Volume 1 Prologue: Something New to Try

View Online

Nothing better than another lovely day like this, yeah? I was sitting at home playing Payday 2 and came up with the best idea I've ever had in a while. I decided to go in loud this time, shooting up citizens and cops alike. Now, you may ask why I kill the civilians, and your answer is that they just get in the way. Yes, I am aware that I lose money for that. No, I don't fucking care about money either. Before I start to ramble, let me introduce myself.

My name is Axel Dixon, a person who is a criminal for reasons that have changed past the years. It has been 8 years since I have been doing things that would put me above about any criminal on the most wanted list. I'm going to be honest, I became a criminal on accident. I recreated Cloud's sword from Smash Bros: Ultimate and went around slashing people. That may sound sadistic, but I was stupid back then. Everyone has their moments, dammit!

...Moving on.

Anyways, I didn't realize until 4 days after this event happened that the sword was so strong, it could deflect bullets. Since the sword's reach, much like its sharpness, colossal, I managed to mow through the entirety of Karbling and almost half of another town. I may or may not have developed sort of a blood lust after this event, but who's to know? After getting to the van and escaping the cops that were at the bank, I turned off my computer and went to test out my idea, packing my 'Arsenal of Criminal Gadgets^TM' in my car.

I parked my car in the middle of the road, because i'm an asshole like that, and walked up to the bank. A car stopped behind my car, and I paid it no attention, continuing my walk up to the bank doors, my bag in hand. The driver decided poorly to get out of his car and yell out at me.

"Hey! What are you doing with your car on the road?!?!" The driver yelled out.

"Carrying out my business at the bank! What are you doing getting out of your car in the middle of the road?!?!" I answered back, pointing my M1911 at him and showing off my bullet-ricocheting tank armor vest. I know you may think this tank armor vest is heavy, but as I have odd ideas, I managed to lighten up the heavy tank armor by attaching miniature balloons in spots where they shouldn't pop. Who knew that there were places on vests where balloons are safe from getting hit my bullets? The scrawny fucker walked up to me, putting a finger up in my face.

"Move your car right now or I will call the police!" His dumbass said idiotically. Does he not see the fact that a gun is literally against his chest? I guess he really is retarded. Instead of shooting him with my gun, I headbutted him and stuck a knife in his neck, slashing in a way where blood wouldn't touch me. I pretended to hug him as civilians walk by, trying to keep his wound away from my body while still letting him bleed out. After a few moments, I screamed like a horny teenage boy caught his mom in the living room naked. Two guys ran up to me in shock and concern and asked,

"What happened?"

"I was saving my friend after he nearly blacked out from being hit in the neck by something sharp in his car, and he just fell out!" I acted out perfectly. I guess after being caught 2 years into this sort of thing and having to act to get out of this sort of thing makes its use sometimes, yeah? "I th-think he may be dead!" I finished my act gracefully. The two guys inspected him and I managed to slip away and change my disguise before they looked back. What, you think I walk around as the most wanted criminal in broad daylight? Are you fucking dumb, what kind of criminal does that? Anyway, I put on my blonde wig and multicolored contacts and I continued my slow pace to the bank. Before I went in, I looked back and to where I stabbed the retarded-as-fuck driver. There was a crowd around him, and some police around him too. Fuck that dude for taking my spotlight! Now I want to revive him so I can murder him again! Eh, we never get what we want now do we? Anyways, I made my way toward the side of the bank to catch a cop looking at me.

"Citizens shouldn't be here, state your business!" The officer snarled.

Instead of talking, I did what I know how to do most, and stabbed, or should I say, shot, him in the center of his head with a knife. That sentence only makes sense if you knew I had a famous, contraband, fabulous-looking ballistic knife in my hands. Before you ask, yes, I do create all these weapons. 8 years to have the experience to make all of this are being put at play here, and you get to see it first hand! If you aren't excited about that then you can go fuck yourself. Anyway, I continued my journey toward the back of the bank and eventually arrived there, taking out 4 guards total on my way there. I searched through my bag for my portable metal detector and placed it against various parts of the back wall of the bank in search for the area that concentrated the most metal. If I could find that part, I would know where the vault is, because coins are made of metal. After the detector did its job, I set a EEP6 (Electrical Explosive: Power-6) against the wall and set the detonation timer to 4 minutes. After the timer was set, I hid underneath a sewer hole and started waiting. For those of you who don't know, I like to name my inventions according to their characteristics. I am not robbing this bank for the money inside of it, as I have enough already. No, I am raiding this bank to test out my new invention, and the money I take from this bank is most likely going to go to an orphanage or charity or whatever fucking place accepts money. I took my custom, newly made gun out and started loading it with BS Rounds (Blood Seeking Rounds). Since I knew I had a blood lust, I bet I could make ammo that could lust for it as well. In reality, they are just very iron-sensitive and calcium-sensitive bullets. So sensitive to both, that it gets attracted very easily, but I made sure to make it an 80/20 (80% Calcium/20% Iron) metal mix so that the bullets don't attract to random objects. I'll be damned if I ever see a bank where most of the items are made of calcium. By the way, if you want to know what gun I am using, it's also a new invention.

I call it the AK-R870C (Avtomat Kalashnikova-Remington 870 Combo) because it has the mechanic of the Remington 870 (An idea from playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2) and the fire rate and bullet penetration/power of the AK-47 (An idea from playing a bit too much Call of Duty: Modern Warfare) to make a wicked overpowered gun. This gun shoots 70 rounds per second. This has to have broken some record, but what do I know? My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of bricks falling and sounds very similar to that of one of those bug zappers people buy to be lazy. Seriously, just use a fucking fly swatter like the rest of us. I peeked out of the sewer hole to see what has happened during my time reloading. I didn't hear an explosion, but the explosion did happen. I walked over to the blown hole and noticed that the cameras inside were giving off sparks, a sign that my invention seems to have worked perfectly. I took a look around and noticed 6 police officers sitting on the floor, looking like they're having a seizure. I guess the poor fuckers got caught up with the electrical explosion. Eh, not my fault, and I never saw anything either. I went to go through the impressively big hole, but one of the officers, who had eventually stopped twitching, grabbed my leg and started biting into it. Luckily I had my metal shin pads on, although it made this a lot more awkward than it needed to be.

"Why are you attempting to bite my leg off?" I asked the officer with an amused grin on my face. When he spoke, his voice was so raspy and quiet that I had to lean in to hear his intent.

"We will not let you rob this bank. It has the valuables of the entire town." He said, a pained look on his face.

I looked him in the eye. "What's stopping me?" I asked neutrally.

"We have everything under control here. You will not succeed." He tried in subtle movements to grab his pistol.

I kicked the gun he was reaching for to the side. "That sounds like an empty threat to me." I kept my tone neutral. He didn't seem worth my time to speak down on him.

"This bank's defense was made with you in mind, Mr. Dixon," The guard assured. "You will not succeed." He repeated

"It seems you know who I am, and you probably know how I like to create my own weapons rather than buy some too huh?" He nodded. "Thank you for telling your enemy to be on their guard. Good Night!" With that last word, I plunged the knife deep down his neck, the last sound coming from him being a choking sound, and it was wrong in all the right ways. With that done, I walked through the hole that leads straight into the vault. I must've knocked out the lights of the entire building, because it was super dark inside and I could hear a bunch of commotion going on towards the front. Time to see if the explosive did its job. I took my lantern out and set it to 10% power usage and the entire place lit up. I looked around for the cameras that watched the place and found that the explosive worked. Every camera that I could find within the vault had been fried to a crisp. I mean, any more damage and the explosive would've done its job a little too well. Anyway, I turn the power of the lamp up to 20% so that I could get a better look at what I was dealing with here. There were mini-vaults that lined the sides of the walls, totaling about thirty, and what looked like millions of quarters streamed the corners of the vault, and in the center was the prize I had been waiting for. Gold Bars, 12 in all, were stacked neatly on a table.

"Finally," I thought to myself, "A heist where there are two positives instead of one." There was a triumphant smile plastered across my face, looking down at the prize I so desperately wanted. Let me make one thing clear and say that I do not want these gold bars for the value. No, I want these gold bars because Cloud's ultra big sword could use an upgrade. I put my hands on it to make sure they were real, and my eyes widened. Why do these feel like-

"Plastic?" A man who was wearing a mask and armor with red camo came out from the hole I had made. On his leg had the tag 'AAD' on it, and I knew exactly who he was....

and that didn't make me happy in the slightest.

"...You must be Shane Witz, leader of the AAD I assume?" I questioned, looking at him uneasily.

His voice was as deep as I pictured it to be. "Did the color of camouflage give it away?" He said, smiling patronizingly.

"I know AAD when I see it, because you bastards only come in red and purple, and your the first red one I've seen." I answered. I knew that it was too good to be true.

"Did you think it was too good to be true? You usually do full out attacks. Also your personal record assumes you hate stealth." Did you read my damn mind?

"No," I lied, "I just wasn't feeling it in me today, so I decided to give stealth mode a try."

"Is that so," He took out a gun and pointed it at me. I reached for my gun behind my back, but before I did he said, "What do you think is faster, your slight of hand or my trigger finger?" He said, gently squeezing the trigger on his pistol. "Hands where I can see them, you're under arrest." I stopped and tried to think of a way out of this predicament as he inched closer, gun in hand. I thought of something I could do, and I would have to bet on it to get me out of here. Lets see how smart the AAD is.

I put my hands up.

"Alright, you caught me." I said, trying my best to look saddened. He stared at me for a moment before continuing his slow walk up towards me. I pulled up my sleeves and showed him that my hands were empty.

"Put your gun on the ground." He said, stopping in place. I did as he instructed and emptied the clip before placing my man-made, and well-made at that, gun on the ground. He seemed to have let out a breath I don't think he even knew he was holding. He continued his walk, albeit a little faster, and started reaching for his handcuffs. As he came a foot away from me, I sprang into action. I reached up and slapped the gun out of his hand, and proceeded to punch the air out of his lungs. As he stood on the floor gasping for air, I took my leave from where I came from. When I got out of the hole I had made, 3 AAD soldiers made their move. Two of them attached themselves to my arms while the third one held my head down.

"You must be his cronies...." I said, disappointed, and drawing the last word out.

"I had a feeling you would try shit." Shane had recovered, and that means that I had lost. I noticed the cops holding me down were actually not regular cops. They were dressed in the same attire Shane was in, but instead of red camo, it was a very nice-looking galaxy purple. This means that they were working for Shane, and that is not good. Shane walked up to me. "What was it you said to the guard," that's what they call all cops outside of AAD, "Good Night? Well, I say the same until you. Good Evening, Axel." With that I felt something super hard hit the back of my head and my world went black in an instant.

I woke up to the sound of murmuring, and it sounded very heated. I opened my eyes to what looked to be the blur of red and purple in each other's faces. I tried to put a hand to my head so that I could hold my head from the headache that formed, but to no avail. I looked around and found myself tied to a wooden chair with some rope in a super dark room, the only light being the hallway which the red and purple soldiers were occupying. They heard me test my bindings and went to greet me.

"Good Morning, Mr. Dixon!" The purple bitch said cheerfully with a smile. I felt sick and wanted to rest. I wanted out and to live my life testing out my ideas again, but I don't think I will be getting that any time soon.

"Who said you could rest just yet? We have work to do." Shane said diabolically. I stared at them both with a neutral expression. "You look bored," The red bastard frowned, "Lets pep you up a little, shall we?" He went to the door and retrieved a box. Inside of the box was a syringe filled with a orange liquid that glowed in the dark.

I had a severe phobia of syringes.

I started struggling against my bindings again and started trying to back up in the chair I was in, only to fall and hit my head on the floor. The purple soldier picked up my chair and held me in place. As the syringe got closer, I froze, staring at the syringe reaching my neck. As it got closer, I closed my eyes and felt the syringe start to impale my neck. As soon as it was over, I exhaled, feeling the blood trickle down my neck.

"Now we wait for the results of our research." Shane said, sitting in the cell. "You can go, I'm gonna sit here for a few. The purple soldier nodded and walked out. I watched him leave before looking back at Shane, and we stared at each other for literally two hours.

"Its 3 AM already!" Shane looked at his watch, displeased nothing happened. "I'm tired of waiting..... so I'm not gonna wait." He said, standing up from his chair. "Hope you have a bad night, Axel. I also hope you turn into a Resident Evil 3 monster!" He spoke to me like I was a child. I watched him walk out the door with the same neutral expression before I felt a sudden wave of exhaustion. I started to realize that it had effected me, as the exhaustion doubled in volume only after a few minutes. I stood like that for a while, staring at the floor. An hour later, a sudden wave of pain overtakes my entire body. I would've screamed at this moment in time, but it was like the pain stopped my mouth from making noise. It felt like hours past, just sitting there, as if I was chained to a pole and lit on fire. The pain was agonizing, and I can't do anything about it. After a few minutes, the pain had taken its toll, and my eyes started to close. I wonder what will awake me when I wake up.

Chapter 1: I think I hit my head too hard....

View Online

As my body came back to consciousness, a headache, that I was used to from spending nights over nights planning for the next day's events, appeared in my head. My body felt cold, as if I were put into a freezer for a week. My thoughts were that I was going to wake up in the jail cell and see myself as some sort of abomination, but that is not what I seemed to have come back to. My ears picked up on wind, meaning I had to be outside, or I was actually in a freezer. I felt the surface I was on, and I reeled my hand back in pain. I looked to the ground next to me and saw what looked to be dirt that was burn't to a black goo. I looked up to only find.... more dirt in my wake. I took a moment to clear my head a bit, and I realized that I was in a crater, the insides of it being completely blackened. Confused, I climbed out of the crater to find an assortment of trees. From how they were sorted, I seemed to have been in the middle of the pathway. Everything looked like a relatively normal forest, but then something crossed my mind.

'How in the hell are those trees so damn high?!' I thought about as I looked back at the crater. As I was about to test and see where the pathway led me to, there was a glowing on my left hand. Using my right, I shielded my eyes as the glow got bright, then all of a sudden diminished. I stared at the back of my hand and it read "OPEN YOUR PALM" in big, bold text. Unsure of what to do, I hesitantly opened the palm of my hand and faced it upward. A second later, a book of some sorts faded into view.

"What the fuck?" I said to no one in particular, startled by the gold-slated book in my hand. With nothing else to do, I took a seat with my legs inside of the crater and opened the book. It was blank at first, but then some text appeared shortly after looking at the blank page. I read the contents of the book, and was startled way more than I was when it first appeared. It read my name as the owner of the book, and I don't know how it did so. After being amazed for a few minutes of this book's sorcery, I continued to read on. It explained that the book always needed an owner or it would "burn up", whatever that means. It also said that the owner can't just be anyone, and must be someone with a good imaginative and creative conscience to be the book's host. The reason the book is blank is because it is meant for the owner to write their own magic inside of this book.

'This book was probably written by some Dungeons and Dragons fanatic...' I thought, feeling less motivated to continue. Time to test and see if it works I guess. I flipped through the pages and saw that all except the next two pages were blank. The second page explained the rules and arguments that would determine how the magic is used and what it can do, and the third was something called a "Equus Magic Locator", which can apparently be used to determine your location as well as any other's location, through mana. This sounded so unreal and bullshit that I had to test this out. On the second page, it stated that thinking of a pen in my hand would make a pen appear, and that writing down any type of magic with a name, explanation, and way to use it would allow me to use it. Nothing left to lose and slightly believing it due to the fact it appeared in my hand from out of nowhere, I tested it out. As I thought of a pen inside of my hand, and mimicking my hand to do the same, a pen appeared in my hand. Startled, I looked around, wondering if someone was joking me. When I saw no one, I looked at my hand. There it was, a white and gold pen, inside of my hand, and attached to the book.

'Wait... If that's real, then isn't the...' I hastily flipped to the third page that had this locating device on it. It said I was currently in a forest that was named the Everfree Forest, and the danger level, scaling in between numbers zero (no danger at all) and fifty (insanely dangerous/hostile), was projected as 17, meaning there is danger here. Now completely entranced to the book, I flipped to the first blank page and came up with a type of magic. What I came up with was an ability called 'Search' which allows you to find and identify monsters, showing their distance away from me, what they are, a name if they have one, and a color code on how dangerous the monsters are. Green means harmless, yellow means dangerous if provoked, and red means dangerous. It was a pretty straightforward explanation and it should work right. The activation method is using the incantation "Search".

"[Search]!" I yelled out into the forest. It took me a moment to realize that my voice had echoed out into the wild. As I yelled it out, dots and marks appeared, reminding me of that ESP cheat people use in shooter games. I looked around, to see the different color marks, only to fail my observations from the amount of clutter the marks were bundling in.

'Oops, forgot to label the distance of it.' Silly me, tricks are for dumb-asses. I went back to the book and made it only search the area the magic locator can cover. I spoke the incantation again and saw considerably less than I did the first time. There were a lot of entities, but most popped up either green or red. I looked at a red one and as soon as I focused on it, some info about it appeared. It was a very good distance away, enough to make me feel safe I guess. This info panel is saying it's a Timberwolf, but I don't remember them being literally made of timber... Its entire body was made out of wood, with glowing yellow eyes. Its teeth were sharp and splintered, looking like they could penetrate anything they see as lunch. Its look itself scared me out of my mind, so startled that I looked away from it before I started to get chills. To the right of the pathway showed that there were less red marks to be found there. Satisfied by taking the safe route, I took the journey down the pathway. I would've kept [Search] on the entire time, but apparently this "magic" uses my own energy to stay active, a damn shame. On my way to who knows where, I looked around, humming that all so familiar tune from my days of playing Persona 5. I peered at a bush, and it gave a shake, causing me to stop. I chanted [Search] for a brief moment in my head, and its mark appeared. Red, a color I was not looking forward to see. I took a moment to write in the book something to protect myself. I named the spell [Weaponizer] because it gives me a weapon I know the name of and uses my energy to shoot it. As soon as I ended the explanation of the spell with a period, a thought popped in my head, saying that the more energy I use in one day, the better and stronger it will be the next. That must mean that the gun I pick from the spell must be very weak right now. No matter, whatever keeps the monster back.

'Wait... what if I choose a melee weapon?' I thought about, thinking that a melee weapon is usually set in stone for its strength and firepower. Putting it to the test, I closed my eyes and thought about which melee weapon I want and decided to go for a fire axe. After a few seconds, I felt the axe create and form in my hand. When I opened my eyes, I saw the fire axe, from that one zombie game I can't remember, in my hand, its nice red design shining in the crisp afternoon air. I must've been lucky to create it in time as a beast, that was basically a lion with wings, reveal itself from the bush with a mighty roar. I focused on the creature and learned that it was a Manticore, a magical beast with a powerful sting in its tail. Alarmed by the information, I went to action and hacked the axe straight into the beast's body. As the axe made contact, the mythical creature gave out a huge scream of pain, and the axe, unfortunately, was broken, its head stuck inside the beast's chest.

'So melee weapons are not as sharp or durable when using weaker energy.' It did its job anyway, so no big deal. I ran down the pathway, the Manticore running right after me. The wound seemed to have done more damage than I thought it would do, because the lion, scorpion, whatever else it is mixed with, was starting to have more and more trouble breathing. Looking ahead of me, totally not out of shape and wanting to take a nap might I add, I saw what looked like a town. It was not a town he had seen before, as there were no active cars or roads. It looked like something the pioneers had called home once. As I made my way to the forest's entrance, I ran out of the forest and hid behind a tree. I looked back to the now-out-of-breath Manticore, and it seemed reluctant to leave the forest. I heard the creature's panting and footsteps start to become more silent, meaning it was leaving. I watched it go back into the forest, its paw on its chest, and leaving a blood trail. As I sat down at the tree, breathing hard, the book started glowing. As I opened it, the first page changed into some more words. I looked at the words carefully.

'Two spells have been detected in the book, causing a change on the magic locator. It will now tell you the amount of mana that is present in a certain area. The amount of mana in a certain area will allow you to replenish energy faster than normally, just by breathing the air. If there is not enough mana in the area for you to keep up, you can always just go to sleep and replenish energy.' Curious at what it was talking about, I flipped to the magic locator and saw a new statistic labeled 'Mana Yield', and it read 92%.

'It must mean that there is a lot of magic nearby.' I thought about, realizing that I already wasn't breathing hard and my legs were not aching as bad. I was still tired, and still desired to find a place to rest, so I focused on that first. I looked at the locator and saw that I was out of the Everfree Forest and in a new place. The name made me wonder if I read that wrong.

'Who was the fucker who decided to name a place Ponyville?'

Chapter 2: What do you say in this situation?

View Online

I looked up and stared at the town as if it said something stupid before looking back down at the book. If a place like that is named Ponyville, then it must be filled with people no one wants to meet. Thinking about a means for defense against this horridly-named town, I thought of something.

'Could I write my own arguments?' It was worth a try. I wrote 'Arguments' at the top of a new page and underlined it. As soon as I lifted the pen from the paper, the text turned blue. I'm just going to take that as a sign that I can write my own rules. This should make my life a lot easier if I can label spells accordingly. First off, I wrote passive and active along with their meanings. In an instant the term turned red, and the definitions turned yellow. I sighed a breath of relief, feeling good that my hand doesn't have to cramp writing spells. Being satisfied with the two arguments I wrote, I put them to the test. I gave myself a spell called [Stealing Intent], only this time I put passive in parentheses right next to the title. If this worked, I could be one of those overpowered anime characters. I went through the drill of writing down what the spell is supposed to do, and started my tests on the tree I was laying on. What I basically wrote down was that if I felt the desire to take life from anything that lived, all I would have to do is touch it. I placed my hand on the tree and closed my eyes, focusing on the plant cells that make up its being. In an instant, my body felt rejuvenated, as if I hadn't ran from that Manticore at all. Taking my hand off the tree and opened my eyes to see something that I found interesting. The tree itself was not looking too good, as if someone treated it like a dish rag that had been squeezed to its max. It looked almost as if it were a Halloween decoration. I sat on my legs next to the tree and clapped my hands together.

'I'm sorry, dear tree. It was nothing personal, but at least you went down for a good cause...' I thought about, bidding the tree farewell. I swear to god if some of you say that it's weird to say goodbye to a tree, then I am gonna quote Kung Fu Panda references so hard. Simple as that. Anyway, I made two more passive spells as a safety precaution. The spells are self explanatory, so I will just tell you their names. I don't know why I wouldn't come up with [Dangerous Presence] and [Magical Presence] earlier after being chased by a Manticore, but I guess my mind had other plans during the time. So, I continued my walk toward the wickedly-named town. It was currently nighttime, and it was very dark. Almost too dark. I looked at the town and saw not even one light on. Suspiciously, I looked around and saw a magical presence, telling me that at least one spell works right. Going by gut feeling that the other one works as well, it must mean that it isn't harmful. I ran toward the presence and saw what looked to be a small cottage, easily comfortable for only one or two people.

'I should be happy that there are likely no kids here, but what the hell is this one fucking building doing out here?' I thought, creeping closer to the house. I sat beneath one of the windows and opened the book. I briefly wrote [Night Vision] and explained the spell. I activated it momentarily after writing it down and noticed something that I found a little weird. Okay, that's not even fucking true and I know it. This has to be the weirdest shit that I have ever seen in my entire life, and I play with what are basically weapons of mass destruction. This cottage, and I emphasize cottage, has fucking animals living inside of it. Not just your typical cat or dog either. There is a full grown bear in the middle of the goddamn room. I am not kidding when I say that animals took over this damn place. I wondered if i could scare them off, so I attempted that. I wrote in the book a spell I named [Fire Sniper], which is basically a heavy damage spell that creates a loud boom on impact. I made a specific note in the spell to inform it that it only burns the spot I aim at if it doesn't impact a certain object. Just a minor note so I don't burn down the damn place.

'Ha, fire go boom!' I thought in my mind, holding my hands as if I were holding a sniper. Waiting for effect to take itself, I watched as a sniper that looked like the metal was too hot to handle appear in my hand. I aimed at the tree I bid farewell to, index finger on the trigger.

'So this is truly where we say fair well... Yikes.' Thinking about the moment I was experiencing made me a little uncomfortable. I pulled the trigger and immediately hit the wall from the sheer amount of recoil the gun had. My back had ached a little afterwards, but nothing magic couldn't handle. I looked through the same window I had been at for the past 10 minutes and saw that I got the desired effect. The animals started making their way toward the back door in a hurry to get away from the terrifying sound. It seemed that only one animal inhabited upstairs, and it came downstairs to see what the commotion was about. It must be the ring leader of the group. I watched it flicker on the lights, causing every animal to stop in place. The small horse, a more accurate word being pony, stopped and did something I wasn't expecting.

'I know that it was surprising to see magic existing, but this is a whole other load of bullshit.' I swear to god if that tree was sentient then I'm going to create a spell to revive it.

"W-What was that noise?" The somehow talking pony said, walking toward the door and slightly opening it enough to peak through it. Am I even in my own world? I swear that everything I knew for what it was has been flipped around. I stared at it from the side, not daring to move. This pony had a pink mane and a yellow coat, with three butterflies on her ass. I better not name more or my cover will be blown by me laughing my ass off.

"I-I-Is anypony there?" It asked, my guess being that it was alarmed by the smoke.

'Okay, that term is stupid and equally racist.' I thought, continuing to hide. I peered inside the window to check up on the other animals. It seemed that the butter-colored one managed to settle down the other animals. I looked back at the pony just in time to dodge a swipe from an oh-so familiar claw. If it can understand me, then what I say next may piss it off.

"Fucking Manticores..." I whispered, looking at it like more of an annoyance than anything. It seems like the pony heard the swipes of the bushes because it, or now that I know it's sapient, she, came running over here.

"What's wrong?" It asked the beast. The Manticore turned around and pointed towards me, who was still crouched inside of what remained of the bush. The Manticore, frustrated by its miss at my neck, swiped what remained of the bush to reveal me.

I will be sure to cook you with a side of fries and a soft drink in the future. I wonder if they have recipe books here, and if they have fried Manticore as a meal they have instructions for preparing. While the pony looked terrified, me and the Manticore tried to eye each other down. Well, to be honest it was more one-sided as I was trying to assess the beast's current condition. It seemed the piece of axe that got lodged in his chest did some damage, as he had a bandage wrapped tightly around him, the outside of the bandage being a glimmering red. Wait, I just realized. I am stronger with magic now. I could probably beat him easily with the arsenal I have now. If only I had a place to ware out my magic so that it grows stronger.

"W-W-W-What are you?" The pony asked, in such a volume that whispers would call that a whisper. My sense of being an asshole kicked in, and I smiled at her.

"I am what they call a demonic spirit, here to learn more about these lands." I said in a deep, medieval voice.

"W-What do you want to know?" That question was just what I was looking for, but first I must know her name.

"Tell me your name, young one." I kept up my facade as a scary spirit.

"It's F-Fl-" The rest was inaudible.

"I'm going to need you to repeat what you just said, and a little louder. I said in a firm, yet still trying to be gentle, voice.

"I-I'm Flutte-" She got quiet again.

'I swear to god. Pony or not, no one can be this shy.' I facepalmed and took a deep breath, not having the patience for this shit.

"Say it one more ti-"

"I'm Fluttershy!" She yelled. Well, it was more of a normal voice than anything, but if her other volume was her normal voice, then I count this as a fucking scream. She started getting confused when I stared at her with a deadpanned expression.

'Noah, we're gonna need your boat again...' I thought about, letting the name sink in. I never really got to get a good look at her until now, and I found it a little odd. She had fucking wings. It has been confirmed. I am not on my world, but everything seemed normal up until I woke up, so I am now confused. Anyway, time to get back to a question I so desired to be answered.

"Can you or someone you know tell me about this world and its inhabitants?" I said in my normal voice this time. Her shyness was replaced by confusion from the sudden voice change.

"W-What happened to your voice?" Fluttershy squeaked. I looked through her eyes for any sort of shyness. As I was caught staring, she looked away and hid behind her hair.

'I know shy ones, and those people hide very dark and disturbing secrets...' I chose not to pry into that concept and gave up on my facade. Her mind only rose more confusion as I started laughing.

"That wasn't my real voice, and I'm not some spirit. That was just a facade to see what you'd do. You seem to be the more timid type, am I right?" I said with a warm smile on my face. If you want someone shy to ever talk to you, you must be gentle and genuine in your tone and words. Still hiding behind her hair, she nodded.

"Well, do you know anyone else around here who can tell me about this place?" I asked as gentle as I could manage. She seemed to ease up a bit at my gentle voice.

"I could always take you to Twilight." She said, in a voice that was quiet, yet audible.

I guess I could laugh myself to sleep from how bad these names are, not that I was already desiring rest. To hell with me, mocking someone's name out of spite.

"Who is that?" I asked politely.

"A friend of mine. I am heading there tomorrow, and I can show you there.... if you want to.. that is." She got quieter as she said those last words. I shrugged and gently nodded.

"Do you mind if I stay here for the night? I kind-of don't have a place to sleep." She smiled and opened the door to let me in, and told her animal friends, that's right, fucking animal friends, to calm down and that I was staying the night. She got me set up on the couch and went upstairs. On her way there, she mouthed goodnight in which I replied with a polite, yet groggily, nod, and went to sleep.

Chapter 3, Part 1: Why does everyone fight me?

View Online

I woke up the next morning feeling light and flexible. I know this bed has to have some type of enchant on it, because it is probably the most comfortable couch I have ever slept on. I sat up on the couch, rubbing my eyes. I thought about the book and watched it appear before me.

'I never realized that the book disappears when you don't think about it for too long.' I made a mental note just in case I freak out when I can't find it. Now that I think about it, that has to be one of the most convenient things about it. Anyway, I looked at the mana yield and saw that it was 99% now.

'So that answers one of my suspicions on mana yields.' So it seems that mana yield changes daily, but I wonder what it's dependent on. Eh, an experiment for a later time. I listened to the area around me. It was actually quite silent aside for the occasional animal noise that would make its way through the air. It made me wonder, how did Fluttershy manage to train this many animals? All the signs, the shyness and insane amount of animals, tell me that she is a shut-in, but I wouldn't know until I found out for myself. I walked outside to get a good look at the town sitting in front of me. The town didn't look to be that big, about the size of a neighborhood back on Earth. I let the book appear before me and wrote a spell that I called [Enhanced Perception]. It was a spell that allowed you to see from as far as you want to as well as see in the dark. I tested it out by seeing if I could see all of Ponyville. I blinked twice, the activation sequence for the spell, and saw more ponies, and not one damn human. I swear to god if the town tries to hunt me down, then I'm taking initiative first.

I looked around the town and saw all kinds of ponies with different colors in mane and tail. There were ones with wings, much like Fluttershy, and then there were more races that I didn't recognize. Some had horns instead of wings, and some had neither as well.

'I wonder if there are ponies that have both.' It must be a dumb thought considering that no one in town had both. I would say it could be a small minority, but considering that the population itself is small, I highly doubt it. My thoughts were interrupted by the door behind me sliding open. Turning my head, a familiar face walked out of the door.

"Good morning, um..." She paused, trying to think about something. Oh, I forgot to give her my name...

"My name is Axel. Should've brought that up last night," I turned completely around, "My bad."

"It's fine." She replied. I noticed that she seemed to be a little less shy than she was last night. "How was your rest?"

"That couch is more comfortable than most beds in my world." I beamed, remembering the good times of sleep on that couch. Fluttershy looked at me like she was confused.

"In your world?" She asked, puzzled.

"I am not wrong when I say you've seen more animals than anyone else, right?" She nodded. "That's because there is no one but me in this world. I am the only human." Fluttershy looked surprised.

"Oh my... aren't you lonely?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are the only one of your race on a world you know nothing about. It must be pretty scary." She frowned at me.

"Trust me when I say that I am enough for this world." She looked confused again, but this time I stopped her. "Lets save this talk for later. I still want to see what the town is like." She thought for a second before nodding.

"I'm off to Ponyville, animal friends! I will be back later." Her way of screaming made me wonder if she could talk in normal volume if she was deaf. Eh, I would never know the answer to that question.

"Onwards Aoshima!" I said, pointing dramatically towards town. Fluttershy chuckled at my eagerness to see the town. She closed the door behind her and we went on our way.

The beginning of the trip to Ponyville was done in silence, one of us basking in the sunlight and nature around us, and the other writing spells he might need in his book. They were just general spells, such as [Sated Appetite] and [Sated Thirst], that I figured I would be able to use to protect or help myself better, but one particular spell was one well worth mentioning. I called it [VTabs], which meant Virtual Tabs. It is designed to be a weapon and a handy tool. On one part of it, it can allow me to quick-create spells and execute spells via command. It also lets people through a "firewall", which will shield people I select from either certain spells or all of them. On the other hand, each "tab" can be shaped into its own weapon, and was able to be used magically, not physically, in combat. The best part about this spell is that it allows me to generate energy when I'm stationary. I tested the spell, and Fluttershy jumped in surprise.

"W-What is that?" She stared at the glowing weapons, wide-eyed. I guess I forgot to tell her about my magic, so I will reply with such.

"My magic."

"C-can all humans do that?"

"No, just me."

"Then how can you use magic?" I looked up from the tabs and at her.

"I don't know myself, nor do I care to learn why. As long as my life isn't being threatened, then I don't really care." She was going to ask another question, but then she just chose to drop the subject entirely, and said as such. "I'm sorry if I startled you." I gave her a sheepish smile.

"It's fine, you didn't mean to." She replied, smiling. We then returned on our way, Fluttershy giving me some basic knowledge of Equestria, which was the name of this country.

Instead of having her talk super long about what to expect from Equestria, I quickly made the spell [Knowledge-Copy] and learnt most of the information myself. Here is what I know so far. Ponyville is as the name implies, a pony-dominated town. Another quick note was that this was also mare-dominated as well, the opposite of where I'm from. Aside types of work, gender roles are completely switched. The girl gifts the guys on holidays, as well as make the first move when two are in love. One thing about it make me cringe, and that was that it was like a slight minority of guys to girls. It was major. So fucking major that goddamn lesbian relationships were generally normal for ponies. I could learn to accept that; mainly because humans accepted lesbians more than gay relationships. Wait... I just thought of something.

'If I see a goddamn gay relationship in this female-heavy town, then I'm really going to fucking lose my mind.' I made a mental note in my head.

We made our way into the Ponyville market, causing everyone to start panicing. I think that me being armed was playing more of a part than me being a different species. I looked around for only a second before being immediately stopped by someone. This was an earth-pony with a mane in darker shades than even black itself and a light-tan coat. He was also clad in golden armor with a spear in his hand.

"Halt!" He shouted, his sword a few inches from my neck. I didn't even flinch at the motion. Fluttershy, on the other hand, leaped into the air and hopped back, shaking as if it was winter out. "Who are you? Better yet, what are you?"

"Hello, small pony, my name is Axel." I had a smug grin on my face, knowing where this is going. If I could do one thing, it was taunt someone.

"Drop your weapons, you're being detained!" He said, unlatching some magical-looking handcuffs from a strap on his armor.

"You couldn't do that if you tried." I taunted. He looked at me for a second before his sword clashed with something and flew out of his hand. He looked at his sword before looking at me wide-eyed. He recovered momentarily before he pressed a shiny red gemstone attached to his leg.

"Night Star, requiring assistance." He said. Whoever was on the gem replied with "10-4" before he looked at me with a smug look of his own. "Not so tough now, are ya?"

"You could say that I am tougher than tough." I shielded the back of my head with a sword as a burst of magical energy came rushing down toward my head. I turned around and saw 4 more guards come rushing down into the market, 2 pegasi, 2 earth-ponies, and 1 unicorn. By now, a crowd had formed around us, Fluttershy still watching, frozen in fear.

"Don't worry Fluttershy," She jumped a little and looked at me, still shaking, "I will be fine. This is easier than back in m-" I parried another magical blast with a sword before uppercutting in front of me to catch a guard in the neck. His head cocked back and he looked at me, blood trickling the corner of his mouth.

"How are you so aware of us?" Mr. Star asked.

"You're just easy to read." He seemed angry. In reality, I've dealt with entire S.W.A.T. units coming at me. I hope everyone agrees with me when I say that 5 ponies are better than 50 or so humans. The guards, tired of me waiting to make a defensive move, all 5 charged at me at once. I ducked, causing the two pegasi to run into each other. I then pushed my sword forward, penetrating the armor piece of one earth-pony and floated my sword up into the air. This allowed me to take care of the two behind me. I grabbed the unicorn's horn and planned to impale the earth-pony, but he had other plans and leaped over the unicorn's head. I used my own head and simply looked up at a very fast speed, causing the smart fucker to run into the top of my head and bite his tongue. When he got back up after hitting the ground, he spat something out of his mouth and I gave a sheepish smile.

'It seems I made him bite his tongue completely off.' Is it bad that I felt satisfaction from seeing him constantly spit blood from his mouth? Anyway, I looked back to Night Star, and he looked oh-so very scared. Without a word, I let him down and let go of the unicorn's horn. Star and the other unicorn were perfectly fine with no cuts or wounds. The two pegasi were unconscious from hitting their heads while the other earth-pony required major assistance. The unicorn frowned and used a spell that would temporarily stop the bleeding. The two unscathed guards carried the fallen pegasi, while the earth-pony walked himself.

"We will be sure to report you straight to the top!" Night Star said with a fire burning in his eyes. I ignored him and turned to Fluttershy. As I did, everyone in the crowd moved out of my way. "Shall we continue?" She looked at me like I was insane.

"H-H-How can you just shrug off what you did?" She was speaking in normal volume, meaning she was screaming.

"In my old life, I did things way worse than that, and I sorta developed a blood-lust." I said casually. She seemed to have not liked that answer, because she walked off. I caught up with her shortly.

The rest of the trip to the library happened in silence, Fluttershy distancing herself away from me. It's as if she hasn't seen violence before. Eh, doesn't matter, gives me time to prep some more spells to better defend myself.

When the library was in view, I looked at it like I lost my mind.

'Why the fuck is the library in a damn tree?!?!' Fucking ponies. You make my head hurt more and more as I learn things. Anyways, we walked up to the entrance of the library. The door was about a foot smaller than myself, but that again, this was pony-lands. I gave Fluttershy a questioning look when she knocked on the door. She must have noticed it, because she looked at me.

"Hmm?" She gave off a noise as if I called her name.

"Why are you knocking the door in a public place?" I asked.

"T-Twilight also lives here. It would be rude to invite yourself in. Especially with what you're capable of." She answered, an edge I didn't notice before in her voice. I was about to address it before someone opened the door. It looked to be the dragon that was in Fluttershy's mind that went by the name of Spike.

"Hey Fluttersh-" He paused his greeting to look up at me. He then got scared and yelled for Twilight to come down to the door. Fucking sissy, can't speak for yourself. She ran down from what sounded like stairs at the pussy-dragon's cries. It was a unicorn with a lavender coat and a mane that was the deepest shade of blue I've ever seen. She looked at me as if I was a monster.

"Stand back, Fluttershy! I'll take care of this!" Fluttershy was then pulled in her direction behind and Twilight lit her horn, it glowing in shimmering sparkles. Taking quick initiative, I grabbed her horn and looked at her.

"Call me a monster again and the horn comes off, got it?" She looked at me with a wide-eyed expression. Fluttershy, not wanting to see her friends end up like the guards did, took the initiative.

"T-Twilight, please stop. He isn't a monster." Fluttershy looked at me, "Even if he can do some... questionable things, he is not a monster."

"What do you mean questionable?" Twilight asked. As if the universe heard her question, the dragon, who was watching this all play out, belched a scroll from out of his mouth. Twilight took the scroll from the air and unraveled it.

"Is it normal for dragons to do that?" I asked no one in particular. I was ignored by the other three who were focused on the scroll. I joined them to look what had been inside and it seemed to be a letter of sorts.

To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

I hope you are having a good day, though I wish we could talk under better circumstances. It has come to my attention by a guard that a hairless ape is causing trouble and is resisting detainment. I hate to ask this of you, but do you mind detaining him for me before he causes any more trouble? It would mean the world to me if you do. If you find him, try not to hurt him, but from what I've seen from the gemstone video tape, you may have to use force to detain him, as he isn't afraid of hurting others. At the bottom of the letter will be two gemstones. One stone contains the video sent to me, recorded as of an hour ago. The second stone can be activated by magic to call a guard to collect him. I apologize for the short letter, but I hope to meet you again in pony sometime soon.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

"Now that was just damn hurtful," I commented, "Did she just call me a hairless ape?" Twilight grabbed the red gemstone and activated it with magic, playing the video of earlier today's events. Twilight and Spike looked surprised at the level of finesse I used on the guards with no effort. "I really wish I didn't keep one of the guards in place. That entire fight was no fun at all." All 3 looked at me like I was crazy. Twilight recovered quickly and approached me with the green gemstone.

"Can we please at least make this peaceful? Notice that Princess Celestia said detain, not arrest! There is still hope for you!" She said with pleading eyes.

"I'm not letting you cage me with that shit!" I said, heading for the door. Twilight didn't seem happy.

"Then I'm going to have to do it by force!" Twilight lit up her horn, but then Fluttershy stopped her.

"Twilight, don't! You don't know what he's capable of!" Fluttershy tried to reason. Twilight stared at her as if she'd gone insane.

"Did you see what he did? We can't leave this situation alone, Fluttershy!" Twilight argued. They traded more verbal blows, trying to get the other to join their side, but one thing caught my eye about that entire argument.

'Not one of them has traded an insult to the other? You guys must be very friendly creatures.' I watched them argue for a few moments before I stopped them.

"I'll tell you what," Both of them looked at me, "Me and Twilight will have a mock battle using a spell I know. It has a health bar and blows will only injure a person in the simulation, but they will be good as new when I end the spell. We go until one of us yields or until one of us faints from exhaustion, which is when the health bar reaches 0. If you win, I will let you detain me." I looked at them, and Spike spoke out.

"And what happens if you win?" The dragon asked, not looking all too eager to see this happen.

"If I win, then you will allow me to test three spells on you. I guarantee your safety throughout these tests, however, but I don't guarantee any sort of comfort from them." Twilight gave me a skeptical look before accepting. Fluttershy and Spike were surprised by Twilight's acceptance.

"Twilight, why are you doing this?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because if we don't detain him now, then more ponies may get hurt." She answered, she herself shaking beyond belief. Fluttershy seemed to notice it too.

"You aren't forcing yourself, are you?" Fluttershy gave her a skeptical look that looked more puppy-dog cute than suspicious.

"No, I will be fine. It is only a mock battle, right?" She looked at me. I nodded. "So where are we having this battle?"

"In town square, of course." Twilight looked wide-eyed for a second. "Don't worry, we will be in a protective dome where people can still see us."

Twilight sighed in relief before telling us to come with her to town square. I was already out the door, but Fluttershy and Spike trailed in the back, not eager to see Twilight fight at all.

It didn't take us long to get to town square, and people were already avoiding me. I found it fair for them to do so and didn't hold it against anyone. Twilight stopped and I looked at her.

"I think this is far enough." She said. I looked behind me and saw that Spike was now riding Fluttershy's back and was in deep thought about something.

"Okay," I said, grabbing the attention of everyone, "I will teleport you guys far enough so that you aren't trapped in the box." Everyone but Fluttershy nodded.

"Twilight, please reconsider this," Fluttershy begged, "I really do not think you can win. He is very strong." Twilight turned to her.

"I told you Fluttershy, I will be fine. I must detain him at all costs and if this is the way to do it, then so be it." Twilight denied her request. Saying what needed to be said, I teleported them to the entrance of the square using [VTabs] and turned to Ms. Ego over here.

"You ready?" I asked for final confirmation. She nodded.

"Alright then." I pressed a button on a small miniature cube and planted it on the ground. A few seconds later, the cube activated and trapped us in a glass-looking box about 2 basketball courts long and wide. A lady, that I made using text to speech, started talking as if this were a stadium.

"The match between Twilight Sparkle and Axel Dixon will now commence. You will fight a best of 3, meaning the first person to win 2 matches will win the duel. All magic is allowed. Hand-to-hand combat and weapons are also allowed. The fight will begin in 30 seconds."

A counter appeared above our heads, and we moved into position. During the entire speech, a lot of ponies were wondering what was up. Benches also generated on 2 sides of the cube, giving people a spot to sit at. All of the ponies sitting on the bench were cheering for Twilight.

"It seems you are well known in this town, Sparkle." I said, my voice being amplified for the crowd to hear.

"I am the Princess' prized pupil after all." She replied back. Her voice was amplified too? Cool. I looked behind her to see 4 ponies trying to get her attention. One had a cyan coat with a rainbow mane and tail, all sorts of messed up. The second one was pink and pink all over with blue eyes. The third had a farm hat on and was kicking the dome with her back legs.

'Good luck with that farm-pony.' The last one has a purple, curly mane and a completely white coat. The thing that stuck out to me was that they all had labels on their ass. Now that I look, Twilight also has a label on her ass. I wonder what they all mean? No matter, time is about to run out.

"Round 1, Fight!" My favorite computerized-voice said. In an instant, Twilight summoned a sword and teleported behind me. I parried the sword with one of my tabs. Wait, that can't be right. None of Fluttershy's knowledge said anything about Twilight being able to hold a sword.

"Where'd you get that spell from?" I asked quizzically.

"My ever-so lovable mentor." She gave a grunt as she tried to push back the sword, but it wouldn't budge.

"It wasn't in any of Fluttershy's mind of you knowing such a spell. Seems I underestimated you." Everyone in the crowd gasped and Twilight went wide-eyed, looking at me with a burning blaze that made Night Star's glare look like winter.

"What did you do to Fluttershy?" She said in a low, lethal tone.

"You seem mad. So I'm going to stop talking now." Most of the crowd looked at me in disgust. She pushed harder against the unwavering sword, but to no avail. She then hopped back and fired a spell that I will name right here right now [Gatling Gun]. In reality, it was plainly just a bunch of small magic bursts firing at a rapid rate. Not impressed, my swords took turns slashing the little bursts of magic. I had 16 swords around me in total, so it was a very low-effort job. She then caught me by surprise and did an exceptionally big magic blast, the impact causing one of my swords to actually waver.

"It seems you weren't so confidant in that one, now were you?" Twilight gave a smug expression

"If I wasn't trying to gauge your skill, I could end this insanely quick." The smile never left my face.

"I'd like to see you try." I took that as a challenge, and those are things that I do not lose. Ever.

"Okay, Ego Sparkle, as Rainbow Dash would say, I could finish this in 10 seconds flat!" I said in a mimicing voice. Twilight frowned and put up a shield, concentrating most of her energy on it. Luckily, she hasn't seemed all of my moves.

"Dodge this!" I said, pulling out what looked to be a dagger, and oh did she think it was an ordinary dagger. I threw the dagger at her and watched as her shield exploded on impact. I watched her health bar reach 0, indicating that I won.

"Round 1 goes to Axel Dixon. The score is now 1-0. We will now have a 2-day intermission for both parties to prepare more of their own spells." The voice said. I looked towards the crowd and they did not seem happy. The danger alert in my head told me someone was about to hit my side, so I waited for it and grabbed in the direction it came from. I looked and saw the cyan pegasus from before struggle to break free of my hand.

"Yall put er down!" The orange pony, named Applejack, said. She ran up to me and bucked her back legs toward my direction. I rose my other hand and grabbed one of her legs and let gravity deny her. Momentarily, I let go of her leg and she fell over. Rarity and Fluttershy ran up to check on Applejack, and I let Rainbow Dash drop to the ground, breathing and letting the air back into her system. After getting her air back, she sneered at me and aimed at my chest this time. I did the same routine. Choke some life from her, let her drop, repeat. I did this about 6 times before Fluttershy stepped in front of me.

"Stop!" She said as the pink pony walked up, something inside of her party cannon.

'Fluttershy's knowledge sure is helpful.' I thought getting ready to teleport behind her. The look on her face said that she was angry at me. The party cannon fired icing a moment later and as soon as it fired, I was already behind her. I looked at the icing, and apparently it was stickier than hot glue because everyone who had it on them could not move from their positions. All except Twilight, who was in shock at what happened and stared at the ground. I created a spell to remove any 'effects' on a person and got the sticky stuff off of everyone.

"Ya all right, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, concerned.

"H-H-H-H-" She seemed to want to say something.

"Spit it out, Sparkle." I realized all throughout that battle and up til now I still had a smug smile on my face. Twilight flinched at the mention of her name.

"H-H-How did you-" She went silent again.

"How did I what?" I asked. Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned to me with a glare.

"You know you can be a real jerk sometimes." Rainbow said, pointing an accusing hoof at me.

"An ah second that." Applejack chimed in.

"We had a duel, and she was confidant in beating me. That's all there is to it." I explained. Rainbow did not buy it.

"Why would Twilight have any reason to duel against you, you hairless ape?!" Rainbow asked, screaming in my face. I put a hand between me and herself, then proceeded to choke Rainbow Dash until she needed it again.

"Because your ruler seems to want me detained." I said, ending the sentence by dropping Rainbow for the 5th time. Again, she gasped for air.

"Ah don't buy it for a second." Applejack voiced her opinion, looking at me with a lethal glare, "And if you choke my friend out again, yall gonna regret it!"

"You can tell if I'm lying, can't you. You of all people would know what and what not to buy." I addressed. She looked at me for a second before her eyes went wide.

"B-B-But why would-"

"H-H-How did you do that?" Twilight said in shaky breaths. I turned to her and watched her get on her hooves slowly.

"After learning from your early shield preparation that you shield attacks rather than dodge them, it was really easy. I made a spell called [Mana Break] which breaks down mana manipulative magic at a super fast speed. Since you are still focusing on making a shield and the mana gets dispersed, magic does the next best thing. Can you name it for me?" I asked Twilight, knowing good time well that she can.

"I-it uses the mental waves i-instead of mana to build it."

"Yep! You basically used every mental sensor, ranging from pain sensors to thinking sensors, in your body to attempt to create a shield. Unless you are a masochist, there was no way that shield was going up after that attack." I finished.

She looked at me and then looked back towards the ground.

"I'm gonna need to prepare extra hard for two days time." Twilight said. She got up on her hooves and towards the library, locking the door on her way inside.

Chapter 3, Part 2: This is pretty cozy if you ask me.

View Online

I took these last few hours of the day to find another place to stay. After fighting one of her best friends, I highly doubt Fluttershy would let me stay at her cottage. I got my answer when she went on a whole rant about how it's wrong to use violence to solve a problem. My reply was how I found it fun, and she looked at me like I was insane. She then said that she could change me, which I denied and went on my way. If I can't be myself in the place I stay, then I'd rather not stay there.

I went to the center of town and noticed that ponies were avoiding me. I thought about it for a second and then completely ignored it all together. I walked up to the entrance of the inn and opened the door. The door being made for a pony, I had to duck to get inside. As I walked in, ponies looked up and immediately went silent from any conversations they were having. I did what I did to the other ponies and shrugged it off, my mind really focused on sleep. I walked up to the counter and the pony manning it was shivering beyond relief.

"H-H-How can I h-help you sir?" He said. I took a moment to look at his name tag.

'Dark Snow... sounds weird.' I then looked at him in the eye with a soft smile.

"I would like a room, please." I said, looking into my wallet. I wonder if I could bluff about the rates of foreign currency. He shakily handed me a quill and some ink, and gestured toward the signature. I quickly wrote it down and he practically threw the key at me. "You act like I just randomly fight ponies." I realized that I say ponies and people. I guess hearing it a lot really puts a damper on your speech.

"We saw the fight in town square, and now we don't know what to think!" I think I made him a little angry at the fact that I shrug off most violence.

"Your princess wants me detained, so all I did was defend myself." I gave a neutral expression. Most of the ponies inside were at tables with each other talking about the event we were putting on. I looked at them and they all looked away.

"If the princess wants you detained, then you must be dangerous!" He basically yelled. I add basically because I don't think he knows how loud he is. I shrugged and went up the stairs. "Where are you going!"

"To the room you gave me, thanks by the way!" I smiled at him before continuing my walk up. Since he didn't run up here and stop me, this must be a free room. No complaining here, of course. I went up to the room number and paused in front of the door when I noticed something.

'I know damn well that the outside view of this place was not this high up.' That crossed my mind. I would have to look into it a later time. I walked inside of the room and found it to be better than I expected it to be. There was a very nice and comfortable looking bed on the other side of the room, and to its left there was another quill and some more ink on top of a wooden desk. Honestly, it looked like those inns from any medieval RPG game ever.

Without a second thought, I stripped down to my boxers and hopped in the bed. Being made for a pony, my feet were hanging off the bed.

'I could fix that.' I pulled up [VTabs] and created a spell named [Remodeling]. This spell would remodel anything, as long as no additional variety of materials are named. I got up from the bed and used the spell. I watched as the bed glowed and gave off a humming sound. It momentarily grew in length, and as the glowing faded, I saw that it looked like a longer version of the previous bed I laid on. The sheets also changed from a snow white to a navy blue for added effect. I hopped into the bed momentarily and got comfortable. I wonder what Twilight Sparkle will have up her sleeves in two days.

I woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than I should've been.

'Must be because of the energy I get from mana.' I found it weird to not be tired at all. I went to the bathroom of the comfortable-sized room and saw it to be significantly smaller than a bathroom back on earth. It was made for ponies, so I didn't really complain too much. I bent down a little to enter the door... that was also accommodated for ponies. Now that I think about it, how many races in this world are sapient? I will have to look into that later. Anyways, I looked into the mirror and made myself presentable with objects that I made through [Remodeling]. Since I care about my hair, it took around 30 minutes to get it looking straight. I don't get why people care about anything but the hair. It isn't like it's the only thing ladies ever look at nowadays. Satisfied with my work, I walked out of the bathroom and toward the now human-sized bed. I pulled out [VTabs] and looked at the time.

'1:30 PM, too early..' I never wake up at this time, so I am surprised that I'm so energetic. Choosing to blame the reason on magic, I make my way out of the door into the main hallway. The ponies that were in the hallway looked at me with gazes either curious or fearful as I walked down the hallway. Ignoring them, I made my way up toward the desk and dropped the key onto it. Dark Snow turned around to look at me.

"H-How was your stay?" He asked. I guess he was still a little afraid of me.

"I give it 5 stars, even though it was more for a pony than me." We made eye contact. "I'll be sure to visit again if I ever need the space. By the way, I changed the size of the bed if it's okay with you. Don't worry, it's only temporary." I gave him a smile. "I must be making my way towards anywhere I can find food now, good day!" He seemed to ease up and take the key. Satisfied, I made my way toward the door. As I put my hand onto the knob, it made me think.

'I though ponies didn't have fucking hands.' I mean think about it. Why the fuck would a door-knob be like this if ponies have hooves? I can't be the only person who fucking thought about this! I have a bunch of research to do about this place. Anyway, I opened the door and saw that it was partly cloudy...... and saw fucking pegasi moving the clouds. When I say this, I mean they were physically moving clouds. I'm just not going to question how the fuck they can move condensed fucking water like it was solid. You may be thinking; what should I eat for breakfast? I answer that question with one of my own. How bullshit can magic be? It's not like [Nutrient-Reserve] and [Water-Reserve] don't do their job. Now I ironically use energy to go without food and water for longer. Now food and water allow me to heal faster instead of just satisfy my hunger and thirst. Okay, enough about this. A plan just popped into my head for today.

'Why not build my own house since I have no money?' I found this to not be a bad plan and went to work. I started my journey to the Everfree Forest on foot because I must reserve as much energy as I can for the monsters in the forest. As I walked through town, everyone in the market made way for me, some wide-eyed and some scared. Mothers called their foals back, and others barricaded themselves inside their shops or other ponies shops. At least I don't have to slow down. I wonder what details I should add to my house. Maybe a magic training camp? Or maybe a sword/gun collection? My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a zooming sound through the air.... and it was coming straight towards me. I knew what it was before it got louder. I cocked my head back, waiting for the sound to get a little louder. Now confident that it was close enough, I rammed my head forward and it bumped heads with a familiar blue pegasus. She fell on the ground, grunting in pain and holding her head. I saw her pupils spin in circles and I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

'I don't know if this world can get any more cartoon-like.' I'm surprised that she wasn't out cold from that, considering that she was flying at that speed. After regaining her senses, she glared at me.

"What was that for?!" She asked, obviously furious.

"You would think flying at me with a fist at mach 5 would answer your question." I deadpanned. If her face glared any harder, she would've popped a vain.

"You deserve it for messing with Twilight!" She pointed a hoof at me. I guess you must call bullshit out when it comes, eh?

"She could've opted out at anytime during that fight, but she chose to fight me for my detainment." I facepalmed, smiling.

"And how do you think that I would believe that she actually accepted that fight?!" She asked, furiously but quizzically.

"Ask her yourself. It isn't like you two aren't friends or anything." I walked past her and continued my trip toward the forest. She zoomed past me and blocked my way.

"If I'm going there, then you're going too!" She demanded. I looked at her with little amusement now.

"And why would I?" I asked, not all too happy about her stubbornness.

"Ever since that fight, she hasn't came out of the library! Spike tells us that she is actually learning off- offen-"

"Offensive?" I finished for her.

"Yeah! Those type of spells!" Her struggle for the word must mean that she isn't too bright.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked. She paused and thought for a moment.

"I want you to march in there and apologize!" I looked at her like she was fucking dumb.

"For what?" Another pause. I don't think she thought all of this through.

"Fighting her instead of turning yourself in!" She somehow said with determination. Now amused at what the fuss is about, I turn around and walk in the direction of the library. If you think I'm there to apologize, then stick a finger in your ass. Although I am curious about the spells she is coming up with to prepare against me, so minus well take a look. Rainbow Dash caught up with me and flew above my head, making sure I actually go to the library.

'She must think she is stronger than Twilight, but then again Fluttershy's knowledge tells me that she was basically a egotistical prick.' I looked up and saw her staring at me. As I caught her gaze she was startled for a second and gave me her best glare before looking straight ahead. I chuckled and did the same, the entire trip being done in silence.

We got to the library in short order. As soon as it was in sight, I noticed 4 other ponies looking into the window. When we got close, they turned around and immediately looked at me with a glare. Rainbow flew ahead of me and pointed in my direction.

"I found him!" She said, like it wasn't obvious already. Their glares got sharper.

"Hello to you too?" I said, as if they were being rude. Applejack was the first to speak.

"You don deserve a hello from nobody!" She said. What a famous introduction from you. I walked past them and looked into the window, not really paying attention to this nonsense. I saw Twilight in the middle of the.... actually, what do you call it? Now that I think about it, how the fuck is the inside that big? I swear to god that it wasn't that big before, but now it looked almost identical, albeit a little smaller, than the cube arena we fought in. I'll just label it as bullshit magic and move on. So anyway, Twilight was in the middle of her mini-arena. On the other side of the arena was what looked to be a training dummy that was meant to mimic what my body looked like. I'm not going to lie, it looked like a very impressive representation of what I looked like. She was charging a spell that took quite a few moments, and as she released the spell on the dummy, there were sparks coming from it.

'It must be some sort of stun spell.' I surmised. I took another look at Twilight and noticed somethings that were different about her. She had bags under her eyes and her mane looked a mess. Her movements were also unnatural and her eyes had a weird look to them. I used my [Enhanced Hearing] to listen in, as she was also talking to herself.

"Not good enough, he would've moved in for the win already.." She said, kicking the ground in frustration. Her voice also sounded angered and dead inside, amusing me all the more. My thoughts and observations were interrupted by somepony tapping me on the shoulder. I looked behind me to see a familiar blue pegasus glaring at me.

"You need something?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. She didn't seem too pleased at my question.

"Go inside and apologize already!" I laughed at her joke.

"Why would I do that and expose myself to the enemy." That wasn't a question. The others looked at me with glares sharper than before, aside Fluttershy of course, who looked at me with a surprised expression.

"Okay...," Fluttershy closed her eyes, "You asked for it!" She said in her yelling-not-yelling scream. I raised a brow.

"What do you plan to do?" I asked, noticing that everyone was getting behind Fluttershy.

"You're not gonna like this." Applejack commented. Now confused, I took the time to think about the situation, and there were a few things that bothered me. First was that these ponies seem to think I'm the bad guy even though the people I fought either provoked me in some way or chose to. I wonder if everypony's racism runs that deep. The second think that I took notice to was that Fluttershy's memories told me that Pinkie Pie was extremely talkative, and that her hair was puffy. What I was seeing now was a Pinkie with flat hair drooping down and not talking at all. The third thing that got me was a big one.

'Where the hell is Spike?' That little drake was the best one in this group. I really wish he was here to make this a little more bearable, not that it was terrible anyway. My thoughts were interrupted as my heart felt a little heavy. It wasn't bad, but it was there nonetheless. I looked back at Fluttershy and saw her staring at me with the 'Mom Look™'. I smiled at her, amused.

"What is that?" I asked out of pure curiosity. She didn't seem to be responding and just continued staring.

"It's the Stare," Rainbow Dash answered, "She uses it to calm animals like you down!" She gave a triumphant smile. Even if it did work, you would be the Tails of every 'Sonic the Hedgehog' game ever. If it worked, you wouldn't have done shit. After a long silence, I looked back at them.

"Minus well show you how it's done." I said finally. Fluttershy still went unwavering, but the others looked at me. Now having their attention, I gave Fluttershy the darkest glare that I could muster. After year and years of gamer rage, I could pull off a very mean face. It seemed to have worked because the others started to get seriously uncomfortable and Fluttershy snapped out of what it is she was in. She looked at me and started back-tracking herself until she was against the tree, shaking with a terrified look on her face.

"W-Wha-" Rainbow was at a loss for words on what to say.

"I assume that I had the best stare between the two of us then?" I smiled at them.

"It wasn't that scary." Rainbow Dash said confidently. I gave her a dark glare again, and she looked to be in panic for a moment. "Okay, maybe a little.." She gave me a sheepish smile.

"Now that we have that little battle under control, I'm going to go finish creating a place to live. Tell me if she has something up her sleeve, will you?" I turned around and walked off, and nopony stopped me. I must have scared them more than I realized.

As I got to the forest entrance, I looked up and noticed that the sun was starting to set.

'Gotta hurry quickly.' I thought, activating [Environmental Awareness]. This spell made it easier to make out the different territories and paths of the forest. Originally, I made this spell to hopefully stay away from the more dangerous territories, but now it has a new use. I searched around and found the timberwolf territory, and ran right inside of it. Running far enough, I found a clearing, split in half by a deep trench with a river flowing inside of it. The river ran very deep inside of the forest, making it perfect to keep any unwanted visitors away from my new home. It is timberwolf territory after all, and one of them is bound to find me eventually. Taking a moment to catch my breath, I got to work. I used [Remodeling] on some of the trees for some lumber. Using [VTabs], I rode one of the swords so I can attach 2 super long logs on each side of the trench.

'Rope would work better, but this will have to do.' I've got to find some rope later. Satisfied with the makeshift foundation, I placed each plank one by one and used [Mending] to mend it with the bottom two logs. As I finished up the bridge, even though that it looked more like a wooden floor than anything else, I tested its sturdiness. No matter how many times I jumped on it from any or any part of the bridge-floor, it was almost like jumping on land. Satisfying me to no end, I walked across and got to work on the house. I used various stones around the forest and mended them together to create the floor. Actually, the floor was so big that I minus well say that it's going to be a mansion.

'Nothing better than a rich house without even having any money." Now that I think about it, I can probably earn a bunch of money by crafting it. I know it's probably illegal, but no one will tell the difference. I'll see if I can steal a bit later. Anyway, I came up with the layout in my head, trying my best to make the house just like in my Minecraft world. If you weren't aware, I was more on the environmental and decorative side of Minecraft then the autofarm-crazy side. Buildings looked hella nice if you built it right, and it made some good money building for some servers. I got done with the outside of the house and looked up to see that it was exactly like the picture I had in my head. It looked really nice and I wondered if I was dreaming all of this. If I was, then this would be a nightmare, as I would probably go back to sleep crying from the cruel dream. I went inside and marked off each room for what it is meant to be. This checklist had quite a few places on it, but some of the main places that I wanted to make sure of were the living room because it isn't a house without it, the experimentation room for experiments in technology, the magic control room to test out spells I come up with, and my personal study for things I researched. Satisfied, I created a bed from the mana in the air, which gave me the worst headache I've ever had.

'It must cost a lot of energy to do such a thing.' I guess doing anything that could be explained by 'just magic' takes a punch, but it should get better in time. I had to hold my head from how bad it is. I probably will just buy the rest of the furniture instead of do that again. My thoughts were interrupted by something knocking against the door. I went towards the door to see who it is, but stopped when I heard that it wasn't actual knocking. It was more like someone scratching against the door. Against my better judgement, I open the door anyway, to find one of those timberwolves I saw with [Search] before. It was actually pretty huge, almost the size of a horse back on earth. It growled at me, threatening to bite my head off. Since I was having none of it, I pulled out [VTabs] and stabbed the ground around it, but leaving one of the swords to impale the timberwolf in the side of its rib-cage. It grunted in pain and tried to run away, but the sword that impaled him was also stuck in the ground below, warding off any escape routes.

'I'm surprised you didn't die from that, buddy..' I wonder if I can tame it. I walk over to the now trapped timberwolf and it starts to whimper and shiver all over its body. I reach my hand out to it and it closes its eyes and recoils. If they are anything like the wolves in our world, aren't they suppose to scavenge and hunt in packs? I wonder what happened to this one. I put my hand on its head and started petting him. He seemed confused for a second before easing into my hand.

"Can you understand me?" I asked. I've seen ponies, donkeys, and dragons speak. If this one can't think or understand then this world must be selective of what is sentient and sapient. Imagine my surprise when it nodded its head. I looked in his eyes and I could tell from how it looked that it appeared lost. "Would you like to live with me?" Saying with a smile. Having a wolf as a pet sounds like an advantage in the fight tomorrow. It nodded and I stepped to the side, taking my sword out of his rib-cage and patching up the hole. Welcoming him inside, we go to what is now our study and I make him a bed using the mana in the air, causing me to fall onto my bed. My eyes threatened to close and the last thing I saw was my new companion get comfy on his new resting place. I smiled and went to sleep, feeling good about my odds the next day.

Chapter 3, Part 3: That was a nice trick, bookhorse.

View Online

I woke up the next morning feeling more energized than I had been the previous night. That must be my energy multiplying from overusing it. I wonder if I make items from mana everyday, how easy could I end up making them? I'll make that a personal side goal for later. I felt rather excited for my fight with Twilight coming up within a few hours. Thinking about what spells she has to counteract my power has me on the tip of my toes. I looked over to my left to find my big wooden friend up and looking at me with a hint of curiosity.

"How are you doing this fine day?" I asked him. He wagged his tail and howled at me. "Glad you are in an energetic mood. In a few hours, I have to fight a pony who wants to capture me." His growl told me that he didn't like them either. "Do you wanna help me during battle?" It must've gotten him more excited than I was right now, because his tail was moving a lot faster than I could read. Only kidding. Nothing is above my sight-reading. Now that I look at him, he was actually a little bigger than a horse. I'm surprised that he even fit through the door, but that again, I was taller than he was so I guess it isn't that big of a surprise. "If we're going to get prepared for the fight, I'm going to have to put a few spells on you. Do you want to head to the field and practice with me?" He actually nodded. I didn't know animals in this world were this smart. We went outside, but then the wolf stopped. "Is there something wrong?" He stooped to a sitting position and howled at me, gesturing for me to get on his back.

'Knowing that his muscles are also wood, he must be way stronger than a horse.... but is he way faster?' Curiosity getting the better of me, I got onto his back. As he sat up, it was like he could lift me up with ease. The things I questioned made my fucking head hurt. How the hell can it pick me up with ease? Why is his wooden back more comfortable than a regular horses back? If you are wondering how I know the difference, lets just say that Red Dead Redemption II had my mind racing. My thoughts were interrupted when it started to run. It was actually a lot damn faster than a fucking horse. If I were to guess how fast, then I would say around 60 miles an hour, which is fucking fast for an animal. I closed my eyes from the wind as he ran towards the clearing. How he knew where it was, I will never know.

We got to the clearing in the span of 10 minutes, which surprised me more than I could express. The clearing was on the other side of the damn town. I know the town is small, but we fucking circled around that shit and still make it here in under half an hour.

"You've got to be the fastest fucking animal I've ever seen." It looked at me neutrally. Must be nothing new, huh? "Alright, lets start with the basic spells to put on you. Those spells consisted of [Iron Claws], [Shield Stealer], and [Magical Insight]. The first spell should be self explanatory. It just makes his swipes a lot sharper. The second spell was an interesting thing I came up with, because I think this will happen a lot. In simple terms, the more he pressures a shield, the more energy he recovers. It should work out perfectly if she thinks of shielding the wolf. [Magical Insight] is where as soon as a magic user uses a spell, he already knows how that spell works, and can use it to dodge or block shit.

'Now for the interesting part.' I summoned [VTabs] and labeled 5 of the swords and placed them around the wolf in different directions. On each of the swords were a different spell. All the spells had a completely different way of operating, and you can't use the same play-style with 2 spells. In order, the spells were [Rapid Claws], [Heavy Claws], [Steel Bite], [Juggernaut], and [Overkill Slash]. He looked at me in confusion of what I was doing.

"Time to see what type of wolf you are. Since you already have a spell to know what other spells do, I will leave you to decide which spell you want. You can choose any of the 5 spells below, but choose wisely as you can't have more than one." I just don't want to make him too dangerous, lest he turn on someone I actually give a shit about in the future. He seemed to get what I was saying, and looked at the swords below. He wasn't sure at first, walking around the different swords, but then made his choice. "So you're that type of wolf. Very expected of you actually now that I think about it." He chose [Overkill Slash], which was a move that could be used every time he has the energy for it. Instead of slashing multiple times to finish the opponent, it puts all of the user's strength and energy into one single slash, but leaving a little bit so hopefully [Shield Stealer] can do its job. I enchanted him with the spell, but then thought about something. I also gave him two more spell that I called [Owner's Determination] and [Primal Awareness]. The first spell will give him strength depending on how close he is to me, and we will be trapped inside of a box fighting. Sounds perfect to me. The second spell allowed him to alert me of any tricks or oddities during the battle. Twilight doesn't really look like the type of person to try those things in battle, but you never know.

"Alright, attack spell time." The wolf howled. I came up with some ideas and tested them on trees that I had moved inside of the clearing using a spell that isn't important at the moment. He also got to test his new method of killing. It was actually so powerful that the tree was actually shredded into dust finer than sand. A little after doing the move, he was panting a lot. After a little testing, the results were that he could go a full 15 minutes going full speed before completely burning out. I rejuvenated him before continuing on with the testing. Nothing we tested was worthy to note, except for one particular spell. [Dominate] is its name. Its a spell that multiplies or weakens my strength based on my opponent's killing intent. It could be useful because I don't think Twilight intends to kill me in any shape or form. We finished up the remainder of our tests before something came to my head.

"Have I given you a name yet?" He nodded his head no. "Well, from now on your name is Alpha." He seemed to like that name because he got more excited then he was earlier. If you are wondering how I came up with that name, its just because this wolf is strangely big, so he must be the alpha wolf of whatever pack he was in. That, or wolfs are just damn huge in general. Making sure the field was left just how we found it, I got on top of his back and Alpha rode away towards ponyville. I wonder what they will say about my new friend.

The walk to town was actually pretty eventful, to say the least. As soon as I went in the town, people started barricading themselves inside of their house, watching from the windows. There were some who tried to argue about me bringing a wolf inside of ponyville, and that included the mayor of the town.

"Excuse me sir, but why have you brought a timberwolf into our town!?" She asked with no hint of calmness inside of her voice. I smiled at her.

"Alpha is just my companion. Don't worry your pretty little mane. He only attacks those I want him to anyways." I reasoned with the mare. She didn't take too kindly to my reasoning.

"You've been a disturbance ever since you have appeared in this town! Don't you ever wonder if your actions are bad or not?" Angry now aren't we? I looked around and saw as the ponies watched on with curiosity.

"What's good and what's bad is subjective, and usually is determined when the majority agrees towards one side or the other. The minority that doesn't agree are usually called bad or evil people." I explained. She thought about it for a moment before acting like she completely disagreed.

"What's wrong is wrong! No matter how you look at it! Why can't you see that?" I wonder if she was trying to cause a scene on purpose, or if this was genuine emotional speaking. It seems that I'm going to have to give an example to this thickheaded pony.

"Lets say that two countries have an overpopulation problem." I started out with. Hopefully Equestria isn't the only country, or this would be awkward. "Those two countries decide to go to war with each other to obtain more land. We can both agree that war is bad right?" She nodded. "Alright. These two countries fight on and on until one side is truly the winner. Now, I want you to tell me who was in the wrong and how they should go about fixing their supposed mistake." I gestured to her.

"In this case, they were both in the wrong, as they shouldn't have gone to war in the first place. They could have come to a summit conference and discussed land negotiations." She said. What the fuck would there be to discuss?

"If one side obtains land from the other, the one giving the land would be in a pickle. If the countries decide to merge for more land, then they still have the overpopulation issue. I highly doubt, as stubborn as other countries are, that they would give up land willingly. What do you want them to do, kill some of their kind off?" I checkmated her. How do I know, you ask? There was a complete silence within the town as they let that sink in. I watched on with my good ol' smile before the mayor spoke in almost a whisper.

"You're right." Then she walked off with a thinking yet disturbed mindset. I guess people were right when they said that I was so smart that being the president of a country would be a cakewalk. Saving thoughts for another time, I continued towards my destination. I heard footsteps behind me and saw ponies actually walking behind me. Some looked curious, and others looked anxious. I already knew that they knew where I was going. As the designated battle spot came within view, I saw the six ponies I was expecting to see waiting for me. I smiled and waved.

"Hello girls!" I said cheerfully. They didn't return the gesture, as they were more focused on who I was riding on. Twilight looked at me with a questionable glare.

"Is the timberwolf going to help you out?!" She practically screamed. My smile was all the answer the needed.

"Isn't that cheating?" Applejack said. I looked to her.

"I'll tell you what," I rested my chin in my hand, "All six of you can participate if you want to. I wouldn't want to make it unfair considering that I have a wolf on my side." They each were doing the same thinking pose, then huddled up for a group talk. I actually found it quite funny, but didn't laugh so they could think on it. A few moments later, I got the results.

"We will accept your proposal, but only five of us are going in." Twilight confirmed. I expected this answer to be honest, because Fluttershy didn't look like much of a fighter. I looked around and people started cheering on the five ponies participating. Amused, I set up the usual arena and let the text-to-speech lady do its work.

"You will have five minutes to prepare your spells. Starting countdown." A lot more time than I need. My energy capacity has increased dramatically since I first even got this type of magic, and now I could upgrade my spells. I wouldn't be able to upgrade them all in five minutes, so I focused on a particular spell. [VTabs]. Instead of 16 blue swords, they were now red swords and I could summon up to 128 swords at a time. I bet I could surprise them with it, so I'm going to stick with the normal 16, but I'm keeping the red color because fuck blue.

"You ready, buddy?" I asked my friend. He howled with determination to defeat his opponent. "Glad you're hyped up" I smiled towards him.

"Spell modification will now be disabled at this time. The fight begins in 30 seconds." I looked over at the 5 ponies and saw something I was not expecting to see. The four ponies aside Twilight were glowing in one section of their bodies. Applejack on the legs, Rainbow on the wings, Pinkie Pie was glowing all over, and Rarity on her horn. Twilight herself is what caught my attention. She was twitching like she couldn't control the magic inside of her. My wolf friend noticed it too when it sent me an alert saying that the field is unusual. I looked around to see if anything was going on around the area. I then noticed that there were two abnormally large ponies, both with wings and a horn, trying to conceal themselves from my view. I looked at the mana yield and noticed that it was abnormally large within the arena. I then smiled when I came to a realization.

'Well played Twilight Sparkle.' I was genuinely impressed. She managed to convince the two princess' that it would be a good idea for them to lend Twilight their magic. I wonder if she will push me to get serious.

"5...4....3...2...1.... FIGHT!" Hearing the lady say fight will never get old. Immediately after the signal, Rainbow Dash seemed to fly at me faster than before. Surprising me a little bit, I ducked and she crashed into the barrier. I looked at her before sidestepping the all famous apple buck that would have been a devastating blow otherwise. I wondered where my friend was fighting at and got to see him in time to use his new kill method. As I predicted, Twilight used her shield on the wolf. My wooden companion then used [Overkill Slash], causing me to smile. That smile seemed brief before I gave a surprised look. The shield didn't even fucking budge. What kind of magic was that shield made of? Twilight smiled at me.

"Did you think I hadn't learned my lesson the first time?" Her smile turned into a smug look.

"Impressive. That shield must be made of something strong." I looked on with amusement. My friend was scratching the barrier, and his ragged pants turned into calm breaths in a short time, causing him to slash faster. Twilight gave a questioning look.

"How does your wolf have this much energy?" She asked.

"That's a secret." I answered. Pinkie Pie still had her hair down and she looked at me.

"This is for what you did to Twilight!" She said with a battle cry. She actually had a fucking cannon of sorts. Staring at it and getting ready to dodge it, I noticed something. The cannon glowed the same way she did. That can't be good. She pulled the imaginary trigger on the cannon and a cake flew out of it. I swung one of my tabs straight through the cake and watched it splat on the other two ponies behind me, who were actually about to stealthily ambush me. Feeling magic beneath the ground, I jumped and watched sharp-tipped gemstones appear from my previous location. I looked at where it came from.

"You were actually the closest to hitting me. Congrats to you." I wonder if she heard me, because she didn't speak and kept her glare pin pointed at me. I looked over to Twilight and saw my wolf friend doing a very good job keeping Twilight at bay. Every time that Twilight tries to use a spell to combat me, her shield starts forming cracks, and she has to stop what she is doing to make sure that the shield doesn't go down. "Remind me to give you a reward when we get home." He kept scratching the barrier, but I knew he heard me because his tail was wagging faster. I turned around to face Rainbow and Applejack, who were still stuck within the frosting of the cake. "Is it really that sticky?" I asked.

"Wait until we get out of this! You will regret ever fighting us!" Rainbow said. Is she actually this bullheaded?

"You would think that after watching me sidestep somepony who almost went the speed of light would suppress those words." I looked with disappointment.

"That was just ah fluke an you know it!" Applejack determined. I shook my head and walked away, just in time to dodge a hoof thrown in my direction. I turned around and saw Rainbow Dash completely free of the frosting.

"See? Was it that difficult?" Did she just now find out about using her wings to free herself rather than her legs? Dumbass.

"The only thing that will be difficult is removing these hooves from your throat!" She said, throwing a fist in my direction. I thought she implied grabbing me, not trying to punch me across the arena. She kept on throwing punches and I either blocked or dodged them with ease. At least I knew that she knew how to fight. "Why aren't you trying?!" She asked through breaths, still punching air.

"I could win this fight in about 60 seconds if I wanted to." I answered with the same calm expression. Both she and the crowd grew quiet and stared at me with disbelief. My wolf friend also looked at me as if I were god, and was immediately shoved off by Twilight. "Hey Alpha, come over here!" I called her over. He did as I asked and came to my side.

"I bet I could take you on alone!" Twilight smiled at me. Now the crowd and her friends stared at her with disbelief.

"We already did this once, and I could do it again." I smiled back at her.

"Is that a challenge?" She was very good at taunting and provoking for a bookhorse who isn't supposed to know how to fight. It didn't work on me, but still.

Alright. If you win against me, I will be your servant if my captors allow it. Deal?" She nodded and signaled her friends to move to the side. They looked at her with awe before complying with her wishes. I went over to Applejack and picked her out of the frosting with ease. She struggled against me as I looked at her with a 'weak ass' look. After a moment, I put her down and she walked towards the side of the arena. I wonder why they let her do this that easily? No time to think now I guess. I gestured for Alpha to go on the other side of the arena so the ponies don't bother him. He did as I asked and sat down for a rest.

'You earned it buddy. Great work.' I turned towards Twilight.

"Are you ready to get your shit rocked?" I asked.

"Friendship will always succeed." I looked at her with confusion before just going with it. I threw one of my tabs, which I must find a new name for because they look like swords, at Twilight. She countered with a magical blast. At first I was hopeful that the tab would go straight through the magic, but imagine my surprise when they collide and stop each other. I looked at her with a smug yet surprised smile.

"Impressive." I commented. She didn't even seem fazed from the amount of magic used. "It seems you've gotten a bit of a power-up."

"You could say that." Twilight said. Her optimism was bottomless, something that I would like to crush.

"Fighting the power of two alicorns is going to be annoying." I said before attacking with 7 more swords. She looked at me with a nervous smile before defending herself with a barrier. To my surprise again, it stopped all 7, the last sword leaving a crack but not penetrating.

"Why don't you actually try? I bet I could take it." Twilight was starting to get cocky now.

"Trust me, my power is above your rulers easily. If I used the true extent of my powers, you'd probably die from mental exhaustion."

"Try me." I looked to her friends and instead of them protesting against it, they were cheering Twilight on. I looked in the crowd and saw that the two princesses were gone.

'I wonder where they went.' I turned around in time to deflect a magical blast with my bare hand. It was Twilight's turn to be surprised.

"H-How did you do that?" It seemed she got less confident in herself now.

"I told you, my power is far greater than your rulers." She seemed to rethink her decision to do this, but shook her head and gave me a look of determination. She sent a bigger magical blast my way, causing me to smile. Time to pull some Mario bullshit. I pulled a cape from my pocket and hit the magical blast with it, causing it to go in the opposite direction. Twilight was momentarily surprised before barely managing to put up a shield. That must have take a lot to do because she was now sweating and panting hard.

"What they hay is going on?!" She was starting to get frustrated. One look at the crowd told me that they started to lose confidence in Twilight. I smiled at her.

"A mechanic that I found very very stupid happened." She was now glaring with a fire in her eyes. I decided to boast for a moment and sit down criss-cross. "I could beat you without standing."

"We'll see about that!" I got scared of what she was going to do next. Only kidding.

To my amusement, however, she actually managed to pull off a massive magical blast. It was so big, in fact, that she could probably obliterate an average looking house. I used my swords to cover my ears, needing my hands for a moment. I snapped and suddenly the magic blast disappeared. I rested my shin in my hand as if I was bored and watched Twilight fall on the ground, her ears bleeding. If you are wondering what I did, I will explain it now. You know how zombies in movies eat humans and turn them into zombies? This is basically the same principle. The sound waves from the snap ate away the light and turned it into sound itself, and sense pony ears can hear a lot better than human ears, it probably hurt Twilight's hearing badly. Don't worry about permanent damage, however, it should be fine after a few weeks. The other 4 were walking toward Twilight with concerned expressings, but stopped when I stood up and walked to Twilight, sword in hand. I swung the sword, stopping just short of cutting her neck.

"Do you yield?" I asked, pretending to be hostile for a moment. She looked at my toy with a completely scared look. As I did this, the other 4 were conflicted on what to do. Except Rainbow Dash I guess, because she tried to punch me. Before she could even get a few meters off the ground, Applejack had her tail clasped around her mouth. You could say she got Applejack'd.

"I-I-I-" She twitched once more, which she did a lot during this battle, and tears fell down her eyes, "I-I-I yield." She finished with a shaky voice.

"Good." I said in a cheery voice, smiled etched on my face.

"The winner of the match and the bet is Axel Dixon via concede." The lady said. The crowd booed me as the other 4 ponies in the arena went to comfort Twilight. I felt her magic become normal again, so it must've went back to their original owners. I turned to walk away before 20 guards and the 2 princesses from earlier stopped me.

"YOU WILL COME TO CANTERLOT RIGHT NOW!" The white pony screamed, her freakishly long horn glowing. That must have been the famous royal canterlot voice. Not like I was going to see the palace sooner or later anyway.

"Alright." I said.

"IF YOU DONT THEN WE WILL-" She paused for a moment. "Wait... what?"

"I said I will go, but it's of my own volition. I'm not letting no one put me in a cell." I said.

"Then please," How the hell do you go from blazing mad to super calm? "Allow us to have a chat with you at least." I nodded.

"You will get your time, but first I will see what the city has to offer." I woke up Alpha and got on her back. I already knew where Canterlot was due to Fluttershy's memory, so I created a spell which allowed my companion to jump really high and really far, but calmed the landing process. No use for a spell if it hurts us in the process. "I'll meet you there." I motioned for Alpha to go ahead and he leaped into the sky.

During the trip in the air, I used my swords to block all the wind that was coming in my face. I looked down and saw that Alpha actually managed to jump the same height as the mountain that Canterlot was built on. Right about now, gravity started to take effect and we were falling on the platform of the train station. The closer we got, the slower we fell until Alpha finally managed to land on the platform. Those who were on the platform were now running away from the big bad wolf. I looked to Alpha and he kept on going, the streets being nice and empty for us.

Chapter 4: Time for a few days in the big city!

View Online

You know that weird feeling when you were playing Undertale and Snowdin was completely empty on the genocide route? That's how it felt for us. Everyone who saw me in sight were rushing into homes and stores for safety. Those that weren't were protesting against me for bringing a wolf inside of a rich town. I was ignoring them and walking around the city, getting a layout of the town. No doubt Celestia would be on my ass for bringing a wolf with me, but how else do I get here quick? I would need to find a hiding place where I can do combat research in peace. Remember how I said that I was ignoring the protesters? Well, they got my attention when one of them threw a vase at me. Of course I blocked it with a tab, but still. I turned around, trying to mark out who it was.

"Who threw that?" I glared at the crowd. They stopped their protesting at once, except this one pony who was squabbling about my kind not belonging here. Apparently Fluttershy knew who this was, because I immediately knew his name. "Was that you, Prince Blueblood?" I tilted my head to the side. My glare didn't seem to work on him.

"Yes it was! Who told you that you were allowed into this city?!" He seemed to be much angrier than I was.

"Celestia did. She said she wanted to chat with me, but something tells me the guards at the gate will tell me otherwise. So I'm just doing a little exploring while I wait." I answered. He was disgusted that I didn't use 'Princess' before his name, but was more focused on my alibi.

"If that's true, then why have you brought one of those wooden mutts here as well?!" Go ahead Blueblood. Build my anger one step at a time. If it's a death wish you have, then I'm willing to make it come true.

"He's my companion, and if you call him a wooden mutt again, I will kick your ass." I said calmly. He looked at me in disbelief.

"You? Kick my hindquarters?" He laughed. "When Princess Celestia gets here, how about we have a honor duel of our own?" Now I was starting to care for his words.

"I'm listening." I looked to him with interest. Before he could speak, however, Celestia finally managed to get here with 4 guards around her. Blueblood stopped what he was doing and bowed to her, along with all the other protesters. Now that I realize it, how the hell did ponies make signs so damn fast? Did they just have it ready? Celestia took one good look at Blueblood and looked unamused for the briefest of moments before fake smiling.

"What is going on here, my little ponies?" She said calmly, smiling. I knew a practiced facade all too well, and that one must mean that the ponies here see her as a benevolent ruler. I may just challenge her for fun instead of for the throne now.

"This ape walked into our town with this wooden abomination," I gave Blueblood a death glare, "and I'm making him know his place by challenging him to an honor duel!" She looked at me and I looked back to her.

"I was going to accept anyway. As for the so called 'wooden abomination' as you call it, this is my companion, "I looked to him, "Alpha, I'm surprised you didn't get mad." He made a sound which was equivalent to a shrug.

"Do you even know how honor duels work?" She asked.

"No, I don't. Care to enlighten me?" I answered with a question.

"An honor duel is something only nobles can do. What I mean by that is that nobles can also challenge commoners and other foreigners, but it can't be the other way around. Commoners are not allowed to challenge nobles to stop all possible chaos of wanting to be a royal from happening. Even though nobles can challenge commoners, it's very rare that they do, for the fact that there is no purpose in it. In honor duels, the one who was challenged makes the rules, and cheating results in a disqualification. If a person of lower rank wins against someone in higher rank, the ranks between them become equal." Celestia frowned, "You could become a noble if you win." I smiled.

"Oh really now?" I said. I looked back to Blueblood. "So I make the rules right?"

"Oh, I would worry if I were you, ape!" He gave me a smug smile. Celestia watched on with a frown. I guess this guy is annoying in general to everyone. "I could beat you in anything." I looked to Celestia.

"Are there any boundaries to what I can challenge?" I asked.

"No, so long as the challenger agrees." Celestia answered neutrally.

"Alright, then how about this. All magic or weapons, including deadly ones, are allowed. We fight until someone forfeits or until first blood. Do you have a deal?" My turn for a smug expression. Celestia and the crowd looked at me with disbelief while Blueblood gulped.

"Y-you got yourself a deal! We battle tomorrow at noon in front of the castle!" He marched off, but I noticed the edge in his voice and his shaking legs. Guess he got startled. Celestia gave me a terrified look.

"Why would you propose those terms?" She asked, "Are you that confident?" I smiled to her.

"To be honest, I'm just going to play with him a little bit. I would've been nice and proposed something a little less deadly, but.." I scratched the back of my head, "He called my friend a wooden mutt."

"But I don't believe violence would solve a problem now would it?" She asked, hoping I would reconsider.

"He will either forfeit and leave me alone, or die to save his petty pride. I suggest you talk to him about turning down the challenge." Either way, he'll leave me alone, right? Celestia stuttered over her words before sighing.

"Alright. I will talk to him before he gets himself killed," She and her guards walked past me and the crowd, "I've seen your strength, and you could possibly rival Discord with that magic." Discord? Who was that? It must be a powerful being if Celestia herself said he was powerful. I would have to challenge him later. Celestia went to take her leave, but I stopped her.

"When do you want to have that chat?" I asked. She turned around and looked at me.

"Preferably after this honor duel mess is solved." She answered, "You're welcome to stay inside of the castle for the time being." She gave me some sort of medal. "Show that to the guards on your way in." I nodded and she took her leave.

"Well Alpha, you heard her." I scratched behind his ear, "To the castle we go." He howled and full sprinted toward the gate. We got there is short order and would've kept full sprinting if the guards hadn't stopped us.

"We do not allow outside races without a noble's permission. Turn back now." They were trained to be calm, so no use taunting them. I showed them the medal and one of the guards verified it. Passing their little scan test, they allowed me entry. I'm surprised they never questioned the wolf I was riding on, but I guess it's their job to be stoic. On the medal was the room number that I would be assigned to for the time being. I wanted to sleep, and no it's not because I am tired. I learned that when I sleep, my magic can overhaul my energy and I wont use any in combat for a short amount of time. Basically, I have infinite energy for as much time as I slept.

'Not like I needed any more benefits.' I'm pretty sure I could win against an army of ponies, but I'm not going to test that until I'm sure. Although I will need practice, so I'll ask Celestia later if she knows of any countries being at war and what side was losing. As I traveled through the hallways, nobles and maids alike scream and ran from Alpha, which was a funny show to watch to say the least. We approached our room and used the metal to get inside. As I opened the door, I noticed that everything was actually big and not pony sized. Not surprising, considering that some of these rooms hold foreigners and not everyone is a pony. I got off of Alpha and walked into the bathroom. The shower and sink were all up to size, to my surprise. I may actually thank Celestia because I'm tired of using my magic to do basic things. I walked out of the bathroom to see Alpha curled up on a sofa, his snoozes filling the air. I guess I minus well sleep too, huh? I used magic to change my attire to shorts and a white shirt and got inside of the bed.

'Now I have an idea of what I can wear tomorrow. Ain't I gonna look badass?' Those were my last thoughts before I went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling like I drank 4 large cups of coffee in only a few seconds. That was meant to imply that I feel like doing everything and anything today. I had 30 minutes before my target practice with Blueblood. Plenty of time. As I think about his name, I realized how his name connected to himself. His blood was cold and merciless, or at least that's how Fluttershy pictured him. It all makes sense now that I see it. Anyways, I reformed my clothes from the shorts and white t-shirt to a black trench coat with some black jeans. I went to the bathroom to look at myself.

'Now that is what I call an attire.' Honestly, it looked really cool. I shut off the lights and walked out of the bathroom to see Alpha testing his skills on a training dummy I made for him. Just because I don't like him, I made it look like Blueblood. If you are wondering when I made it, it was because Alpha would always train himself on trees and house walls. Since this is a castle, I don't want him damaging anything, so I made him a training dummy that actually tries to block or dodge his swipes. Alpha has yet to miss his swipes.

"You ready to go Alpha?" He stopped slashing and trotted out the door. "I'll take that as a yes." I hurried out with him.

We made it to the castle entrance in short order, arriving in time to see a crowd of ponies along with Celestia and Blueblood waiting for me. As me and Alpha walked over, Celestia looked at me.

"You look like you just ate a bag of sugar." She commented.

"It's what happens when I sleep. I wake up the next morning feeling like caffeine the person."

"Is that so?" I nodded. "Well, Blueblood seems confident that he can beat you, so shall we start?" I nodded again. I told Alpha to wait in the crowd. Everyone who was there gave the wolf its space as he sat down and watched. That got a chuckle out of me.

"Time to make this ape remember to know his place." Blueblood was very sure of himself now was he.

"Hmph." I said smiling. "You don't even look that tough." Oops! Looks like I offended him.

"I'll have you know that I am quite the fighter!" He said angrily.

"We'll see I guess." I summon [VTabs] and waited for Celestia's countdown. Everyone in sight looked at me in awe.

"What are these?" Celestia asked, "I saw you use them against Twilight, but I never knew what they were."

"This is a spell that I call [VTabs]." I answered. Celestia looked confused, so I explained. "It allows me to make spells really easily and the stats of my opponent. Each tab can also be used as a weapon. I researched into them a bit more before my battle with Twilight and found that I could also see how many swords are possible to summon at one time."

"And how many is that?" Celestia didn't like what she was hearing.

"Right now I can summon about 280 at any given time." Celestia looked terrified, "That number continues to grow the more I use my energy." She wanted to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead she walked to Blueblood.

"Blueblood, I was asking before, but now I am begging you! Don't fight him! He could slaughter you immediately if he wanted to!" Touching thought but I don't like my battles ending in less than a minute. The dumbass looks to Celestia with determination.

"I will fight him and I will win." This prick just doesn't know when to give up, does he? Celestia sighed and slowly trotted away from him, looking down. She stopped in the middle of the field.

"We will now begin the honor duel between Prince Blueblood and...."

"Axel Dixon."

"Right." She cleared her throat. "We will now begin the honor duel between Prince Blueblood and Axel Dixon. The rules are as follows. Any and all types of magic and weaponry are allowed." Everypony watching looked confused on why there were practically no rules. "The honor duel stops when one concedes or is dead." Everypony now gave a horrified look. "These rules were proposed by Axel Dixon. Prince Blueblood, do you accept these terms?" Celestia looked to him. He hesitated for a second before accepting. Celestia sighed, "Alright then. The battle will begin in 3." She moved toward the side opposite of the crowd. "3..."

"Do you have a death wish ape?" Blueblood asked.

"2..."

"Try me." I said.

"1.... FIGHT!" On the signal, Blueblood ran to ambush me with a pristine looking sword in his magical grasp. I'm gonna toy with him for a while. Every time Blueblood came for a slash, I would dodge it with ease.

"I thought this was going to be a fight." I deadpanned, still moving out of the way of the sword. The prick didn't speak, but kept on slashing. The crowd watched looked amazed by how easy I was avoiding the sword. As the fight went on, Celestia got more and more nervous. After a few minutes, Blueblood stopped his advances, panting harder than Alpha after using [Overkill Slash]. The crowd was now silent, continuing to look surprised. "Are you done yet?" He screamed and slashed again, but to no avail. "You're gonna die by exhaustion at this rate." I facepalmed. He looked at me with a fire in his eyes.

"I will end you, creature!" I guess he's pissed.

"They should call you Prince Hotblood. I think it's more fitting." His slashes continued on, having significantly more power but also significantly less accuracy. I'm not even trying.

"Fight me!" He said, now giving me a dark glare.

"Fine..." I went to impale him, but he jumped out of the way and fell onto the ground. As he did this, another sword was coming. He managed in time to roll out of the way. I sat there criss-crossed, watching him dodge. "Eh, I'm bored. Can I end this now?

"Do your worst!" He really does have a death wish.

"Okay." I snapped my fingers and hands from the ground grabbed at Blueblood's legs. After a few moments, the hands started their work of pulling Blueblood through the ground, threatening to suffocate him to death. "Do you concede?"

"Never!" The hands pulled down another 2 inches, "I will never get up!"

"Do you want to die?" Blueblood answered with his pride instead of his voice.

"You will never defeat me! I could beat you or your wooden mutt any day." Hmm..

"Oops!" I pretended to accidentally snap my fingers and Blueblood suddenly dropped down 2 feet, his head only being visible. He started to look scared now.

"W-Wait!" He said before I could snap again. "I concede! I concede! Now please let me out!" The crowd and the princess looked towards me. I sat up and went over to him. Kneeling, I punched him in the nose. Celestia hurried towards me and the crowd looked on in bewilderment.

"Insult Alpha again," I gave my darkest glare, "I fucking dare you." I punched him again. "Say that he is a wooden mutt! I promise you that I will end you in the worst way possible, regardless of your cries!" Blueblood and Celestia were shook beyond belief.

"That's enough," Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder, "You win. Now can you free Blueblood please?" She pleaded with me. I'm glad she knows who is stronger between the two of us, because if she ordered me then I probably would've challenged her.

"I will in time, but first," I reshaped a tab into a bat, "He must repay for his actions." Celestia looked with disbelief before standing in between us.

"You will not hit Blueblood. You've already won, so what more than that do you want?" She was still pleading for Blueblood's safety. I was now getting impatient.

"I could hit you too if you really wanted that." I reasoned. I'm not taking the time to explain this shit. She was all about benevolence and friendship anyway, so she should get the picture. Most of the crowd was now shaking at my confidence to beat one of the two princesses. Celestia's guards went to intervene, but a hoof from the princess stopped them. She thought about it for a few moments, wondering how to get out of this situation peacefully. When her head came up with nothing, her voice got super quiet.

"Please make sure he doesn't die." This reminded me of Fluttershy, and that was funny coming from the highest rank of them all. I nodded and gave her a thumbs up, giving her time to move out the way. Before I raised the bat-tab, I checked up on Blueblood's current condition. His mouth and nose were both bleeding up a storm, and his left eye looked swollen. He stared up at me with a pleading look before screaming.

"No! Please!" He begged. He was met with silence as I took a swinging position. As the bat swung, he screamed the entire time. As the bat landed, his ear looked flattened and he was out cold. Taking a check on his breathing, it was labored as I wanted it to be. Satisfied, I snapped my fingers and Blueblood was raised from my trap card. As he was let out, he immediately fell on the floor, unresponsive to the world around him. Celestia and a medic appeared right next to Blueblood, checking his condition. My work done, I went back to my room and chilled for a bit. No doubt everyone would be scared of me now.

An hour after the easy fight with Blueblood, I was reading some of the books that lined the bookshelves. As I was reading, a guard, who seemed terrified might I add, knocked on the door. How did I know it was a guard? Well before the visitor knocked, I heard the clanking of metal. I opened the door and she looked at me to speak... only for nothing to come out of her mouth. I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to speak?" I asked neutrally. She flinched from my words.

"P-P-Princess Celestia w-would l-like a w-w-word with you." She stuttered over her words more than a mentally disabled person. I made my best thinking pose.

"Did she say what it was about?" She flinched again. "Look, you do realize I don't hurt just anybody I come across right? I only did it to Blueblood because he called my wolf a mutt." That didn't seem to ease her mind any.

"I-I know, and actually m-most of the guard actually l-l-looks up to you."

"Are you being for real?" She rapidly nodded. "Tell me more." That looked to have eased her up. Enough to stop her stuttering anyway.

"We can talk on the way to the princess. I'm your escort." She said triumphantly. I chuckled.

"Alright then, but before we get to that topic, did she say what it was about?" I asked again. She looked towards me.

"She only told me that she wanted to have a chat with you, but not the exact topic." She answered. I guess it must be a private talk then.

"Okay. By the way I didn't catch your name." I said neutrally. She smiled to me.

"My name is Snowy Blossom, what's yours?" What is up with fucking pegasi naming themselves after the weather?

"My name is Axel. Axel Dixon." I replied.

"It's nice to meet you!" You were scared a fucking minute ago. I didn't think my small talk about who I fight would help your anxiety to this extent.

"Now, about that guard story." I looked to her as we walked down the hallway.

"Well, Prince Blueblood was the one who orchestrated the procedures of the military. He was always being a jerk to any guard that talked to him, so we didn't like him very much. You don't know how many times our general wanted to sock him, but couldn't because of his ranked status. Almost every week, Blueblood would come to the sparring ring and battle a random guard, except it was totally unfair. If you lost, then you would look like a bloody battered mess. If you won, Blueblood would make sure that you never saw the light of day again. You don't know how many times I've had to watch some of my friends, and even my younger sister, be put in solitary confinement for two decades because they won against a noble." She started to tear up. "Most of us guards lost hope in ever getting revenge against him, some even leaving the guard. When you managed to beat Blueblood into unconsciousness and come out on top without penalty from the princesses or other nobles, it gave us hope. So please, I beg of you." She trotted ahead to stop my advance, and turned around to look at me. "Come to the sparring ring some time, will you?" She asked.

"Maybe if this chat goes well, I can visit right afterward and see what is going on." I replied. She was satisfied with my answer.

"I'll hold you to that." We stopped our conversation here and she escorted me inside of the throne room. I looked in amazement on how big it was. In the far side of the room was Celestia and a vacant seat, most likely for her royal sister. Snowy bowed before the throne.

"I have brought him, your highness." Celestia smiled to her.

"I'm glad that you could, now I would like to ask all of the guards to leave the room, if you will?" That was an order, not a question. Some of the guards were hesitant at leaving me alone with the princess. "I guarantee you that I will not be harmed." They took their word for it and walked out. I would have to keep in touch with Snowy Blossom. She is the only one I give a shit about anyway. Celestia frowned at me. "Don't we have a lot to talk about?" She asked.

"That's up to you, because I was invited here. Although I probably already know what this is going to be about." Celestia nodded. "Do you have anywhere I could sit?" She nodded and lit up her horn to bring an average looking wooden chair in front of the throne. At least it was actually up to size. As I got seated, Celestia started our chat.

"I would like to talk to you about your fight with Blueblood, because I haven't gotten the story on how it ended up like that." She said, tone completely serious. God this is gonna take some time to explain. This right here is going to be a long day.

Chapter 5: This country wouldn't survive a war. Not at all.

View Online

My talk with Celestia held much to be desired. After explaining what had happened with Blueblood before she arrived, she started to pry into things I didn't really want to reveal. I didn't reveal any information on my race or world because I am very powerful. If I were to tell her about humans, she would start to question my motives, because we all know. Humans kill other races along with themselves. You do have some people who are genuinely nice and try to avoid arguments at all costs, but those people either fall into human nature, or become victims of suicide or jealousy. Celestia thought she could order me to, and she said as much, but her and I both knew what would happen if she did, and I guarantee you that it wouldn't be pretty on her end. I swear to god that Celestia has the patience of a lumberjack waiting for his shift to end. After getting nowhere after 3 goddamn hours, she let me off the hook, but asked to avoid any more conflicts from now on. Yeah, that's not happening.

'Now we can go to the training grounds.' I look through a window and saw my destination. It now looked somewhat dark outside, but that was because, and I learned, that Celestia raises and lowers the sun herself. I know that I'm powerful enough to do the same thing, but I'm not even going to try doing that. If I mess up once, Equus, which apparently is the name of this planet, would either burn to death or freeze to death. I don't think I could ever attempt such a thing without my conscience being in overdrive. Killing Equus aside, I used [Noclip] to faze through the window. I've always wanted to do that. Boy does Gmod have me too hooked after all the years. Anyway, I looked around and saw the sparring ring, which was just a brightly lit boxing ring. Ponies with different colored armor were fighting each other, which peaked my curiosity

'What do the separate colors mean?' It can't be people of higher status, because yellow-armored ponies only fought the gray-armored ones. Seemed like disadvantage to me. I made a pose and then jumped as far as I could into the air. Riding the wind like a cannonball, I took a moment to let the breeze guide me. As I started fast-falling, ponies shouted to their comrades to move out of the way, and I landed with a loud-sounding thud. I doubt anyone was asleep yet, so perfect time to do it. I had still landed on my feet, and as I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in a crater at the edge of the training camp gate. Everypony who watched me crashed looked down into the hole. I guess they knew who I was because a few of them wore horrified looks. I looked up and looked around, and saw somepony who I hadn't expected to see. To my left was Luna, giving me a look like I was a criminal that had yet to be arrested. That was only half-right anyway.

"What is the meaning of this?" Celestia did talk about Luna getting better at modern speak. I had expected her to use words like 'thou' or 'thee'. That makes things a little easier.

"Just dropping in." I half-joked. A few of the guards found that funny. I suddenly felt myself be lifted out of the crater, but as I touched land, it felt like gravity was targeting me specifically. I was stuck on the fucking ground. Luna glared at me.

"Who said you could do that!" She yelled.

"No one tells me what to do." I said neutrally. I managed to find the strength to snap my fingers and as I did so, the gravitational pull settled down. Now free, I took a moment to dust myself off and looked at Luna. I guess it caught her off-guard because she looked dazed for a few seconds. Guards went to check on her and one looked to me. His armor was slightly different than the others, being more orange than yellow, so he must be the leader. He pointed a sword in my direction.

"State your intention or leave now!" His voice was so gruff. Big mistake to point a weapon at me as well.

"I came here because I wanted to know something." I clarified. His sword lowered an inch.

"What is it that you're looking for! If you think you can hurt the princess, then your flank is done!" Guards caring for their princess, nothing new here. Before I could speak, however, a certain lunar-colored pony got into my face.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HURT ME?!" Try? Bitch, don't act like you weren't fazed for a few minutes there.

"It was just self defense." I replied. I've been yelled at so much as a kid that it just doesn't affect me. "I actually came here because Snowy Blossom invited me to spar. Do you know where she is?" I asked. The other guards were confused.

"So that's why she is so insistent on being by herself." The orange-armored guard, which I'm going to now confirm as general, said. "She's in ring number 7. I'll walk you there." He walked ahead of me. I turned to Luna, who sat glaring at me.

"How long are you gonna do that?" I asked.

"You are lucky that Celestia told me to let you be." Her voice was cold and lethal, as expected. I turned around to follow the general, the rest of the guard following me, interested in how I fight.

We got to the ring in short order and as I walked in, Snowy ran up to me, clearly excited.

"I'm so glad you could come!" Cheery as ever I see.

"I don't break promises of my own volition." I clarified. Luna looked to us, dumbfounded.

"When did you two meet?" She asked. I let Snowy do the talking.

"I had to escort him to the throne room so he and Celestia could have a talk about something I wasn't informed of, your highness." She said while bowing her head. Luna looked at me.

"What was this talk about?" She asked in a frustrated manner.

"It was just about my fight with Blueblood." This was her first time hearing about it, because she looked a little angered.

"I'd like to hear about it as well." Okay mom, your wish is my command. I explained to her the same things I told Celestia. About how Blueblood challenged me to an honor duel because I brought a timberwolf with me, and also losing horribly. I was actually rather blunt in how I spoke, and it sounded like I tortured the dude. It got my point and explanation across, so I guess it's fine. Luna looked at me in disbelief.

"That's the entire story." I finished.

"You don't even look that tough. I would like to request to spectate your sparring match with Snowy Blossom."

"Fine by me." I stretched my arms. I looked to Snowy.

"I see no problem with it." She said, grabbing a wooden sword. She grabbed one for me as well, but was confused when I turned it down. "I thought you were here to spar." She said.

"I am, it's just I'd like to go barehanded. You can still use a sword if you want to." I replied. Her, Luna, and the guards thought I was getting cocky, and most were on the ground laughing, including Luna.

"Do you really think yourself that powerful?" Luna asked. I made a face that let her know that I was serious.

"I do." I answered triumphantly.

"I have to watch this!" The general said.

"I am now curious as to how you fight now." Luna was tearing up for how hard she was laughing.

"Well lets get to it then, shall we?" I gestured to Snowy. We both entered the arena and watched as the guards went to take a seat on the bleachers. I gestured to the princess to count us off. She went up and waited 3 seconds without saying so.

"Fight!" She yelled. Snowy Blossom charged at me the same way Blueblood did.

'How the hell did he think that was an efficient way to use a sword?' I ducked below a sword before side-stepping a kick. Her dexterity with a sword was actually really good, but her accuracy and enemy movement reading sucked. It was basically fighting Blueblood again.

"Teach him the ways of the guard!" The general yelled. It must've motivated her, because she was slinging faster than before. Luna and the other guards were watching with surprise clear on their face.

"Funny that you say 'teach him the ways'," I started, still dodging each slash, "But this is just fighting Blueblood again." Snowy stopped for a moment, clearly insulted.

"None of us are like him," She said through panted breaths, "I refuse to ever be like him." I must've hit a nerve. I probably should clarify what I'm saying.

"I never said anything about being like him. What I meant was that you are basically using Blueblood's sword style."

"I will defeat you in my own way!" She yelled, going on the attack once more, but to no avail. She must be really competitive, because there was a determined look in her eyes. After a few minutes of dancing about in the arena, I asked her a question.

"Do you want me to actually start trying now?" She stopped again and everyone in the room looked at me.

"I'm pretty sure I could beat your best." She smiled.

"You wouldn't last 5 seconds." I confirmed. She flinched and then went back to her determined look.

"Alright then, lets see how good you are when you try!" She ran at me again. I swear to ever-loving god that these ponies just run in and start slashing. As her first slash came down, I sidestepped it and kicked her straight in her gut. The air flew out of her lungs and she went flying back, putting a crack in the brick walls of the arena. Luna and the guards looked at me in disbelief, and I responded with a sheepish smile.

"I've got to learn to tone it down a bit in friendly combat. This is the second time this has happened." I said, scratching my head. As Luna blinked and came back to reality, she issued the medics to check on Snowy. She herself turned to me, clearly surprised.

"That was impressive, but now I'm curious. How well do you think you could defend against me?" She asked, now showing a smug expression. Now I know that she used to be a warmonger of sorts. That's not what crossed my mind though.

"What do you mean defend?" That was rhetorical, "I could beat you." Luna laughed at my confidence.

"Can you now? Lets see about that." A pony who is up for a little violence and isn't touchy with people? That I could put up with. "I challenge you to a friendly honor duel." She declared. The guards cheered.

'They must be confident in one of their leader's ability to win. I guess it's time to destroy that feeling.'

"Alright. Since it's friendly, that must mean that there is no wager in this battle. Am I correct?" She nodded.

"I will give you time to recover. You're gonna need it." She said, but I stopped her there.

"I don't need any time to. I'm ready to fight now." The guards went wide-eyed.

"Ever so confident, I see. That's good. The first step to being a warrior." I'll make sure to go overkill just because you named my fighting style 'tutorial island'. Before I fight, however.

"Is Snowy okay?" I asked. The general turned to me.

"She's fine, just unconscious from that mighty strong blow you issued to her gut. No major damage, somehow. Despite getting kicked hard enough to crack stone." The general joked. Wasn't that funny. I nodded and looked back to Luna.

"You ready?" I asked. She nodded and pulled out a sword from a portal that was floating in mid-air. The sword looked pristine, the color shining like quartz. Even down to the handle did it look expensive.

'Magic is so bullshit that I love it.' It still makes my heart flutter to live in a world that uses magic. The guards stared at the weapon in Luna's hand with fear, and I gave Luna a puzzled look.

"Do you know what this sword is?" she asked. I nodded my head no. "This sword was the one I used back when I was Nightmare Moon."

"Who is that? When is that?" I questioned.

"Nightmare Moon is my second personality, who was pure evil. It was thanks to the Elements of Harmony that I can come back to this form, but still be able to switch forms at will."

"What are the Elements of Harmony?" Luna stared at me in disbelief. Apparently I do a lot of things that people don't believe would happen ever.

"The Elements of Harmony are six different artifacts that represent a harmonious trait. The six traits are Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, Honesty, and Magic." What the fuck? They have 5 traits that could be seen as the characteristic of a good person and then you have magic. That one is a head-turner for sure. I held up a finger to question it, but didn't. I'll just let this world be this world.

"Lets just fight." I said neutrally. She nodded and a guard started to count us off.

"FIGHT!" It yelled. It didn't take Luna 3 seconds to get from one side of the arena to the other and she was already on the offense. I swear to god, does everypony that knows how to wield a sword just charge in like this? I was still bare-handed, mind you. I took a moment to gauge her skills while weaving past sword strikes. Her moves were much faster and much more accurate than Snowy's. I still dodged them with ease, but it was still impressive. After a few minutes of blow after blow missing its target, I noticed something.

'How is your stamina so damn high?' Its been like 45 minutes and her attacks weren't slowing down.

"Are you that used to war and sword-fighting?" I asked, still weaving between strikes.

"Back in my day, war was my past-time." So she really is a warmonger.

"That is alarming, to say the least." I commented.

"You get used to bloodshed after a while and all of a sudden you'd crave it." Why the hell did she sound like me? I had to stop my thoughts for a moment as her sword strikes got even faster and even more accurate.

"Is there like no end to your stamina in combat?" I had to know the answer to this one.

"During war-time, I could and would go a week or two without rest, just fighting my heart out. It was hard at first, but now it's as simple as a levitation spell." She may have worst blood-lust then I do. "Do your best against me human, there is no need to hold back!" It seems my plan to just tire her into submission isn't going to work. It worked on Snowy, because talking while swinging a sword is very hard to do when you are trying to conserve energy, but this pony's energy is bottomless.

"Let us see if you can survive this!" I said, stopping the sword with a balloon-block on my palm. If you don't know what it does, it knocks back the opponent if they tried to hit it with any physical move. I then snapped my fingers and the same hands that I used on Blueblood tugged at Luna's legs. She looked down at the appendages, surprised, but not spooked in the slightest.

"Well played." She blasted the hands off of her and ran at me again. As she came in for a slash, I used teleportation to get behind her, replacing my original spot with a pressure stun bomb. I love those things so much. Even the slightest pressure of your hand could set it off. She ended up slashing it in two, stopping the electricity from firing from it.

"That sword is on a whole other level, now isn't it?" She turned around and ran at me again. I snapped again and Luna clutched her ears, one of them bleeding. [Sound Slash] is a very good move to use in scenarios like this. It does a certain amount of damage to the ears depending on how well the target could hear, and since ponies had bigger ears, and Luna being a warmonger, her hearing must've been better than most.

"That was a cheap trick." She said, still smiling despite being in pain.

"Do you concede?" I asked. She started laughing, and a blue mist started to form around her. Covering my eyes from the amount of wind, I watched a misty tornado form, and barely dodged a magical blast sent my way. As the blue mist disappeared, it left behind a pony with a even more mystical mane, and a sinister black coat. "So this is your true form." I commented. The guards looked at me as if I was going to do a suicide mission. Still laughing, she came in front of my face, sword in hand, in less than a second. My reaction speed being what it is, I stepped back from the impending sword slash. "Thank you for actually giving me something to test my strength, but I could still beat you in less than a second." I snapped my fingers and Luna, now Nightmare Moon I assume, fell on the ground, screaming like she was on fire. Technically, it was way worse than fire. Whats worst than your pain censors feeling fire? Your pain censors going off at maximum pain detection from lack of water. She tried to scream, but it wouldn't work due to the lack of water around her mouth. I knew it wouldn't kill her, because I learned from Celestia that alicorns are immortal, and can only die from being impaled in the heart. Equivalent to vampires I suppose. After about thirty seconds, she couldn't take it anymore, and she rapidly tapped the ground. I used [Hydration] to give her body back the water she needs. As soon as I did, tears fell down her eyes in rivers, and she returned to her old form.

"The winner is the creature!" The general said. The guards stared at me with completely horrified expressions. I wasn't focused on them, as I went to Luna's side. She was crying up a storm, and she couldn't help but look like she was still in pain, or now having PTSD I suppose. "Hey you, come here." The general called me over. I walked over to his side and we turned around, facing the arena wall. "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you when Celestia gets here." As soon as Luna started crying, I saw a guard rush to get Celestia. She should be here any moment now. In fact, as I finished that sentence, she teleported by Luna's side, hugging her. I went back to the two of them and Celestia gave me a dark glare, that was actually pretty dark for someone who was about benevolence.

"What happened?" She said, tone lethal. I told Celestia about our sparring match, and how Luna used a nice-looking sword instead of an actual sparring one. Her turning into Nightmare Moon and become faster than normal, how I defeated her, all of it. "You could've ended her in any way possible and you chose the most painful one?" She said, obviously angered.

"To be honest, I used the most painful spell so that Luna can at least walk away with pride instead of feeling like she was a little filly who lost with a handicap." I explained. Luna sat up, eyes red and pupils dull-looking.

"So you didn't even try against me," She started, voice quiet. "You snapped your fingers and it was over in an instant. I was no match for you in the slight, was I?"

"Nope." I answered, deciding to be brutally honest. Celestia was fucking livid. Before doing anything, she used a teleportation spell to teleport all 3 of us to Luna's bedroom.

"You should get some rest, Luna. Take some time to get yourself together." She glared at me. "May I have a word with you, please?" She didn't wait for me to answer before heading out the door, in which I followed her. She motioned to the guards to take a break for 10 minutes with a practiced smile. As soon as they turned the corner, her glare became so dark that the color black was scared. "Tell me the real reason you used a spell like that on my sister." She ordered. She figured out that I was lying quite quick.

"There are 3 things that I love to do, Celestia." Her facial expression didn't change. "Protect any new friends I make, Cause or observe bloodshed, or see a cocky pony get mentally broken from my raw strength, magically and physically." Celestia gave me a 'you belong in an asylum' look. She turned around and walked off before stopping.

"You are to leave my castle before the day strikes. If you choose to stay here, then I will issue a full military force to run you out of here myself. Is that understood?" I gave an amused smile.

"I was planning to leave tomorrow anyway." I said. She looked at me, knowing that I have high chances of causing trouble. "I still have one more place I want to visit." Celestia wanted to question it, but didn't, and silently walked off.

'I can't wait for my trip tomorrow. I heard they have a history with certain types of magic you wouldn't find anywhere.

At daybreak, I made it out with Alpha in short order. I made sure we had everything before we left. Leaving anything here was no big deal, however, because it's not like we took anything with us. That aside, we got to watch Celestia raise the sun, and she kept that same negative expression from last night. Guess she was still angry. I summoned [VTabs] and took a look at a map it created using mana.

"It seems we got a long day of traveling ahead of us, Alpha." I said. He wagged his tail. I forgot my partner loved to run, so of course it wouldn't be a bid deal. I looked around the map and found what I was looking for. Sadly, this map connected to my mind, so the place I was going to wasn't marked with the exact name. I could see Canterlot and Ponyville easily, and that is when I realized how zoomed out the map was. Equestria must be one of the bigger countries if it can maintain peace without war. I figured we could take a train to our next location, but I don't think that they would appreciate me bringing a timberwolf on along for the ride, so we will have to travel on foot.

'How smart is Alpha anyway?' Apparently smart enough to read maps, because he glanced at it for one second and headed into the direction I marked. I'm not going to question it, and just boil it down to he is a more intelligent race. Anyways, it's time to start traveling on foot. We're burning daylight out here.

"Alright, Alpha, let's start our journey. If you ever get tired, then give a howl and we will stop to rest, alright?" He fucking barked. I didn't even know wolves could bark. Again, not going to question it. Alpha sat up from his resting position, and with a howl, he ran at speeds no car could reach.

'I hope this location will be fun. All I have done is fight, and I intend to get stronger by any means.'

Chapter 6: I should've brought something warmer.

View Online

On our way to our destination, there were a lot of eventful things going on when we passed through Canterlot. It looks like the city itself was split into two sides. Both sides had signs, and were arguing with each other. Asking one of the guards, I learned that after my fight with Blueblood, the town was split on whether or not I was a good or bad guy. I listened to their conversation for a little while, and figured out some of the terms they used. Those who were calling for my head were called 'Transgressors'. Those that saw me as a good person were called 'Enigmas'. I found that the names kind of fit, because the transgressors were being a lot more violent than the enigmas were. Not wanting to stay for too long, I rode past them, and some the transgressors called out to me. I didn't think I could cause such a commotion in less than 24 hours, but there you go. Not stopping, I made it out of Canterlot, starting the journey ahead of me.

We made it to Ponyville in less than 10 minutes because of my wolf's jumping ability. According to the map, the fastest route to the marked spot was going through Ponyville. As I walked into the town, something caught my eye.

'How fucking fast does information travel in this country?!?!' You could easily imagine the surprised look on my face when I saw practically the same scene that I saw in Canterlot. It hasn't even been a whole day yet, and ponies already heard about it? I will have to keep in mind of that. Anyway, I decided to walk around the town rather than through it. Something tells me that if Twilight said to, the entire town would hunt me down. I could probably easily outrun them, but I doubt Alpha could, despite the enchantments I gave him. Successfully making our way around, we continued on our way. Our trip would've been much faster, but I don't feel like going carelessly to a place I don't know about. We didn't know if there were any stops ahead of us or what the climate was like. Better time to find out than never, right?

So, the weather here fucking sucks. I swear the north is colder than Canada, for fucks sake. I had my black trench coat on, but that didn't stop me from shivering out of my shoes. I would have to live with it, so I didn't complain much. We have been in this snowstorm for about 2 hours now, and it wasn't letting up anytime soon. I was focused on the map more than what was in front of me, up until Alpha howled, causing me to look at him. He looked ahead of him, and I turned to see what he was looking at.

'Found you.' In front of us was a castle that looked to be made of some other material rather than the normal ones. It was covered in my a dome, most likely to keep the cold air from reaching it. If I were to have a contest between the 3 towns I visited, this one would win the award for the best looking kingdom. Alpha ran the last few meters and stopped at the dome. I touched it, and it allowed me entry. Satisfied that I won't fuck up my nose by running into it, I went on through. After an enchantment to change Alpha's magic signature, he came through as well. After studying the dome in the cold for a few solid minutes, I learned that the purpose of the dome was to block certain magic signatures from passing, mainly those harmful to ponies. As soon as we walked through, however, 2 guards walked up to us and stopped us.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza wishes to see you." One of them said. Finally, somepony with a name that actually sounds like royalty.

"Lead the way." I said neutrally. They gave me a suspicious look before walking towards the castle. What the fuck? How do the guards just look at me and tell what I did? Somepony had to be sending information to them in ultra speeds. No fucking way the news reached this far only having happened a day ago. There were some suspicions I have at the moment, but I doubted they would come to anything. Although something didn't feel right, and us walking to the castle made it all the worse. I guess I'll figure it out when we get there.

The walk to the castle was a very interesting trip. As we walked the streets, ponies were watching me from all over. Nothing new on that front. However, guards were posted up in places that also seemed suspicious. It was as if they silenced some of the citizens, or they were just very protective. Either way, it still didn't feel right. We walked through the gate and the guards posted let us pass, having hardened expressions.

'You can go fuck yourself too, you racist.' I boiled it down to ponies are racist, that's why they're looking at me. Continuing on, we reached the throne room. When we got close, the two guards bowed before their ruler. Unlike the Canterlot throne room, this one was completely filled with guards. About 30 guards were posted around the room, and it made me uneasy. Alpha confirmed some of my suspicions when his ability went off, alerting me that something was very wrong. I looked around the throne room while the princess looked me over. I noticed in the far corner was a magical crystal, infused with magical energy. I looked around for anymore of them, but just saw the one. I scanned which spell it contained, and it was a magical blast that was actually a lot more dangerous and potent than the one Twilight pulled off in my fight against her. I put my hands in my pockets so that I wouldn't be seen, and I created a transparent barrier around me. The Mi Amore finally got done looking at me.

"Welcome to our kingdom, umm..." She wanted to know my name.

"Axel." I said.

"Right, so what brings you here?" Another suspicion raised in my head. She wasn't afraid of the wolf in the slightest. Red flag number 1.

"I'm just seeing all Equestria has to offer." I didn't make my sketchiness obvious.

"So you are." She said. I heard a few guards behind me glow their horns. Red flag number 2.

"Why did you call me here?"

"Word travels fast around here, and Celestia told me some good things about you." She lied. Celestia exiled me from Canterlot, and you heard good things? Time to voice my suspicions.

"Now tell me why you really called me here." I demanded. She flinched, causing me to smile.

"Whatever do you mean?" She asked dramatically. Ponies are bad at lying. I'll keep that in mind.

"I am suspicious of you, and I would like you to quell them if you can." She nodded and motioned for me to go on. "First off, everypony I've came across was scared of Alpha. Tell me why you didn't even bat an eye." I looked to her.

"Do you know how many guards are in here? I highly doubt it could reach me." The use of the word 'it' to my friend kind of hurt.

"Secondly," I looked back to the guards lighting their horns and pointed towards them, "What are they doing?"

"A new method of transferring information to one another. They are telepathically talking to each other. It keeps anyone from knowing any information we don't want them to know." Mediocre story at best. My next suspicion would call her out greatly. I looked back to her and she started to sweat a little.

"Now my last suspicion," I gave a smug expression, "How did you know I was coming here?" She looked at me for a second.

"I, uh... I mean she, uh..." She stuttered over her words. Checkmate. "Guards, now!" Every guard sprang into action and immediately I was in chains, unable to move. Don't get me wrong, breaking them is an easy thing to do, but I just wanted to see the trap she laid down. The princess hovered the crystal above her head, its glow being more dominant than before.

"What is the meaning of this?!" I was scared out of my mind of being obliterated, NOT. She stared at me with a vengeful expression.

"I know what you did to Luna." Her tone was colder and more lethal than Celestia's ever was. "I refuse to let some ape come here and screw with the peace and justice our country has built up for so long!" The use of the word 'screw' was funny to hear. This country was so peaceful that I haven't even heard not one pony curse properly yet. "How you got through the barrier despite being evil, I don't know. I will make sure never to make that mistake again." Even the guards in the room looked shook at the princess' words. I looked on her ass and saw that she had a crystal-looking heart on it. This scene would've made that heart turn black if it had been a movie. She looked toward the crystal and got ready to use it. I thought these ponies were all about peace. I guess even ponies who are even the most benevolent can do negative things when vengeance calls for it. The crystal fired and I had to close my eyes from how bright it was. As the mana that was supposed to burn washed over me, I suddenly felt hyper. I totally forgot that I made the spell turn mana into energy rather than just dispelling it. It fucking sucks when my own creations backfire. The crystal finally being used, I took a moment to scan the area. Just as I predicted, the walls and floors were enchanted with a magical spell to dispel mana.

'Pretty useful for not having to worry about annihilating the entire castle. I'm glad you at least took that approach.' I looked back at her and her guards and they looked at me as if I killed God.

"H-How did you survive that?" She looked really disappointed in herself.

"If we are going by the knowledge I've obtained, then I'm pretty sure I am stronger than this Discord dude." I said neutrally, breaking the chains with ease. Mi Amore looked to the top left corner of the wall behind her.

"You said this would work!" She pointed an accusatory hoof at nothing. I watched where she was pointed and a hole suddenly opened up out of thin air.

'What the fuck kind of magic is this?' I thought, completely bewildered. It stared at me before turning to the princess.

"It seems that I've made a mathematical error." It commented. Thinking for a little bit, I remembered his name was Discord. I knew that I'd probably meet him once, but damn was I expecting a pony and not a... uhh... whatever it is.

"May I ask what are you?" I asked, causing him to turn around.

"I, my good sir, am a draconequus." His voice was deep as hell.

"Can I also ask what this is about?" I really didn't want to be near this guy. Something tells me he isn't all good.

"Princess Celestia asked me a favor, and told me to set up a trap at the Crystal Palace." He pulled a chair and a cup of tea from nowhere, "I didn't expect you to survive a chaos magic blast like that." He stared on for a second before smiling. "May I ask how you achieved such a thing?"

"The moment I got in the building, I knew something was wrong. The princess asked to come see me seconds after I actually arrived. As I came in on Alpha, he immediately sensed that danger was near. Taking a minute to look around, I noticed the crystal completely full of power. Being cautious I put up a transparent barrier that doesn't allow mana in."

"That explains how the chains reached you, but my magic didn't." Discord now had a detective outfit on, "May I ask what your goal is in Equestria?" Everyone in the room looked at me.

"To be honest, I had no say in coming here. I woke up in the forest inside of a burnt crater, and just went from there. Next thing I know, more than one species can talk, Alpha is ultra intelligent, and magic actually exists. By the way, if you ever try to hurt my wolf again, then I will kill you." I said, everyone in the room except for Discord going wide-eyed. This being, on the other hand, laughed.

"You. Kill me?" He laughed harder as if I told a joke. "Oh wait, you're serious?" Is it weird if I actually like how he acts? I'd never admit that out loud though. Mi Amore got our attention.

"Yes, Mi Amore?" I asked neutrally.

"You are more than welcome to call me Cadence." She smiled to me. In reality, being near girls or receiving a benefit from one made me shake. My body was in said reality, but my mind wasn't. I'll put that off for later. "May I ask what side you fall under?"

"What do you mean?" I answered with a question.

"Are you evil? Or are you good?" She asked. Must have confused her.

"It really depends. I consider myself to be mostly along the lines of neutral evil. Most of the time, my mind falls under the thing I'm best at, making weapons, and I only really fight if I'm either provoked or challenged." She took a minute to think on it, before saying,

"Then tell me about each of the ponies you have faced in less than a few days of being here." I didn't realize the ponies kept tabs on me that much. "First off, what did Blueblood do? Despite it almost being obvious." She must've not been a fan of him either.

"It was when I went to Canterlot to check out what it had to offer. I had brought Alpha," I gestured to the now sleeping timberwolf. He actually wasn't even scared of the blast nearly killing him, "with me and nobles didn't like that. Blueblood, though, challenged me to an honor duel where I nearly dragged him to my trap. I call it the gunpowder pit." I noticed Discord was gone. Where did he go?

"Your trap? What do you mean by that?" She asked for clarification.

"I have a magic spell which spawns hands from the ground to drag your legs below the surface. Below said surface will be gunpower that ranges your entire body, so while you suffocate from lack of air to breathe, you also die in a terrifyingly confined explosion." Cadence looked completely horrified.

"And you did that without hesitation?" She asked, hope in her voice that the answer was no. Sadly it will come to no avail.

"He can call me whatever he wants. Shit, he could actually attempt to fight me and I would have just defended, but no, he had to call Alpha a 'wooden mutt'." No one insults my wolf. Ever.

"Please tell me that you didn't kill him." One last sliver of hope lasted in her voice. I guess you win this time, bubble-gum pony.

"He surrendered before I could, so I took the time to beat his face in before returning to my room."

"Why did you do that?" I gave her a dark glare.

"You insult my wolf, and I will insult your heart's resistance to being stabbed." Cadence wore a feared expression.

"Then what about Twilight? She tells me you escaped detainment by winning some arena match against her. She is a talented pony when it comes to magic, and I doubt she went easy." She couldn't help but look like I told a really good ghost story.

"It was actually pretty easy. I've learned that magical blasts are completely made of light, and can only change directions if it hits a mirror or something similar. It was just a matter of dodging or blocking them, which was rather easy to do." She thought about it for a second before dropping it, and moving on to the subject that started this entire trap.

"What about Snowy Blossom and Luna?" She said, now completely confused, "I highly doubt you beat Luna legitimately. Out of the royal sisters, she was always better offensively."

"With Snowy Blossom, it was just an accidentally strong kick. I don't even know my own strength sometimes," I donned on the memory. I'll be sure to apologize later. "As for Luna, her cockiness for winning fights was insane. I had to crush it to make a point."

"Go on." Cadence was now hooked on my story.

"She pulled out a real sword and used it in our match. Her slashes were fast and precise, but I weaved around them like I did Snowy Blossom's technique."

"She used a real sword? And you aren't dead yet?" She was surprised. "How strong are you?"

"Probably strong enough to easily defeat a country," I answered. "Continuing on, she implied that she could easily defeat me, and taunted me to fighting at my best."

"How were you able to defeat Luna? Her thirst for violence in the past has made her pain tolerance borderline immune." That was something I never heard of before. Just how much war has that pony seen?

"In simple terms, I dehydrated her." Cadence looked confused. "I took the water from her body."

"Why did Celestia tell me that Luna had trauma from the pain she experienced?" She asked.

"Allow me to explain. You know how magic is located near the horn?" She nodded. "Well, mana and water don't mix, but that is the reason ponies survive." She looked on with confusion. "Between your head and horn, there is a pool of water that keeps the mana from rushing inside of the body, so dehydrating her took that away, causing her brain to overflow with mana and set off each and every pain censor to the maximum degree. I'm surprised Luna didn't die from shock."

"How could you casually do such a thing?" She looked saddened. I shrugged.

"Just don't provoke me and I won't have to casually do it." She nodded before going wide-eyed and backing up a step.

"A-A-Are you m-mad at me?" She was now worried for her own safety. The guards were about to spring up to action too.

"As long as you now know, we're cool." Relief came to Cadence and her guards in waves. That made me chuckle a bit.

"So, what are you going to do now?" She asked.

"I will probably go check up on Luna. She is one of two ponies I actually give a shit about." I turned to leave, but Cadence stopped me.

"Why did you curse? You do know it's wrong, right?"

"It's just how I speak. Your going to have to deal with it." She stared at me for a few moments and nodded. "Have a good night, Cadence."

"Same to you."

I made it to the train station with Alpha and saw a royal carriage. As I approached, a guard came up to me.

"Cadence asks if you would like a ride back to your home." She said. Better than walking in the cold. I nodded and we both got inside. I gave the guards the directions to my home, and we went on our way.

The trip took less than an hour. Way better than walking on foot. We approached my home and the guards didn't even question why I was living in the forest.

"Good day to you." One of them said. I waved goodbye and watched as they left. I only stopped here for one reason. I looked up and saw that it was nighttime. Perfect time to check up on Luna.

"Alpha," he looked up at me "Do you mind waiting inside? I have something to do." He yawned and I got off of his back. He trotted inside and I closed the door behind him. Time to go check up on my princess. I used [TP Station] to get there in less than a second. A spell that lets me instantly travel to any place I've been to. One of my better spells. Maneuvering around the castle grounds, I finally made it on Luna's balcony. I looked inside and saw Luna, eyes still completely dulled, sitting on the bed shaking. I walked in and went to make myself known when someone tackled me to the ground, startling me and Luna both.

"What are you doing here?" Celestia said, tone so lethal that it would have killed earth itself. I take it she isn't happy with me.

Chapter 7: I don't need everyone to hate me.

View Online

I managed to forcibly roll my body over and look up to her. She looked fatigued as fuck. Doesn't she know that all of that lack of sleep will bite her in the ass when she has to do the duties for the fucking country? I guess even ponies do some dumb shit.

"You will not hurt Luna anymore than you already have! Leave!" Why the fuck is the yelling in the middle of the night.

"If you would be so kind as to get off of me," She put more weight into my chest. It was getting harder and harder to breathe now, "I can do what I came here to do."

"If you kill my sister, I will bucking torture you." I chuckled at the pony version of cursing.

"Chill your shit. I'm here to only talk to Luna." Celestia glared at me and was now staring at my eyes. Hesitantly, she got off me. Nodding to her, I turned around to Luna. During that whole display with me and Celestia, Luna was shaking, now hugging the wall behind her. I walked up to her, stopping a few inches away from the bed.

"W-W-What do you want?" If I were anyone else, I would've asked her to repeat what she said from how shaky it sounded.

"I'm here to apologize. I've never done this before, but I'm willing to make this my first." I said neutrally. Damn, hearing myself say it like that sounds like I don't mean it. Luna dared herself to come closer to me.

"Are you going to kill me?" Her voice was less shaky, but still quiet. Bitch, does it sound like I'm going to kill you? Instead of answering her question, I need some context.

"May I ask what you think of me at this moment in time?"

"I think that you're a threat to my life. During my match with you, our power levels were so different. My mind was only on the pain you could inflict, and that terrified me to no end. My only thoughts then and now were 'If my taunts ticked him off, then I'm going to be more than dead.' I tried to tell myself that it wasn't true, but the smug smile you had on your face while I agonized on the floor was menacing to no believable end." That explains why she sounds dead inside, like she pissed off god itself. I chuckled as I realized something.

"I could easily take that as a compliment. It isn't everyday that you actually scare a warmonger." We made eye contact.

"I'm going to be honest with you. When I fight, I have no sense of mercy for my enemies. It isn't anything personal, mind you, but it's just how I play. I will also like to point out that if you hadn't gave up when you did, you probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Isn't that taking things a bit too far?" Celestia asked, definitely not pleased at hearing that I almost killed her sister. Hearing the news, Luna shied away from me once more.

"Again I say, that is just how I spar, which is why I would like to ask you." I got up from the bed to look at the both of them, "What do you now think of me?" Celestia and Luna thought for a moment then looked at each other.

"Do you think we can have a moment to think on it?" Luna asked. I nodded and walked out the door, startling the fuck out of a guard.

"When did you get in here!" He pointed a spear at me. I looked at my wrist. I did it for added effect. Fuck you if you think it's stupid.

"About 10 minutes ago. Had some business to do." The guard looked a little scared, but then looked at me with an accusatory glare.

"You didn't do anything to the princesses, did you?" The tip of his spear was now touching my neck. Still didn't flinch though.

"The only thing I did was say something. Now I'm waiting out here for a response." The guard looked stuck on what to do, then sighed.

"Wait here while I speak with them." As he was about to knock on the door, it opened, and there was Celestia.

"Come back inside, if you will." Has anyone ever told her how motherly her voice has sounded? I did as she asked and went inside. Luna was still in the same spot she had sat on, but her eyes were now back to their normal shade. She smirked at me, looking a lot more jolly than when I first came in. She spoke up first.

"Me and Celestia have talked about it, and I have decided to forgive you." I kept the same neutral expression, but I put my arms into the air triumphantly. They got a chuckle out of that. "I only ask for one condition."

"What will that be?" I asked.

"Before I tell you what it is, I would like for you to answer this question." I motioned for her to go on, "How bad is your blood lust?" I put my hand to my chin to think. If you think I'm thinking of the extent of my blood lust, then that isn't what it was about. I'm more along the lines of thinking about what type of condition requires that information. It could be a test to see if I would hurt her citizens, or it could be an experimental purpose. Either way, I see no use in lying to her.

"It really is dependent. If you mean on a passive level, then not enough to matter. At that point it's just a luxury-type thing to see blood spilled or bodies agonizing. Although, certain things also trigger it." Luna thought on the answer.

"May I ask what triggers it in order of priority?"

"Well, if you want them in that order, then third place would be hatred. Seeing someone I hate being tortured satisfies me. Second place would have to go to the egotistical beings. You don't know how good it feels to watch someone who thinks they can win just utterly fail." Luna nodded while Celestia looked uncertain about me interacting with her ponies now.

"What is number one?" The solar princess asked.

"Number one is and always will be pride. Believe it or not that I have told people the same thing in the past, and they labeled me as a perfect soldier for war. That was until I slaughtered a good bit of them for trying their luck at stealing my inventions."

"Just the answer I was looking for." I looked to Luna and she beamed at me.

"Now I'm curious. What is your condition?"

"There is a country that goes by the name of the Khizia Empire. In reality, it is more of a terrorist organization that uses magic for experiments that would probably cause world wars had their experiments brought the results they looked for. We learned earlier last night that there was a spy in the castle, and now they are after you. They watched your battle with Twilight, and your battle with me as well. They already declared war against Equestria as a whole and have lined up at our borders with some deadly weapons, their aim being to capture you. If they get your magic, I doubt they would fail their next experiment, which is why I ask of you." She got up from the bed. "Will you help us take out the threat?" I took a minute to let it all sink in. Capture me? Ballsiest country I've ever heard of. I was already dangerous when I didn't have magic, and now that I do, do they really think that they can succeed?

"If it means I can use them as test dummies, then sure." They looked at me in confusion.

"Test dummies?" Celestia asked.

"Yes. Its hard testing my spells when you don't have anyone to test them on. That dehydration spell on Luna was mainly to see how dangerous it was. It is probably the second most dangerous spell I've ever came up with." I don't know what made Luna give a horrified look. The fact that I used her as an experiment or the fact that it isn't the most dangerous. Celestia, on the other hand, was glaring at me. I guess using your sister as an experiment wouldn't be the best thing to point out.

"What, pray tell, could be any worse than that spell?" Luna looked like she didn't want to hear it.

"One of my spells that I find worse than [Dehydration] by a wide wide margin is easily [Body Lock]." They both cringed at the name.

"W-What does it do?" Celestia now showed how much she was scared? I thought she was just going to shake in place all day.

"Like [Dehydration], it sets off all of the body's pain censors. What is different about the two is that [Body Lock] inflicts pain about 90 times worse than [Dehydration]. It also makes the body unable to move, so you can't run around, scream, or ask for help. That wouldn't be much difference from [Dehydration], but the main difference is that you can only die from shock from [Body Lock], and you know how long that takes." Even me thinking about it almost disturbs me. Keyword, almost. I observed their reactions carefully. Celestia didn't even think about it, she just heard the explanation and started turning green. Luna, on the other hand, was shivering at a violent rate, already experiencing a similar type of pain. I had to stop myself from looking satisfied at their looks. Don't want them thinking that I'm a sadist, because that is only halfway correct.

"I have something to ask of you." Celestia started, keeping the bile from her throat from coming out. I raised an eyebrow. "Do you mind if I ban that spell from your mission?" She smiled nervously at me.

"Before I answer that question, just know that I'm accepting orders from you, at a price." Celestia gave me an inquisitive look. "I'll explain. I am relatively new to this country and I don't have a way of making bits."

"So you want a salary in return for doing missions for the good of Equestria?" Luna asked. I nodded. "I think we can arrange that."

"I will take orders from you both, but I refuse to call you girls by honorifics."

"That's fine with me." Celestia said. I turned to Luna.

"Usually I would be wanting to punish you for not using them, but in this case, that would backfire badly. " Luna said honestly.

"I'll take what I can get." I shrugged. "So, when do I start this mission of yours?"

"Right now, no time soon. We have spies out there right now on espionage missions. When the time arises, I will call upon you." Celestia answered. "Since you don't have any bits at the moment, I will start you off with some. You can pay it back with your mission." That solves one financial problem.

"May I ask how many bits I start off with?" Not everyday that royalty offers you money.

"We will go for 1,000,000 bits as a start." Luna stared at Celestia as if she was stupid. I would be happy to receive a million of anything, but first, I have to know how much a bit is.

"How much does an apple cost in bits?" I asked her the question to compare the rates.

"I forgot you aren't from here, you would want to know the rates here. To answer your question, an average apple costs 5 bits." Since the standard apple in America is around $0.50, that would mean that a bit is worth $0.10. Doing math in my head, I realized how much money she just gave me. Celestia chuckled when she saw my dumbfounded face.

"Please tell me you didn't just offer me that much." I facepalmed. "I haven't even done any work yet."

"Trust me, when you do, you would know why I give this much. I've had ponies die because they failed missions. I doubt, however, that you have to worry about such things." I looked towards Luna, and she spoke.

"I know that salary is pretty even for doing this type of work, but he hasn't done anything yet. At least wait until he does a mission."

"I know what I'm doing, Luna." Celestia turned to her, "I guarantee you that it won't bite us too hard." I looked outside and noticed that dawn was approaching, causing the other two to look where I was. "I guess it's time to raise the sun, now isn't it." That caught me off-guard.

"What do you mean by 'raise the sun'?" I asked.

"You didn't know? I control the sun and Luna controls the moon. We do this every day and every night." She answered. I think she is trying to bullshit me, but I'm not going to speak on it.

"Well, I'm going to go. I've got other ponies I need to talk to." I summon [VTabs] and Celestia went into battle mode. "Chill, I'm not using anything offensive."

"Then why have you summoned swords?" She asked, pulling out her Twin-Solar blades.

"They are more than swords. They are multi-utility as well." I changed the 'sword' to the color white and stabbed it into the ground in the corner near the balcony. "When you need me, pull out the sword from the ground using your magic. I should be announced to come right away." Celestia gave me a questioning look. Luna was more fascinated by the idea than anything else.

"What else can that spell do?" Luna asked.

"It can be used for a multitude of things. I have made a color guide on what all the colors mean." I fast-shuffled through the colors of the swords and they both looked in fascination and wonderment. "White means custom, and it all depends on what my mind wants it to do. In this case, it does two things. If the sword is pulled, a tab alerts me to come here. If you gently put your hoof on the sword, you are able to speak with me. This can be used if I'm needed, but there is no hurry. Red is physical attack mode, and can be treated as a normal sword. Although, you can't use regular swords against it. I guarantee you that I could easily slice through it. Blue is mental attack mode, meaning if you are stabbed with it, your physical body will be untouched, but it disables any mana it comes across, preventing use of magic. I used this technique against Twilight and won the first round with that. Green is healing mode. I slash a person with this and it's like their wounds never existed. There are many more colors, but those are the main ones I use." Luna looked at me, half beaming and half curious.

"Do you know how good of a tool that would be during wartime?" She looked super excited, but then back to serious, "There is one thing I wonder about though."

"And that is?" Me and Celestia said that at the same time.

"What does black mean?" She said that in a quiet voice and Celestia turned to me, hoping that the answer wasn't something bad.

"Black is dark magic mode. It allows me to possess people, or made an undead army do my bidding. It also allows me to purge any creature of dark magic and use the magic to further strengthen my body."

"I will keep that in mind." Luna said. I wonder why she wanted to know, but didn't say as much.

"If we are done here, I've got to get to ponyville and check up on Twilight." I turned around and walked towards the balcony.

"Before you go, do you mind telling me where you live? I'm going to have some of the guards ship the bits to your house." Celestia asked.

"I live in a clearing in the Everfree forest, somewhere in timberwolf territory." I gave Celestia a piece of paper with my magical signature on it. "Have the guards your sending give this to Alpha. It should stop him from attacking them." Celestia looked toward me and nodded.

"You will have to tell me later how you managed to tame a timberwolf." Celestia commented. I waved goodbye and jumped off of the balcony.

The run to ponyville didn't take long. Who am I kidding? That shit took 3 fucking hours. It was already 9 in the morning. Anyway, I made my way through ponyville on my way to reach the library. As I walked through, I made a stop at a few stores to buy some items. I'm going to buy Twilight and Spike a surprise. Maybe I can use that to build at least a mutual relationship. I would say friendship, but Alpha will always be #1. After 3 hours of prepping and creating minerals later, I was on Twilight's doorstep and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the drake answered it and looked up to me.

"Is there something you need?" He didn't sound happy to see me.

"Do you mind if I come in?" I asked politely. Did you think I just did shit because it's fun? I didn't fight them because I hated them, only to test spells and actually have fun challenging a strong opponent. Spike flung the door open and walked back in the house.

"It isn't like we can stop you anyway." He grumbled.

"I'm glad you're learning that." I commented, further souring the dragon's mood. As I walked in, I saw Twilight sitting at a wooden desk, writing about. What she was writing? I don't know nor do I care. "Yo, Twilight." I startled her and she fell out of her seat.

"A-A-Axel?" She said in disbelief.

"The one and only." I commented. I swear the ponies say the obvious.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"I came to give you a gift that says 'thank you for letting me test spells on you'." I handed her the gift box, "Hey Spike!?" I called out to him. As he walked through the kitchen door, I threw him the box and he fell on the ground from its weight. It seems that I don't know my own strength.

"What is it?" They asked at the same time. That was adorable to no end.

"Open it and find out." Both of them stared at the box and opened them. Spike looked inside the box and noticed it was filled to the brim with gemstones. He looked at them for a second before getting a dreamy look in his eyes. I guess he likes them.

"What is this?" In Twilight's box was a pony-scaled ring that will shrink down to the user's hoof or hand size.

"This is my homemade sparring ring. I have made a bunch of these as well. When two living beings have it on, it equalizes their magic and makes any deadly spells unusable."

"So this is used to have a fair fight. What if you used it on a creature without magic?"

"If one of the users do not have magic, it will temporarily give them it and a set of spells and can be activated with a limb of their choice."

"Were you that thorough when making this ring? I love the idea." I spent about 2 hours forging that ring. You better like it. I nodded.

"I figured if I want a good fight, this is the way to do it. I don't need everyone scared of me so bad that I can't even talk to anyone." Twilight took the answer for what it is.

"Well, thank you." Twilight said, looking a little nervous. "Does this mean we're friends now?"

"I don't take friendship lightly. For right now we are just acquaintances. The only two that I could really call friend right now are Alpha and Fluttershy."

"Why Fluttershy?" Must have been unexpected then.

"She gave me a place to sleep, despite being a creature she never knew about. Friendship is the least I could do to make up for it." Twilight actually smiled toward me.

"That's actually so sweet." Twilight's mind was infested with sappy shit.

"Well, I'm going over to Fluttershy's cottage, I kind of have to apologize to her." I turned to walk out.

"Wait!" She stopped me. I turned around, "Do you mind if you could teach me about the different kinds of magic you have?"

"Why do you want to know how to use them?" The reason better not be sketchy.

"I'm just fascinated about all of the magic you know." Twilight looked hopeful enough, so she was telling the truth. I sighed.

"Fine, but it wont be an easy road, and some will require certain experiences." Twilight nodded.

"I think I can handle that." Bitch, in this overly friendly town, when have you experienced negative emotions?

"I'll hold you to that." I wanted to laugh so hard that my ribs hurt, but refrained from hurting any feelings on that matter. On my way out, I saw Spike digging in on the gemstones I got him as a present. "How are you enjoying them?" I asked Spike. He responded with a thumbs up and then continued to chow down on them. I chuckled and finally walked out of the door. I took a moment to look back at Twilight's tree house. I just realized how lazy and impressive this must have been to build. They were lazy enough to just not cut wood down and build the entirety of the house in wood planks, but instead used the tree itself to make a house. That is probably the most genius shit I've ever seen in my life. I wonder how long it actually took to make the house in question, and I also wonder about visitors who come to see ponyville for the first time. They must look at this house in awe, because I can't be the only one who sees this shit as normal. I think that I'm thinking too much about it, but it looks so fucking cool. Wait, I have to stop myself before I start gushing over it all day. I turned out to walk off, but then I felt a negative presence near me. I knew exactly who it was that came here.

"Hey, pony watching me, tell your leader this," I felt his presence jolt. I guess me announcing out of the blue that he was there must have made him flinch, "When Celestia calls me to do my mission, you are fucked to no meaningless end. I could end your country with my bare hands alone. I know, you must think that is preposterous, but I guarantee you that it will happen." He must have took that with a grain of salt because he didn't seem to shake and I felt his presence just leave instead. That was a nice little meeting with my future enemy that I just had. I wonder how they will respond to my claims, although I can already picture what it might be. We all know how the usual goes. I tell them that I will do something to their country, they take it with a grain of salt, they look at me in disbelief that I actually did as I said I was going to do, you know, the usual. Fuck, I've been reading too much manga. I start my trip all the way to Fluttershy's house. I noticed that the market looked a lot less populated, but it wasn't my business to pry. Making it past here will still be a hassle, though.

"Do you bring news of our little friend?"

"Yes sir, he noticed me before I got close. He is now aware that we are watching him, and he said this." He read the piece of paper.

"Excellent. There is now no more need to observe him. We know he is just some egotistical nuisance. Let us see how he handles one of my old friends." He pushed a button on his desk to call him in.

"Do you have need of me?"

"Yes, I need you to crush a bug for me right quick."

"Do you have his location."

"Yes, just go to ponyville and look for a race you don't know about. He should stand out from the rest of them."

"As you say." He walked out of the room, going to perform his task.

Chapter 8: This dragon is so damn big.

View Online

The trip through the market fucking sucked. If I had a bit for every time someone yelled at me for doing shit, I wouldn't need Celestia's pay early. I guess it doesn't matter now. What's done is done. Anyway, I made it over to the cottage and knocked on the door. After waiting a few seconds, I repeated the same action.

'Is Fluttershy not home?' I wonder where she went? She isn't in the market because I didn't see her there, nor is she in the forest because you would have to be fucking insane to go through that hell. My thoughts were interrupted when a red tab appeared in front of me, telling me the sword I placed on Luna's balcony had been pulled. Remind me to place a teleport pad in Canterlot. Getting there on foot takes too long.

4 hours later, I made it to Canterlot. I walked through and saw that the anarchy that happened the last time I was here has only gotten worse. There was a black line separating the road. Both sides had a logo, but for how they looked, I'm suggesting that the white flag was on my side. The other one was a red flag that had an axe inside of a timberwolf's head. That made me wonder how Alpha was doing. I'll have to check up on her later. Anyway, I made my way to the castle gates and I was given immediate entry. I totally forgot that I'm technically a noble after my honor duel, or more beatdown, with Blueblood. Before I continued, I stopped at the palace gates and placed a teleport pad. No more lengthy trips between cities. Now the only place I need to put a pad in is the Crystal Empire, then my life will be complete. Not slacking off any further, I continue my advances toward the throne room, where the tab had been taken.

I arrived there momentarily and when I opened the door, I saw the two princesses and the six ponies I fought once before. They must be good friends if they're in the same places at relatively the same time. Wait a minute.....

'Wasn't I at Twilight's place a few hours ago? How the fuck did she get here?' I swear to god that pony bullshit is weirder than any magic I can concoct. I walked in and everyone turned to me.

"What are you doing here?" Rainbow pointed a hoof toward me.

"The sword was pulled." I answered. The six ponies looked to me in confusion, Twilight now staring at the sword in Luna's hooves.

"That is right. We have called him here. There is something that we must address, and I called him here to help." Celestia explained. Pinkie seemed kind of angry.

"Do we have to? He is a big meanie pants!" I hope that my ears were just hearing wrong. The first words I heard from the usually ecstatic pink mare was that? Where is the bleach when you need it.

"Ah agree with Pinkie on this one, princess." Applejack said.

"He's kind of a jerk." Rainbow commented. I turned to Rarity to see if she was going to say something, but all I got from her is the Stare Glare^TM. That answers one of the three left. I turned to the last two. Fluttershy looked scared by all the commotion. I guess she really does live up to her name. One left. I turned to Twilight and we made eye contact.

"I think we could get along once we get to know him." Her other friends looked at her in disbelief.

"And what makes you say that!?" Rainbow Dash interjected. Twilight kept her same calm expression.

"The only reason he even fought me is because he was provoked in some way." She answered. My time to speak I guess.

"Celestia told Twilight to detain me. Of course like anyone else, I fought back." Everyone except the solar princess looked wide-eyed towards me. Did I say something wrong?

"You didn't call her princess." Twilight looked at me.

"Luna and I did wonder the same thing," Celestia gave me a curious expression, "It's blatantly clear that I'm the ruler of this land, yet you don't use formalities. Why is that?" I didn't think I would have to explain that but there you go.

"If royalty wishes for me to use formal talk then they can just go fuck themselves." I spoke honestly. Celestia tried to respond, but then stood silent. The other 6 looked like they were suddenly on another world with creatures that aren't their own race. Oh fuck, that's my situation.

"I will let that slide." Celestia sighed.

"You couldn't do shit even if you tried." It was the truth. Sorry to break it to you. Twilight looked at me as if I belonged in an asylum.

"Are you saying that you're stronger than the princess?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all fell on the ground, barely breathing from how much they were laughing. Twilight herself giggled.

"You probably are stronger than me." Celestia admitted, causing the room to go silent.

"What on earth could he have done to make you think that?" Rainbow Dash must be the arrogant one of the group. At every turn she thinks I'm weak.

"You know how my sister used to love war a thousand years ago?" Everyone but myself nodded, "Well, because of that, she built up a pain tolerance that made her a little less pony. If you were to punch her or hit her with something that usually would break bone, she wouldn't even flinch." Everyone including myself was surprised to hear that. How powerful was that spell I used on her?

"Where are you going with this?" Twilight questioned.

"Well," She pointed towards me and everyone looked at me. I started to get a bit uncomfortable from the attention now. "He managed to break Luna's mental state. Had Luna not given up when she had, she would've most likely been the first ever immortal to die from shock." The ponies gasped at the sudden information.

"Dude, did you even feel bad about what you'd done?!" Rainbow was now furious.

"That's takin things uh little too far!" For Applejack, second verse same as the first.

"In all honestly, it satisfied me." I shrugged. Celestia looked to me suspiciously.

"What? Then why did you come to Luna's balcony to apologize?" She asked.

"My first fight with that guard was intentional violence, meaning I planned to hurt them. Although I kinda made one of them bite their tongue, which was an accident. My second fight with Twilight was to escape detainment. I don't fuck with confined spaces. My third fight with the six ponies you see with you was mainly the same as the second, the only difference was evening the playing field because I brought Alpha along. All of those fights were intentional violence. With Luna, it was just a sparring match. No intense violence was intended. When I see people get cocky, I have an urge to take them down by any means necessary. Although I underestimated the pain levels of that spell. For that, I am truly sorry. As for the other fights, I can't be sorry if I don't mean it, and that is what I'm sorry for." I explained. I better stop saying sorry before I start to confuse myself.

"Then why did you apologize to me?" Twilight asked. I started chuckling. She is going to hate this reason.

"I actually apologized on Celestia's behalf for making a librarian do her own work." My smile was sky high, and Celestia frowned at me.

"What?" The only words I heard from her mouth.

"She isn't just a librarian. She, I mean we, are the Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow proclaimed. Please don't tell me that this pony is a social justice warrior.

"What's that?" I asked ignorantly. Twilight looked at me in surprise.

"You don't know what the Elements of Harmony are?" I shrugged, "We are the Elements of Harmony. We represent the aspects of friendship. Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. We each represent one of those aspects."

"Wait a minute, how does magic represent harmony?" I asked.

"All of the other 5 aspects come together to create magic." Ah, I see. So friendship is magic eh?

"I see. Anyways, about the mission." I changed the topic.

"Right. Twilight, you told me that you saw smoke coming from the mountains?" Celestia asked for clarification.

"Yes princess. I think somepony is lighting a fire." Or multiple fires. No way one singular campfire made smoke that thick.

"That is no fire. That is a dragon who has found a place to hibernate in our territory. If the dragon isn't convinced to leave, the smoke from its snoring could easily blanket Equestria for the next hundred years. So that is why I ask that you convince him to leave if you would?" Princess Celestia uselessly asked. Aren't you a ruler? You could have just ordered them to go and they would've had no choice.

"We can get him to leave. No problem." Twilight said, confirming that she accepts what was asked of her. How the hell are you confident about a big ass dragon? Celestia beamed at Twilight then turned to me.

"Your mission will be to protect them from any dangers along the way. If you can also get the dragon to leave, then please help out." Orders for me, and a question for Twilight. Typical favoritism.

"I have surefire ways of getting it to leave." I said, dragging everypony's attention towards me.

"How so?" Twilight questioned. I summoned tabs of varying colors. The fastest way to get somebody to leave would be to use force right?

"There is nothing more surefire than the use of force." Everyone looked at me like I was a sadist. That is only half true anyway.

"We are not going to fight it." Twilight declared. Of course she would take a peaceful route.

"It's better than watching a friendly country be overtaken by smoke." Why do I have to reason with a small miniature pony about slaying a goddamn dragon?

"Doe everythin have to be a fight with you?" Applejack interjected.

"Only when provoked or necessary. I don't mean this in any negative way, but you do realize the size of a dragon, right? It would burn us on contact." If it's the same type of dragon that people draw back on Earth, we would be ants compared to its height. I turned to Celestia and she went to speak.

"I forbid the use of unnecessary violence. If you kill an innocent creature, there will be consequences. Are we clear?" She glared at me.

"Like you could follow through with them," That didn't answer her question. "Fine. I won't kill it, but the moment it starts being hostile.." I pulled out 60 tabs at once and flew them through the air. Everypony watched with a horrified expression, aside Celestia who watched with her casual smile.

"Fine by me." She said. Glad that was settled then.

"So when do we leave out?" I asked neutrally.

"You can leave immediately. Do be careful, my little ponies, and Axel." I smiled to her.

"Just because you didn't make an attempt to ask about my race I'm going to keep it a secret." I chuckled.

After each of us, aside me who legit spent the time for preparation checking up on Alpha, were ready to go, we looked up the mountain.

"That mountain is mighty high." Applejack looked in amazement.

"Too bad half of us can't fly." I said. Twilight tried to call out my bullshit.

"You don't have wings, so how can you fly?" She asked. I silently summoned a white tab and sat on it, taking into the air. Guess that answers that question.

"How many ways can you use these pointy swords?" Rainbow Dash was in awe.

"I prefer you call them tabs, as that is the true name of this spell. As for ways to use them, it's all dependent on color." I answered.

"You're gonna have to show me later." Twilight said. I performed a two-finger salute.

"Alright, let us start our trip up the mountain." Everypony agreed, and we started making our trip.

Okay, when I say it was cold, that is an understatement. It was fucking freezing. I looked to the others and most were shivering. The only exceptions were Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy. I understand the pegasi of the group, as their job was tending to this type of weather, but...

"Pinkie, how are you not shivering?" I asked, clearly confused.

"Just don't shake, silly!" Did she just give me a smart answer? Well fuck. I went to speak but found that I had no words to say to that answer, so I kept silent.

We kept walking in silence for sometime, Twilight staring at a map. There was many things wrong with the scene. First off, who the fuck draws a map for a mountain? There is literally one pathway. Before I could name any other things in my head, Fluttershy suddenly screamed. I didn't hear what she said, but whatever she said made rocks fall from the sky. Wait, was Fluttershy afraid of the dragon? I hadn't noticed that she was shaking a little. I thought it had been the cold being a little bit above their tolerance level, because Rainbow Dash was lightly shaking as well. The rest of us had to deal with a constantly vibrating world. Now that I look, Fluttershy was shaking harder than any of us. My thoughts were interrupted yet again when everypony at once said;

"Avalanche!" And rocks were now falling in huge chunks. Quickly thinking, I summoned an orange tab and stabbed everyone with it, pulling them towards me. I then used tabs to shield ourselves from the falling rocks.

"What tha hay?" Applejack said. Anyone would be saying more than that to getting stabbed by anything. In case you don't know, orange means directional. Stabbing someone with it will allow you to bring them anywhere you want them to without damaging the actual body. Although it was an oddity that this part of the spell even worked.

"Shouldn't we be bleeding out?" Rainbow Dash said, confused and horrified.

"You would be if those swords were red." I commented. Twilight glared at me.

"What did you do!?" Odd way to speak to someone who practically saved you from being crushed.

"I just moved you toward me and used tabs to block rocks. That's all there is to it. If I ever do something in the future, just know it's a spell. Kinda tired of having to explain every little action I do." I looked up at the rocks crushing against the tabs. I'm glad luck is on my side, because these tabs are virtual. I guess there are more uses for the red variant than just slashing. I need to make sure that I have spells prepared for everything now that I knew the bullshit I was getting in. As I watched the rocks fall, I realized something. Twilight and Celestia probably took time, naturally or physically, to develop their magic. For how complex magic really is, I doubt anyone could just write up a spell and be able to use it with ease. Now technically, I went through the same process, but the difference is that it took me only a few days rather than a few years. It was like I was cheating, but not at the same time. As far as I knew, there was no way to naturally develop magic, so every night I just depleted my systems before bed only to wake up feeling stronger and more agile. I must ask Celestia if there is some way to check how powerful I am. My thoughts were interrupted as somepony poked my back.

"Yes?" I said, turning around. No one was behind me.

"The avalanche is done Mr. Ax-e." I cringed at the new nickname. I looked at her and noticed that the was on the outside of the barrier. That confuses me.

"How did you get out of here?" I asked, completely confused. I was not aware that earth ponies had magic.

"All I did was dig and hole toward the outside and fill it back in, duh!" Did I just get insulted for my intelligence by bubbly pink?

"But my spell surrounds underground as well. There was no way you could dig out."

"I just dug through the pointy swords! Much faster than finding a way around!" Is that true? I rotated the tabs that were around me and saw that some of the upper halves had been chopped off. I looked at her in disbelief.

"No fucking way you managed to claw through something that can slice almost any sword." Who the fuck was I talking to right now? It only got more patronizing because she just staring at me while bouncing up and down. "You know what, fuck it." I'm letting go of this for now before my brain hurts itself. I dropped the tabs and started walking up the mountain, and the girls who were watching me all followed me in tone. We did the rest of our journey in silence, the winds soothing to my ears.

Another 10 minutes later, and we were up at the cave, the dragon's snoring clearly heard within the distance. We all looked inside for a brief moment, watching the smoke exit the cave in waves. Twilight was the first to speak.

"Rainbow Dash, you attempt to clear the smoke with your wings." She said in a hushed voice. Rainbow saluted and took off into the smoke. "Rarity and Pinkie, you try to distract him if things go south." I watched Pinkie pull out some toy from nowhere and sling it around like a dog. It was honestly adorable. "Applejack, if he attacks be ready with apples." Applejack responded by kicking apples to a nearby tree. Way to waste your fucking ammo, dumbass. "It shouldn't come to that, because between me and Fluttershy, we should be able to convince him to leave."

"I guess I'll be nearby then. If you need help, just call me." I walked off to a rock near the path down the mountain and sat there watching. Twilight entered the cave. Wasn't she supposed to enter with Fluttershy? I guess she realized it too when she came back out of the cave and attempted, along with everyone else, to push the butter-colored pony into the cave. I watched on in amusement at it all. I walked over to hear what was happening, but as I finished my short walk, they all stopped. I guess I'll never know what was said then.

"I-I-I can't go in the cave." Everypony beside me groaned in frustration. If I were my former self, this operation would've been a fight or flight situation. No fucking way will somepony risk their life to fight a dragon. Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"Great, she's scared of caves too." What is wrong with you ponies? Obviously she is scared of the dragon.

"I'm not scared of caves, I'm scared of d-" Her words were inaudible.

"What's that sugarcube?" Applejack asked, getting closer.

"I'm scare of-" Inaudible once more.

"What?" Twilight did the same as Applejack and got closer.

"I'm scared of dragons!" Fluttershy said that one tone too loud and the dragon could be heard, a huge ball of smoke being launched out the cave. Remind me to bring a gas mask on these trips.

"But Fluttershy? You have a wonderful talent that deals with lots of animals." Twilight said. Good point.

"Yes, because their not dragons." I guess she never dealt with dragons before.

"Come on, Fluttershy! We watched you walk up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing!" How the fuck did she not wake up the dragon? That was way louder than Fluttershy shouting that she was scared of them, not that it wasn't painfully obvious in the first place.

"Yes, because he wasn't a dragon." I guess all these answers could be justified by saying that it wasn't a dragon. Clever if you don't want to explain shit.

"Spike is a dragon! And you're not scared of him!" Bitch, he is like 2 feet tall. Just know that the next line boiled down to, 'he isn't a 100 foot tall dragon.'

The dragon roared again, and Fluttershy hugged the floor. Cuter and cuter these ponies get.

"If you were so scared of dragons, why didn't you say anything before we went up here?" Okay, I gotta call this one out. I pointed to Twilight.

"Are you dumb?" Twilight blinked at me. The rest of the girls turned to me as well.

"What?" Twilight said, clearly thrown off by the sudden question.

"I thought it was obvious that she was scared of the dragon. Why else would she do the blatant flags that signify fear?" And why am I sounding like a wizard? The Rainbow one attempted to punch me, only to get her hoof stopped by my palm. The sound of the impact was heard clear as day.

"Twilight is not dumb!" She screamed. The dragon roared again, and footsteps could be heard.

"Apparently you are. You screamed and now we have to deal with an angry dragon." She grumbled something before looked back toward the cave and rushing in. "What's she doing?"

"Rainbow, no!" Twilight yelled out. It was already too late as we heard a thud in the cave. That thud was equally followed by Rainbow being launched out of the cave and comically hit a pony, which hit another pony... and then another. That could not have been any more perfectly aimed to do that. I watched as everypony else was dazed at the rock I was once sitting at.

"I guess it's my turn to step in." I summoned my tabs and stabbed the dragon in the leg with one, causing it to scream in pain and hold its wound with one claw. The other claw, however, came flying towards me. I jumped back and looked at the new crater that had formed where I formally was. I stabbed a bunch of swords into the claw, pinning it to the ground. He would have to take the entire grou-

"Well shit." He took part of the ground with his claw. I guess he has a new weapon now. The wound to his leg was now no longer there either. I guess dragons heal a lot faster than humans. He swiped again, rock in hand, and I dodged and climbed up his arm. As I finally managed to balance myself of his head, he went to reach me, but it was already too late. With a little effort, I stomped my foot down, causing a boom sound and his head to hit the ground at record speeds. I looked towards the ponies and they stood there in shock. All except for Fluttershy who probably got scared by the big boom.

"Woah. He is actually winning?" Rainbow looked in disbelief. I gave her a thumbs up before focusing back on the dragon. He was trying to fly away.

"Fuck no are you getting away from this. You should've left when you had the choice." I grabbed its tail before it got off the ground and started to whirl it in circles. After a few spins, I flew him into the wall of the mountain, rocks starting to cave on its body. The look of fear on his face was priceless. I looked at my audience and their faces were just golden. That caused me to smile. I heard galloping towards me and barely dodged an apple buck. "What's the big idea?" I asked her.

"I thought you said you wouldn't kill it. This is wrong an you know it." Applejack tried to reason with me.

"And I won't kill it, but hurting it was always an option. You had your way, and it failed, so now I'm taking things into my hands." I turned back to it. "Which appendage do you think is good enough to punish a dragon."

"You aren't thinking of-" Her face turned green.

"Ripping it off? Yes, I am thinking about it." I said casually. Everypony cringed at the thought of having an entire limb removed.

"That's goin' too far!" Applejack yelled. Have a little backbone, will you?

"If you don't discipline someone right, then you just leave yourself for another dragon to take its place." I reasoned.

"That still don justify taking a piece of the dragon as a souvenir!" She was furious and turning green at the same time.

"Fuck it. I'm done talking." I walked up towards the dragon only to have a rope tied around me. I looked down at the bindings. "Where did you even get this?"

"Ah farm pony always keeps uh rope underneath their hat." Applejack said. Still didn't make any sense how it wasn't noticeable under it though. I stretched my arms out and broke the rope with ease. As I continued my walk, I was enveloped in a purple aura. I turned to the others. They all walked toward me, including Fluttershy who had a look on her face that was the same as a mother that was 'just disappointed' in their child.

"I think you've done quite enough." Twilight wasn't having it.

"Mana breaking you isn't hard ya know." I commented. Twilight flinched and reflexively put me down. Glad to know PTSD exists here, despite being able to talk to a dragon.

"If you don't behave, then I'm telling prin- look out!" Twilight yelled. I turned around and stopped the incoming swipe from the dragon with a hand. I turned back to Twilight.

"I probably would've been injured if you hadn't called that out. Thanks." I praised. Everypony here seems to get more and more surprises, because I once again saw faces of disbelief. Is my power that strong?

"I-" A pause from Applejack, "Nevermind." I guess she didn't know what to say.

"Anyways, I got so-"

"How dare you!?" I turned around to see butter-color talking down a fucking dragon. "Just because your stronger, doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may breathe fire and snore smoke, but you do not hurt my friends! Are we clear!?" Wait, hold on. What the fuck did I just see, and why is that dragon actually starting to become scared?

"But the hairless ape kicked me." Its voice was super deep and super quiet, but that's not what got my attention.

"Call me a fucking hairless ape again and I will end you." Fluttershy turned to me.

"Violence never solves a problem! Both of you need to apologize to what you did to the other. Now!" This has to be the most uncharacteristic thing I've ever heard from a shy female. I crossed my arms, and the dragon spoke up first, laying his head closer towards my body.

"I'm so sorry for fighting you." It said. It looked like it was about to cry. I looked to the ponies and saw all of them mildly glaring at me, save for Applejack and Twilight, who both gave me nervous glances. I cut through them and walked off down the mountain, everyone staring at me as I slowly paced myself. I've had enough for one day. Time to go back to the castle. Yippee...

"I've finished the necessary arrangements, sir. All that is left is for the crystal to be fully charged."

"Good. I guess while we wait, we can test that creature's power to see what we're dealing with. Go over to the Crystal Empire and take what's rightfully yours, will you? Don't worry about dying, because I have you covered."

He smiled. "Yes sir."

Chapter 9, Part 1: I guess there are more powerful enemies than Twilight.

View Online

I woke up feeling rejuvenated and looked at my sleeping partner. I hadn't even noticed the blood around his mouth when I went to sleep. I wonder what he was doing while I was gone, but that doesn't matter now anyway. Wolves can just be wolves. I got out of bed and went outside to practice my bare-handed fighting skills. A few days after I created my house, I turned my backyard into a training arena. When I activate a button in the middle of the arena, dummies come to life and try to fight me. I haven't lost once even on the new special nightmare difficulty I implemented. It honestly felt good to just let out my eagerness to fight and get stronger on imaginary wooden humans. Last night after making it back towards the castle, we reported to Celestia that the dragon was gone. What also happened, and to my surprise, as Twilight gave me a stink eye and was about to tell her about my battle, Fluttershy was quick to stop her. To be honest, even if Twilight did get the word out to Celestia, I don't think it would matter much. The princess would probably be 'disappointed' and move on or actually try to punish me for what I did. I may be a human who doesn't really give two shits about much, but I do repay favors. To repay said favor, I gave Fluttershy something I like to call the Medic Charm. It was a pony-sized ring made out of crystal that prevented any animal's situation from getting any worse. It stopped bleeding and also stopped infections, even going as far as to stop broken bones from being broken further by outside intervention. Perfect charm for a veterinarian don't you think? She was actually so happy to obtain such an item that she started gawking over it. It was actually one of the cutest things I've ever seen in my life. My thoughts were interrupted when the Canterlot sword alarm went off, meaning I was summoned to Canterlot. Didn't we just get done with a mission yesterday? What could possibly be the matter now? Fuck it, I have to go anyway if I want a steady income or training against creatures in this world.

It felt like my entire body was asleep when I activated the teleportation sequence. Not a good feeling in the slightest, and I had to stop my self from blacking out. It is my first time using teleportation to travel a long distance, so I guess I shouldn't really expect a smooth transition. A guard who was now guarding the pad looked to me.

"I have orders to escort you to the princess." He stated.

"Alright. By the way, did you notice that Canterlot is kind of fighting with each other?" He looked confused by the sudden subject change.

"What do you mean?" He asked. I told him to follow me. When we got to the gate, I pointed at the black line and flags. "I didn't even notice this. I usually work inside the palace."

"Well now you know. Don't worry about telling the princess, because I'm going to tell her when I meet her." I looked over the city and saw that there was now some damage on both sides. There must have been a fight last night. I really want to watch how it plays out in the future, but now isn't the time. I motioned to the guard to escort me and he nodded.

Opening the throne room doors, I made a comment.

"Can we not make you calling me on the daily a habit? I kind of got to train magically and physically sometimes." Despite the comment, Celestia smiled to me.

"I'm glad that you could make it." She definitely heard what I said earlier and fucking ignored it. I looked around and the same 6 fucking ponies were here.

"I assume that the Elements of Harmony protect this land more than the princesses?" That caught everyone in the room off-guard.

"That's not true!" Twilight was quick to say, completely offended by the comment.

"Yeah, the princesses do their best to protect this country too!" Applejack said. I guess insulting royalty would burst a bubble, now wouldn't it?

"Anyways, what is the situation this time?" I stretched my arms above my head. Celestia paused for dramatic effect, which I found adorable.

"King Sombra has returned for the third time." This would be one of the first times I've seen Celestia ever frown so deeply. Everyone gasped, but I was confused.

"Who the hell is that?" I asked. Twilight turned to me.

"He is a pony who used to rule the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof. That was until he was defeated and taken out of rule. He was defeated twice, the first being the princesses, the second being us." You're telling me that he managed to tank death twice? Hard to believe.

"I'm not going to question it anymore." I crossed my arms.

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked.

"You are telling me that someone escaped death twice. I think the fuck not. You just didn't kill him." I explained.

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that you go to the Crystal Empire and stop him before it's too late."

"Yes princess." The other 6 ponies said at the same time, all in different ways.

"And Axel?" Celestia called on me and I turned to her. "If you can end this quickly, please do so."

"You shouldn't have to remind me." I said. We both smiled to each other and I walked off to catch up with the group.

Hell yeah, no more cold trips to places! My coat works like a fucking charm. I didn't even feel the outside weather, and that made me so fucking happy! I jumped for joy and that got a chuckle out of the group, except for Twilight who was more focused on hiding the cold weather from her face. Half way to our destination, a white pony with a mane that had different shades of blue met up with us.

"I have orders to escort you to the castle, and we need to get moving now. The empire isn't the only thing to return." I haven't used [Search] in a long time, but now it feels like a good time to use it, so I did. I chuckled when I saw that his name was Shining Armor. I don't want to know how it feels to have an adjective as a first name, but I know it can't feel good. We walked for a short while before we all stopped after hearing a low growl.

"What was that?" I asked. This would be the third creature aside ponies I've heard or seen. Shining looked behind us and went wide-eyed.

"Run!" He yelled, and immediately everyone looked behind us to see black smoke with green eyes. How the hell is that even a thing? I summoned a red tab and threw it at the monster. It went through him with ease, but not doing any damage. I guess I have to resort to magical-type attacks then. I turned around and followed the other ponies who were now running. At the rate we were going, we weren't going to make it in time. I stopped and turned back to the monster. He stopped and looked at me, confused at what I was. Before he could act, I trapped him within a barrier. The barrier wasn't strong, because I don't think it needs to be. That should hold him until we can kill him. I looked behind me and saw that everyone was panting, watching me subdue the creature. I turned around and ran for the castle, not wanting to be in the cold anymore than I have to.

Passing through the already-made barrier, I panted.

"Who are you?" Shining asked.

"My name is Axel." I responded, still catching my breath.

"Well, Axel, how long will that barrier stand?" When he asked that, the entire group looked back to see cracks on the barrier.

"That was supposed to last a good while. How strong is he?" In one fell swoop, the barrier I had around him shattered into pieces. Everyone else watched in awe, aside me who was on the ground with a bleeding head, on the verge of blacking out. The last things I heard were muffled panics and cries before going completely unconscious.

So that is one thing to note. Barriers are linked to my mind and body. That explains why my barriers can stop almost anything now. I keep my mind and body the sharpest they can be because of habits back on earth. It really boiled down to fuck being fat. I opened my eyes to see that I was in a bedroom. Due to the amount of crystal-based objects, it is safe to say that we are still at the crystal palace. After a minute of getting my surroundings, the door to the hallway opened to reveal the butter-yellow pegasus.

"What happe-" I didn't get a sentence out before she ran over and hugged me. I'm not going to lie, her fur was very fucking soft.

"We were so worried about you." She said in her same quiet manner. Someone? Worrying about me? This would be a first and I don't know how to feel about it.

"What happened?" I repeated again. Fluttershy looked up at me.

"From what Twilight says, when the shield you made was shattered, your mind was instantly strained, and your body couldn't take the sudden effect." All of my training of the mind and body and I still can't take it? Damn, I've got to work harder. I sat up only for Fluttershy to push me back down.

"Don't we have a mission to fulfill?" I asked, confused at the sudden action.

"Yes, but you need to rest. Your head still hasn't healed completely." I touched the side of my head to find a bandage. I used the crystal wall behind me as a mirror. No bleeding, must mean the charm is working.

"Nonsense. Give me about 20 seconds and I'll be perfectly fine." The yellow pony tilted her head to the side. I summoned a tab and it flashed green. Turning it towards myself, I stabbed my gut. Fluttershy watched the entire time and went wide eyed, trying her best to take the sword out. After the specified time, I made the tab disappear and took off the bandage. To her surprise, the wound was gone like it wasn't there in the first place. I got out of the bed and towards the door, stopping and turning back to Fluttershy. "We should be on our way, shall we?" I exited the door. Fluttershy, coming back to her senses, followed me out.

On the way to the throne, I talked to her about the spell I had used and also asked what events transpired while I was taking a quick nap. I learned that Cadence's magic was being strained by the barrier we went through to enter the palace, and that she hadn't slept much lately. Another detail was that this artifact that was named the 'crystal heart' was missing, and it was needed to keep the barrier in place. Our time is very limited because Cadence's magical barrier won't last forever. Nothing better than a one-sided game of Capture the Flag. As we walked into the crystalline doors, Twilight rushed up to me.

"Are you okay?" She said in a concerned voice. I waved her off.

"I'm fine, Twilight. I just underestimated his power, that's all." I said nonchalantly.

"That sudden strain could've put you in a coma you know." Twilight pointed out.

"I'll need to strengthen my mental fortitude." I walked past her, "I guess I'll do that when I have the time." I looked around to see everypony looking at me, but my mind was more focused on Cadence.

"What?" She said in a tired voice. Oops, forgot I was staring.

"I can help you with your problem if you want." Shining looked towards me.

"You can?" He asked. I nodded. "What are you going to do?" I walked over to Cadence.

"First, I need to assess something. If you could stand still for a second?" She obliged, but gasped when I grabbed the base of her wing. In an instant, Shining bucked me in the hip, causing me to shift in place by about an inch. When I tell you that pony wings are very sensitive, that is an understatement. As I shifted, Cadence screamed, the sudden jolt shifting through her body. That only made Mr. Dumbass look even angrier at me.

"Get your hands off my wife!" He yelled.

"You do know that buck would've seriously done damage if I moved any further right?" Now he looked confused. Aren't you a guard? I thought you would know about pressure points of certain creatures for advantage in combat.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Pegasi and alicorns have sensitive spots at the base of their wings. They are literally so sensitive that you could massage them in placement of sexual activity, so imagine how much Cadence felt when you bucked me while I was holding the entire base of her wing. I predict about an inch more and she would be out for the count." If you are wondering how I know this information, [Search] also tells me details about their body type as well. Shining looked to his wife with concern plain put on his face. I looked back to see what the other six ponies were doing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were blushing, clearly knowing what I meant. Rarity was looking at the window curtains in amazement, too distracted by it to pay us any mind. Twilight and Applejack seemed way less friendly than usual, giving me a glare. They already didn't like me, so I guess I added to the pot. The last one of the bunch confused me a bit. Pinkie Pie was playing tic-tac-toe with herself. I don't mean it in the creepy way, I mean that she was literally, as in two places at once, playing against herself. The fuck? I thought earth ponies didn't have magic. This pony already makes me question reality, and this only adds to it.

"I'm so sorry." I turned back to see Shining looking at Cadence with a frown.

"Don't worry, Shining. It was only an accident." This was getting sentimental real quick and I didn't like it.

"If you two are done making up, I should do my job before our only barrier collapses." I said. They both blinked at me before nodding. I went back to grabbing the base of her wing, causing her to let out a light moan. Fucking hell did I feel dirty right now. I used [Life Link], a spell that seemed pretty useful for what was going on right now. I let go and looked to her. Everypony looked to me, expecting me to do something else.

"That's it?" Twilight asked. I nodded.

"I just used a spell that I call [Life Link]." I answered. Twilight must have never heard of that spell before, because she tilted her head to the side. Well I made it, so I guess I didn't expect much.

"What's that?" She finally asked.

"[Life Link] is basically a double-edged sword. Whatever happens to one person will happen to the other and vice versa. We can also transfer magic and thoughts at will, but don't worry if you think I'm trying to get into her head. She can block me out of doing such things." I'm not going to tell them that I could override it.

"Why would you use a spell like that?" Rainbow Dash said. I looked to her before walking to the throne room doors.

"Good night." I said, making my way out through the throne doors. As the door was closing, I looked back at them. Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at me as if I called them bitches. Applejack and Pinkie Pie only glared at me. Fluttershy and Twilight, however, realized what I was doing as soon as I said good night. At least some of the ponies there are smart enough to get it. I'm not the type to say such a thing in the afternoon.

So, inside the room I woke up in, I activated the link and searched through Cadence's thoughts, making sure to conceal myself within her mind. It looks like she didn't notice me because there was no panic as I was reading memories. I guess it's time to get searching.

About an hour later, my task was done and I found out a lot of information. Some of the most important pieces however were how to fight Sombra. Apparently in his shadow form, he is immune to all physical attacks, but when it comes to magical attacks, his defense is the equivalent to a piece of paper fighting scissors. Although it's still scary to fight him due to sheer speed increase. Another point, that I don't really care about, is that looking at his eyes is a terrible idea. He has the ability to make anyone who stares at them look at their greatest fear and uses that power to strengthen himself. The reason I don't care about it much is because I have faced so much trauma in the past that my greatest fears don't really worry me. Since I'm no longer in the other world and I haven't been here long enough to develop a fear, I think his use of the ability is useless towards me. It's nice to know nonetheless though. In his actual pony form, his speed decreases, but not much to actually matter. Also in this form, his attacks are very good, but his defense is incredible. Slicing through his armor was one of the bigger problems that Celestia had the first time they fought him. The final point is that he owns a physical weapon and has a horn for magical attacks. The name of his physical weapon was 'The Scythe of Despair'. It was such a deadly weapon that if anyone fought with a sword that used standard-grade metal, the sword and the user would get sliced in half. Since my tabs are made out of mana-induced magma, I should be fine. I was about to read more into it before I was suddenly kicked out of her mind and the door slammed open. I looked to see who it was and saw Twilight panting at the door whilst glaring at me.

"Do you need something?" I said, pretending nothing happened.

"What were you doing in Cadence's mind?" That tone was too lethal.

"Just searching for Sombra tips. And Why does she know all of these things? The way she words things in her mind sound very ancient." I asked. Twilight blinked at me.

"It could be the fact that Celestia told her the story instead of her actually being there." She put on her best 'thinking' face, "Stay out of her mind!" Without being able to get another word in, she shut the door. Well, that happened. I guess I should get some sleep before our only shield collapses.

I woke up feeling the same before I slept, which isn't odd. I looked towards the wall to my left and saw that my hair was messed up. Due to my lack of hair-care products, I couldn't fix it anytime soon, so I decided to just brush it with my hand. After messing with it for a solid 20 minutes, I went back into the main throne room. As I got there, I only saw Shining and Cadence, both looking up to me.

"Hey Axel." Cadence said in a slightly cheery tone. I waved to her.

"Sup, how is the spell doing?" I asked, noticing that the results must be positive as she seemed a lot livelier than when we first got here.

"I'm going to need you to teach me that spell. You don't know how useful that can be at the best of times." She seemed a lot less groggy than last time as well.

"I'm glad to hear that the results are working just fine for you both." I said. If it weren't for the fact that my magic can aid in my energy, I would probably look like I went days without sleep. I'm glad it didn't backfire there. Shining looked at me as if I poisoned his wife. "You okay there Shining?" I tried to get his attention, but he kept on staring.

"Shining?" Cadence asked. No answer. We both looked on with confusion until he actually spoke.

"Why?" I was confused by the question.

"Why what?" I replied.

"Twilight and Cadence both tell me that you are very powerful, almost as much as Celestia. We know you have all of this power, so much in fact that even Applejack could feel your magic, and Earthponies cannot feel magical presence even from Discord, who is known to be the most powerful entity in the world. You have all of this power, yet you sit idly by as Sombra tries to enter the city. Why won't you stop him?" I see what this is about now. He is wondering why I'm not fighting Sombra at the moment. To be fair, he is more than correct. I could wipe out Sombra pretty easily, and probably in one 'light' blow. However....

"If it gains me no benefits, then I don't see a reason to do it." Cadence and Shining looked to me as if I've gone crazy. I was more focused on the presence this room had, like someone had understood what I said. I sighed and looked up. "Discord, can you make yourself known for once instead of hiding wherever you go?" I must have startled him, but he got the memo. I watched as chocolate milk fell into a Discord-shaped cookie cutter and was put in an oven. The result was Discord himself, giving me a surprised look.

"How did you know I was even there?" He asked.

"I felt you." That answer seemed to have disturb him deeply. He thought about it for a second before laughing.

"No way you are stronger than me. That body of yours doesn't look strong in the slightest."

"Call me a glass cannon." Everyone held confused expressions. Oh, forgot that this wasn't my world. "A glass cannon is someone with little to no defensive capability but an intense and overwhelming offense." Shining wasn't buying it.

"Then how did you manage to beat Twilight if all she has to do is hit you once?" He asked.

"She can't hit me if there is a barrier."

"Then how are you a 'glass cannon' if you have defensive capability?"

"One shot, I'm out. I bet if I hit Twilight with the same blast she used, she would probably live it." The topic ended there.

"Okay, back on track, why does it have to benefit you? Can't you do it out of the kindness of your heart?" I looked to Shining like he was stupid.

"Oh yeah, let me go and defeat King Sombra and save about,"

"15,000."

"15,000 lives. Lets also see if he has anything up his sleeves he can use to kill me and lets not forget about his unique ability to use his shadow form at will. All of that time, effort, and sweat for a medal and a thank you." I said sarcastically. He looked at me angrily.

"What do you want?" Shining looked to his wife, and I did the same. "What do you think is fair enough for you to go and kill him?" I put a hand to my chin as Shining was arguing against this proposal. To be honest, I did that for dramatic effect. I only have one goal and that is to never lose a battle by getting as strong as possible.

"I'll tell you what." I starting, grabbing the entire room's attention. I pointed towards Discord. "I can spar with him." The entire room went wide-eyed.

"I don't think you are that powerful." Shining, I'm going to change it a little.

"Then I spar you first."

"Alright then. If I win then you get to show me spells and I choose from the assortment." I nodded. "What do you want if you win?" He asked.

"I get to borrow Cadence and Twilight." I said. Shining must have misunderstood that for something else, but I'm just going to play along. He looked to his wife and back to me.

"You can't have them." He said angrily.

"That's just one more reason not to lose then, right?" I said. He went silent after that. Discord chuckled.

"Your arrogance holds no bounds, now does it? You do know who I am right?" He asked.

"The only power you have is bending reality. It can't be that hard." He continued chuckling before magically disappearing.

"I'll look forward to our match." A voice above said before I felt his presence go away. I looked back to the married couple.

"I'll make my way towards him, goodbye!" I waved before vanishing out of the room, using [Teleport] to send me outside of the barrier.

I looked at the emo-colored pony and he looked back to me. I pulled out my tabs and got ready to fight. He looked at me, chuckling at my stance.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Chapter 9, Part 2: Okay, maybe not that much more powerful.

View Online

NOTE: In this chapter, perspective changes will occur. Please pay attention to who's perspective it is from so that you may not be confused on where the story is going.

If there is anyone that I love more than the police department, it is a cocky bastard who thinks he will win. Watching as a person's hopes and optimism washes away as they lay on the ground halfway dead is enough to make me shiver in pleasure. Perhaps I'm thinking too much, probably should focus on the enemy in front of me.

"You must have a good sense of humor." I started, "With thinking you can beat me and all."

"Do you think me, a dark king, is going to lose to an ape?" Sombra chuckled, "I highly doubt I will."

"Apes in my world dominated and rode horses for centuries. This isn't anything new to me. The only difference is that I don't have a saddle to fully achieve the goal." I guess the thought of wearing a saddle and being rode around like a common animal got to him, because he charged at me with a weapon I never got to fully see until it came in contact with my tabs.

"I see that your perception is perfectly in tact." He said bitterly, not liking that I read him like a book. I looked towards his weapon.

"I'm going to be perfectly honest, that is the best weapon I've ever seen." I pointed towards the weapon in question. The weapon in his hand was a black and red themed scythe. On top of it was a black crystal that seemed to have been powered with energy. I watched as the handle changed between black and green in a smooth transition. He charged again, but this time I was a lot more prepared. I ran past his slash and manage to get a clean slice on his cheek. I watched the wound and noticed that it didn't bleed. It just burned up and his skin regrew.

"Using a plain weapon on gas? I don't think you are going to get far." Sombra really won't make this easy, huh?

"I guess it wont, so how about if I actually use my tab's abilities?" I made my sword turn red. Sombra held his chest as he laughed.

"I don't think changing the color of your blade will do much." This pony sure does talk a lot of shit. I ran towards him and manage to slash him in the opposite cheek. He gave off a minor grunt in pain. Instead of him regenerating his skin back, his cheek started to bleed a dark red. He looked to me, with a bunch of anger clear on his face.

"Now you will probably take me seriously. Not that it will help you." I smiled. My turn to talk shit now. To be fair, I'm not even trying at the moment. If I have to kill someone, I'm going to have fun doing so. Now on his guard, the dark king ran at me and our weapons clashed. Pushing him back with more force, his legs started to buckle from under him. Not wanting to take the risk, he pulled back. I wasn't going to let him get away. I charged at him as he was moving back. He went wide-eyed at my speed, but quickly recovered enough to parry my attack with his scythe, moving a whole lot further back than he intended to. He still looked at me angrily.

"Who are you?" He asked. I disappeared from view and appeared behind him.

"Just an ape." I whispered in his ears, causing him to bring the scythe up as he turned around. I parried that shit with ease. I wasn't going to give him any room to breathe, so I swung my tab again. He only barely parried it. I grabbed two of the tabs into my hand and started slashing at him. He started to struggle as my attacks became more and more frequent. He attempted to jump back, but I only followed him as he did so. Suddenly, I was knocked back from an attack. Out of nowhere, his scythe started glowing.

"I refuse to lose to you!" He must have been at the limit his anger can get. He slashed his glowing scythe through the air. I wondered what he was doing, but I got the picture as three of his slashes were floating in mid air before rushing towards me. I parried two of them, causing both of the tabs to break into pieces. The third one managed to hit me straight in the chest. I held my chest as I started coughing blood. "Now you will probably take me seriously. Not that it will help you." He repeated those same words I said earlier right back to me.

"Get up, Axel!" I heard voices, causing me to look around. After a fair bit of looking, I saw that there was this window-like object in the air. Inside were the 6 ponies along with the married couple.

"Don't lose to him!" Rainbow screamed.

"Ya got this!" Applejack yelled. I looked back to the king and he chuckled.

"Get up again, I dare you." As he was swinging his scythe to puncture my heart, I smiled. If we are being honest, I literally acted hurt just to see how cocky he could get. When I use my tabs, it reduces the pain I endure, and not by a little bit either. Seriously, even being set on fire feels like a warm coat I'm wearing during the winter. Since he did come out with his special move, I should come out with mine.

A large boom sounded, signifying that my spell was working, and I felt the red aura around me. My chest, now being perfectly fine, looked like I hadn't been hit at all. I've been wanting to use this spell for a while, but I never knew I felt this eager to use it. I looked to the others, who seemed to have been surprised by my sudden movement. King Sombra, now feeling uneasy about the aura I held, shot me with a magical blast from his horn. The attack landed, but it did not have any effect on me or my body. He started slashing the air and made those black lines appear again before sending them towards me, only for the same result to happen. He then started to get desperate and started slashing at me with his scythe, but it kept fading through me as if I wasn't there. Sometimes he would throw a kick or buck my way, only for me to block them with my bare arms like they were nothing. His weapon continued to fade through me for quite some time. After a few minutes of rapid-slashing, I saw that the attacks were getting weaker and less frequent. Is this how God feels like everyday? I could get used to this. Finding that his attacks weren't working, he stepped back and looked to me with furious anger.

"Impossible! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT!?" He demanded an answer, shooting me with the strongest blast he could muster. Take a guess at what happened. I stayed silent, not smiling, staring at him with an unreadable expression. Weird that I actually scared him by existing, but it's his fault for getting him in this situation.

"Enough talk," I finally gave him my smile. My canines seemed to have scared him a bit, "I've had my fill of fun, and you have too. Now all that is left is for one of us to go down, right?" He looked at me like a servant who disobeyed his master. "I mean, I could be willing to back off if you would be so kind as to leave and never come back." He shot another bolt of dark light at me. This time I caught it in midair and started rubbing along the surface with my hand. "Eh, It's your choice I guess. Goodbye, old pony." I waved at him before lunging forward in an instant and grabbing his neck. I then squeezed as hard as I could, causing him to struggle, gurgle, and do whatever he can to escape my grasp, but to no avail. Blood started to travel out of his mouth and neck, and his movements gradually slowed down. After about a minute of struggling and panicking, I let go of his neck and let him fall to the ground, blood pooling around him. Time to indulge in my rewards. I used a tab to cut off his horn and took his scythe from the ground. I then reached into the pit of his stomach and took out the dark crystal that fueled him. It must have been completely loaded with dark energy, because the moment I took it out, his body transformed back into a normal pony. I then smashed his head in and made his body completely unrecognizable before heading back towards the castle. I looked back to that window in the sky and saw everyone inside wore horrified looks. After a second of looking, and chuckling at their wave of horror, I continued towards the castle, the weight of the blood that stained my clothes making me walk slower than usual. "Fucking hell will this be a bitch to get off."

I did give signs that it wouldn't be easy. I guess when you are focused on getting your city back, you just don't take your opponent's strength into account. Not that I'm one to talk, anyway. The walk back to the castle was eventful in the ponies eyes. You know, with a creature they've never seen before walking around with blood on his clothes like it's nothing. No one will ever know how much I wanted to roll on the ground laughing at the statements that were made. To name a few things that were said:

"What in a crystal's garage is that?!?!"

"Holy horse-apples!"

"The hay?!?"

I swear if I die in this world, it would probably be not having access to a new pair of lungs after damaging my current ones. As I made it to the gate, trying not to laugh my insides out, the two guards standing out front stopped me. They looked at my appearance. The one on the left turned green, but still remain stoic. The other one, however, pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm going to have to detain you until we figure out how you got in your current state." He said. I guess word doesn't travel that fast around here.

"You do know that I got this much blood on my clothes by killing Sombra, right?" I said. He gave off a chuckle.

"Yeah, and I beat Celestia in a magic duel without a horn." He joked. I guess I'll let him look like an idiot when we make it to the throne room. I let him cuff me, which I could break out of easily by the way, and we continued our advance to the throne room.

The travel so far had been very silent. I decided to break the ice.

"Soooo, how's life?" I asked. The guard looked back at me.

"I'd rather you refrain from talking to me." He said in a cold manner. Fuck it, let's see how mad he can get.

"Why?"

"Because you are a prisoner, and I'm a guard. I have nothing to say to scum like you."

"But you said something to me."

"I only did it to answer your question."

"So why did you reply to my statement."

"What statement?"

"But you said something to me." He started to look frustrated.

"Just shut up, will you?"

"You did it again."

"Did what again?"

"Answer my statement." His face started to change to match his frustration. We went into the throne room and saw the couple, the Elements of Harmony, and the Royal Sisters look up to us. Actually, I don't think he realizes that we made it here yet, so I'm going to play with him a little bit more.

"If you don't shut up now, I'm going to slap you." I know he's a male, but I gotta do it.

"That sounds kinky, but can we not do this in the hallway?" Now he's showing his anger.

"Now what makes you think I'm gay?!" He yelled at me, startling everyone behind him. I'm surprised they let this drag out this long.

"What makes you think I'm a guy? You've never seen a human before." He started pondering that for a moment. I look behind him and saw everyone else in the room ponder that same question.

"Are you a girl?" He asked, albeit with a lot less anger and more curiously.

"Nah, I'm messing with you. I'm 100% male, and slap me, I dare you." His anger came back with its buddy named furious. If he hits me, he will pay dearly.

"Shut up!" As his hand went to slap my cheek, Twilight tried to intervene, but failed. As his slap landed, everyone in the room cringed at the sound of the slap. I held my cheek as almost everyone in the room held a hoof to their mouth. All except Shining, who looked in disbelief at the guard. I'm pretty sure it's against their protocol to slap their prisoners for personal anger.

"Don't say I di-"

"STOP!" Celestia intervened just then and interrupted me, placing both of her hooves in one of my hands. The guard was completely shook as he realized that we were long in the throne room.... and that he slapped me in front of the princesses. Celestia rested her forehead in my hand, everyone in the room caught off guard. I just stood there and looked at her. "Please, don't hurt him! This guard only did it out of anger. I ask that you don't hold anything against him!" Huh? The usually calm and collected princess actually pleading with me to not hurt someone? I've never seen someone plead for someone of so little standing before. That brought back some cold memories, not that they affect me as bad as they used to. I turned and pointed to Shining.

"Let's play roulette then. Shining, give me a number between 1 and 6." Shining was very confused on where this came from, but complied with my request nonetheless.

"3."

"Understood." I said, turning to the guard and impaling his back-left leg. Shining and the others experienced their second wave of horror that day.

"What was the number all about!?" Shining asked.

"I labeled a number in my head for every part of his body. 1 through 4 were each of his legs, 5 being his horn, and 6 being his tail." Everyone, Celestia included, seemed spooked at my way of handling this.

"I'm g-glad y-you didn't pick 5." Twilight said, shaking while holding on to Shining. I was confused on why that one specifically, so I asked about it.

"Why 5?" Celestia answered my question.

"Because while unicorn horns can be reattached and not scar or cause any permanent damage, being left without a horn for too long can prove fatal for the unicorn victim."

"To be honest, this game was pretty tame compared to my original idea. Burning someone to death and healing them throughout the course of an hour would've been my forte."

"I know burns are bad, but why would you heal him?" Cadence, that is a stupid question.

"If you know the pain of burns, even minor ones, you would know why." The ponies thought about it for a second before realizing what I meant. Horror is all their gonna feel when I'm around I guess, because that third wave of horror actually showed in the eyes alone.

After that fiasco, the guard was taken into the infirmary to have his leg checked out. Meanwhile, everyone was at the dinner table and it make me realize something that was sincerely important.

"Do you have any meat here?" Everyone looked up to me.

"You eat meat?" Rainbow Dash said. I pulled my cheek back to show her my canines.

"Humans are omnivores." Everyone, bar Shining and Twilight, were on edge on knowing that information. However, Twilight on the other hand, was looking at me with a twinkle in her eye. Shining looked like he just didn't care that I ate meat. I mean, he is a guard so I guess he has to learn about those things if he ever had to leave the country for a mission of some sort.

"D-Do you eat....." Fluttershy trailed off as I looked up to her. I already knew what she was going to ask.

"Pony meat isn't part of a general human diet. Eating things like that varies human to human, although it is looked down upon to eat those kinds of things. The only way where people would only get a feel for pony meat is if they are in survival mode."

"Survival mode?" Twilight said, getting uncomfortably close. I flicked her head and she went back into her seat. After holding her head, she glared at me. "What was that for?"

"My personal space is my personal space, Sparklebutt." She gave me a sheepish smile before realizing the name I called her, however she didn't speak out on it. "Survival mode is when a creature is in danger of dying due to lack of food or water, so they forget all morals and focus on surviving, whether they liked the food they hunted or not. Pony meat falls into the category as a survival mode meat. We can eat it, but we don't want to if we don't have to." The entire room nodded their heads in understanding at my explanation. Celestia looked to me.

"To answer your question from earlier, we can get you certain types of fish, but if you wanted any other meats, then that would have to come from somewhere else and you would have to figure out that problem yourself. Within the law of course."

I nodded before deciding to take the fish. As the plate came in front of me, I looked and inspected it. I'm not going to lie, that fish looks fresh as fuck. This will not do at all. I decided to use science to my advantage.

"Do you guys have any sunflower seeds?" The entire room was completely bewildered by my question.

"What are you going to do with those?" Luna asked.

"Don't worry about it." She looked to me one more time before my request appeared right in front of me. "Okay, now does anyone have any bleach?" Now the entire room was questioning what I was about to do.

"You better not be trying to hurt somepony." Celestia said with a bit of anger.

"I'm not." On quick response, bleach was in front of me. "Thanks." Now that I had the entire room's attention, I was going to blow some minds. I took the bleach and rose it out of its bottle and left it floating in mid air. Using [Shield Break] on the chemical bonds caused them to snap, allowing me to obtain the chlorine that was from the bleach. Next, I broke down the sunflower seeds with the bottom of the plate and gathered the sodium from it. Satisfied, I mixed the wasted seeds, now without sodium, and mixed them with the other chemicals in the bleach before disposing of both. I then very carefully attached bonds to the sodium and chlorine contents. Satisfied that it was all done, I looked to the powder for one second and then put it into my empty glass. True confusion started rolling in when I started spreading the concoction on the fish.

"If I may be so bold as to ask, what is that?" Luna looked perturbed. Everyone else then went into panic mode as I started eating the fish.

"YOU DO KNOW THAT BLEACH CAN KILL YOU, RIGHT?!" Twilight was on edge along with the rest of her friends. Celestia, on the other hand, knew exactly what I did.

"It would've if it was actually bleach anymore."

"Huh?" I thought she played with chemicals in her basement. Maybe salt doesn't exist in Equestria?

"Okay, what is sodium?" I asked her. She wasted no time in saying:

"A highly explosive and flammable chemical." She gave the short answer.

"Alright, now what is chlorine?"

"A highly radioactive chemical that is mainly used for killing bacteria or unwanted filth."

"Kay', now what happens when you bond them together?" That question stumped Twilight hardcore as she thought about it for a second.

"Wouldn't it be common sense to assume that two deadly things make something that is even deadlier?" Celestia chimed in. I wagged my finger.

"Quite the opposite. Sodium, a highly explosive chemical. Chlorine, a highly radioactive chemical. Come together to make...." I motioned for Rainbow Dash to take a small amount in her hoof. She then licked it and the entire room went wide-eyed. Rainbow Dash looked at me in disbelief.

"That can't be true. I thought this had to be magically made." So that answers my question on if they had salt here or not. These lazy ass ponies can make anything with magic, can they? I mean I technically did, so I guess I can't say anything about it.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack was confused.

"It tastes like salt."

"That is exactly what it is." The entire table now had completely surprised looks on their face. "Using science to make something rather than using magic is a lot more fun." The twinkle in Sparklebutt's eye made me gawk with the adorableness that she gave off.

"That is amazing!" She looked like she was about to jump up and down. How much time does she spend studying, I wonder?

"I could teach you later. Now, about my fight with Discord..."

Perspective: Feather Duster

I got back to the town square where my mom was supposed to be waiting, but as I got there, I noticed that it was pretty empty.

"Hello?" I called out. No response. I started getting worried, wanting my mom even more. I walked around to check some of the places out, but to no avail. Then I remembered that there was this creature with blood all over himself who just walked by casually. I wonder if he has anything to do with this.

"Follow Me." This cryptically deep voice said. I then looked to the source. It was a black-colored pony who was wearing guard armor. Maybe he will get me to my parents? After I turned to him, he started walking down the road and rounded the corner. Following him there, I noticed that he stopped right at the turn.

"Follow Me." Ooookay, this is starting to get creepy. He then walked in between two buildings into an alleyway. I could get into some serious trouble with my mom if she found out about this. Wait, what am I saying? This is a guard. He won't hurt me. I then went into the alleyway. As I rounded the corner and went inside, I felt myself being grabbed by the legs and smacked on the back of my head. The last thing I saw was what looked to be someone's leg, but thought against the idea of it being a pony because there were holes all around it.

"You have done well, Phorus. Your disguise was picture perfect." The voice sorta had an evil edge to it. Although, those were the last things I heard before falling unconscious.

Chapter 10: How did I get wrapped into this?

View Online

I made my way back to Ponyville and also got to create a portal for the Crystal Empire. No more walking long distances from now on, and I was happy for it. On my way to check on Alpha, I thought about the meeting I had at the dinner table. Apparently as I was fighting Sombra, Discord let Shining know that he agreed to the terms and to come find him when he was ready. The problem here was how am I going to find him? It's not like I know where he lives or anything. I guess he will appear when he wants to. I opened the door and Alpha practically jumped on me, blood pooling around his mouth. I looked around for the source of the blood and saw a pony who was writhing in agony look up to me with a gulp.

"Who the hell are you?" As I said those words, he tried to run, only to trip over from the loss of blood. I stuck a healing sword inside of him and watched him heal. I had to change the name 'tab' because I actually built up enough magical reserve capacity to not even need my tabs anymore to write spells. I can just make up the different formulas in my head and keep the spell locked into my mind until I really need it. It was a lot more efficient during combat where I can write spells in safe places. My ability to do it seems to scale with how much I do it, so it will get better overtime. Since [VTabs] were no longer needed for spell creation, it is no different from swords at this point, so its new name is [VSwords]. As he looked at his healed leg and tried to move, he then lunged for me.

"You don't belong here!" He screamed, only to get the same leg bitten off by Alpha. I chuckled and started scratching the wolf behind his ears before sticking another healing sword inside of him.

"You aren't going to get far, wolf or not. You minus well tell me what you are doing here."

"My only goal is to get rid of you." He muttered.

"In the mighty actions of Discord..." I snapped my fingers and he disappeared to the center of Ponyville. I looked back to Alpha. "I'll be back later."

He acknowledged what I was saying by wagging his tail and he made his way out of the door, into the forest. Seeing him go in there kind of makes me think about what he does in there.

Whilst running to town, I noticed that I never once felt tired during that little exercise. It's amazing how well you can see me improve magically and physically, all because of a book. I didn't even know where it came from, but I'm not questioning it, as it is doing great things for me. Making it to the small town, I noticed a lot of arguing going on.

"He isn't a bad guy!"

"Did you hear what happened at the Crystal Empire?"

"He doesn't belong here."

"He can protect us!"

Those were some of the things I heard. I knew that they were talking about me the moment they mentioned the empire. I need to go to the town hall for a bit and see what job options they have. I know I already get paid handsomely by Celestia, but I feel like I am going to have a bit too much free time on my hands, so why not get a job to occupy it? I guess I'll try to ignore everyone for now. Although it was hard to actually ignore these ponies because they all looked up to me and started to talk even more. In all honesty, I didn't mind too much if they talked about me, but they started getting closer and closer. It wasn't until one stallion poked me in the arm that I actually gave my attention to one of them.

"Yes?" I asked the pure white stallion. He better not have a position in government too. I swear to god that every white pony I came across was either a politician, a royal, or a noble. Fancypants, Blueblood, Shining, and Celestia to name a few of them. I awaited a response while he was sweating bullets, but still held a glare to him.

"What is your goal?" I was confused by his question.

"Can you clarify what you mean?" I replied. A brief silence came before he spoke again.

"What are you doing in Equestria?" He asked. I smiled to him while rubbing my chin with my hand.

"That is the question that should've been answered a while ago. Out of curiosity, what do you think I'm here to do?" I questioned him, hoping to get answers as to what everyone thought about me. His glare never left me.

"I saw what you did to Twilight earlier." Did he mean our fight?

"Are you related to Twilight by any chance? Or are you a friend?" He nodded his head, denying such a thing.

"Everyone in Ponyville knows everyone by looks alone. Hiding things is not a thing we have here." I put my hands behind my head and stretched.

"Good thing that I have that luxury." I said, walking past him.

"Do you really think that you can survive in this town without letting anyone know anything about you?" He asked in a frustrated tone. I opened the door to the town hall and replied to him before closing it.

"Yes."

I walked through the town hall door, not speaking to that pony any further. As soon as I walked in, everyone looked up to me and started to move out of the way as I walked to the job board. While I was looking, I heard whispers about me looking for a job. Not really caring all that much for gossip, I ignored them. There were many different jobs on that board. Some normal, and some that made either laugh or cringe. I've never heard of a rock farm before, but it sounded straight up silly. After quite a while of looking, I noticed the silence around me. Looking up, I saw a mare right in front of me. As she now saw that she had my attention, she waved to me.

"Hello, my name is Mayor Mare, and welcome to Ponyville!" She said, cheerfully. I was confused on why she was so happy to say that, but I didn't question it.

"Hello, do you know of any open jobs that require effort and strength to do?" More weight, more strength. More strength, easier combat. The bits were just a bonus. The mayor looked at the billboard for a few moments before turning back to me.

"You could do this job." She said, handing me a piece of paper. I took it and read it. It was a job for an applebucker at an apple farm. It required someone with a substantial amount of strength. Sounds good to me.

"I'll check it out. Thank you." I waved goodbye and made my way to the door. As I almost made it outside, the mayor stopped me. "Yes?"

"D-Do you mind if I know where you live so that I may contact you?" She asked nervously.

"Why?" I replied. Obviously there was an ulterior motive to this. She pointed outside. I looked out the window to see ponies arguing about me, mainly about whether or not I was the cause of a pony randomly appearing in town square.

"If they get out of hand, I would like to know where you are so you can set things straight."

"Isn't that the guard's job?" I asked. Her nervousness never left.

"I-Its better to end things in a peaceful manner. Although I'd wish you would do it now, if you can?" For how nervous you are, I'm surprised you haven't ran yet.

"I'll deal with it if it gets to that point. Although since I'm not seeing much violence going on, I'm just going to go." I went out of the door to shield a frying pan that had been thrown at me. You know, life likes to tell me that you need to end things as they happen, but do I ever listen? Only now I guess. "Okay, this is getting out of ha-.... hoof." Pony lingo is odd. The crowd went silent until someone, most likely from my opposing side, spoke.

"Well this town wouldn't be angry if you would leave and never come back." Everyone made way for the pony who spoke those words. It was an unicorn with a royal blue coat and a main that was probably one of the lightest shades of blue I've ever seen. She was wearing a black cape with what appeared to be an amulet in the middle.

"Who are you?"

"It is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Why the fuck does she sound like an mexican magician that is trying his best to pass off as an american. That thought alone made me laugh on the floor.

"What the fuck was that intro?!" I tried my best to say while I continued to laugh. She didn't look to pleased.

"Trixie doesn't know who you are laughing at!" She showed off her amulet. "My original goal was to take this town for myself, but maybe Trixie need to teach you a lesson!" I paused my laughter so I could hear what she was saying. "So how about a magic duel? Or are you too scared?" I took what she said with a grain of salt, but goddamn was that a mistake to ask. The entire crowd of people who opposed me facepalmed while my supporting crowd laughed. I laughed along with the crowd as well.

"Sure. What are your terms?"

"You will copy everything that Trixie does. The winner is decided on who can't go on. This should be easy, if everything Trixie hears about is true, which Trixie knows they aren't." I never heard someone use their own name so much before.

"Easy enough." Trixie frowned at my cockiness. It isn't a guess if I'm going to win. It's a fact that I'm going to win.

"Trixie will start off with something easy for your simple mind." I shrugged. Her horn lit up with a red glow and started to levitate the small objects around her. She then put them above her head and swirled them in circles before blasting them, causing them to go back in the places they came from. The crowd was in awe of her magic performance.

"I expected nothing less from a show performer." She glared at me, "But you are going to have to do better than that to defeat me." My hand glowed and I started lifting entire buildings. Whenever a pony or foal fell out of one, I levitated them to the ground slowly. The crowd's jaws were basically on the floor at the sheer amount of magical power I just exercised. I floated the buildings above me and looked around. The ground looked so much like the superflat world in Minecraft. I chuckled at the thought as I snapped my fingers and each building went back to their original spot. I looked to Trixie who now looked frightened.

"H-Ho-" I interrupted her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Your move." She looked frightened to go on for a second before feigning determination. Hey, at least she's trying. Her horn lit up to a glow that was practically crimson. After waiting for something to happen, I, along with the entire crowd, showed our confusion.

"What are you trying to do?" No answer. I looked around and that's when I started to notice something. Ponies were staring up in the sky, wide-eyed. I was confused even more and looked up into the sky to see what they were talking about. I didn't notice anything at first, but when I did notice what was going on, I started to stare back at the blue unicorn, who was still struggling. The sun itself moved a little to the right and the moon came in right beside the sun. Now the sky was half-light-half-dark. I'm going to be honest, the sky looked cool as fuck. I kind of wanted to sit on a building, as I watched the day.... night..... whatever it is, just pass by. Trixie, followed by the entire crowd, looked to me.

"Well?" Trixie held a look of triumph on her face.

"Imagine only being able to barely move planets." I rose my hand to the air, "By the way, epilepsy warning." As I confused everypony, I watched as the sun disappeared, and it was now night. A second later, the moon disappeared and the sun made itself known. I kept switching between the two in rapid succession. I looked to see how my audience was doing and saw that most of them closed their eyes while the rest looked at me in amazement. I smiled before suddenly they gasped and then started bowing. I was confused until I heard a pony behind me clear their throat. I looked behind me and saw an unhappy Celestia and a few guards looking back at me. I smiled and waved to her.

"How?" One of the guards, now sitting on the ground by Celestia, said.

"Hey Celestia, how has your day... night... day-night... been?" I said casually, much to her dismay.

"What is the meaning of this!?" She yelled back at me.

"Just a friendly competition against your average egotistical unicorn." I pointed to Trixie. Celestia turned to her and frowned even harder than before. She walked over to Trixie and had a look at what she was wearing.

"Why do you have this?" She asked calmly. Trixie's heart was beating miles a minute.

"Trixie found this from somewhere." She answered meekly. Not used to speaking to someone who can decide the fate of your life, now are you?

"I have so many questions." Celestia said.

"Then ask them." She turned to me and complied.

"First off, where did you find this amulet?" She asked, pointing to Trixie's toy.

"Trixie found someone selling this in the market." Now you want to sound a lot more confident in talking with her?"

"Okay, now here is an even better question. How are you able to compete with this?" She pointed to me.

"I refuse to lose in anything magical. My power level isn't what you think it is." She acknowledged what I said and thought on it. Suddenly, she teleported a crystal ball from nowhere.

"Do you mind if I test both of your power levels?" She asked. We both nodded. Trixie went first, placing her hoof on the ball. After a moment, it read out a number.

"100,000. About the weakest alicorn. Definitely not a unicorn's strength though. The average unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony have a power level of 1,000. Your turn." I then went to place my hand on the object and waited. It read my power level and everyone looked in disbelief.

"What does it say?" I asked. Celestia looked away and cleared her throat.

"This is a very serious matter now. I have a power level of about 600,000. My sister has one that ranges at about 400,000. Now, tell me how you have a power level of 117,000,000?!?!?!" She practically screamed at me. The entire crowd froze and now Trixie had a fearful look to her. Hearing that number makes me wonder what my power level was when I first woke up in the forest. I guess I'll never know now.

"I can't explain to you how, just know that I do." In all reality, I was shaking at the realization of how powerful I became. Another question was if my power had a limit. I had notice that Celestia was talking, but I didn't hear anything she was saying. A thought popped up in my head telling me to check the book. I guess the book knows how to stay discrete when ponies are around. I checked the book, which had disguised itself as a recipe book, and odd enough another stat value appeared, naming my power level and a bar that I could change to limit my power. I guess I will have to test the effects of it later. I looked up and saw Celestia with an increased glare.

"Does what I say to you not matter to you!? What are you looking at?" She took the book into her magic and read it aloud.

"Umm..." She went silent for a few moments so I decided to break it.

"Why are you looking for the recipe for cookies?" Her face showed more confusion then anger now. Wow, even the book disguised its view to other ponies.

"They look so delicious." I said, taking the book back into my hand. All of a sudden, I heard a scream. Everyone in the vicinity of it jumped visibly and the guards sprang into action. As a guard entered a alleyway, where the sound came from, we heard another scream from him and saw his body shoot out of the location, his body battered and bloodied over. The crowd started to run in several different directions while Celestia turned to the remaining guards.

"Find out who is causing this!" She yelled over the crowd. After a while of staring at the chaos, I felt something stab into my neck. With a grunt, I checked who threw that, but couldn't spot anyone before falling on the ground. I heard a few last words before losing consciousness.

"Come work for us. I guarantee you that you will have a great time."

I woke up holding my head. I opened my eyes slowly only to be rejected by harsh sunlight from a window.

"Ah, I'm glad that you accepted my invitation." My eyes focused and I saw what looked to be a black alicorn with holes in her legs. I'm going to be honest, this pony looks better than the rest. I summoned my swords and pointed them to her.

"Give me a reason I shouldn't kill you." I stated. She didn't seem scared in the slightest. Remembering a distant memory from the time I copied Fluttershy's mind, I relearned that this was Queen Chrysalis, a changeling who feasts on love.

"Please, if I had ill intent, you would be tied up right now." She did have a point. Reluctantly, I let my guard down.

"So why am I here?" I asked. She looked like she was thinking, but I bet she had this all planned out.

"I want you to help me." Yeah, okay.

"What would I get out of it." That question threw her off guard.

"You don't want to know why?" She seemed confused.

"Lady, I'm on no ones side. If a side offers more value than the current one I'm on, then I'm switching without hesitation." She smiled ear to ear at hearing the news.

"Then lets get this wrapped up quickly then. On the pony's side, I notice how bored you look. I also know from some espionage that you like to fight virtually anything that comes across you. However, Celestia wants you to do the opposite, so you comply and miss your fun. With me, you do missions the way you see fit. As long as it's stealthy and doesn't reveal or sacrifice any of the hive." I'm already satisfied.

"You had me at fight virtually anything." I said, "I guess that I'll be joining you I guess.

"Excellent!" She giggled. That sounded seductive yet weird at the same time. "I have a mission for you right now." Oh yes, what will I be doing first. She told me the basis of the mission.

...

Lets just say that now I'm the one grinning ear to ear.

Chapter 11: Finally, an actual mission!

View Online

Before leaving the hive, I had learned a bunch of new things that I already didn't know about changelings. Apparently, when they feed on love, they prefer foals instead of the adults. Something about the love for their family being greater and all that shit. They even gave me an example by feeding on a pony named Feather Duster. Honestly, it was just a bunch of acting. One of the changelings would transform into the foal's dad and pretend to fight off the changelings, when in reality, they were just pretending to be hurt from the lightest punches I've ever seen be thrown at someone. It was entertaining to watch nonetheless. Moving on, the mission was already set in stone for me to complete. The mission was to infiltrate the castle and look for a book in the royal archives called 'Magical Limit Breaker'. Once I'm in, I must take the book and get out as soon as possible with as little detection as possible. While it is not required of me, they prefer that I don't kill anyone, lest there be an uproar and a castle lockdown. Upon leaving the designated area, I was not to return, else my signature scent be recognized in the room. Apparently when anyone enters the royal archives, it leaves a physical scent or magical signature when someone decides to take a book from one of the shelves. The guards then use that scent to either confirm that the pony was authorized or to track down anyone who wasn't. A neat system that they have, but it shouldn't be hard. I was given 4 days to complete the assignment.

Also, I gave that spell that I activated on Sombra an actual name. I named it [Final Stand] because it makes me damn near invincible. The drawback of using the spell, however, is when it is finished, I am temporarily left with a tenth of my power, but if what Celestia says about my power level is true, then I don't think it would matter too much. That does bring to me a question though.

'What is Discord's power level?' I guess I won't know the answer until I find him. By the way, that is another thing I want to bring up. Where did Discord disappear to? The last time I saw him was before I defeated Sombra. After that, I never saw him. He has to be planning something. Eh, no matter. I guess he will come to me when I'm ready.

I was now in Canterlot, the telepad making things ten times easier to get there. I was about to walk into the castle when I realized how much I stood out to everypony in this country. I stopped myself and turned the other way and rushed into town. It seems that the two groups that fought over me earlier evolved. There were now castles built on each side. They were nowhere near as tall as the castle the royal sisters reside in, but the height of the two structures compared to the rest of the city was very noticeable. Something that was also noticeable was the fact that one side clearly hated me, which I assumed to be the group which called themselves the AHO because I was given glares as I walked past the different buildings. How did I know the name? A flashy-as-fuck flag was at the top of their castle. The other group, the HPP, gave me smiles. I decided that I would deal with AHO at a later time, and went to an inn on the HPP side. Even the buildings were renamed to theme what they represented. I rung the bell and waited patiently. A unicorn mare came from the back of the inn and looked at me.

"How can I help you si-" She gasped, "I can't believe I am actually talking to Axel. It is a pleasure to meet you!" She was actually quite giddy, but I did have a question.

"How do you know my name?" I asked in clear confusion. She paused her excitement for a second to answer my question.

"When you got quite famous, and also infamous at the same time, ponies started to research you. There were many groups over the times where we did that, but the two main ones still stand." Okay, so now I need some information.

"Okay, so what does each side stand for. I know this side is called the HPP and the other side is called the AHO, but I assume those are acronyms." She nods.

"Yes, the HPP's full name is the Human Protection Pact. We strive to try to make life as easy for you as possible while still being able to maintain ourselves. Actually, I would like to thank you. Because of you practically existing, everyone wants to sleep at this inn because it supports you." Wow. I never thought me existing anywhere would have that type of effect.

"I'm not going to say 'your welcome' because I didn't really do anything but exist. Now what does the AHO stand for." She scoffed at the mention of that name.

"That's the group that you do not want to fool with. The Anti-Human Organization want nothing more than to either see you tortured, banished, or killed. They go to even the extreme means of doing so, by studying your weaknesses and working those into their favor. The only good that has come out of it is the fact that any homeless or lower class ponies could easily get a job that had a nobles salary." Am I worth that much money? I know it's normal to fear the unknown, but damn.

"I will be sure to stay away from them then. No reason to fight if it doesn't really warrant it. However I do want to monitor them just in case they decide that they want to get hostile and start a war in their own town. That would look really bad to the other cities, who actually have similar ideals to this one. Also, what is your name?" She contemplates what I said before speak again.

"I can get a guard to monitor information to you. By the way, my name is Mythic Diamond." I gave her a bewildered look.

"What do you mean? How do you know who to trust in the royal guard?"

"Both sides have their own guardsmen. Ours being called the H-Guard, and theirs being called the A-Guard. If there is ever a fight or a betrayal, they are there to take care of it." That must be really convenient.

"Do you mind if you can get me a guard to monitor the activities of this side and the other one and report it to me weekly?" I asked. She nodded.

"I'll get a gua-"

"I can do it for you!" A familiar pegasus walked into the building. She looked familiar...

"Is that you, Snowy?" I asked.

"You two know each other?" Mythic asked. I nodded.

"She invited me to spar with the guard, which kind of ended up with putting Luna in a state where she felt unsafe." Snowy walked up to me and gave me a hug.

"When I heard that there were two groups that practically made up in town, I immediately quit the royal guard and became an H-Guard. I will be the one to monitor both sides for you. Is that alright with you, S-Diamond?"

"S-Diamond?" I looked back to her. She giggled before relieving me of my curiosity.

"Our ranks are determined by the letter you are given. S puts me second in command next to SS-Gust, the leader of the group."

"Do you mind explaining to me about your ranking system?" She nodded and went about explaining all of the rankings and how one goes up in rank. F-Class was completely made up of citizens. They go living day-to-day life unless they decide to betray the group. E-Class was also citizens, the only difference being in a state of emergency. E-Class are the only ones allowed to use a weapon when they have a licence to use them. Also in a situation where something happens that causes the group to split locations, they are trained to lead F-Class citizens to safety. D-Class were allowed to learn magic spells and fighting techniques equivalent to the lowest rank in the royal guard. They focused mainly on protecting those lower than them and making sure that this side of the border is safe from any sort of crime that happens. C-Class is anyone in the H-Guard, so they get their own armor that signifies their rank along with receiving a pay-grade. Their job is to maintain the border for any AHO trespassers, along with monitoring the castle and areas around it. B-Class were Captains of the H-Guard or our spies we use for espionage on the other side. They were paid higher because of something they learned. If anyone was caught over there, they were tortured, but none of the injuries they receive were permanent or resulted in death, but the emotional aspect would leave the victim in quite a state of trauma. A-Class consisted of 10 ponies who are generals and are able to raise someone's rank to B-Class if they choose to. The only way to obtain A-Class were if one of the 10 ponies either gave their position up, ended up being a traitor, or were killed. S-Class was the pony who was second in command, in which case that was Diamond. SS-Class is the leader of this entire group, which is a pony named Winter Gust, an earth pony who thought of the idea for this group. The last class, which I never knew was a thing, was SSS-Class, which was the human that they were protecting.

"That is the entire ranking system." That was a lot to take in. Wait a minute.....

"I have the highest rank?" I asked. They both nodded.

"That is correct, SSS-Axel." Snowy bowed before me. This may actually make my mission a tad easier.

"That must be a mouthful to say, so just call me Triple-S-Axel." She nodded.

"I will have a report for you soon. Give me about a week to check on everything." I nodded and she walked out. I watched the door close and turned back to Diamond.

"What rank is she?" I asked.

"I believe that she is A-Class. She got there after managing to handle 4 captains on her own. We were skeptical at first if she was cheating, but since she isn't a unicorn and no other unicorns were anywhere near the fight, we had to go with the opinion that she played legit." That might have been my doing. After I fought with Snowy that day I traumatized Luna, I decided to train her in my free time, usually the mornings where I don't feel like training with the dummies. She was actually trained well enough to possibly even beat unicorns on their own, despite the cheaty magic advantage. Royal guard training is actually really shit. She told me that Blueblood said the best way to wield a sword is to make sure your sword is able to touch the opponent, which I disagree with. The best way to wield a sword is to force someone into a position and take advantage of it. The sword actually hitting its target is just a bonus. My thoughts came to an end as Diamond cleared her throat. "I believe you wanted a room?" She asked. Oh.. right. I forgot about that.

"How much is it?"

"I would never let the human pay for a room. We actually have one that was specifically made for only you."

"Really?"

"Yes." She made her way towards the stairs, "Follow me." I walked up with her and we made it to the room at the end of the hall to the left, Room 117. "You want to know something interesting about this room?"

"What about it?"

"The room number is based on your first ever power level reading."

"Didn't that only happen a few hours ago?"

"Remember, we have our own government system. With that comes with ways to get information as fast as possible. Even if you were in the Crystal Empire, we would still be able to get information from you in a matter of minutes. That's how thorough we are about your safety in this world." She explained as I walked in. I was honestly a little touched, but of course I wasn't going to show it.

"Okay, thanks for the room. I should be out of your mane by tomorrow." She nodded and closed the door behind me. I looked around and saw that everything was actually human sized, including the bathroom to my left. There was a bed and desk with a human-sized chair. It must've took a lot of trial and error to be able to get the size right, so I was grateful for the effort they put in to make my life more comfortable. I mean, it wasn't like I wasn't already comfortable, but no one has ever given me hospitality before, and I don't know how to go about it. Anyways, the reason I needed a room was because right after turning myself into a pony, my body will go straight to sleep, which is odd because I'm fine when I do it vice versa. I took off all of my clothes so that way I do not mess them up during my transformation. I got under the covers and then activated the spell, going unconscious during the process.

I guess I will know once I've woken up if the spell works or not.

I awoke with a stir and went to hold my head. Last night did not do any favors for me. I guess that spell needed to still be perfected. As I held my head, which actually was more of a punch in the face, I noticed that they seemed a lot shorter. I looked myself over and saw that I still got the results I wanted. I had an orange coat with a red and yellow mane. I looked in the mirror and saw that I looked like the pony version of an anime character. My cutie mark was the picture of a building hammer with two arrows pointing away from it. On one arrow was the picture of a pistol and the other one had the picture of a medical kit. I'm going to be honest, I could get down with this. I was a unicorn too, which makes things all the better. I hopped off the bed and went to trot.... only to fall down. Oh right, I have to relearn to walk again. I got up and attempted to walk again, only to get the same result. A few more times, and I could only stand properly.

'Wait a minute... what if I...' If I have to learn to walk on all fours, then can't I just crawl the same way I do in human form? I tested it out and managed to finally make progress. I can easily walk around doing this, but the problem is running. If I'm in a sticky situation, I don't think that walking away from the enemy would be a valid tactic. I guess I should try to do it outside. As soon as I walked through the door to the main hallway however, I was immediately stopped by Diamond, who gave me a cold glare.

"What are you doing in the human's room?" She pulled out a dagger seemingly from nowhere. Why the hell do you carry that around?

"This is what I look like in pony form." I replied, spooking her as she didn't expect me to have my voice.

"Oh, well breakfast is ready for you." She said nervously.

"Actually for me, eating is not necessarily a need. If I want to eat for an extra energy gain or just to savor the taste of food, then I could, but it isn't required." I replied. She held her head down and thought on what I said for a moment.

"That being said, where is the table at?" I said, walking downstairs. She blinked dumbfoundedly once before running after me. She caught up and walked by my side to the table. On the table were some pancakes, a glass of orange juice, and what looked to be a fruit salad. The food here looks good as hell. I waste no time taking my seat and taking a bite out of the pancakes. That was the best fucking thing I've ever tasted in my life. It beats eating anything I could find in my early life. When you are a criminal and everyone knows your name, you can't just walk inside a store and act like people would treat you normally. I could steal from the store, but security can only be so low. There were times during the day where I even starved myself because I had literally no food. I could've bought some of the food from the black market, but I don't necessarily trust any item that comes from there. I usually go there to sell some weapons or some goods. They pay way higher than if I were to sell these same weapons at a weapons store. Speaking of stealing and selling, how am I going to get that book? I probably should do some espionage of the place to see what is going on. Wait a minute, I forgot where I was. I stared at Mystic and she looked up to me.

"Do you need anything?" She stared at my empty plate before giggling. "You have quite the appetite."

"Its what happens when you only obtain extra energy and don't get hungry, but now I feel as if my energy is at an all time high. I guess I'll use this to train myself to run as a pony."

"I think that would be best. It is a very quick way to burn off energy." I responded with a nod and got back down to business.

"Do you have the layout of the royal castle?" Her face turned serious.

"What do you need with it?" She asked, her fork playing with an apple slice. Gotta love unicorn magic and all its bullshit. Why the fuck do forks here even have a handle?

"It would help me with my mission a lot if you did." She thought about this for a second before speaking again.

"Whats in it for me?" Of fucking course you would say that.

"What do you want from me?" Her face started to turn red. Oh fuck, if she's trying to ask what I think she is going to ask...

"Um....D-Do you mind if I feel your rib cage?" Although it does ease my mind from the idea of fucking a pony, that is still weird. You know what, I need the map, so fuck it.

"Sure." I took off my shirt, revealing my bare skin underneath, and sat down in the chair. The room actually felt quite nice without it on. I looked to her and her blush darkened. She walked around the table to me, and with a trembling hoof, she slowly put her hoof on my chest. I looked down and noticed how toned my body was. I looked like I lifted weights day and night. This must be why I can throw powerful punches and kicks. I must have never paid attention to myself at all back in those days. I was only worried about how many game references I could copy in real life. I never really got an answer to my question either. I stopped at about 57 game references before I got caught in the act of "robbing" the bank. In reality, all that money goes to either charity, my rent bill, or paying off my tabs for weapon material. Its not like I can use that money anywhere. People on the black market usually only use cryptocurrency. I had a bunch of mining rigs set up at home, so I guess if I ever go back to my world, I'm going to be loaded with bitcoin. I put my attention back to what was happening now and realized that she went lower, feeling the spot where my intestines lie. After about half an hour of sitting there being felt up, she retracted her hoof and hovered me a piece of paper.

"The red boxes are where guards are stationed." She said awkwardly, making her way behind the hotel desk.

"I will be back another time. I don't know when, but have Snowy bring the report to the town hall in Ponyville, and do not allow them to open the document." She nodded, staring down with a blush. Did my body feel that good?

For the past hour, I've been running back and fourth between the hotel and the restaurant on the other side of the street. After falling down quite a few times, I had finally gotten the hang of it. It feels weird running on all fours after running on all twos for my entire life. I still managed to get the hang of it though. With that out of the way, I made my way towards the castle grounds and pulled out a map. Despite the amount of times this castle has been raided, the way that these guards are set up should make the place well guarded. I guess that's all they are. Not like they are soldiers, so I can't expect much. I made my way towards the side gate, as there is only one guard patrolled there.

My way there was met with no trouble surprisingly. You think they would have guards actively moving between spots, making sure that they don't miss one. I found the guard I was looking for and realized that I came from his blind spot. That makes this way easier. I walked slowly towards him, trying my best to make as little sound as possible. As I was basically breathing against his neck, he turned around and aimed his spear. Too bad I jumped him and knocked him out using a sedative spell, or that would've been the highlight of his career. Enjoy 8 hours of sleep, buddy. I took his armor off and looked it over. It was honestly the worst armor I've ever seen. This couldn't even protect you from a knife stab. It's like they just took paper and plastic and merged their protection together. I then got rid of the evidence by putting a sound barrier and a visual barrier around him. I put the chestplate on and watched as my entire body transformed into a dull-looking stallion. This makes things a bit easier. As I put on the helmet, I heard clopping sounds behind me and went to pretend that I was a guard. He made it up to be and pointed towards the castle. I assume that means that my shift is over. I nodded and made my way towards the building, the guard that came up to me looked for a brief second before looking away, sitting in that dull stance that they call guarding the entrance. At least I won't have to deal with disguising myself anymore, along with any suspicious behavior.

I walked through the castle, passing by maids and guards alike who didn't even bat an eye at me. I rounded the hall to an empty one. Good, finally some place to get my bearings. I opened the map and saw that I was quite a few ways off from the royal archives. It seems that guards literally line up across the area to make sure that no one gets in. Good thing that this also has the vent system. I looked up and saw a vent door and wasted no time levitating up towards it. Using magic is fairly easy as a pony, and I wasn't complaining. I managed to get the hatch open after some fiddling and climbed in, replacing the hatch right back where it was. I then got some light using my horn. Magic really is cheating, and the fact that only one race can use it like this, you'd think there would be an issue in social class. The vent was actually about 3 inches above my horn if I was standing up. It was a lot spacier than I imagined it being. Anyways, I took another look at the map and went to the spot where the royal archives should be. This map is probably the most helpful thing I've ever had on a mission. It's actually scarily accurate to the direction I was heading. The only sound around me was the clopping of my hooves. I was sweating from the heat that the vent was producing, but I should survive. After a few minutes, I looked out a vent door and saw what looked to be a library that went up about 10 stories. This must be the royal archives. This place doesn't look like it has been touched in quite a while. I opened the vent door and immediately caught myself before I went out. I poked the exit and retracted my hoof as it shocked me. Ooookay, they have way tighter security then I thought. I lit up my horn and shot at the barrier. The blast then reflected off of the barrier and hit a part of the vent, skinning my left cheek. I looked and it ripped a hole through it and showed the brick underneath. While I did achieve my goal in melting the barrier, I almost melted my face too. Fuck yeah for being lucky! I hopped out of the vent and levitated down.

"...and that's why we guard this place." I heard a guard from the archive entrance, a deep male voice, talking about something. I decided to listen in out of curiosity.

"Is there really reason to keep most of that stuff from the public?" A light feminine tole responded.

"This library has secrets that would either freak out the public or destroy Equestria." If that is the case, then why don't the changelings just raid this place for that?

"Wouldn't it be better to burn it then?" Those are my thoughts right now.

"We could, but some spells in there require special types of disposal or can't be disposed at all." So in other words, this library is the definition of OP. I stopped listening to them and let them be, having some info on this place. I looked around before groaning to myself. How am I supposed to find one book in thousands? There has to be a way they sorted them. I walked around to see if there was any obvious order. Nope, not a clue. They aren't in alphabetical order, and aren't sorted by genre. I was starting to think that I had to check out this place by hand... or hoof... instead of searching for a way to find it quickly. I checked the titles of some books, reading more interesting ones, and found nothing. In a book called 'Banned Equestrian Spells: 2017 Edition', there was a spell that controlled age and race. I'm totally taking them with me. I looked on the shelf and saw the 2018 and 2019 editions, taking them off the shelves and to a table for me to pick up later. I guess they haven't made a 2020 version yet, but looking at these books made me figure out the order. These edition books were on the same shelf, but were no where near each other. It must be by book series and date in that case. I found the 2017 edition near the top and found the 2019 edition at the very bottom. I went to test my theory by picking up another book on a totally different shelf. The book was called 'History of King Sombra's return #1'. I forgot how many times the king had returned, but I know that it was more than one. I then checked the same shelf for the second edition, and to my surprise, the second book was also at the very bottom of the shelf. I also figured out something else. The books are alphabetical, only by shelf then. If that's the case, then 'Magical Limit Breaker' should be on the second or third floor on the first few shelves. I counted and made sure that I was correct, also figuring out that there are 26 shelves per floor. That makes my life easier. So that means that the book should be on the first shelf on the second floor. I went to the location and saw 'Magical Limit Breaker' at the very bottom.

"Guards? What is this magical presence that I feel?" Oh shit, that sounds like Shining. I took the book and the other three books I wanted to take and threw them in the vent.

THUD

Oops, I threw them too hard. The guards jumped and started unlocking the door. I quickly levitated myself to the vent and disguised the door with a piece of metal that came from the blast I made earlier so that no one thinks that someone used the vent. I watched as two guards and Shining came in and started searching the place. I took one step away and immediately regretted it when the guards heard the clop sound. Fuck me!

"IN THE VENT!" I saw a unicorn blast the entrance and a pegasus fly up towards it. I made a beeline down a vent, hastily making turns while looking at the map. Fuck, I can't see with all the wind blowing around. I guess I'll have to go with the second plan. I made a turn and immediately stopped. As he came up to me, I used my horn to slice his neck, effectively causing him to scream. I then hid around a corner and looked at the map, seeing things a lot more clearly now that I wasn't being chased around. I saw an exit that led towards waste management and fled towards there. After kicking open the hatch that was there, I made my way out of it. I saw a guard below, guarding one single door that led to who knows where. Perfect. I jumped on him and covered his mouth, effectively stopping most of the sound. I then hoof-chopped his neck and saw as he fell to the ground. I then hid him beside the trash can that was over the hatch and went to "guard" this place. The unicorn and pegasus from earlier came from the hatch, the pegasus holding his wound. Why the fuck do unicorns need magic? Horns are hella sharp. I walked over to the two and faked being surprised.

"Oi, what happened to you?" Fuck you if you think my accent is bad. They both looked to me.

"Did you see anyone come around here?" I pretended to think before nodding my head no.

"I was sitting here and heard some sounds come from the dumpster, but I thought it was just some animals." I said, and went back to "guarding". They seem to have bought it because they pounded their hooves in frustration.

"We have to tell Celestia about this. They went into the one place that only 6 ponies in this world have access to." The wounded pegasus said.

"But first, lets get you to the infirmary." The unicorn said. He nodded and they both walked off. I made my way towards the dumpster and grabbed the four books that I had with me. That could've been really bad if they had caught me. That would've probably been a war if they knew it was me, the person stronger than Celestia and Luna, possibly combined. I made my way towards the entrance and pointed at the castle. The guard nodded and made his way there. I learned that that is the motion they use for when it is time to switch posts. I'm surprised that he didn't question me about the books. Eh, I'm not worried. I then walked out and made my way through the alleys of Canterlot, making it past there and managing to board the train. I was super lucky that it was dawn and not night. It would be super hard to spend the night here, so I'm glad that fortune comes my way. I realize that I was the only one on the train, so I activated the human transformation spell and transformed back instantly. I just don't understand why changing back is instant but changing into anything takes a full night. Doesn't matter now I guess, I got what I wanted, only with slight detection. I teleported the books to my house and went to sleep, completely drained from today's events. I guess magic can only energize you so far.

When I got off the train, I was met with the sight of both of the princesses and the element bearers.

"What's going on?" I asked. They all looked to each other and then back to me.

"We need your help with something. Someone broke into the royal archives and I need you to find out who it is." Celestia said. Working for both sides is going to be challenging.

"What's in it for me?" I asked, playing along with it.

"I will give you access to all of Canterlot's facilities, the only exception being the royal archives, as it is supposed to stay a national secret." Hmm, you know what fine.

"Sure. Anyways, I'll do it in a week when I'm not busy." She frowned.

"Actually, before you go, do you mind if you come to the meeting we are having at Twilight's library?" I thought about it before nodding. Fuck, this is starting to go wrong ways. I walked along with them to the tree house in silence, Applejack staring at me the entire time.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothin'" She replied with, facing forward once more. Does she know I'm lying?

Chapter 12: How do I go about searching for myself?

View Online

As we made it to the place where our meeting was being held, I took a moment to account for who is all here. I just realized how weird this line up is. We have the two princesses, the six element bearers... then me. I kind of feel out of place. Eight famous ponies and one infamous person. Well technically I am also famous. Fuck it, I'm thinking too hard.

"Now that everyone is settled, let us start." Celestia called out. Everyone nodded and she started to speak. "A few hours ago, a pony, who was identified to be a unicorn, broke into the royal archives." Everypony gasped but me and the princesses. Luna seemed skeptical about that and asked me a question.

"Why aren't you surprised?" Because I'm the one who did it.

"Because I don't even know what that place is." I lied. She realized this and looked at me apologetically.

"Right. I forgot that you don't originate in Equestria." I turned to Celestia and she continued.

"The things we know about this pony is that he is a stallion with an orange coat and red and yellow mane. He was said to be levitating himself around, so he has to be someone very powerful." That confused me a little bit on how it deducts that hes powerful.

"How is levitating yourself mean your powerful?" Twilight's eyes twinkled and she answered my question.

Lifting one object is easy because it is solid and you don't have to be careful about damaging the inside. Lifting a different pony is not as simple and some unicorns will never be able to do it without the risk of dislocating bones or organs. It is actually outlawed in some parts of Equestria to levitate anything living because of this. Lifting yourself, however, is almost impossible for the average unicorn. You levitate the bone you use magic on as you move your body, so not only do you have to keep your head and horn only feeling naturally strained, you have to lift the entire body as well, which makes things impossible. One wrong shift of the horn bone and you face cutting off your magic supply and possibly damaging your horn permanently. Imagine cutting off your magic supply when you are super high in the air." If what I'm hearing here is correct, then an effective way to cut off someone's magic supply is to grab their horn if that's the issue they have. Although I'm not showing it on my face, I was kind of relieved at myself for having a ridiculously high magic supply. That could've ended bad.

"What else do we have?" I asked, feigning innocence. Celestia frowned.

"We have nothing else on him. None of the guards had ever seen him before." Imagine if I had the book with me when I got off the train. I'm suddenly glad I teleported it back to my house. It's not until you think about these things that you realize how lucky you are.

"We must split up and search for the book. If it gets into the wrong hands, then we could suffer the worst." Luna said in an equally worried tone. She nodded to Twilight and the purple pony pulled out a piece of paper.

"Okay. This is how we will search for him. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will look in Cloudsdale. If he is as powerful as the princesses say, then we can't rule out cloud walking spells. Applejack and Pinkie Pie will search around Ponyville and ask anypony if they saw anything. Rarity and I will help the guards in Canterlot search the shadier places. Axel, you will search the Everfree forest. The princesses run a country and don't have the time to search for him themselves, so we will keep them updated if we find anything. Everyone know what they are doing?" Everyone nodded except Applejack. Little do they know that there is 1 impostor among us.

"Actually I would like to assist Axel in the forest." Applejack said, looking skeptically towards me. Orange right now is looking pretty sus right now. Twilight looked to Pinkie Pie.

"I don't mind checking Ponyville by myself! It actually will make things faster!" Twilight stood there confused.

"Wouldn't less hooves make things slower?" Twilight asked.

"Not when we will skip most of the day it won't!" Pinkie said cheerily, getting bewildered looks from everyone.

"But.. how do... you can't just.... ugh... nevermind. Applejack can assist Axel in the forest." I guess it is possible to burn Twilight's brain after all.

Everyone started to leave, Applejack and I included. The entire time, Applejack looked at me as if she wanted to say something, but every time I asked her if things were alright, she said that she was fine. Confused, I just continued to follow her out into the forest. We made it there quite easily and walked straight in. I knew the things that wandered out inside of this forest, so I'm surprised that she could just walk in here with no fear at all. At least I think there isn't. After being deep enough that the entrance wasn't even in sight, she stopped and turned to me, with a lasso in her mouth. I could've dodged it, but I wanted to hear what she had to say, so she threw the lasso out of her mouth and around my waste and pulled, constricting my arms.

"What's this all about?" I said in an even, unamused tone. She studied my face before speaking.

"What did ya do before ya got off that train?" She asked, staring at me intently.

"Uh.... Ride it?" I said, smiling. She didn't seem to have a funny bone in her body, however, because she squeezed tighter.

"I'm serious, Axel." She said, continuing to stare at me.

"I was in Canterlot touring the castle." I said. I wasn't technically lying, so she shouldn't be able to tell.

"You aren't lyin', but you also aren't tellin' the full story." Fuck.. she can read that too? I'm in some deep shit. I'll have to go with plan B.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said, pretending to be angry about something. The lasso lightened as well as her voice.

"You know you can tell us anythin', right?" She said, trying to encourage me to speak my mind. Fuck it, I have to go full emotional mode.

"I'll tell you later. The wound is still fresh, and I'd like it to heal first." She studied me even further before nodding. The lasso around me fell to my side and I rubbed my arms to ease the minor rope burn I had gotten. We continued walking deeper into the forest until I thought about something. If she asks what I ever did in Canterlot, then I'm fucked. I need to get some space from her. That's when an idea came into mind. I nudged her and she turned to me.

"Is there anything ya need, Axel?" She asked, now fully paying attention to me.

"I think it'd be easier to search this forest if we split up." She looked around the forest and then turned back to me.

"Ah don' think it'd be a good idea to split up inside of the forest."

"Don't worry. We can meet back up at the forest entrance before nightfall if that would make you feel better." She thought about it for a second before nodding. Instantly, I ran the other direction, towards my home.

"Be careful!" She said, now no longer in sight. Now my life should be easier. I probably should get that book to the hive.

I went back home and found the book on the bed. Now that I was here, I kind of wonder what's up with Alpha. I haven't seen the wooden wolf in quite some time. I doubt he is in any serious trouble though because, well you know, spells and shit. I'd be the first one to know if he was in trouble, and also since he is a predator species and his pack is like 40 wolves strong, I doubt he will be in trouble anytime soon.

Okay, enough talk. I have only a few hours left of sunlight before I have to meet Applejack. I took the book and ran out of the door and towards the hive. Maybe I should make teleporters wherever I think I'm going to go multiple times, because I haven't ran this much since my earlier days as a criminal. I'm glad that my magical power comes from imagination. Is it cool? Yes it is. Is it a little overpowered? Yes and no. Using higher tier spells still requires magic capacity. It's only the fact that it grows so quickly after using it all every time before I go to sleep. Although after a while of doing it, I realized that my growth is not exponential, and that it is quite linear. I had expected it to double in size every time I used it, but it only adds on. Getting a +2 instead of a x2 is always unfortunate. I've played enough games with these types of logic to know that. I guess all I can do is keep on doing what I do and learn those spells after a few months of doing this. I finally made it to the hive and the guards at the entrance did not stop my advance. Actually, they seemed to look at me like I was a Mcdonalds in a major city. After glancing back at them, I walked off, still confused at the sudden notion. As I walked, I started to notice that every changeling that walked past me looked at me like a snack. Some even walked up to me, shapeshifting into various ponies, seeing if I found it attractive.... wait a minute.

"Do you think I find ponies attractive?" I asked the changeling in front of me, shapeshifting Celestia.

"Do you?" She asked excitedly. Damn, she even has Celestia's voice down.

"While it's true that I think almost each and every pony here is so damn adorable that I could sit in a room just hugging them for a day straight, I don't find them attractive." I'm going to be honest. It's hard to use the race factor as a point to why I couldn't date them. One, I'm pretty sure inter-species relationships are common here. Two, they literally all act human, aside the almost 0% crime rate, and three, despite living in a world where I'm sure ponies should die a lot, considering magic is a thing here, no one does. Fuck, I realize that it isn't that I don't find them attractive, but just not the ones I've met. Wait a minute, why am I lying to myself. I could see myself dating any one of the ponies I just met.

"Oh. Is that so." She said, inching closer with a seductive look. You know what I couldn't see myself doing? Fucking a bug. That's what. I nod and walk past her. I make it to the throne room and the doors open for me without me needing to say anything. I walk in to find Chrysalis sitting on the throne talking to one of her guards. It's weird that they probably fight their wars with guards, but that's not important right now. As I walked in, Chrysalis and the guard look up at me.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite human." ...I'm the only human.

"I got your book for you." I say in an even tone. She was smiling ear to ear.

"I've heard that you managed to take the book. One of my spies brought back a paper which I deemed to just be a wanted poster for you." She levitated a small piece of paper to me which basically was me, but how the hell was this photo taken if not one camera was even in the area? To hell with it. I see that there was no name added to the paper. Wait a minute, did I even give myself a name? I facepalmed and Chrysalis looked at me with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Just me realizing my stupidity." I answered. She looked even more confused by it but dropped it nonetheless. I'll have to make a name for myself the next time I turn into a pony. "Anyways, I have to hurry back to the Everfree Forest entrance before it gets dark, else I get suspected by some of the ponies." She nods in understanding and opens the book, inspecting the pages to see if the book I gave her was the real deal. Satisfied, she looks to me.

"Before you leave, I must give you a reward. You have done what us changelings could not, and on the first attempt no less. That being said, please tell us what you would want as a reward." As she awaits, I thought about what I could ask for. I would ask for use of the book, but as far as I'm concerned, I haven't reached any sort of limiter. I always measure my strength by kicking a tree as hard as I can. When I first started doing this, it was just me hurting my leg, the tree not even wavering to my kicks. However, now is a different story. Not only can I kick a tree off of its stump, I can obliterate the entire tree in the process, turning it into wood chips. I also noticed as I kept on doing it and getting stronger, my legs would feel less pain and the wooden powder I create with a single blow would only grow more refined. It was like I put a tree through a wood-chipper without ever needing to buy one. I guess I'll do what I do best.

"This is a reward for me and you. What I want as a reward is sparring partners." She is caught off guard by the answer.

"Why would you want those."

"I'm getting to that, but first, how good do you think your subject's armor is?" I asked her. She smiled to me.

"The metal and enchantments forged in them could stop even Celestia's magic." I call bullshit. You wouldn't be this far out in the forest starving if that is true.

"Then why isn't Equestria taken over yet?" I asked.

"It isn't a matter of my changelings getting destroyed, but rather them dying from the knockback a magical blast can make. If no pony in this world could be knocked back, then we would probably be the strongest race on Equus." Hmm. I guess she needs this more than I do.

"Well, having your changelings battle me can help improve your armor. By the way, I could help you make changelings strong enough to survive such blows, allowing you to add weight to the armor and decrease the knockback of an attack." She smiled with each benefit I listed. She did that thing again where she "thinks" to herself before giving an answer. After a moment, she puts her hoof in front of her.

"We have a deal then." I shake her hoof and proceed out of the throne room. It was already sunset and I was loosing light quickly. Best run my way back.

I make my way back and see Applejack sitting there with a hat covering her eyes. Did she really fall asleep in what is probably the most dangerous place within a 100 mile radius? Damn, that's ballsy as hell. I nudge her to get her to wake up, but to no avail. Time to see how I improved in the muscle department. I carry her piggy-back style and we made our way back to the tree house. The entire way back, she was shaking and whispering about someone she refers to as 'granny'. I know it's a nightmare from how much she is shaking, but what does 'granny' mean? I've never heard the term before. I assume it must be someone important to her, such as family. I know other parts of a family tree have names, but since I only knew my mom, who died during my birth, I never bothered to learn any of them. Not like I need them much now. You know, because none of them are here. As I walked up to the door, I realized that I had no arms to open them, so I did what any normal human would do in this situation.

BANG!

Everyone inside immediately quieted down and Twilight answered the door.

"Did you have to bang on the door?" She asked, looking half-way stressed.

"I had no hands." I answered.

"Wait, then how did you...." She asked. I looked up to my forehead and she put one and one together. "Ugh.. nevermind, just come inside." I love making her brain hurt. I walk inside, everyone talking with one another in private conversations. I set Applejack down on one of the pillows and take my own. As I sat down, the room went silent.

"Did you and AJ have any luck?" Rainbow asks.

"Nope, I couldn't find anything that looked suspicious." Applejack gave a pained look to her face. Did her body just subconsciously said that I was lying? That is fucking cool and scary at the same time.

"What's ever is going on with her?" Rarity asks.

"She fell asleep at the entrance at the Everfree Forest, waiting on me to show up. Right now I could say she is having a nightmare. By the way, what's a granny?"

"Uhh... what do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked, copying the Discord thinking emoji. Do ponies even have the internet?

"I heard her use the term in her sleep, and by context clues, I assume it's something related to family." Everyone looked to one another and then back to me.

"Are you saying that you truly never had a grandmother?" Celestia asked curiously. Everyone leaned in, making me feel interrogated. I nod my head in denial.

"Aside my mom, who died a while ago, I don't know any of my family." Everyone gave me a saddened look. Fuck, I hate it when people pity me.

"Oh you poor thing. Surely there must have been someone in your life who you held close." Anger started to rise in me as I remembered one of the only friends I ever had betraying me for what I could do. Everyone took notice and started stepping back.

"There was one, but he is someone that I'd like not to remember. The bitch fucking sold me out just because I could do what no one else could." Pinkie, now shivering, asked a bold question.

"Whatever happened to him?"

I'm trying my best not to explode right now. I stay silent, Luna catching this and giving a light cough.

"How about we just leave him alone for the time being and focus on the task at hand. Where is this book and where is the audacious stallion that took it?" Luna said. If I recall from my memories, or rather, Fluttershy's memories, Luna could only speak bible. She must have practiced a lot to be able to speak the language that we use today, otherwise I would have quite a hard time understanding anything that she is saying. Twilight nodded.

"Maybe if you told us some of the details of what happened last morning then we could find him." Celestia put a hoof to her chin, in thought.

"Well," Twilight summoned a piece of paper so that she could jot down some notes about the incident. "The stallion is a unicorn with an orange coat and a main that swirled yellow and red. We can easily infer that he came in through the vents, as it was already open when we caught him taking his leave. We doubt he is native to Ponyville, as we asked the mayor if she knew anyone that looked like it, but only giving the response that she hasn't seen him before." As Twilight scribbled notes on to the notepad, I asked a question that I'm surprised no one asked.

"How does the mayor herself not knowing him indicate he isn't native?" Applejack, now fully awake, answered.

"Everyone in Ponyville knows each other like they're family. If this stallion isn't known by anyone here, he definitely ain't from here." Everyone nodded, indicating that that was correct. As far as they know, I can't turn into a pony. I think it's best to not let them find out about it. Everyone turning back to Celestia, she continued.

"He could have gone to only two places: Ponyville or the Crystal Empire, the reason being that he managed to escape Canterlot by train," Like she remembered something, she turned to me, "Did you by chance see anyone on the train who looked like how I described?"

"Not to my knowledge. It wasn't like I was paying attention to everyone on the train. I napped for a bit and then got off the train, meeting you girls," Wait, what the hell? I'm the only guy here? Fuck no does Spike count! He's like 10 years old, or however dragon years work. "A bunch of ponies got off the train at once. Maybe he was among them?" Wait, ponies didn't freak out on the train when they saw me? Or did they not care? Celestia thought about it some more. The girls were all doing the same, except Applejack, who gave me the stink eye. Damn, what for?

"I don't think we should rely on that." Celestia spoke, ending the brief silence. "I will go back to Canterlot with Luna and issue a full guard search of the entire country. Any book stolen from the archives are treated as a national security crisis. I just hope that the book hasn't fell into the wrong hands." The nervous edge in her voice portrayed the seriousness of the situation.

"Wouldn't it have already fell into the wrong hands if the book was stolen?" Twilight said, confused that Celestia would say that statement.

"There are times, Twilight, where a pony will see or hear about something in the archives and think that they can use it for their own personal gain, only to either fail, or in worst case scenarios, die. If this pony know what he is doing, I have no doubt that the Elements of Harmony will be used in the future to protect Equestria." That put everyone on edge. Since I didn't know how strong the Elements were, I assumed that they were incredibly powerful if the reliance was on them. "I encourage you and the other element bearers to remain on high alert at all times."

"Will do, Princess. Enjoy the rest of your night." Twilight said, earning a nod from Celestia. The two princesses took to the sky and made their way back to the castle.

"Well, that happened." I said, trying to strike up a conversation.

"In the case that something happens, we should stick together, so how about everyone sleep here tonight?" Twilight asked. I nodded, not having anything better to do.

"I'll sleep here, but first lemme go tell my family where I'm at." Applejack said. Twilight nodded and she made herself out of the door. The others nodded without any problems with it.

An hour later, everyone was sitting on pillows in the middle of the library.

"I think we should take this time to get to know each other better, don't you think?" Twilight said.

"You mean me, right?" She nodded.

"Yes, we barely know anything about you other than how powerful you are. I'd love to do research on you if you agree'd to it." Twilight got that twinkle in her eye as she said research. That made me a little uncomfortable.

"I'll do it if you want me to." I said, looking away. That caught the entire room off guard.

"You? Willingly do something? I never saw that one coming." Rainbow had jokes, huh?

"We can start tomorrow if that's okay with you?" She asked. I nodded, causing her to smile from ear to ear. "Great! This is going to be so fun! Anyways, what should we play to pass the time?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! How about truth or dare?" I almost missed what the bubble-gum horse said. I want to know how she can speak so fast. Said horse turned to me. "Truth or dare!"

"Dare." I don't think I could tell most truths.

"I dare you to carry me like I was your daughter!" Huh? Is she serious? "You know I am!" I guess she is. Wait, did she just read my mind? That's hella creepy.

I complied, picking the pony up and carrying her piggyback style. She isn't heavy at all, so that makes this easier. "Your turn!" My ear almost fell off.

"Okay. Rainbow, truth or dare?" I asked.

"Truth!" That was more instant than I thought.

"How much do you sleep per day?" Everyone listened closely to what she answered with. I ask because every day I see Rainbow either sleeping on a tree or sleeping on a cloud. It made me curious if she even had a job to do at all.

"Since my job at the weather factory is either early in the morning or late at night, I would say most of the day." I nod. So she does have a job. I thought she was just a freeloader.

"Truth or dare." Rainbow said to Twilight.

"Dare." Rainbow giggled, loving the choice she chose.

"I dare you to use the name tag spell and name yourself 'dinnerbone'." Twilight went wide-eyed at this.

"Really? Why did I have to create that spell?" She looked unhappy by the challenge. This better not be what I think it is. I started giggling a little bit, catching Rarity's attention.

"Whatever is the matter?" She asked.

"If this does what I think it does." Twilight groaned and performed the spell on herself. As she did, dinnerbone appeared right above her and she was now standing upside-down on air. When she walked, it was like she was on the ground, but she wasn't. No way! This world actually put a minecraft reference into its spell physics? Rainbow and I both died on the floor right then and there. My chest hurt from how much I laughed and I bet Rainbow had the same situation. This world is going to kill my lungs. After about an hour of picking on Twilight, by doing, but not limited to, complimenting her hooves that were in the air or complimenting her shadow for looking like a factory, we had settled down and it was Twilight's turn.

"Applejack. Truth or Dare?" Applejack thought carefully on this.

"Truth."

"D'aww. You always pick truth." Twilight pouted.

"I'm sorry I've got nothin' to hide." Applejack's even tone was not helping Twilight.

"Ugh. Fine. What is your least favorite fruit?"

"Well that's easy. Pears." Twilight nodded and gave the floor to Applejack.

"Hey Axel. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Applejack gave me a smug smile.

"Tell me what you really did before getting off that train." Did I just get baited? Everyone listened intently, even Fluttershy, who showed no sense of interest in any of what was going on until now.

"I did want to know that myself." Fluttershy said.

"I-" Before I managed to speak, Twilight blasted me with a magical blast. Obviously not liking it, I gave the normal human reaction. "What was that for!?" I yelled.

"Applejack told me that every time that she brings this up, you lie or leave things out. So for a solution, I used a truth spell on you." I'm fucked. Okay, minus well tell them. I stood up and turned around, staring at the bookcases that were behind me.

"In Canterlot, I went to get a certain book from a certain library. It was for a client who asked me to take care of a mission for her." I started. Twilight immediately put one and one together.

"Well, where is the book right now?" She asked, giving me the benefit of the doubt.

"That's classified. So continuing, I-"

"What do you mean classified?!?" Twilight interrupted with a lot more fervor.

"What kind of person would I be if I shared every name for everyone I worked for?" I replied. Twilight was already steaming.

"It would be fine, if what this person did wasn't a national crime!" Her anger wasn't going to let this go.

"A job is a job, and I can do it no matter how big or how little."

"WHOS SIDE ARE YOU ON!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"The side where I profit the most." I gave the smart-ass answer. Everypony else started to look between Twilight and me with worried looks. I agree, this is turning bigger than it should.

"We tried to be nice to you. We tried to help you. We even tried to be friends with you, and guess what you only did in return? Hm?" This feels like what I see a parent say to their kid in public. Even though my face is hidden mostly and I don't get good views of these things, hearing them is a different story.

"Violence." Twilight answered for me, "Violence is the only thing we get in return. You don't care for those around you. If that's how you want to be, then so be it. Get out." Wait, is she kicking me out of her house? Before it could get any further, Rarity stood in.

"Now darling, let us rethink about th-" Twilight completely ignored Rarity

"GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!" Twilight said, running to impale me with her horn. Everyone got up and tried to stop her, but she managed to hit me in one of my core weakness points. FUCK! I doubled over and held my balls, groaning from the pain. I've had my fair share of pain... but this.... FUCKING HURTS. Applejack and Rainbow walk up to me.

"Sugarcube, are you alright?" Applejack looked down to what I was holding, and went wide-eyed. Rainbow didn't know what she was staring at until she looked at my position and put one and one together.

"She hit you there, didn't she?" I slowly nodded. I got a brief peak of what the others were doing before I closed my eyes in pain. Fluttershy looked like she was pissed at Twilight, and Rarity as well. Twilight had a wave of regret going on, and was arguing with Rarity. Pinkie Pie looked at me with a pained look. You know what, fuck this.

After a few minutes of pain nursing, I stood up and everyone turned to me, Twilight included.

"I-" I cut Twilight off.

"If my absence is what you want, then it's what you get." I made my way towards the door, being stopped by Rarity.

"Darling, surely you could talk this out with Twilight and become friends again?" I declined the offer.

"She said what she wanted to say. Now I'm going to take my leave, but just know this, Twilight." I turned to her and saw that she was staring at the floor, crying to herself over what she had done. "My client's name is Chrysalis, and you just gave her a new ally." Everypony now had scarred looks on their face, including Twilight, who now tried to reason with me.

"I...I...I'm so-"

"Sorry?" I laughed. "This must be how all friendships are. You make mistakes, and say sorry every time you make them. You hurt somepony deeply and think that everything will be fine with an apology. You only, however, say these when the situation doesn't benefit you. Friendship is a hoax. Friendship is its own system of corruption."

"Sugarcube, settl-"

"Friendship is betrayal." I said in a deeper voice, startling everyone. With this, I made my way out of the tree and went towards the hive, the entire time remembering the one who betrayed me on earth. I wonder if any drinks exist here, because I could sure use one right now.

Chapter 13: This was quite a hectic day

View Online

I'm going to be honest with myself; we weren't really friends in the first place. I just had to make a show so that Chrysalis can actually do her job. That perverted bug told me of her other attempts to take Equestria for herself, and it was like she was in the plot of Sword Art Online. You know, getting defeated by some bullshit, split-second, power gain. I could understand any other time, because they have those elements which basically increase their defense hundred-fold, but being defeated by a worn-down princess and a guard makes her look weak. Not that she is weak, per se, but her plans actually do suck though.

I made my way to the hive, feeling a lot more carefree about it. Twilight assaulting my privates gave me the perfect opening to actually escape and discuss some matters with Chrysalis. The emotional damage she just took was really a bonus. I wonder if that would defeat most of Equestria's defenses as a whole, because I know that the Elements of Harmony can only work if all 6 of them believe me to be a threat. I have no doubt in my mind that two of them have high chances of not going with it. Twilight because of our last interaction, and Fluttershy because she gives the benefit of the doubt a lot. Should make the job easier.

I made it through the forest and to the hive with relative ease. I'm surprised RD or AJ didn't come up to try and get me to talk it out with Twilight. I'm not saying nothing about that situation made me mad; I was kicked in a spot that would normally cause a huge fight back on earth, but that was very uncharacteristic of Twilight to do. Taking it too far, some would say. As I made my way to the entrance, I noticed a big difference in the two guards. They were a little bit taller and had a lot more muscle. It's like someone turned them into a Jojo reference.

"How did you two gain so much muscle?" I asked. They smiled to me. Even their teeth were sharper and more intimidating than before.

"Thanks to the book you got for us, we could surpass our usual magic limits." They also sounded a little more intimidating, like a dragon who rules over the volcanic wastelands. "The queen awaits you as she wants to discuss plans to attack Canterlot... again.."

"I'm heading there right now. I got the perfect opening to escape those ponies so I can now stay here as much as I want." When they don't reply, I make my way over to the throne room. Everypony that I pass has had some sort of muscle added to their body, except the females who have a more menacing look to their horns. It kinda makes me wish I could change how my body looks in my pony form. I made it to the throne room and opened the doors to see a bug queen with a complete makeover. Instead of having a black coat, she now had a cool shade of forest green. Her hair naturally flowed in a non-existent wind, and her horn looked like a crystal along with a gem floating an inch above it. She looked like the god of a forest, just to simplify.

"If it isn't my favorite partner." If I were myself a few years ago, that voice would've made me shit my pants.

"I see that the hive's firepower got a complete overhaul." I said neutrally. Her smile could kill a filly.

"Yes, it did, and it's all thanks to you. Now, we must discuss our plans to overtake Canterlot." I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you guys need love to live? You are telling me that you are already strong enough to take over the city?" She chuckled at my ignorance.

"In truth, we actually can't live without magic in our bodies, but the only way previously to get magic was to convert love from somepony else. Since we broke our limit, we can get magic from other ways, the main one being eating anything in general. However, taking love still dominates all other sources." She explained. I nodded and changed the subject.

"Your hive could probably just initiate an uncoordinated attack and do just fine, but the problem lies on how the new Canterlot operates." She gave me a confused look.

"New Canterlot?"

"Yes. You see, when I came here and started to do my own thing, Ponyville and Canterlot were split on whether I am a good person here or if I was on par with King Sombra in evil-doings, so now there are about three kingdoms in Canterlot, only one being an official power." For Chrysalis, that was hard to take in.

"Why would Celestia allow such a thing to happen inside of her own country, her own city no less?" She asked, completely confused.

"I didn't know that question myself until I saw the firepower that these two unofficial groups. I mean seriously, they could probably take over Equestria themselves with their kind of strengths. Since I'm the leader of one of the sides, I technically should be arrested right now for illegal assembly, but there are two factors that keep me out. Can you guess them?" She thought about it for a moment.

"I assume number one would be that you could easily overpower Celestia and the entire castle by yourself alone," I nodded. "What would the other reason be?"

"The other reason is that if I did let her arrest me, that would cause an internal war within the country. With her own citizens no less."

"Do these groups really have that much power?" I nodded. Chrysalis looked at me in awe.

"Hey, I was surprised too when I learned this information, but as long as you do not touch the blue side, then I don't really care who you suck the love out of. However, you harm any one of them then our ties with each other will be no more. I know how villains think. Hell, I was one. Don't think you can betray me and manage to beat me. Do you think I would get a book that makes you stronger than me?" Chrysalis thought on this then smiled.

"We have a deal." She said. She cleared her throat before accessing her magic. "All guards are to be ready in front of the hive, it is time that we raid Canterlot once more. This time, we shall succeed!" She said with ever-knowing confidence.

"How fast does it take them to get ready?"

"About an hour. You're free to do what you want until then." I nod and make my way out. I finally get to test my new sword that I had been making. I have decided to name it Grimfrost due to its abilities. It has four abilities and can gain new ones with every kill. Its first two are self explanatory. One makes it lighter and the other one makes it sharper. Nothing too big, until you get to number 3. I call it 'Curse Forge'. The ability makes things age, and is very deadly against almost everything. The only thing it wouldn't be useful on are any ores resistant to aging, such as Mithril. I have to call the ability forth to use it, because if I accidentally cut myself, then I would have to take time reversing the process. The fourth one is also a calling ability, and I named it 'Christmas Day'. The ability freezes literally anything except time. I could make a global freeze if I wanted to as well. That's about it, since I don't want to think about that fourth ability too much. Not like I will ever have a reason to create a global freeze, although freezing enemies may be a different story.

"Hey, you." I call over to a changeling who looks bigger and stronger than all the rest. He stops his pacing and turns to me. "How do you feel about sparring me when we get in front of the hive?" He looked nervous at first, but then realized that he was stronger than he was and accepted it. How I could tell? He looked over himself then got a cocky grin on his face.

I spent the hour memorizing the entire hive so that I wouldn't be lost later on. I managed to get most of it before having to be at the hive entrance for the march. I just have to tell myself not to be anywhere near the top floors, as I did not memorize those. I walked towards the entrance where I saw Chrysalis stand in front of quite a huge number of changelings. She walked over to me and whispered in my ear.

"I don't think they take you very seriously." Yeah, no shit. I look over to see them with cocky expressions pointing towards me.

"Wait, why are they looking at me like that?" I whispered back.

"I may have told them that I would have you spar one of them today." That actually makes the timing of this perfect. I walk away from Chrysalis and look at the huge army. Its been a little bit since my last fight. King Sombra wasn't that much of a match, but he was the best out of all I fought.

"One of you already knows who you are sparring." They were confused for a second until one of them pushed past the front line and made their way to me.

"You ready to lose?" Taunting now? Just let them lose, Axel.... just let them lose. I turn to Chrysalis.

"Sound us off." She nodded and made her way to the center.

"This is a sparring match between Therion and Axel. All types of magic are allowed, including fatal ones since you both can be revived afterwards. The matched starts on go... get ready.."

He moves into an offensive position. I sit there looking like my guard is down.

"Get set." His horn ignites, I'm still not moving.

"FIGHT!" She yells. The changeling, now knowing his name is Therion, starts with a magical blast in my direction. Instead of dodging it, I waved my hand over the fire and it disappeared. Therion seemed bewildered on how I did it. I sent a sword attack of my own, but quickly learned that his coat was hell of a lot thicker than I thought it would be. The slashes I sent his way were practically bouncing off of him. Wow, the same amount of power I used against Twilight doesn't work on the Changelings. That really isn't much of an achievement, seeing as basic swords can cut ponies.

"Your coat is pretty strong." I comment.

"Your sword is pretty sharp yourself. I could feel it almost prick me." His voice kinda sounded warlord-ish.

"In all honesty, I'm holding back. I'm only using the same amount of power that I use on the ponies. If I went for a max power sword, then they would cut you cleaner than butter. Don't take this offensively but-"

"You've been holding back?!" Oh. He is pissed now. "Are you underestimating me?"

"You know, two ponies so far have told me to do my best. The outcome of both? Ended in my victory without a single wound." I looked up into the air and remembered my two fights between Twilight and Blueblood. Leave it to Therion to shake me out of my thoughts by attempting to slash me with his horn. I grabbed it mid-slash and headbutted him.... and immediately regretted it. What the fuck is his head made out of? Fucking tungsten? I rub my head as Therion smiles up to me.

"You aren't that tough." Therion said. Chrysalis had a fearful expression for a few seconds before going stoic after I look to her. I didn't bring this up with her, but I knew she was watching my fight with Blueblood, which I assume the curiosity came from my fight with Twilight, that one of her spies saw. Both times the enemy taunted me or insulted me. The results?

"Oh boy, I'm going to have fun with you. If you get me to use a hundredth of my magic power, I'll end the fight in your victory." Therion thought I was bluffing about being that strong. Little does he know, my mornings are spent fighting dummies more intimidating than he is. He rushes in for another horn blow and I hand chop the thing in two. Basic rule of fighting: the same tactic won't work twice, especially if it didn't work the first time. The crowd gasped as he fell on the ground, trying to stop his horn from bleeding.

"H-How did you.." Another grunt. He must be in some serious pain. "What kind of magic is that?"

"Dude, I didn't even use magic to break your horn. If you know where to hit and how to angle your object of choice, it can be sharper than any sword." I throw out my hand, causing the severed horn to appear above him and reattach to his head. He suddenly takes his hoof away from his head and looks up to me. I look to the crowd and everypony stares at me in disbelief. A moment passed and I was starting to get a little uncomfortable from the attention. The cons of being alone for a long time is that big crowds suck. At least when I test my weapons, people actually run away and pay no attention to me. Now that the same thing I do on earth only attracts eyes, I feel a lot different.

"Maybe we should just believe his word and say he is stronger than any of us." Someone in the front line says. Everypony, including Chrysalis, at once nods twice. The amount of synergy in that little action was funny as hell, but now isn't the time for that.

"If we are done basking in my strength, I'd like to get the main event started." Chrysalis nodded and turned to her army.

"Today, with the help of Axel, Canterlot is ours!" There was a mutual cheer between the crowd. "Let us waste no time, and use our newly found strength to enslave these ponies!" We're enslaving ponies? Thought we were just going to take over the government. No matter I guess, although I gotta ask if I can use some ponies for my own personal experiments. I'm not going to say it's good to exploit their social status, but testing what spells can do on them could prove useful. Of course I'm not testing any spells that purposely harm an entity, but any spell for psychological and beneficial use? That is another story.

"Yo bug-queen." The queen, not entirely amused at the name I called her, looked to me. "Do you mind if I can get some of the ponies you enslave?" She laughed at the question I asked her.

"I'll let you have the ponies who wronged you, minus Celestia, who I want all to myself." If I were any dumbass cartoon character, I would ask why, but since I already know, there isn't a reason to. Celestia starved these creatures for years; part of the reason I'm helping them in fact. Also, the amount of love these ponies share for the Princess would probably completely supply the hive for their entire life. I wonder why they starved these creatures. Aside seeming a bit sinister, Chrysalis and the others were genuinely nice creatures just trying to survive. I guess the power of friendship only applies to actual ponies, something terrible as much as racist.

We took a detour around Ponyville, not being terribly hard considering that these guys can shapeshift. We had to do it so that Canterlot won't be alerted of us. We made it to Canterlot at sunset, perfect for a hostile takeover. Since it was dark, I could look at the gate without much risk of getting seen, as long as I'm in the dark, and I noticed something strange.

"I don't see any guards." I whispered to the queen. She looked over and saw that I was right. "Wait here, I'm going to do some recon." Getting a nod from her, I look around and don't even see any cameras. Do security cameras even exist here? I'm wondering how good technology is in this world. By the looks of it, its like being in the old human times. I look around the street, looking for any sorts of monitoring. Not a single guard or a single camera in sight. Some of the windows had light in them, but when I went to look into them, the house was completely devoid of anyone. It was as if Canterlot was abandoned. I looks around and still saw the flags from the two organizations and went to check if the blue side had anybody.

I walked into the inn that Mythic allowed me to stay at. I looked around and saw no one in sight. Okay, now this is getting creepy, as if something swooped by and made everypony disappear. I made my way back to Chrysalis and motioned for her and her army to come to the castle slowly.

And so we begin our slow trot, every single changeling being on edge from the sudden disappearance of the city. It was weird to have hundreds of changelings slowly sneaking about, but something tells me that the city is empty for a reason. My thought process was interrupted by a sudden scream. Everypony turned to the direction of the scream to see a changeling in the air, a balloon being tied around his neck, cutting off his air supply. By the time we knew about it, it was too late. His body stood limp in mid-air. It didn't take a guess to know that he is dead.

"W-What happened?" Chrysalis asked, fear threatening to take over her voice. I summoned my swords, being more on-guard than ever.

"I'm not sure, but I know I have a bad feeling about this." I looked to assess how everypony else was doing. Some were shaking just as hard as Chrysalis at what they had seen, while others tried to pretend that they didn't see one of their brothers die. I'm gonna need therapy myself. I did do some killing in my past life, but seeing someone be hung around their neck with a balloon and dying is almost as illogical as it is disturbing. "Let's continue." I said. She hesitantly nodded and we walked even slower than before.

As we walked, more illogical things started to happen. Everypony started letting their fear be known by either screaming or holding their head between their knees as their comrades started dying in weird ways. To name a few, we had one that turned into stone and crumbled away, another that burned in a suddenly ignited flame, and another who's head exploded in a mixture of blood and confetti. These were all things that could scar anyone not used to seeing people die. I wasn't going to be effected much by what is transpiring, but I sure will need a drink after this. As everything started to get quiet, I tried to assess who was left.

"Chrysalis?" She turned to me with a dull gaze, "How many Changelings did we bring to Canterlot?" She mulled over the number in her head before answering.

"A-A-About t-two thousand." She answered, completely broken over seeing her children die. I would be too, and when I saw how many were left, I was disturbed. Out of two thousand changelings, only ten remain. How did whatever did this rack up kills this fast? If he plays COD, then hes logging in to my account. Me and Chrysalis both looked over to the remaining ten and saw that they were dying as well. One of them suddenly choked and started coughing blood, losing life by the second. Another looked dehydrated and was dehydrating fast. A third suddenly started bleeding heavily out of her chest. I don't get this at all. How are they dying? There has to be some explanation for this. I looked over to the remaining seven.

"Do you guys want me to give you a painless death?" I asked them. Chrysalis looked to me furiously, tears rolling down her eyes.

"WHY WOULD YOU KILL YOUR ALLIES, YOU TRAITOR!" She screamed. I looked to her for one second before replying.

"What would you rather have, Chrysalis? Children who die a quick and painless death, or children who die a super painful death and maybe live with the scars they received?" Chrysalis looked deep in thought, and looked over to the changelings who were now saluting.

"Permission to speak freely!" Chrysalis gave a weak and dead nod, "We would love to die in peace for you. Please allow the human to kill us off, so that way you don't have a guilty conscience over killing your own kind. We wish the best for you and will be rooting for you in the afterlife for your success. It has been a wonderful time being a child for you, and we wish you the best of luck." Chrysalis looked to the ground for a second before looking to them.

"Do you all feel this way?" They nod. The queen sighed and turned to me.

"Don't worry, if you feel any hatred towards me, then I will just deal with it so that you don't have to. Beside a certain timber-wolf, you are the only person that ever got to know the real me. You allowed me to do what I want, so I'll take on this burden to return the favor." The tears that were shed earlier from her increased tenfold at my words.

"If it isn't any trouble, I would ask that you kill the remaining changelings, as painless and as swiftly as possible, if you don't mind." I nodded and turned to the changelings.

"You guys ready?" They all stood straight and nodded, closing their eyes. I turned my sword yellow and swiped once. They were all confused for a second until I put my sword in the ground, causing all of their heads to immediately fly off their body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chrysalis looking away.

"Are you ok-"

"T-thank you." I looked to her in bewilderment, "Thank you for sticking with us until the end, and I'm sorry if I must ask you this."

"What is there to do left? All of the changelings have been slaug-" She put a hoof in my mouth.

"I-I know... I know... I just have one last mission for you before I go into hiding in the Everfree." I turned my ear to her, allowing her to whisper in it. "Avenge my children." With that, she suddenly started running towards the city gate and flew out towards the forest.

I turned to the castle entrance and made my way inside, eager to avenge the ones that looked up to her.

I made it to the throne room doors and opened them. It was dark inside, but I made my way in, being cautious of what was around me. Suddenly, the doors behind me closed shut and purple torches on the walls suddenly lit. I looked to the lights, on edge at what was going on. Suddenly a laugh rang through the room and I immediately knew who I was up against.

"Discord, you finally show your face."

End of Volume 1, Part 1: This entire fight is one big joke...

View Online

"It seems that you originally came here to spread chaos." Discord says, smiling towards me. Usually when people do that, they're up to something.

"You could say that, but someone's magic got in the way of that." I say evenly. It has been a long time since I've used the term 'someone'. I've always been around ponies, but now that I'm not, it feels weird to revert to my old way of speaking. "Do you have any idea what was happening?" I ask. He puts a hand to his heart and gives me the most dramatic gasp I've ever heard.

"Why I'd never! All I've been doing all this time is snapping my fingers to an imaginary beat." He says defensively. My memories may be jumbled, but I remember some time in the past that all he needed was a snap of his fingers to change reality.

"...Uh huh... Anyways, can I ask why you are here?" Discord sits up from the throne and stares out of a window, giving me the first serious vibes I've felt from him ever.

"You know how I'm all about chaos, right?" I nod, "That actually expands to the point where I live for chaos. It is my only joy in this world." Something doesn't add up here.

"If you love chaos as much as you say you do, then why would you interrupt our national takeover?" He looks down for a moment and turns to me, sighing.

"I knew what you were about to do. At first I was happy about it, because you know, chaos." He uses air quotes to signify the obvious, "But then I thought abo-"

"Get to the point already." I interrupt him. He chuckles before speaking.

"Sheesh, someone's impatient. Well, my point is that I would enjoy it for a short time, and then what? I don't know if you know this, but if those changelings were to take over this castle and have all the love they need, they could kill me before I could even get to start spreading chaos among their kind."

...Just how strong does a changeling get when fueled by love? Just another question added within the many I have.

"I've battled them before, but they didn't seem that strong. All I really did was play around with them." Discord widened his eyes, and then looked at me in disbelief.

"You... beat them in their love mode?" Now I am super curious.

"What the hell is that?" I said in bewilderment. Discord blinks before clearing his throat.

"It's when changelings are fully powered with love. Their body will start transforming during the process. You know you are in deep trouble when they grow to a size that wouldn't even let you consider them to be anything less than a monster." That.... explains a lot. There was a lot of differentiation in the hive when I first got there, but after I made my influence, it was like all of them were an different species.

"That is actually some useful info. So, when is Celestia and her ponies getting back from limbo?" Discord flinched and stared at me.

"How did you know that they were there?"

"Dude, I can feel magical presences quite easily ever since I grew my power," I looked behind me, "and my eyes now stare at what looks to be a scrying spell." It was so faint that even Discord had to squint his eyes to see the translucent mirror.

"Wow, I couldn't even detect it." Discord said, impressed that I saw it so quickly.

"Okay, you had your moment of surprise. Now bring them back here so I can fight Celestia." Discord responded by waving his finger around.

"You are going to have to fight me fi-" He split his body just in time to dodge my carefully-crafted blast ball. I know I just made it on the spot, but the name could've been a little better. "That was just rude." I took a ready stance and waited for his attack. He snapped his fingers and I had to duck to avoid the incredibly sharp bones. Wait, what the hell? If this is going to just be a series of game references, that leaves me more questioning than alert. I'll think about it after I finish this.

I shoot the blast ball again and this time he blocks it with only his claw. He again snaps his fingers, forcing me to use a sword to cut through what looked like a cursor about to recycle me. Wait, how the hell does he even know about the internet. I then think of something that I should have done first. I spray the air in a dark mist which overtakes its surroundings quickly. Discord looked around with a bored expression before chuckling.

"Hah, did you really think you could po-" He snaps his fingers, although something strange happens. Or more like nothing happens. Gotta love [Silencing Mist] and how much it looks like poison. Only those with incredible magic capacity can use their magic here. I did my research into Discord's magic and saw that he did have a magic capacity, but it's no different from the amount of magic an earth pony has. Turns out that chaos magic doesn't match the rate of pony magic, the rate being 0.01 to 1. That means not only would he need about Celestia's power level to overtake the mist, he would also have to be 100 times stronger than her. While chaos magic is powerful, it also requires almost no magic to use, which is probably why Discord never gets tired from spreading chaos throughout an entire country. It's not the fact that Discord has more magic than Celestia, but rather his magic can dish out more powerful attacks while using less of his reserves.

"I know I'm a cocky bastard, but you didn't think I would use spells on an opponent without any knowledge of their abilities, did you?" Discord now glared at me, incredibly serious now.

"I don't know what trick you are using, but I will find a way around it!" He says matter-of-factly. I roll my eyes at his response, and punched him with as much force as I could muster. The impact landed on his torso and I saw the wind around my hand dissipate from the force. Discord himself, however, remained unfazed. I guess he isn't just all magic. He smiled at me and coiled around my hand, completely stopping any blood flow to it.

"What kind of trick is this?" Suddenly, I felt an incredible amount of pressure around my arm. It was so intense that I stumbled and, with less grace than someone getting lynched, fell out of a window. Discord, quickly acting, let go partially and hung off the edge of the window by his tail. Of course, I instinctively grabbed on to his neck and we both sat there hanging, the ground so high up, we couldn't make anything out in the darkness of the night. There I discovered my new phobia of heights, something I didn't realize until now, when we were up a lethal distance in the air with nothing to grab on but the ledge Discord was perched on. Discord caught on to this moment of weakness and shook his neck slowly. My legs started to panic for a moment and I glared up at Discord.

"Oopsie! It seems my neck started wobbling on its own." Discord said with a chuckle. My glare intensified.

"That doesn't make sense at all!" I yelled up

"That is my entire character, isn't it? You know, not making sense?" He countered. I sighed and then suddenly realized something. How much of a short term thinker was I? All of this power at my disposal, and I'm still thinking like a weakling. I let go of Discord's neck, now free-falling through the air, the ground coming very rapidly. I summoned an sword and immediately stabbed it into the wall. After a few sparks and watching brick being slashed by metal , my decent stopped and I was in a more comfortable height. I was now hanging only 10 feet from the ground, and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. A second later and I probably would've been injured from impacting the ground. Out of all methods of death, that would've been least preferable. I looked up to get a read on Discord's position, and imagine my surprise when he's slithering down the castle walls like a snake. Damn it, I thought that mist would've stunned his abilities for longer. He made his way to the ground next to me, where he then snapped his fingers. Being prepared for anything, I put up a barrier. It seemed to work, as an explosion hit the barrier a few seconds later.

"I didn't think you would actually be a challenge." I commented. He gave me a deadpanned stare before almost choking on his laughter.

"It's very amusing that you treat this like you have extra lives." That statement couldn't be any more true, but to be fair I haven't lost many fights since I've been here.

"I mean, my ego is-" I roll to the left to dodge an incoming hair comb. "Aye! I didn't hear my sentence end in a period!"

"Why end it in a period when you can end it with a dash instead." I really don't feel like arguing English or whatever Equestrian equivalent there was. I charged at him with my signature floating swords which I love to use so much. I watched Discord stand there as they approached and eventually stabbed into him. Suddenly, I had felt nauseated and dizzy. I clutch my stomach and get on my knees, balling over from the pain. I was sure they hit their target, so why was Discord still moving. I rose my head, having a bit of difficulty doing so, and watch the floating objects phase through him like he was a ghost. Oh come on... now you're just cheating. He snaps his fingers once again, and I duck to the side. Confetti blew from my original spot a second later, harmlessly exploding in the air. His fingers..... I wonder what happens if I slice them off.

"Hey Discord," He looked up to me in disinterest. Are you saying this fight's a little too boring for you? "The two bananas fell very far from the tree." He looked at me in bewilderment before laughing hard. He actually laughed so hard that he wheezed on the ground, but immediately stopped as something came down the air and sliced off two of his fingers. Discord attempted to regrow his lost appendages, but paled when he realized he couldn't. He gave me his best death glare, causing me to smile.

"What did you do!" He asked in anger. He looked down at the ground to see my good friend, Grimfrost the sword. Remember when I said 'Curse Forge' is amazing against pretty much anything? This is why.

"Just a minor spell enchanted on my personal sword that ages things to the billionth power. Seeing as you were struck twice, it only multiplies the process by two." Discord gave a start to that, but then chuckled as he remembered.

"So this is what you meant by your earlier statement. You were aiming for my two banana-like fingers, weren't you?" A wave of bitterness rushed through me as he made my statement earlier sound very corny.

"That's the gist of it." I added. Suddenly, Discord put his hands in the air, claiming his surrender.

"I'm not fighting that. If my life could be spared from doing this, then I'm doing it. Just please, don't use that on anypony.." Who knew I made an ability that even made Discord stand down. Of course I wasn't going to let him live, but at least he tried. What? The goal, at least in my case, was to kill him in the first place. You can't prove your strength by forgiving foes, can you? I summoned the sword back and through it at him, aiming for his throat. I expected a scream, or at least a stabbing sound, but I watched in surprise as Grimfrost was flung into the air by a third party.

"You guys don't know when to give up, do you?" I looked to my right to see the party in question.

"Discord is one of my subjects, even if he does have a horrible past." Celestia said, her horn charged with magic.

"I guess I have to show you who's boss, eh?"

End of Volume 1, Part 2: Friendship is Cheating.

View Online

I extended my arm completely out, watching Grimfrost fly back towards my hand.

"I don't want to hear any pleas for mercy if the fight you wish to take is a losing one." I said. The white alicorn responded by attempting to blast me with magic, she herself charging along with it. Instead of dodging or blocking, I countered it by using the momentum that the blast put on my body as the force of the slash, scoring a scratch on her cheek. She looked dumbfounded at the technique.

"How did you do that? I'm just curious." Celestia asked. I chuckled at that.

"A swinging motion isn't just pushing forward, it's also pulling back." She didn't seem to get it, but it didn't stop her from attacking me. She shaped her aura like a sword and used it to try and get a hit on me. After ducking it, I sidestepped an incoming horn-stab. Thinking I could swing the sword in time before she recovered seemed to elude me, as I suddenly hopped out of the way from what seemed like a lightning strike that struck my previous position. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash in the sky, a cloud on hand.

"What are you six doing here?" Celestia asked. So this wasn't intended then. Wait, six? I turned around and was suddenly blown back by a purple light. After changing my directional influence in the air, I landed on my feet. I looked up just in time to dodge a buck incoming from Applejack. Slightly annoyed, I put up a barrier around me, and observed my situation. Rainbow and Twilight were talking with Celestia, Fluttershy treating her wound. Pinkie looked to be preparing something in that physics-breaking cannon of hers. Applejack and Rarity were in front of me, trying to break the barrier. Seven against one, eh?

"Are any more of you coming out?" I asked. No response from the mares in question. Okay, then I'll make you listen to me.

As Applejack attempted to buck the barrier again, I let it down and slashed Grimfrost in her direction, and the very tip of the blade manage to cut a little bit below her neck. It wouldn't be enough to do anything, but it's progress. Grazing a hoof over the newly-made cut, she glared at me.

"Applejack!" Rarity screamed out. The scream caused everyone else to look in our direction. Okay, it was just a tiny cut. You girls are acting like I just completely stabbed into her.

"Relax, it isn't even that deep." Applejack's glare got deeper.

"Ya sure had tha intent ta." Fair point, I guess. I ducked in time to dodge a hoof speeding towards my face.

"Nopony hurts my friends!" She said, somehow managing to rebalance herself before she crashed the ground. The amount of forces her body could take held no bounds did it? I didn't respond, instead bringing my sword down upon her. Or, at least, I tried. I looked up and noticed that there was a purple glow around my sword. Looking behind me, I saw Twilight, who was at super close distance now. She smirked at me and pointed a hoof in the direction I was facing, signaling me to turn around. Stupidly listening to my enemy's request, I turned around. A pop, similar to a flashbang, went off at point blank range. I'm not losing here. I've trained too much just to let it go to waste! I felt the anger boil up inside of me.

"Okay, now I'm done playing around." Watching everypony's sudden unease was the last bit of joy I allowed myself. Rainbow, Twilight, and the now newly recovered Celestia all charged me at once. I'm not letting this faze me. I turned around and manage to kick Rainbow right in her gut, her air suddenly leaving her lungs. She went flying back into a tree, unconscious from the sudden blow. I grabbed Twilight by her neck and threw her at Celestia's charging form. They both slid back to Fluttershy's now fear-induced body. I figure that it will only stun them temporarily though. Pinkie Pie attempted to use that stupid cannon again, but this time I was ready. Before it did anything, I snapped my fingers, causing it to explode along with the pink menace. The way she plopped down reminded me of something? What game was it? Something about Mario jumping over barrels or something like that. Well, whatever it was called, she did almost a perfect death animation.

"Woah there!" I looked at Applejack and Rarity, who sat there in surprised silence. "Maybe we can wo-" I felt my world go upside down as something very fast managed to strike my head, causing me to flip through the air.

"Now!" Twilight, who was now holding her neck, said. I suddenly got sense of an intense magic power signal, and didn't know where it was coming from. I was now suddenly aware that everypony, minus Celestia who was still unconscious, was wearing a necklace with a gem of some sort. How I didn't notice this before, I will never know. If my barriers can absorb most magic, then I should be able to absorb whatever they are trying to create here. I noticed that Fluttershy was still fearful, but didn't necessarily have enough fear instilled into her. I attempted to use my magic to instill that feeling, only for it to fail. Huh?

"Wait, what? Why isn't it working?" I thought out loud. Twilight smirked at me.

"Nothing beats the magic of friendship." She said calmly. What is this, a little girls cartoon? No one in the real world actually believes this nonsense, right?

"If your 'magic of friendship' is so high and mighty, lets see you combat this." I sent out a wave of magic energy, hoping to strike down whatever they had planned. It managed to connect with Twilights head, but it didn't seem to even phase her. What the fuck?

"How the hell did you do that?" I tried again and again, only for the same thing to happen. It seems that I need to raise the power in my shots. I tried a few more times, raising the amount I put in every shot more and more, and it seemed like a shot even from god couldn't phase her. This is not good.

"It's like we said, nothing beats the magic of friendship." Rainbow Dash quoted, the energy building up more and more inside of her. I call absolute bullshit! There has to be a way to counteract whatever they are doing! I will have to go with this spell for now. I closed my eyes and used the spell as everything went silent. I looked around and noticed that everypony was frozen in place. Good, this gives me enough time to study whatever they did. It sucks that it requires to much energy to keep up. Time is of the essence, so to speak.

"What are you doing here?" I turned around to see Celestia's younger sister. Luna, was it? The pony in front of me laughed however. Now that I noticed, she had a completely black coat, but her presence felt like Luna's did.

"Who are you?" I asked. The laughter devolved into a chuckle.

"The ponies call me Nightmare Moon, which I have taken as my name. I do not know my actual one." Strange, but I had more to deal with right now. "I can tell that you are in some sort of trouble at the moment." The smirk never left her face, which created tension in the air, I realize.

"Not really. I should be able to completely defend myself from the incoming magic." She frowned at me and turned towards the ponies charging the spell.

"Those are the Elements of Harmony you are fighting. You have no idea how powerful they are." She said in a tense voice, almost like she has experience with them.

"How do you know?" What better way to find out then outright asking?

"About two years ago, I attempted to create eternal night. Luna had gotten angry from the request of the ponies to make the day last longer, and created me." That is an interesting tale.

"So what you are saying is that you are Luna's negative emotions?" She nodded. "If you've dealt with this before, then how do we combat this?" Her frown never left her face.

"When I dealt with them, I did not succeed. Although watching Discord face them did open a way to do it, but I am too cold to ever commit to such a method." I raised an eyebrow at her. I know she said she was created from Luna's negative emotions, but openly admitting that is how you are is never easy.

"What was the method?" Defense now, questions later.

"Convince any of the elements to have doubts of using it on you. It should disrupt the spell, as all six need to have the same mindset to use them." I don't think that's a method I could do. I felt a shake, which promptly brought me off of my feet. I looked at the sky and brought myself to my knees.

"What was that?" I asked. She smirked again and looked down at my fallen form.

"It seems our time is up. When you don't succeed, come find me. I'm working with a friend who has also had trouble with those six. Maybe we could combat them at a later date for revenge. When you get blasted, you should end up in the shadow realm. Those elements don't kill the target, it only entraps them." I sighed and looked up at her.

"Fine. On the off chance that I don't make it through the entire thing, I will look for you immediately." She nodded then stared at me. I then blinked and she suddenly disappeared. Strange.

The spell broke in that instant and they were still charging it. I used the rest of my body's energy into one single blast. Luckily, my charge time was a lot faster than theirs. As they finished theirs, a rainbow light shot out towards me.

"I'm not losing this easily!" I yelled, shooting out my own blast that collided with the rainbow menace of light. Everypony aside me went wide-eyed as my shot slowly penetrated the death blast. What was Nightmare Moon talking about? I watched as both collided balls completely exploded in prismatic light, causing everyone to fly back a couple of meters. Okay, now I know what happens when light collides with light. I got back up and looked around and noticed that part of the grass where the explosion was turned into stone. That's kind of horrifying to think about, to say the least. Can a creature even breathe in their stone prison?

I opened my eyes and immediately wish I hadn't. The elements were already charging a second beam. Seriously?!? They can do that back to back? That isn't even remotely fair!

"How?" I asked, an uneasy tension building inside of me. Twilight's smirk felt like an insult hurdled towards me.

"It's as I said earlier. Nothing can beat the power of friendship. Maybe you could stand to learn about it in the future, but first you need to live out your punishment." As the blast fired, with as hard of a force as the last, I put up a barrier and watched the rainbow light guide right past it.

It was a losing battle, however. Parts of the barrier started to crack, providing a nice spider-web like texture. Ah, now I see what you meant, Nightmare Moon. My current level of power allows me to contest the Elements of Harmony once, but I wish that I had a little warning that they could be fired off repeatedly.

I looked down at my legs, noticing that I can't move. Ah, they turned to stone. I guess I'm getting an answer to my question about the stone cage I'll inevitably be entrapped in. Axel, the man who was notorious back on earth. The man who would test ideas freely and get away with them, illegal or not. The man who never relied on friendship to strengthen his resolve. The man who had trouble making friends, and found relief of stress from the misfortune of others. All of this achievement, to only be put into the grave by six rainbow-colored ponies who believe that emotions have power.

..I don't think my pride can handle this.

...

"Hey, Nightmare Moon? I think I will take that offer to join you and your friend." I said, the stone now reaching around my head. The last thing I felt was a spike of joyfulness around the back of my neck, before everything went black.

VOLUME 1 END.

Volume 2 Prologue: Revenge is at the top of the list.

View Online

As I regained consciousness, I felt a sudden pressure in my head. As I opened my eyes, I was only greeted by more darkness. Wait, are my eyes actually open?

"Of course they are." I turned around to see Nightmare Moon there with another male. This male was rather strange, as with every step he took, dark crystals would form where he stood once before. Not the creepiest thing I've seen, but it was up there.

"Who are you?" I asked the strange male. I wanted to say stallion, but half of his body was made of a black substance that I don't know about.

"Allow me to introduce you," I know I'm stronger than her, but something about her grin is intimidating. "This is Sombra, a master in dark magic. He was also defeated by those cursed elements." He looked towards me and held out his.... hoof? I hesitantly attempted to take his hoof in a handshake gesture, but found that my hand went right through. Panicking for a second, I took a step back. He gave off a brief chuckle before speaking.

"It's always fun when someone who doesn't know me tries to issue that gesture." Okay, his voice is deep. Definitely intimidating for any normal creature. No need to comment on it, there is bigger fish to fry.

"Where are we? It feels weird, like the only things my eyes render are you two." I asked.

"You are in my domain. Thanks to the magic that I took most of my youth to learn, I can not die and will only spawn here when defeated. Even you with your wretched strength can't kill me!" Sombra answered. That sounds like god-modding at its finest. Although it's nice to know that he's still salty about that. Nightmare Moon chuckled and clarified,

"Technically if every part of his body in the mortal world is destroyed, this place ceases to exist. I took partial control over the realm, and used that to drag you in here. With that, I copied your mindset and used it upon mine, as my old consciousness was burned to death when I was defeated, the only thing remaining was the incredibly small piece that allowed me to talk to you earlier. If I didn't copy it, I probably would be speaking, to use things from your world as an analogy, like I was in the bible." I gave her a surprised stare before inwardly sighing. She technically mind-raped me. I'm never going to live that down. I looked back up to see her glaring at me. "I can control dreams and mindsets at night, you know. Everything that you think right now, I will know of. I would watch your words if I were you." That is kind of a double-edged sword. On one side, any sort of plans we come up with won't need to be explained, and it saves us some time in the future. On the other side though, any sort of betrayal or doubts won't go unchecked, and I could very well be led into a trap. She gave me her best evil grin, catching my thought process.

"Well, fuck you too."

You'd think being banished by the elements would leave about a feeling of anger and despair, vengeance being the only think that clouds your mind. You'd think that the victim would end up wanting to hurt those to blame for such things, and stop at nothing until it happens. You'd think that you were weak, and will stop at nothing to get stronger than those you hate.

Boredom. That is all I can sum this up to. There is literally nothing to do in this black void. I tried to rest, but I already did that enough, and our plans are only waiting for Sombra to regain his strength so we can leave. Hell, I don't even have a clock! I don't know how long I've been in here!

"Twelve hours. Although, one hour here is about one day in the mortal world."

I glared to my left, in Nightmare Moon's direction.

"You could've told me how much time I've spent here earlier.." I grumbled.

"You never asked." She replied in the most neutral expression possible. Ignoring the smart reply, I looked ahead of me to see Sombra walking towards us, now looking a lot darker than before, and eyes looking a bit more vibrant. "I see you have regained your power." The dark king opened the book, and that's when everything changed.

I held my stomach at first, feeling an incredible sense of nausea. I wanted to cover my ears too, but the pain was almost unbearable. I listened to constant sounds of children laughing that shook me to my very core. I tried to yell out, but found out that I couldn't. Am I going crazy? I suddenly couldn't breathe, and started to panic. In that same instant however, I regained my ability to take in oxygen, and the sudden nausea feeling and children cries went away. I hazily opened my eyes and found myself at the hive; or what was left of it.

"A little warning next time, please." Those thoughts and feelings, I feel, will live in my skull for as long as I live. Sombra only chuckled.

"Oh, it wasn't as bad as the first time I came back. It was equally ten times worse." Now that I heard him, I knew how out of breath he was; about the same as me. I turned to Nightmare and saw her looking to us in amusement.

"How are you not out of breath?" I asked her. She laughed at my question before answering.

"I'm a walking Nightmare, so I have no need to breathe, nor do I feel anything more than pain." Does that imply that nightmares can be injured? That's pretty odd. I'll have to research that another time.

I looked around and saw the hive that we created the plan in, and damn was it completely destroyed. Discord really did a number on these bugs, as all I smelt was chocolate, blood, and death. At least I know one thing; the chocolate is definitely not helping. I felt a hoof on my shoulder and looked up. Nightmare Moon smiled at me, this time a bit more genuinely.

"Sombra and I are going to construct a castle in the eastern part of the forest. Go ahead and grab your friend, because we'll need her." Wait, how do they know she's in there? I won't question it... this time. I looked back at the door, nodding my head. As the hoof left my shoulder, I turned around.... only to see them gone. I know Nightmare Moon is about the equivalent of an actual nightmare, but what the fuck does Sombra have to be to move as fast as her? I must be incredibly strong to be able to single-handedly take him down. Only decreases the chances they betray me, I guess.

For fucks sake, this smell is damn near unbearable! Makes me miss the joyous privileges of a Febreeze can. I made my way to the throne room and didn't expect her to actually be there. To my surprise, there she was, in a super depressive state, burying her changelings in various spots of the throne room, tears falling down her face the entire time. Even for me, it was very hard to watch.

"W-Who's there!" She turned around in a sudden panic and charged what little magic she had left. Wait, how long had she been burying for her to be almost on empty?!

"Chrysalis, it's me! Chill!" Her horn lost the charge it initially had and she covered her mouth and burst into tears. She then ran for me and put her hooves around my abdomen, embracing me. I let her do it, as she needed it. The terrible smell was then replaced with the smell of her hair; which smelled incredibly similar to licorice. I wasn't complaining, of course, but I didn't expect her hair to smell like that, considering where she lives.

"What happened during your fight?" She asked quietly, still hugging me.

"I technically beat Discord, but never managed to kill him. The ponies, or more specifically Celestia, interrupted me before I could bring my sword down on him. I was defeated by the Elements of Harmony." She brought her head back for a second and looked at me in confusion.

"Sword?" I nodded, summoning Grimfrost. In the Shadow Realm, I had some time to tweak it a bit. Now, I hereby pronounce the sword's name to be 'Grimforger'. Instead of doing prebuilt attacks, it copies the abilities of anything it touches or whoever is battling it. The only difference is that it runs off of my firepower, which probably is larger than Equestria as a whole considering I trained almost ten hours straight in the Shadow Realm.

Chrysalis touched the blade and it immediately got to work, transforming into a sword with a dark green blade and pitch-black hilt; same as the colors of Chrysalis' body. She was surprised for a moment and looked to me.

"Watch this." I pushed her back about a meter and slammed the sword into the ground. It then glowed and transformed me to look like Chrysalis. The shock on her face was priceless to see. I've never seen someone's eyes transform into two small periods like that, almost like life here was an anime.

"How many abilities do you have?" Fair question, although the answer might be different than most.

"Considering I can make them on the spot, I would have to say infinite. Although there are restrictions to doing this." I answered. It isn't that there wasn't any restriction to my power, but that the restrictions are not very strict. I can't bring creatures back to life unless I have an ability to reap souls, and even then it requires almost an entire day's worth of magic power at my level. There are many small restrictions that probably won't limit me too much. Two notable ones, however, are the fact that I can't make or do anything from nothing, and I have to have enough power stored to execute it. For the first restriction, I found a way around it by just making things out of the air around me, and air is practically unlimited here. The second one though, I can overcome in the future by constantly exercising my magic until any spell is considered small.

"N-No creature should have this much power!" I knew that answer would imminently cause fear. Better calm her nerves before things get too heated.

"Relax, Chrysalis. I'm not going to betray you anytime soon. You are about one of the only ones who don't follow the 'magic of friendship'." I used my fingers as I laced over the phrase. Her posture gave off the air that she didn't buy it. Oh well I guess. It isn't like she would have a say if I betrayed her or not, so minus well prove it. "Don't worry. You will be in my care until you birth more changelings."

"You don't have to worry about such things. With enough love, I can create them myself." Wait, what?

"How the hell does that work?" She chuckled at the question.

"Why do you think there is no king?" I put my finger up to say something, but had nothing to say. She had a point there, and I didn't think that the king of the hive was on any business trips either. I sighed and started to make my way out of the room, Chrysalis a second later following up behind me.

"Aside burying your dead children, what have you been doing since you left?" My blunt mentioning of her children sent a chill down her spine.

"Contemplating my vengeance." I laughed at her answer.

"Same as us then, huh?" I commented. She tilted her head to the side.

"Us? Who else did you bring along with you? Wait a minute. Come to think of it, how the hay are you even here?" She seemed to inquire a lot about things she doesn't know. Not that it's a bad thing, of course, but it gets pretty annoying sometimes.

"Nightmare Moon and Sombra. Right now, they're building a castle towards the east, and are expecting us." I assume that they're going to use magic to build it. I mean, Sombra used dark magic to build the Crystal Empire, so it makes sense that he could do it again. One of the many stories we shared while in that dark hell-hole. Sometimes, I wonder if hell would've been better than being bored for twelve hours straight, and I also wonder how the elements feel after having to stone someone.

You know, it might not be a bad idea to do some recon.

I stopped in my tracks, Chrysalis stopping with me in confusion.

"You go ahead and meet our allies. I'm going to do some recon on the elements and see what we are dealing with." I said. She was slightly put off by the sudden request, but nodded nonetheless. I watched her fly through the air and make her way further east.

I made my way north, and that journey was eventful. Most creatures in the Everfree loved to pick fights with those weaker than them. Obviously, despite being somewhat muscular due to training my magic so much, I was on the scale for the weaker creatures in the forest. I had to fight Cockatrices, Manticores, and one particularly pissed three-headed Hydra. Why the hell is this world made up of mythological creatures? As I was making my way down north, I realized I was being followed. I would've ignored it and went on about my travels, but one factor made me uneasy.

There wasn't one of them.

I stopped and closed my eyes, using my ears to better hear where they are. I summoned Grimforger for about the seventh time today and turned behind me in a sudden, quick movement. The blade stopped at the creatures neck, threatening to slash them. The creature howled before smelling my sword.

Wait a minute.

"Alpha, is that you?" It has been an incredibly long time since I've seen him. He stopped inspecting my sword and put his head under my hand.

"Yes it is, master." The fuck?

"You can talk? I don't remember ever creating that ability."

"I've spent my time in the forest finding a way to talk to you. After accidentally using dark magic in an abandoned library, I linked my soul to yours. Not that I mind though, because you were always, and will always, be good to me." The sentiment screamed 'a man's best friend' all over it, and I actually feel like I have someone in this world now. Not to say that I don't trust the others, but they aren't necessarily my friends. We all have different goals, and are only trying to help each other reach them.

"This is actually fantastic! I've always wanted a friend to talk to, but the ponies wouldn't let me do shit, because 'friendship is magic' and all that other bullshit." He chuckled and continued to nuzzle me.

"Well, you won't have to worry about us. We will follow you wherever you go." Wait, we? Like he read my mind, more of the wolves showed up, some bigger, stronger, or even scarier-looking than others. Still, none compared to the sheer size of Alpha.

A true alpha always stands at the top, eh?

"How did you get them to agree with this?" I asked. One of the wolves walked up and bowed his head to me. Considering what they are and how much they treasure social hierarchy, this made me slightly uncomfortable.

"Hello, master. My name is Solus, and we would like you to be our ruler. Ridury, or Alpha as you know him by, says that you are an able man, with power that shakes even him to his hollow core," he slowly trotted towards me and sniffed my hand. "And for much reason, too. You most likely have enough magic to completely dissipate the restrictive magic that keeps us locked in the forest." Oh wow, maybe I don't realize how strong I am.

Wait...

"What do you mean 'restrictive magic'?" I asked. Ridury looked to me.

"The princesses keeps certain species in the forest, mainly those too dangerous for ponies. I am able to leave because your sheer presence completely repels the magic that binds us." Okay, I really don't know my own strength. I understand enough to dissipate a spell if I wanted to, but with my presence? The book, the one I forgot I owned, faded into view and gave off a bright yellow glow. I took it off of my hip, which I forgot I bound to, and the wolves looked at it curiously. Ignoring them, I opened up to the glowing page and saw the new text written on it.

"May I ask what that is?" Solus asked. I never took my eyes off of the page.

"A book that lists all of my skills. At first it was the only way I could create spells and grow my magical power, but now it's more of a tracker than anything." I answered. The wolves talked quietly among themselves while I took a moment to examine the page. 'Defensive Progress' was listed at the top, along with a clear description to its left. To sum up what the explanation was talking about, apparently being hit by anything that could do incredible damage to me will automatically trigger the body to find a defense for it, even to the point of being completely immune to the blow. The process is automatic and can be sped up by repeated hits.

"What does it say, master?" Solus inquired. I looked up from the book to him.

"I don't like the word master. It sounds more like I own you than rule over you. Lord would be a better term to use." I'm totally not saying this because medieval titles are cool.

"As you wish, my lord." That sounds a lot better.

"To answer your question, I'm unstoppable." Some of the wolves, or the last ones that hadn't went to sleep during this conversation, made a noise of bewilderment. You won't believe how adorable they sounded. "I accept your offer by the way, to be your ruler that is. As long as your with me, you will see your overall strength improve." The remaining wolves howled and cheered, waking up the other wolves. Even Alpha was visibly happy that I was accepting the job. "I'll contact the others and tell them that I'm building a separate castle outside of the forest."

"Wait, 'others'? Who are you referring to?" Alpha asked.

"Ponyville's 'greatest' villians. Honestly, they are so weak that it scares me. I'm also bringing Chrysalis along, as she needs to cope from what happened." This made several wolves curious.

"What happened?" A wolf, feminine in tone, asked.

"That's a long story. I'll tell you on the way there."

I asked them to follow me, and we made our way towards them to deliver the news.

Looks like I have some new friends to test my might with.

Result of Human Research

by SkyrinEmperor

Volume 1 Prologue: Something New to Try

Chapter 1: I think I hit my head too hard....

Chapter 2: What do you say in this situation?

Chapter 3, Part 1: Why does everyone fight me?

Chapter 3, Part 2: This is pretty cozy if you ask me.

Chapter 3, Part 3: That was a nice trick, bookhorse.

Chapter 4: Time for a few days in the big city!

Chapter 5: This country wouldn't survive a war. Not at all.

Chapter 6: I should've brought something warmer.

Chapter 7: I don't need everyone to hate me.

Chapter 8: This dragon is so damn big.

Chapter 9, Part 1: I guess there are more powerful enemies than Twilight.

Chapter 9, Part 2: Okay, maybe not that much more powerful.

Chapter 10: How did I get wrapped into this?

Chapter 11: Finally, an actual mission!

Chapter 12: How do I go about searching for myself?

Chapter 13: This was quite a hectic day

End of Volume 1, Part 1: This entire fight is one big joke...

End of Volume 1, Part 2: Friendship is Cheating.

Volume 2 Prologue: Revenge is at the top of the list.