel was easily the size of my fists.
"Oh fuck that..." I turned around and ran back into the alley. I found myself caught between what appears to be an unending wall of smaller bots and the giant one behind me. So, naturally, I take the hero's choice. I ran in the closest building and began scrambling towards the front of the house. I barely made it past the front door before I heard the wall behind me crumble.
"One block?"
"You never told me about the machines, or the guns, or the machines with guns!" I shouted at him, my limp body hanging from my ankle being held by the giant gun thing-y that grabbed me.
"Will the enemy tell you what you’re going to face? As a Spartan you have to be ready for anything, and I mean anything. It will be your obligation to face those things and to charge at them, not run like a coward."
"I would love to continue this conversation, but my head is filling up with blood, making talking harder and harder," He motions to the giant thing and it drops me flat on my face. I pick myself up and turn back to Miles. “I also take it, that in the Spartans, you wouldn't just push someone into the middle of a giant city filled with things that want to kill him, BY HIMSELF!”
"You would be surprised..." He chuckled to himself. "Now the question is, do you think you can survive a life in which YOU are expected to charge down the middle, protect what’s right because its right?”
“I don’t know, but I would sure as hell try to...”
“Hmm... we’ll see about that. Congrats, you’ve been accepted into training. Don’t thank me though. It was Damians idea... well, he just wants to question you really. But be warned, we will try to kill you during all of this. The best way to survive is to find a cause worth living for. We actually begin in a few days, meet me in my backyard in two days for orientation.” Miles lead me back out the city.
“The thing is, I have nowhere to go. I’m not allowed to let anyone see me except the Spartans.”
“Hmm... another human would make things difficult. You can stay in the city then. There isn’t anyone here beside the bots, so you’ll be hidden. As for food, we have a stockpile at the P.C.H... the big building you failed to get to, on the 82nd floor. Feel free to explore the rest of the city as well. Easy will guide you so you don’t get lost.”
“So you think that you can ditch in the place you just tried to KILL me?! No thanks, I’ll just go sleep in the forest.”
“No can do, the forest is where the training will take place. Plus I’ve sent a few non spartans out there to make repairs on the course. If you want to stay hidden, Topaz is your best bet.”
“Alright. A quick question though?”
“Yeah?”
“Luna, is she a spartan?”
“.... how do you know my wife?” he asks as he clenches his fists.
“She was at the arena...wait, you married an Equestrian? Aren’t you two different races?”
“Does love care about things like that? Plus... lets just say I’ve got everything under control. Why do you want to see her?”
“I was just wondering if I could see a familiar face, we didn’t really talk but it would be good to see someone I have before.”
“Well... this may be a little harsh, but I’d suggest against that. From what you say, I think you’re talking about a different Luna, if so, don’t mix the two up. Things... wouldn’t end well.”
“I just want to talk to her, nothing will happen...”
“Yes, something will happen. Even if its minor, something will happen. Do not grow feelings for someone you will not see again, especially if they are taken. But, if you get the chance, talk to the other Luna as quickly as possible. I can see it already, don’t miss your chance.” Miles turns to leave the city.
"Wait, what?" I ask as I follow him past the bulkhead, but he ignores me. He steps on the strange symbol thing and disappeared in a flash of light. I was going to follow, but my less manly side decided against it. I start a slow jog towards the... tall centre building thing that I forgot the name of.
I arrive at the building and walk inside. I check the first room and find a whole lot of platforms with the symbols from before. I decide not to test my luck and curled up into a ball against a corner, using what was left of my clothes as a sheet as I try to get some sleep.
"Can I get your autograph?" I hear a bot ask me.
"Ugh.....sure?" The bot froze for a moment, almost as if it has no idea what to do. It then turned around and sped away. I decided to just roll over and close my eyes.
"Can I get your autograph?" The bot woke me.
"Yeah, sure..." I took the tablet and found a picture of Miles on the screen. He’s in a weird pose. As if he’s in the middle of showering..."OH MY-WHAT THE FUCK?!?"

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